Getting Rid of Rabbits

[brewer12345]

Probably how the OP was infested.........[emoji4]

I have been having problems with rats raiding the garden, so I have been trapping and reducing the population. When I mentioned it to my brother he said he was live trapping them and releasing them elsewhere!

 

[cooch96]

I've seen a few posts about using an air rifle. I don't disagree with this at all, but if OP already owns a 22LR rifle, he can load it with 22CB's. These are as quiet as air rifles, provided the barrel is long enough. I use them in my Savage, which has a 26" barrel, and it sounds like a regular 22 with a silencer. The smack of the bullet on plywood is louder than the report.

 

[eytonxav]

I've seen a few posts about using an air rifle. I don't disagree with this at all, but if OP already owns a 22LR rifle, he can load it with 22CB's. These are as quiet as air rifles, provided the barrel is long enough. I use them in my Savage, which has a 26" barrel, and it sounds like a regular 22 with a silencer. The smack of the bullet on plywood is louder than the report.

I only have high powered rifles and pistols. Nevertheless, I am in a tightly packed zero lot line neighborhood with homes all around me and several that have upstairs windows looking right into my backyard, and if I even got a pellet gun out, I'd be on my way to the hoosegow.

 

[brewer12345]

I only have high powered rifles and pistols. Nevertheless, I am in a tightly packed zero lot line neighborhood with homes all around me and several that have upstairs windows looking right into my backyard, and if I even got a pellet gun out, I'd be on my way to the hoosegow.

I'd be reluctant on my suburban lot as well. Can always use a live trap and then finish them off as you desire.

 

[Winemaker]

Try buying some fox, coyote urine that they use for trapping to get rid of the human smell.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

I've shot a few rabbits with my woodchuck gun, a .22 air rifle. I think the more common .177 caliber air rifles would be entirely adequate.

I agree, shot placement is more important than caliber or velocity when it comes to a humane kill.

I have a Air Arms S510 PCP .22 cal. air rifle (with scope) which would be my weapon of choice if I were trying to make rabbit stew. With no strong breezes I can put pellets inside a dime at 75 yards all day long. It's so consistent and accurate it's almost boring.

 

[eytonxav]

With no strong breezes I can put pellets inside a dime at 75 yards all day long. It's so consistent and accurate it's almost boring.

You should be on the US Olympic Shooting team and they should all be using your rifle setup

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

You should be on the US Olympic Shooting team and they should all be using your rifle setup

My rifle would be illegal for Olympic shooting because open sights are mandated. I use a 12X scope which makes a huge difference for this kind of shooting. I also shoot from a sitting position with sturdier supports that would not be allowed in Olympic shooting.

It's more to validate the consistency of the air charge each shot of the gun and the fit of the pellet in the bore.

 

[OldShooter]

... I even got a pellet gun out, I'd be on my way to the hoosegow.

Maybe, maybe not. I think that local ordinances typically forbid discharge of firearms, but to BATF/the feds, an air gun is not a firearm. So there would have to be some kind of law that defined air guns as firearms before the typical prohibition could apply.

In my case we have lots of windows overlooking what DW calls a garden and the critters call a salad bar, so I simply shoot from inside. No one sees the air gun and no one hears it. Beyond our backyard is a wide river, so I am never shooting in the direction of any neighbors, an important safety consideration with any weapon.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

Beyond our backyard is a wide river, so I am never shooting in the direction of any neighbors, an important safety consideration with any weapon.

Shooting safely requires all people to be considered, whether they are neighbors or not. A river is not a guarantee of no people, around here, wide rivers attract anglers and people "floating" the river.

That said, maybe your windows are high enough above the garden that you have a safe backdrop. I don't know, I just know you shouldn't assume no one is on a river just because you don't have neighbors in that direction.

 

[OldShooter]

... I just know you shouldn't assume no one is on a river just because you don't have neighbors in that direction.

Thank you for that blazing insight. I guess I will have to start looking out the window before I shoot.

 

[sengsational]

... then finish them off as you desire.

