Fox - 60 ft lbs air rifle at 60 yards
- Thread starter Foxyboy43
- Start date
In airgun hunting - even at high power - correct shot placement is crucial due to the limited expansion and penetration to be had with a subsonic lead projectile.
A head shot is the only choice, but even then a head-on "between the eyes" point-of-aim is a surprisingly suboptimal choice.
This is because the oblique slope and pronounced central ridge of a fox's skull can be enough to deflect a soft lead projectile.
Thankfully, that didn't happen in this case, but waiting, either for a side-on presentation that would allow a shot to be placed behind the ear, or for a rear-on, "between the ears" presentation, would have been preferable.
All that said, one has to ask why an air rifle was chosen in the first place. Even if the only alternative I had was a .22LR, I would have opted for that instead.
A head shot is the only choice, but even then a head-on "between the eyes" point-of-aim is a surprisingly suboptimal choice.
This is because the oblique slope and pronounced central ridge of a fox's skull can be enough to deflect a soft lead projectile.
Thankfully, that didn't happen in this case, but waiting, either for a side-on presentation that would allow a shot to be placed behind the ear, or for a rear-on, "between the ears" presentation, would have been preferable.
All that said, one has to ask why an air rifle was chosen in the first place. Even if the only alternative I had was a .22LR, I would have opted for that instead.
Substantially less firepower than i am personally happy to use for Fox . That's for sure ! I know folks have killed fox with sub 12ftlb but its odds on your going to mess up !
A close in fox that needs shooting ? 22subsonic at a minimum and if you are going out particularly for fox with a RF then use a HV in my book .
If i am personally out for rabbits and foxes I should use the 22 hornet or the 223 , just headshot only on the latter if you are planning eating them . I pretty much always eat rabbit or see someone else does
A close in fox that needs shooting ? 22subsonic at a minimum and if you are going out particularly for fox with a RF then use a HV in my book .
If i am personally out for rabbits and foxes I should use the 22 hornet or the 223 , just headshot only on the latter if you are planning eating them . I pretty much always eat rabbit or see someone else does
With an air rifle?
Over the years, I've shot a few foxes with FAC air rifles, but these have been under unusual circumstances. I've always used either Air Arms (in the past) or, these days, FX. I have a Wildcat .25 doing 70 ft-lbs that will put either a pellet or slug through a half-inch plus pine board with no problem whatsoever, and a fox's skull is a lot thinner than that.
I think that if you are confident in your ability to put either slug or pellet precisely where you want at suitable ranges then there isn't a problem. I think that virtually all the foxes I shot with an air rifle have been no more than forty yards away.
The foxes I've shot with the FAC air rifle have all been planned for and the range I'm expecting to shoot at has been measured, I then zeroed the rifle for that distance. It's not something I make a habit of but modern FAC air rifles are very different from the BSA Cadet 177 I started with! They are very capable and highly accurate.
I think that if you are confident in your ability to put either slug or pellet precisely where you want at suitable ranges then there isn't a problem. I think that virtually all the foxes I shot with an air rifle have been no more than forty yards away.
The foxes I've shot with the FAC air rifle have all been planned for and the range I'm expecting to shoot at has been measured, I then zeroed the rifle for that distance. It's not something I make a habit of but modern FAC air rifles are very different from the BSA Cadet 177 I started with! They are very capable and highly accurate.
Smellydog
Well-Known Member
Yep
60ft/lbs ? ... I would not want to take the risk. A .22 rimmy with subsonics will produce around 95ft/lbs, and how often have we seen the discussion about whether a rimmy is up to the job for reliably taking foxes ? I know .. thousands and thousands of foxes have fallen to the good old rimmy over the decades, but how many have needed chasing up or have sloped off to die in agony in the same period ? Very few folks 'fess up' when the f&$k up 
If you're going to shoot them take the correct tool for the job in the first place. Meat harvesting aside, you cannot be 'over gunned' for killing anything ... dead is dead and that's that, but an animal can certainly be 'not dead enough'.
