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No, doesn't have to be a sporting rifle but you would need to select a gun that is best fit for purpose...what do you think a 303 would do to a rabbit?

:G

Tower.75 wrote:Cheers for the info, guys.

As I say, I don't have a huge urge to kill fluffy nature things. I was just interested. I didn't even know how you started.

If I decide to take it up, I might try one of those courses. I'm going to assume that the rifles you're allowed to shoot with have to be "sporting" rifle. I can't use a 3-band musket or a No1 Lee-Enfield, then?

If you chose to take up deer stalking your 303 would be an ideal choice - more deer have been killed in the UK with the 303 than any other calibre I would suggest. I doubt you would get a variation for the musket for deer though!!

Mike

I have fun popping rabbits and other vermin with my No 4T (and other historic rifles) by using appropriate hand loads.

In this case 5 gns of Vihtavuori N320 under a 115 gn flatnosed cast boolit.

That is the beauty of handloading you can create loads for your rifles to make them suitable for other applications. Its not all about full throttle 1000 yrd shooting.

Shooting challenge, skill and fun can be found at all ranges and velocities with any firearm.

The only limitations being safey, the law and your imagination.

Hunting is just straight forward common sense is all.......an ideal round for people breaking into vermin control from a target background would be the much debated .17hmr rimfire round.......it shoots flat out to about 120m,then starts dropping ,true its more expensive than .22,but you will need the distance after the rabbit crowd associate death with seeing you!! The cops like to issue it becase it disintergrates on impact hence no "richard o' che" problems.

Lamping can be fun,untill the rabbits get lamp savvy!!

Awaiting a fox after putting out a cheap tin of stinky cat food can be fun too,as is lamping them.using a .223 obviously you must take more care using centrtfire. you could usr a .22/.17 on fox and people do and have had many an argument about the subject. personally i would not.

Deer stalking needs to be taken much more seriously for obvious reasons,do the dsc level 1 or team up with a mentor to show you the ropes.free range and free meat will be ure reward!!

Crow and pigeon shotgun shooting can also be fun,a hide and cammo are essential if you want to bring the birds to you.....various equipment you will need,plastic dummy crows a caller,hide,poles,bucket seat!! But as with most things in shooting once youve forked out on set up you only need to buy ammo.

One last thing,a lot (not all) of guys who work the land,do not like or appreciate shooting clubs or range conditions or competion....and jelously guard what shooting permissions they have.

So my advice is to team up with a mate that already does it!! Any probs p.m. me and ile try to help.

dromia wrote:

The only limitations being safey, the law and your imagination.

I have been trying to instil this phrase at the NRA for almost ten years!

Sadly I seem to have failed!

:cool2:

Good advise, the running man.

Many thanks.
T

the running man wrote: Crow and pigeon shotgun shooting can also be fun,a hide and cammo are essential if you want to bring the birds to you.....various equipment you will need,plastic dummy crows a caller,hide,poles,bucket seat!! But as with most things in shooting once youve forked out on set up you only need to buy ammo.

I know were there is some of that type of equipment that could be for sale.

"How do you get into hunting?" I suggest you join the BASC for starters. Membership doesn't cost a bomb and you get £10 million third party insurance cover for any legitimate shooting activity. Then do a DSC level 1 course, (for deer), or similar for other small game. However, even better would be to "phone a friend", preferably one who is already involved.

Mr_Logic wrote:Before you get all huffy, why not query meaning first? You said it yourself - with an air rifle, you can whack rabbits, and pigeons, in your garden, and thus you don't need a farmer. It is that to which I was referring; had other things to worry about so did not give the long winded answer.

Regarding expanding, you can use 22lr eley std on rabbits to great effect, a-max on foxes, and hpbt 22 cal on vermin/fox also. Hence the word likely, because official expanding is not always needed. Apart from deer of course, where it's the law.

saddler wrote:

Mr_Logic wrote:For anything bigger than an air rifle and rabbits, you need a friendly farmer first of all, then (for rifle) a variation to add conditions for causing death to furry and feathered creatures. And then likely some expanding ammo, and then you can toddle off and kill things!

:cool2: ??...and using an air rifle to shoot rabbits is ok without the permission of the farmer??

Whether it is an air rifle, a .22 rim-fire or a 45-70 Gatling Gun - shoot on public land or ANY private land/other land over which you do not have express written permission is a serious criminal offence.
MOST firearms departments will insist on a copy of the landowners written permission THEN they will carry out a land check to see if the and is suitable for the type of firearm you wish to use for hunting there...

AND

PLEASE ONLY USE specific hunting bullets (if you reload)/hunting ammunition when shooting at animals you wish to give a swift humane death to.

Rabbits & other vermin in your own garden, etc. = as long as you know you can hit them in the head/chest = you are good to go

...ah, sincere apologies Mr Logic

I must have misread your initial reply when you referred to shooting rabbits in your own garden, I mean, what other possible form of rabbit shooting would there be?

Not saying that your partly answered response could have been misread to mean that shooting rabbits with an air rifle did not need the permission of a farmer...that'd be to long winded of me to suggest such a thing

Sometimes a partly answered question is worse than an unanswered one

This is 6 months old, don't really think it needs any more response. Although, one person I shoot for I use a 243 in his garden from time to time...