Rifle calibre

[Martinj]

Lucky you Woody

We haven't got many rabbit oop north

nor in north Hampshire, we don't shoot them at all if we see any

 

[Joe Nash]

View attachment 7723

Hard to make out them all, but this was 45 minutes ago. 14 of them in just one gateway 

You are Lucky Woody, I would Pay you to shoot them, not seen a Rabbit up here in ages.

 

[Joe Nash]

I'm soon to be inviting rifle shooters with .22 or .17 hmr, or FAC airguns to come and help us on our farm just outside Hastings. I've never known a rabbit year like it. 

IPS have you seen the .22 hornet calibre. A fast, flat shooting .22 round that being centrefire you can reload yourself. 

I use a .17 hmr on rabbits as its laser flat on a still evening out to way beyond 100m. Usually a .223 when I'm out on the Charlie's but I'm low on ammo so I'm out with my .308.  I can shoot a rabbit with it.... If I want to skin, gut, and cook it instantly 

I used to have a .22lr but to many zingers, I went over to a Sako Quad in .17 HM2  a nice round for Rabbits ,ok for out to 130yds . I also have a .17 HMR Barrel that fits the Sako for longer range, but mainly I am using my .204 Ruger For Fox.

 

[ips]

We have hare on the estate but very very few if any rabbit. I had em in my own field but haven't seen one there for a good five years

Most rabbit I have seen in one place was caravan site at Bolton abbey in Yorkshire a year or so ago, field next to site on the dog walk was teeming with em and I mean wall to wall hundreds

 

[woody]

I'll hook a digital camera up into the pulsar thermal scope we use for foxing at night. The fields are polka dot at night. 

 

[ChrisPackham]

I wouldn’t bother with FAC Air to be quite honest unless you can’t get 22 Lr.  I have 22 Lr in 10/22 semi auto which is fun and great out to 50M ish then it’s gets seriously loopy with subs, I also have a 17 HMR which I’ve shot rabbits confidently out to 150M on still evenings.  I’d go for 17 first and then 22 if you need subs, but the ammo cost isn’t worth stressing about between the two.  Having said that 17 WSM looks interesting, Hornady do a factory load and it’s out in semi auto too... 

Btw, don’t get hung up on HMR being noisy, the noise confuses rather than scares rabbits, subs are only really useful if shooting near houses

 

[woody]

Agreed on the noise issue. If we had been out bunnying that evening probably 4 or 5 of that group of 14 would have got it before the others took cover. 

 

[Hamster]

I don't worry about the noise because it may scare rabbits, I find it a nuisance for humans. If we were talking about an out and out efficient vermin control tool that shoots flat to 100+ yards then yes the .17 would have to have serious consideration, I'm sure there are places in Australia and maybe the odd massive farm in Scotland where you could put this calibre to use week in week out but in the real world show me a place here that I couldn't take a heavy toll of any infestation with either a good FAC air or rimfire, quietly too. Within days the problem will be all but eradicated depending on how hard you want to hit them, I only ever shoot to totally clear them up if the farmer asks me to, even killing the milky does and the young ones on sight doesn't necessarily achieve 100% success and they'll recover in a year or two, thankfully. The other massive advantage with pellets is being able to fire upwards into trees (with a suitable background), try killing a bag of crows with a .17 in similar situations, the noise alone will prevent success. 

The point with guns (to me anyway) is being able to have fun when there's nothing about when you can spend hours plinking/practising and learning to extend your effective range, hence why I've managed to kill crows at ranges (beyond the norm) of even the .17 using a .22 rimfire through which I've fired thousands of rounds. The FAC air can also safely be used around the farmyard itself on rats and magpies, again a no no with loud supersonic rounds. 

 

[V8 90]

Hi old mate - I would advise you to go for a .22lr for plinking/targets you’ll find the ricochets are quite alarming unless your shooting into sand.

As someone else has said - don’t worry about the noise of a HMR, I’ve shot countless multiple bunnies feeding in groups shot after shot feel free to message me if you want any further info/tips