For you, I guess that means in a stew.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

Thank you for that blazing insight. I guess I will have to start looking out the window before I shoot.

Hey, you're the one that said it was safe because it was a river backdrop. In my experience, that's a false sense of security. People like rivers. And line of sight is often obscured by the bushes and trees that grow on riverbanks.

I just want people to be safe out there. Four years ago, I was shooting bird photos with my camera by a river in a wildlife sanctuary and had just returned to my car at the trailhead when I heard a high-velocity bullet ricochet off the road about 6 feet in front of where I was standing next to my car. It made the "wing-a-zing" sound right up close. Pretty scary stuff.

Be safe out there!

 

[CRLLS]

Maybe, maybe not. I think that local ordinances typically forbid discharge of firearms, but to BATF/the feds, an air gun is not a firearm. So there would have to be some kind of law that defined air guns as firearms before the typical prohibition could apply.

In my case we have lots of windows overlooking what DW calls a garden and the critters call a salad bar, so I simply shoot from inside. No one sees the air gun and no one hears it. Beyond our backyard is a wide river, so I am never shooting in the direction of any neighbors, an important safety consideration with any weapon.

FYI, in Illinois, an air rifle using >.18 caliber or with velocity >700 FPS is considered a firearm. As such it requires a FOID card (Firearm Owner Identification) and is treated as other rifles. Il is a nanny state when it comes to gun regulations.

I know for a fact (or I heard, or somebody told me once) that a .177 at 760 FPS at 15 yds will not even get a racoon's attention.

"Firearm" means any device, by whatever name known, which is designed to expel a projectile or projectiles by the action of an explosion, expansion of gas or escape of gas; excluding, however:
(1) any pneumatic gun, spring gun, paint ball gun, or

B-B gun which expels a single globular projectile not exceeding .18 inch in diameter or which has a maximum muzzle velocity of less than 700 feet per second;

 

[JRon]

I used to shoot rabbits with a cheap air rifle that used pellets or bb's and I could kill a rabbit with bb's. If you hang the pelt from the first one of the year on a stick in the yard it will send a message to the rest.

 

[OldShooter]

Hey, you're the one that said it was safe because it was a river backdrop. In my experience, that's a false sense of security. People like rivers. And line of sight is often obscured by the bushes and trees that grow on riverbanks.

I just want people to be safe out there. Four years ago, I was shooting bird photos with my camera by a river in a wildlife sanctuary and had just returned to my car at the trailhead when I heard a high-velocity bullet ricochet off the road about 6 feet in front of where I was standing next to my car. It made the "wing-a-zing" sound right up close. Pretty scary stuff.

Be safe out there!

Your firm grasp of the obvious is my guiding light.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

FYI, in Illinois, an air rifle using >.18 caliber or with velocity >700 FPS is considered a firearm. As such it requires a FOID card (Firearm Owner Identification) and is treated as other rifles. Il is a nanny state when it comes to gun regulations.

The correct interpretation of a law or statute requires "lawyer logic" and is not always obvious. In this case, I believe your interpretation of guns considered a "firearm" is overly broad. The correct interpretation of "firearm" (using the statute you provided) only include pellet guns that have (both) a caliber greater than or equal to 0.18 inch AND a maximum muzzle velocity of 700 fps or greater. This is an oddity of logic when "or" is used AFTER an exclusion. This means a pellet rifle with a caliber of 0.17 inch and a muzzle velocity of 1100 fps (or any amount actually) is not considered a firearm. It also means a pellet gun with a caliber of 0.22 inch (or any size really) and a muzzle velocity of 650 fps (or any velocity less than 700 fps) is not considered a firearm.

Let's look again at the statute you provided:

"Firearm" means any device, by whatever name known, which is designed to expel a projectile or projectiles by the action of an explosion, expansion of gas or escape of gas; excluding, however:
(1) any pneumatic gun, spring gun, paint ball gun, or

B-B gun which expels a single globular projectile not exceeding .18 inch in diameter or which has a maximum muzzle velocity of less than 700 feet per second;

The statute above starts by defining a firearm by describing basically all guns, then it excludes those having very small caliber OR slow muzzle velocities.

