Poor first night,am i doing anything wrong

[pmatty77 26]

Recently started using my airgun for bunnies at night (normally a ferret man),am very much still learning,couldnt get within range of one all night,they just kept darting down holes or into the hedge,tried to hug hedgeline and keep as quiet as possible but no avail,all i can think is that it was a fairly bright night and no wind at all,cant really think of anything else unless they were a bit lamp shy.Any tips??

I think when you are starting out you do tend to question yourself

[Whizzie 38]

I reckon we all have nights like that, from time to time. Persevere. I'm far from as experienced as some of the lads on here.

 

Darkness is both friend and foe. It's hard to judge range at night. This year I've invested in a night vision monocular for the first time. I'm using that to scout for quarry & then using a red filtered lamp to flash em up for the shot at the last minute. However, the NV is x5 mag & I have my scope set on x12 for a 35yd zero. Having the different magnifications is taking some getting used to. The rabbits on my permissions are all gettin lamp shy now. They weren't too bad a few weeks back, but now they're well used to lamps & do one, if they get a site / sniff of you.

 

Be aware of your scent being carried on the air / wind. Even on a still night, the air is moving & can be carrying your scent right to the rabbits. Another trick I use is the rabbits eye view. Laying prone In various points on my permissions, i look from the ground up, to see what my mate looks like against the skyline / tree line / hedge line etc. if there's any kind of moon, or any ambient light around, your silhouette can really stand out & they'll see you. Stalking at nights just as tough as it is during the day. The rabbits senses are fully switched on, but that's part of the fun of it, and all the more rewarding to get a few results.

 

& you will get em. They are there, persevere with it.... & show us the photos of your results!

Edited October 25, 2012 by Whizzie

[ghillies 209]

theres a lot of reasons that could exsplain it..

 

things like a fox had just killed one, or been through on the hunt, other people visiting, or just well hunted, they get very sharp.

 

wind behind you carries your scent and sound quite a distance.

ermm..to much whitener in your wash pouder, sounds daft but it gives you the halo effect.

hard boot sould..a definate alerter, every step clumps into the ground and conducts right to the bunnies sences.

light to bright.. or rong colour. (evensome pulsing lights alert them)

list goes on but not least..just one of them nights.

 

the usual on a regular shoot is start with a big arsed twat lamp lighting manchester airport in the far distance, they just chew the grass and alls well..

stage two..thy aint having that huge cooker lamp no more no way..so it gets dimmer, that works for a few visits butthen the cats outa the bag and your onto the old dwindly iron bulbs with a faint orangy glimmer..

then red lights bright to dim dwindly red..orange blue green whatever...they here smell or catch half a glimpse of light and yeharrr theyre off!

this ends in if you can actualy get a light on them your lucky..

 

then..its the night vision trail.. starts of really well, and gets harder the harder the area is hunted.

 

face cuvers, scent changes, gun covers(and scent change thre) footware etc...

 

it's persevere and try other aproachs and tactiques, you can have a week of crap then for no reason its kamakarzry rabbits diving in front the pellet lol. it works both ways.

[steve_7 10]

easiest way mate is to know the land, find out where they are in daylight then peg out markers at 10yrds, before every trip have a quick site up to make sure scopes not been knocked, get sat in hedge before dark,as already been said make sure winds in your face so blowing your scent behind you and wait, not to bright a lamp and some are ok with white but soon get lamp shy i prefer red but others like green, your choice, every 5 mins when dark have a quick flick around to see whats about and if you see anything and in the right position use your markers to count of and get range.

 

You said it was a fairly bright night, about 3 weeks back i was out lamping and keepers was out foxing and we passed by each other a few times, both started about 7pm and gave up after midnight and both had a crap night, they had nv and hardly saw any bunnies and no foxes, i didnt see one on my trouble spot, that night there was 4 of us out 2 with air and 2 with rimmies ( shooting in our own area for safety and knowing our boundaries etc )

 

Seems some nights it doesnt matter how well you know the land,no wind, perfect night and they just dont want to play ball, keep trying though mate all the best steve

[pmatty77 26]

Thanks chaps, i will persevere, all good experience, thanks for all reply's

[toby63 1,236]

keep the wind in your face or get there bit earliear an ambush them as they come out of there burrows.

[Phantom 631]

Night shooting, under the lamp is at first difficult to get used to

Distances appear to be closer or further away Weird I know but I've shot at bunnies that I swear were spot on my zero only to find my pellet can be seen to fly well over the head and other times I'd swear it was spot on only to see my pellet zip under the bunnies chin!!!

 

When I first began lamping in my cemetery permission, one of the weirdest things happened. I'd spotted a bunny side on, as soon as I touched the pressure switch, Thumper began a sprint straight towards me :oops:

Once it was light from head on the round eyes looked like inverted teardrops! Almost Alien in appearance and it was almost unsettling :shock: I think I pressed the trigger just as it came into my secondary Zero

 

When your by yourself Lamping has a VERY STEEP learning curve! but once you get the hang of it, it gives you some serious satistaction

I remember my first lamp kill.... I shouted out "YEEHAAA... CRACKED IT! YES"

 

Tony

[steve_7 10]

one more thing is i have .22 for daytime shooting a hw80, beginning of the year i bought a hw100 .177 which gave me a bit more leeway due to a more forgiving trajectory, now im not one for wanting to start a debate which calbre is best or not, just that out to 50 yards when pitch black dark, for me .177 and distance judging made my life a fair bit easier and improved my kill rate, nothing worse when hearing a squeeling bunny and you cant see the damn thing in the dark.... all the best steve

 

p.s i know some people who do very well with .22's when markers are out, but sometimes i dont have time to do that :-)

[stealthy1 3,964]

Night shooting is just practice, the more you get out, the more mistakes you make, the faster you learn