If you're going to shoot them take the correct tool for the job in the first place. Meat harvesting aside, you cannot be 'over gunned' for killing anything ... dead is dead and that's that, but an animal can certainly be 'not dead enough'.
Nickb
Well-Known Member
Although it was a very humane shot these Youtubers just crave content.60ft/lbs ? ... I would not want to take the risk. A .22 rimmy with subsonics will produce around 95ft/lbs, and how often have we seen the discussion about whether a rimmy is up to the job for reliably taking foxes ? I know .. thousands and thousands of foxes have fallen to the good old rimmy over the decades, but how many have needed chasing up or have sloped off to die in agony in the same period ? Very few folks 'fess up' when the f&$k up
If you're going to shoot them take the correct tool for the job in the first place. Meat harvesting aside, you cannot be 'over gunned' for killing anything ... dead is dead and that's that, but an animal can certainly be 'not dead enough'.
The problem is that they influence other airgunners that it's fine shooting foxes with air rifles, yes it can be done but not the best tool for the job.
Smellydog
Well-Known Member
Respectively I think you are assuming.60ft/lbs ? ... I would not want to take the risk. A .22 rimmy with subsonics will produce around 95ft/lbs, and how often have we seen the discussion about whether a rimmy is up to the job for reliably taking foxes ? I know .. thousands and thousands of foxes have fallen to the good old rimmy over the decades, but how many have needed chasing up or have sloped off to die in agony in the same period ? Very few folks 'fess up' when the f&$k up
If you're going to shoot them take the correct tool for the job in the first place. Meat harvesting aside, you cannot be 'over gunned' for killing anything ... dead is dead and that's that, but an animal can certainly be 'not dead enough'.
I've never understood the fascination with ft/lbs.
It takes very little to kill a fox. They are not tough at all.
A 22 is more than up to it.
And no, I can't think of ever losing one but I have seen some get lost after being shot with how it was described " the right tool for the job"!
Nickb
Well-Known Member
Disagree with that statement, I think they can be tough , I've seen them run off shot with .22lr HMR and .22/250
Those are all .22s though, we’re talking about air rifles.
Have you chest shot a fox with an air rifle? I’m pretty pragmatic but that’s not something I would do personally.
Triggermortis
Well-Known Member
Triggermortis
Well-Known Member
Being tough has nothing to do with it, you’ve seen foxes run off that have been shot in the wrong place with the calibres you mention is all.
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Hmmm.
I firmly believe that our alpha predator deserves our respect and, like all of our quarry, we should do what we can to give them a quick and pain-free end to their lives - of course shot placement is a key element of this but essentially this also means using a round with sufficient power and a bit more in reserve to perhaps make up for some margin of error on our behalf. This is why after many years of being restricted to .22 lr for fox control I moved to the .222 - when the authorities finally relented. Funny how times change - said authorities will now not grant a 22lr for fox control as it is considered inhumane…
This lad obviously hadn’t read all of the bang-flop script. .222 Vmax bullet traversed him taking most of the important bits with it and he dropped to the shot but…. As it turned out he didn’t go far but I suspect that a lesser chambering might not have had such an ending.
I firmly believe that our alpha predator deserves our respect and, like all of our quarry, we should do what we can to give them a quick and pain-free end to their lives - of course shot placement is a key element of this but essentially this also means using a round with sufficient power and a bit more in reserve to perhaps make up for some margin of error on our behalf. This is why after many years of being restricted to .22 lr for fox control I moved to the .222 - when the authorities finally relented. Funny how times change - said authorities will now not grant a 22lr for fox control as it is considered inhumane…
This lad obviously hadn’t read all of the bang-flop script. .222 Vmax bullet traversed him taking most of the important bits with it and he dropped to the shot but…. As it turned out he didn’t go far but I suspect that a lesser chambering might not have had such an ending.
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