Could you make money from Airgun Hunting?

[louis123 12]

A couple of years ago i had a cheap unbranded rifle that i sold for about forty quid i think, but what good bloody fun it was just plinking and getting the odd rat and was used for dispatching squirrels.

 

 

Ive been thinking, now that im slightly short of cash and saving up for a years travelling, aswell as sgc, in the short term, could i buy an air rifle, then gradually pay it back selling my quarry, (pigeons & rabbits) or is nobody interested in airgun shot meat, or is it simply not financially viable?

 

 

cheers

[Elmer_Fudd 28]

Supply and demand .... basic business no demand no business!!!! mate mine gets 1.50 per rabbit butch is always after em in 50's so the land and population is needed. But them if you just do it for money you run the risk of shooting to much and not having anything left for future sport as your driven by money ....

 

the message is in there some were haha

 

ATB

 

Gareth

[kanny 19,323]

i would say well shot single shot wild meat is the best. if you got yourself a good customer base then you could turn a few quid for sure you would have to bare in mind the season thing

[louis123 12]

Yeah i know about about the rabbit seasons and allowing for breeding, but there are so many pigeons round here too theyre asking to be popped off. Could shoot 15 easily in my own garden every day (live on a farm surrounded by arable fields) And there are also ALOT of rabbits round my way!

[tomano1 80]

Well when I was younger I used to sell pound a pound in weight in the clubs the old people used to take the lot and people with young birds off pray might won't them ATB no 1

[Rake aboot 4,929]

You would struggle to make a living at it,

Theres guys on here that control rabbits for a living,, taking dozens with ferrets, but thats all over the place for clients, not shooting whats on there own permission..

[louis123 12]

I dont mean as in a full time living, just a little bit on the side, cheaper than going splashing money in the pubs. With regards to permission i currenlty rent a cottage on 1500 acre estate and on good terms with the farm manager haha

[stealthy1 3,964]

You would be considered as doing well if you just manage to cover your fuel costs, let alone anything else

[Acuspell 329]

Do the maths. You can get 20p for a pigeon if you arelucky. Our butcher will take them, but only pays 10p each! So i would rather put them in the freezer for home consumption, or eat them straightaway. Rabbits are too rare to shoot!

 

Anyway, say you could get £1 for a rabbit, head shot and 20p for a pigeon.

 

Your rifle outfit costs £350 (because we have to have a figue to work with). So, forget the pigeons, because it would take you 5 pigeons to equal 1 rabbit.

350 rabbits would take you a tin of pellets - so £10. Call it quits.

 

350 rabbits and pigeons eaten to save the cost of meat (worth far more in the pan than on the counter!) would pay for your outfit. IN THEORY.

 

The big killer is where you have to go to get the money for them. A 5 mile trip to the butcherand back costs near enough 50p per mile now if you drive. If you go by bicycle, you could discount it and call it fitness training! So to drive, if you took 3 rabbits, you would only make 50p on the trip - you need to explore the economics properly or you could easily end up spending as much on getting the rabbits to market as they are worth.

[The Duncan 802]

I guess you could turn in some cash if you had enough to go at around you.

Myself? I see that true free-range chicken is about a tenner a bird which feeds my family for a meal and a half (stock etc). So if I shoot bunnies, squirrels and woodies for the pot, by my reckoning, 2-3 rabbits are worth the same as a free range chicken, or 5 squirrels, or 6 woodies.

My local butchers pay a quid for a bunny, nowt for squirrels and 40p per pigeon; to me, all my free range meat I earn in the field is worth far more to me as meat then it is as a cash equivalent.

The air rifle is the ultimate cost effective way of shooting fresh meat - when pigeon carts are about 20p each and a high quality .177 air rifle pellet is 1.5p, the comparison is startling! Even a rimmie shot is 10p.

 

I can justify my hunting financially quite substantially as my family eats a fair bit of game, but for selling purposes, I personally wouldn't bother unless I had predigious amounts of quarry on tap.

[19powell90 89]

When i go out and get more than i need for the pot i take them to nearby restaurant/bar which in return i get free pints and which round my end cost around £4 for a pint so i think im on a winner

 

scott

[gravel 63]

Hope its not the Green Dragon, the meals arnt as good as they was .

[robwelsh 354]

4pound a pint ..f**k me silly sideways ! Probably save more by eating what meat you shoot and growing your veggies instead of buying the shit they sell in most supermarkets

[jackinbox99 41]

I guess you could turn in some cash if you had enough to go at around you.

Myself? I see that true free-range chicken is about a tenner a bird which feeds my family for a meal and a half (stock etc). So if I shoot bunnies, squirrels and woodies for the pot, by my reckoning, 2-3 rabbits are worth the same as a free range chicken, or 5 squirrels, or 6 woodies.

My local butchers pay a quid for a bunny, nowt for squirrels and 40p per pigeon; to me, all my free range meat I earn in the field is worth far more to me as meat then it is as a cash equivalent.

The air rifle is the ultimate cost effective way of shooting fresh meat - when pigeon carts are about 20p each and a high quality .177 air rifle pellet is 1.5p, the comparison is startling! Even a rimmie shot is 10p.

 

I can justify my hunting financially quite substantially as my family eats a fair bit of game, but for selling purposes, I personally wouldn't bother unless I had predigious amounts of quarry on tap.

 

What he said. Its worth more on your own plate and trying to sell to the butchers.

[silentshot1 206]

Anything I shoot and don't eat goes to a butcher 5 miles away who puts £1.50 per rabbit and 40p per pigeon in to the Royal Green Jackets collection tin.

 

As said above, you'd be pushed to make money on it as a business but as a way of giving something back, it can add up.