I know, it's not exactly obvious but that's how this law needs to be read.

 

[eytonxav]

My rifle would be illegal for Olympic shooting because open sights are mandated. I use a 12X scope which makes a huge difference for this kind of shooting. I also shoot from a sitting position with sturdier supports that would not be allowed in Olympic shooting.

It's more to validate the consistency of the air charge each shot of the gun and the fit of the pellet in the bore.

I have a 308 5R Milspec with a Bushnell Tactical Elite 3.5-21X scope, and even shooting off a bipod/bench I have to work to consistently get sub .5 moa 5 shot groups using factory ammo at 100 yds. I am just dumbfounded that a pellet gun could get close to that at 75 yds.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

I have a 308 5R Milspec with a Bushnell Tactical Elite 3.5-21X scope, and even shooting off a bipod/bench I have to work to consistently get sub .5 moa 5 shot groups using factory ammo at 100 yds. I am just dumbfounded that a pellet gun could get close to that at 75 yds.

A pellet air gun has a number of important advantages when it comes to close range accuracy.

- There is very little (almost none) barrel heating to distort the barrel from shot to shot.
- The speed is sub-sonic which means there is no shock wave to disrupt the flight.
-There is no powder contamination inside the barrel from shot to shot that can cause minor inconsistencies.
-Pellets have a very fine lead skirt that seals more consistently with the barrel from shot to shot. Because the barrel is not expanding and contracting nearly as much due to combustion heat, and also because the velocities are lower, the bore can more accurately match that of the pellet. This gives very smooth flight.

This shot consistency, along with the relative quietness of PCP air guns, is what makes it so enjoyable to shoot air guns over my powder based rifles and shotguns. Plus you get a lot more shots for your money!

 

[braumeister]

I have a 308 5R Milspec with a Bushnell Tactical Elite 3.5-21X scope, and even shooting off a bipod/bench I have to work to consistently get sub .5 moa 5 shot groups using factory ammo at 100 yds.

No personal interest in that sort of thing, but I have a good friend who is into that and he would never use factory ammo for precision long range shooting. I've watched him load his own and he takes what seems to me like unbelievably meticulous care with every round.

 

[bigcmagor]

Your firm grasp of the obvious is my guiding light.

Seems a little over the top for a friendly site.

 

[gamboolman]

I like Wabbit

 

[OldShooter]

Seems a little over the top for a friendly site.

Sorry to have annoyed you. I just find @RetiredAtThirty-eight to be very tiresome. I really don't need to be reminded that trees and bushes grow along rivers. I also don't need a self-appointed firearms safety instructor ("I just want people to be safe out there ..."). The thread is about rabbits.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

Sorry to have annoyed you. I just find @RetiredAtThirty-eight to be very tiresome. I really don't need to be reminded that trees and bushes grow along rivers. I also don't need a self-appointed firearms safety instructor ("I just want people to be safe out there ..."). The thread is about rabbits.

Sorry if I offended you. I just found it troubling that you said a river was a safe backdrop for shooting since no neighbors lived in that direction. Maybe you misstated yourself but I don't think statements like that should be allowed to stand without some clarification so people new to the sport don't start thinking along the same lines.

As I mentioned, I came very close to being hit by a stray shot by someone thinking the area was not inhabited. It's serious, I could have died.

 

[eytonxav]

No personal interest in that sort of thing, but I have a good friend who is into that and he would never use factory ammo for precision long range shooting. I've watched him load his own and he takes what seems to me like unbelievably meticulous care with every round.

Good hand loads are they way to go if you are competing in benchrest, PRS, F-Class, etc. I stopped hand loading and sold my equipment after no longer competing in USPSA pistol comps. For my putzing and rifle skill level, Federal Gold Medal Match is more than good enough, especially when you can occasionally get a 3/8" group with that factory ammo. Also, not bad for a factory built rifle except for the trigger.