Wales1234 5,682 Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 Right iv hunted all my life with dogs and love it but since having a ferret iv got a air rifle to shoot some pigeons with any helpful tips are welcome !! Quote Link to post
Coypu Hunter 486 Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) Practise, practise, practise! You need to be able to hit a one-inch target at 30 metres consistently, from any shooting position, before you start trying to knock down pigeons. What rifle is it, what calibre, and what pellets are you using? If it's a .177, and standard-weight pellets (8-9 grains), then you'll probably find that your far and near zero ranges are 33 yards and around 13 yards, but that will depend on the answers to those three questions. If you don't have a chrony, then you'll have to zero and practise the old-fashioned way. Zero your rifle at 33 yards, then put out targets on cardboard boxes every 10 yards out to there and a couple beyond. Make a note of how high or low the pellet falls at those distances, and jot the info on a bit of paper you can keep in your pocket or stick to your scope cap, if you have one. That way, if you see a target at 20 yards or 40 yards, you'll know that you have to shoot a half-inch low, or an inch high, or whatever. Shooting at upwards and downwards angles also affects the pellet's trajectory. If you shoot up at 45° towards a pigeon in a tree, and if you're zeroed at 33 yards, then the crosshairs will actually be aimed at 50+ yards, so you'll need to shoot an inch or so low, depending on the distance... There's a lot more to it than that. If it's a springer, you need to read Pianoman's thread here http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/182473-spring-air-rifle-shooting/ about shooting springers accurately -- it's not a point-and-shoot sort of discipline. PCPs are different, and easier to shoot well, although you'll still need to be accurate to succeed with pigeons. That's why I said you'll need to practise a lot before you start even thinking about hunting! And ask plenty of questions, there's no such thing as a stupid question, and there's loads of experienced air rifle hunters on here who can help you out. Edited August 2, 2014 by Coypu Hunter 1 Quote Link to post
bilbobagins 92 Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 and to be honest head shots are the only way to go as pigeons have a tough chest and you won't make a clean kill so accuracy imperative 1 Quote Link to post
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