Sub 12ft/lb Air Rifles for Rabbits
- Thread starter Handloader.uk
- Start date
I know and I’ve been shooting close on 40 years with an air rifle.
ASI Sniper in .22, Original 45 in .22 and now HW80 in .20
Goodness only knows how many rabbits I’ve accounted for in that time.
Ed
I wore out 2 BSA Mercury's .22's shooting rabbits. Equipped with an Optima 4x40 wide angle scope it was an excellent tool. Then moved to a tuned HW77K in .22 deadly bit of kit. Head shots only. Now use a Air Arms S200 in .22 with moddy, deadly accurate and all but silent. Stalking rabbits will teach you alot of field craft skills and helps if you wear a veil and gloves.
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I’d only add that a good air rifle is a must for any pest control ‘tool kit’ imo, even after your certificate comes through. Have come across many situations which have negated the use of firearms or shotguns and have a PCP and springer for just such purposes. Also keeps your fieldcraft up for stalking in close 
Used the oven and hobs to full potential over the years..Nice one Eddie - all you need is the pastry and an oven
Nothing beats meat sourced, cleaned and cooked by yourself!
Ed
Scapegoat
Well-Known Member
If I were choosing an air rifle for rabitting and didn't want to go down the PCP route, I would seriously consider a BSA Lightning XL GRT. Compact, cheap, accurate, dependable and the GRT makes for crisp, consistent shooting. I've converted my son's old Lightning XL Tac to a gas-ram, and the results are very, very good.
A good spring rifle is better than any gas ram
TinTentTourist
Member
Using a sub 12ft/lb for pest control head or body shots with an air rifle will work, but if you want the meat, I think head is better. With a heart/lung shot, they can run and they will probably go down a hole or into dense undergrowth making retrieval of meat nigh on impossible. They are more likely to drop to the shot with a head shot in my experience. (and I prefer .177 just to fuel the debate 
Scapegoat
Well-Known Member
OK, I'll bite........why?
I would use my air arms s410 for rabbits. mine is in .22. The only down side in getting an air riffle is the cost. if the farmer is desperate and you have a friend that would lend you one would be the best option. sending £500 on an air riffle is just too much when a rimfire is so much cheaper.
LeftHandGuy
Well-Known Member
Maybe there's some idea that gas rams aren't as durable as traditional springs? I seriously considered doing it when I had an FAC Webley Patriot, but the long and short of it was that it was more cost effective to buy a rimfire. But to my simple understanding GRT doesn't have any significant downsides - I too cannot wait for the explanation!
Swedish
Well-Known Member
I'm intrigued too. I have an Air Arms PCP in .177 which is great. I owned a Theoben gas ram rifle for over 20 years and it never gave one jot of trouble.
They are smother and more controlled. The the rammers that I have used and owned have all felt very snappy to shoot.
This resulting in not the most accurate rifles.
If rammers were that good everyone would be converting their spring rifles
Scapegoat
Well-Known Member
And yet I don't find the snappy recoil at all detrimental to accuracy. It's different to the "lash" recoil of a springer, but you had to learn to control or work with that in order to shoot an air rifle anyway. It's smoother and easier to cock, it doesn't wear out like a spring and I can still group as well as I could when it was a springer. I'll agree it has a different feel, but I don't find it a problem.
I suspect the reason Gas Rams didn't set the world alight is because they kind of arrived on the market alongside PCPs. Now, if given the choice between any sort of single shot springer/gas strut/breakbarrel rifle and a half decent PCP, I know which I would choose, but you can't get away from the fact that you need to spend on extras such as a bottle/pump and so on. You can be up and running for just over 300 quid with a brand new Lightning, but you can at least double that for even an entry level PCP.
Is that a Sandwell Fieldsports special?
No Venom, ie Steve Pope, before they went bust.
Ed
Tony at Sandwell Field Sports tuned my S 200 which was one of the very first ones that came into the UK. As for gas piston, I had use of a Theoben Scirrocco in ,22 and it was a delight to use. I retro fitted an Maximiser kit to my HW77k and it smoothed it out and it was a super accurate weapon.
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