The great outdoors.

[secretagentmole 1,701]

What do you need to hunt? This is a question that seems to keep getting asked so Mole has decided to put fingers to keyboard in an attempt to explain what is what is desirable (sensibly) and what is needed obviously...

 

1) What is needed (obviously)...

 

Well a gun would help, what the law in this country states you can own, without needing a license, is a sub 12 foot pound energy air rifle. A pistol is only 6 foot pound energy and so will really not be suitable for hunting. What you must do when you get your rifle is to keep it out of the hands of people who are under the age of 18, unless they have your express permission to have the rifle. Then if they are over 14 they can be on private land, with permission of the land owner/shooting rights holder, without supervision, but if I were you for the first few trips I would supervise like heck! The argument as to which rifle is best can start a small thermonuclear war on here, but if you like the gun, it works and it is putting out at least 10 foot pound energy you should be ok! A gun slip is also a must, you just cannot go about with one slung over the arm as you walk to your permission anymore (it is those unsafe elves again)!

 

Next is land, unless you are the owner of a very large garden, farm, estate or Cornwall you will need permission to go shooting. Getting permission has been dealt with very effectively in several other thread on here so I will not go into details but make sure you know where your permission starts and ends! It is against the law for pellets you fire to land on ground you do not have permission to shoot on! So get some permission (it can be hard but keep trying) and you are nearly ready to go.

 

Set up! Make sure you can hit a 25mm diameter target repeatedly from a distance that suits your gun (.177 tends to be zeroed in at a longer range than .22), how to set up rifles has been done to the extreme, once again search to find your answers Once you are sure you can hit, shoot and kill time to get ready to go out!

 

Police reference number. If you tell the police what you are doing and where you are doing it you are not likely to get hit by Rambo Rozzer, the hound of the Baskervilles, tasered and have the rabbits scared by the helicopter coming in at treetop height! Simply find the number of your local (or the permissions local) police force, speak to the control room, tell them who you are, where you live, what you will be doing, where you will be doing it and what time. They give you a reference number that you make a note of. Stops a lot of hassle!

 

Be sure of what you can shoot! The common permission allows for shooting vermin, this generally includes, rabbits, rats, squirrels, wood pigeons, feral pigeons, magpies, crows, ravens etc. You will be shooting under the terms of a general license, which has been covered before on this forum. What may happen though is that the permission holder will say what you are allowed to shoot on their land, if they do not want you to shoot magpies then don't obviously!

 

2) What is desirable (sensibly)...

 

Insurance, very desirable and there are many policies available from a variety of sources. Go for what feels right for you, having insurance can help in getting a permission! If you have insurance and for some reason something happens you will only be liable for the excess, not for millions in damage as Sellafield disappears under a mushroom shaped cloud (extreme circumstances only)!

 

A good telescopic sight is desirable, as you will be able to see the prey more clearly and get very accurate results.

 

A chronograph is desirable, these are devices that measure the speed of the pellet as it leaves the gun and no you do not have to use it when you shoot. Just check your rifle weekly to ensure you are running under the legal maximum. It is very easy to buy a gun and suddenly find you have something to hold that is running slightly hotter than molten titanium (not saying that anything like that has ever happened to me :whistling: :whistling: ). If you can regularly check you can see if your gun is starting to under perform or over perform, it just really is sensible and the Combro is available from only about £30 or £40 (new), which is much more preferable to spending time at her majesties pleasure...

 

Camouflage. You can get away without it, but for daytime stalking it is very useful. If realtree floats your boat so be it, some people swear by DPM camouflage, some by ghillie suits (you look like a mouldy Dougal but it can make you virtually invisible)! Just go for what you can afford and what you think will work. Stupid as it may seem if you think it helps the chances are that it will! But I can state Scrim nets over the head do work for prone position (prone, on a 1 in 2 slope???) shooting... Just remember the idea is to break up your outline so you cannot be seen, however if you are bolt upright against an open sky, it will see you!

 

The other stuff such as how to shoot, how to stalk, how to clean your kills have all been done by others, one other thing that will be required is practise but hopefully I have covered the basics!