Jump to content

Rifles For Shooting Seals


Recommended Posts

Hi Guys,

I'm a commercial fisherman and under the 1970 seal act am allowed to shoot seals using the nets man's defence. If i have the correct firearm and have seals put on my firearms certificate.

I have had a couple of seals in particular which have been causing me thousands of pounds worth of damage and need them gone,

My problem is I dont know the first thing about rifles, iv done a bit of clay shooting with a shotgun and thats it!

if you search seal shooting in google all you get is pages related to the navy seals and other special forces.

The marine management organisation page states that I need to use a rifle which uses ammunition with a muzzle energy of at least 600 footpounds and a bullet that is a minimum of 45 grains?

So for a complete novice what sort of rifle would i need (what sort of cost am I looking at?) is there any particular course i should / can go on?

someone has also suggested that i use a silencer as well, as its a somewhat controversial activity. How easy are these to get on a firearms certificate?

Thanks the for up coming help

Gill netter


Link to post

The muzzle energy and grain of bullet they're suggesting is basically a .22 Hornet. This is a small calibre round designed for the shorter range Fox shooter and although it is perfectly capable in the right hands of being used to kill much larger animals, for me it's too small for seals. They're big animals with a small target to kill them cleanly.

 

For me, it would be a larger calibre rifle, something like a .308 Winchester and I would definitely apply for a sound moderator (silencer) at the same time. They are very, very rarely refused these days, in fact, the majority will have each centrefire rifle paired with a moderator on their certificates. A sound moderator will not silence a rifle, there will still be a bang and a sonic crack but it reduces the noise considerably.

 

You can pretty much pay as much as you want for a rifle set up. You'll need the rifle, moderator and a scope as a base. Moderators are usually around the £250 mark new for a decent one, scope about the same for something decent and a decent usable rifle would be around £500. You need to be careful with second hand centrefire rifles because you simply don't know how many rounds have been through the barrel and how long she'll stay accurate for. If you know someone into their shooting, it may be beneficial to take them with you.

 

If you're new to rifles, then the likes of BASC run rifle awareness courses which would start you on your way. It would assist with your application too so you can show you've acquired experience.

 

This is all just my thoughts on it. I've never shot or even come close to having to shoot a seal.

Link to post

The muzzle energy and grain of bullet they're suggesting is basically a .22 Hornet. This is a small calibre round designed for the shorter range Fox shooter and although it is perfectly capable in the right hands of being used to kill much larger animals, for me it's too small for seals. They're big animals with a small target to kill them cleanly.

 

For me, it would be a larger calibre rifle, something like a .308 Winchester and I would definitely apply for a sound moderator (silencer) at the same time. They are very, very rarely refused these days, in fact, the majority will have each centrefire rifle paired with a moderator on their certificates. A sound moderator will not silence a rifle, there will still be a bang and a sonic crack but it reduces the noise considerably.

 

You can pretty much pay as much as you want for a rifle set up. You'll need the rifle, moderator and a scope as a base. Moderators are usually around the £250 mark new for a decent one, scope about the same for something decent and a decent usable rifle would be around £500. You need to be careful with second hand centrefire rifles because you simply don't know how many rounds have been through the barrel and how long she'll stay accurate for. If you know someone into their shooting, it may be beneficial to take them with you.

 

If you're new to rifles, then the likes of BASC run rifle awareness courses which would start you on your way. It would assist with your application too so you can show you've acquired experience.

 

This is all just my thoughts on it. I've never shot or even come close to having to shoot a seal.

 

I don't believe that we are too far away from this chum. Wales is almost subaquatic these days. :laugh:

  • Like 1
Link to post

 

The muzzle energy and grain of bullet they're suggesting is basically a .22 Hornet. This is a small calibre round designed for the shorter range Fox shooter and although it is perfectly capable in the right hands of being used to kill much larger animals, for me it's too small for seals. They're big animals with a small target to kill them cleanly.

 

For me, it would be a larger calibre rifle, something like a .308 Winchester and I would definitely apply for a sound moderator (silencer) at the same time. They are very, very rarely refused these days, in fact, the majority will have each centrefire rifle paired with a moderator on their certificates. A sound moderator will not silence a rifle, there will still be a bang and a sonic crack but it reduces the noise considerably.

 

You can pretty much pay as much as you want for a rifle set up. You'll need the rifle, moderator and a scope as a base. Moderators are usually around the £250 mark new for a decent one, scope about the same for something decent and a decent usable rifle would be around £500. You need to be careful with second hand centrefire rifles because you simply don't know how many rounds have been through the barrel and how long she'll stay accurate for. If you know someone into their shooting, it may be beneficial to take them with you.

 

If you're new to rifles, then the likes of BASC run rifle awareness courses which would start you on your way. It would assist with your application too so you can show you've acquired experience.

 

This is all just my thoughts on it. I've never shot or even come close to having to shoot a seal.

 

I don't believe that we are too far away from this chum. Wales is almost subaquatic these days. :laugh:

 

 

I'm tempted to chop in my fox gun for a Greener Harpoon ;)

 

18328460_2.jpg?v=8D0CEDAB6698140

Link to post

Normally a licence will be required and the rules on shooting seals in Scotland are somewhat different to England/Wales.

 

But damage to nets does not need a licence, in England/Wales.

 

I've never had reason to shoot a seal yet, but as mentioned the 600ft lb and 45g is a minimum legal requirement.

 

Do we actually have any of the really big ones around the UK, I was under the impression most of ours are the Grey and Common, I'm not suggesting they are small, but I would have thought 600ft lb plus of Hornet would be ok.

 

I think advice from someone with a bit of experience would be useful just the same!

 

:thumbs:

Edited by Deker
  • Like 1
Link to post

I shot seals for a few years in Filey for the fishermen, The minimum calibre I was informed was a .243, I opted for a .308 with iron sights, had some real good days out. But be warned shooting seals brings you unwanted attention from the animal rights idiots. Legal activities or not these clowns burnt 2 salmon boats, shortly after that I was informed by the fishermen my services were no longer required. Good luck.

 

I was also informed that I could not shoot them from a motorised vessel, and that all seals are to be shot whilst anchored or drifting around the nets / equipment your'e protecting, and no seals are to be shot unless their in the vicinity of your equipment.

Getting a variation to shoot seals does not give you a free reign to hunt them down.

  • Like 3
Link to post

Sea Shepherd have been actively monitoring the seal culling in Scotland with activists with video cameras they've been offering a £5K reward to anyone producing video evidence of illegal culling so one false move shooting a seal that's not actively attacking the nets and you will be prosecuted.

 

http://www.seashepherd.org.uk/news-and-commentary/news/sea-shepherd-announces-the-second-year-of-our-seal-defence-campaign.html

 

http://www.scubaverse.com/sea-shepherd-volunteers-witness-seal-shootings-in-scotland-watch-video/

 

Not an issue if you stay legal of course. However, if you attract their attention, legal or not, expect your photo to be published on Social Media along with pictures of your activities which could lead to hate issues for you and your family.

 

As an alternative, I believe that Canadian trials with a fake Orcas and recorded Orca sounds have been very successful in defending nets without the need for culling, although there was a problem with the fake whale capsizing.

Edited by Alsone
  • Like 1
Link to post

Various methods of net protection were tried at Filey, most worked for a short period of time. But seals are very intelligent and it does not take them long to realise humane deterrents are not harmful to them, then your back to square one.

 

One of the biggest problems on the Yorkshire coast is the sea life centre in Scarborough, hand rearing injured seals then releasing them back to the wild. Once hand fed they soon realise humans = feed time and no fear factor, the cheeky fcukers would snatch the salmon from your hands. I once tried to explain to sea life members that releasing hand fed seals around here is not good for their future prospects, I was informed in colourful language that shooting seals was barbaric. My reply was "almost as barbaric as releasing them to be shot huh" I never bothered again I just kept on shooting the seals they were supplying me with.

  • Like 3
Link to post

 

 

The muzzle energy and grain of bullet they're suggesting is basically a .22 Hornet. This is a small calibre round designed for the shorter range Fox shooter and although it is perfectly capable in the right hands of being used to kill much larger animals, for me it's too small for seals. They're big animals with a small target to kill them cleanly.

 

For me, it would be a larger calibre rifle, something like a .308 Winchester and I would definitely apply for a sound moderator (silencer) at the same time. They are very, very rarely refused these days, in fact, the majority will have each centrefire rifle paired with a moderator on their certificates. A sound moderator will not silence a rifle, there will still be a bang and a sonic crack but it reduces the noise considerably.

 

You can pretty much pay as much as you want for a rifle set up. You'll need the rifle, moderator and a scope as a base. Moderators are usually around the £250 mark new for a decent one, scope about the same for something decent and a decent usable rifle would be around £500. You need to be careful with second hand centrefire rifles because you simply don't know how many rounds have been through the barrel and how long she'll stay accurate for. If you know someone into their shooting, it may be beneficial to take them with you.

 

If you're new to rifles, then the likes of BASC run rifle awareness courses which would start you on your way. It would assist with your application too so you can show you've acquired experience.

 

This is all just my thoughts on it. I've never shot or even come close to having to shoot a seal.

 

I don't believe that we are too far away from this chum. Wales is almost subaquatic these days. :laugh:

 

 

I'm tempted to chop in my fox gun for a Greener Harpoon ;)

 

18328460_2.jpg?v=8D0CEDAB6698140

 

 

"We are going to need a bigger boat ..........". :icon_eek::icon_eek::icon_eek:

 

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Edited by Tremo
Link to post

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...