I know some of you on here shoot, and some with air rifles so I'm looking for a recommendation for a cheap as makes sense rifle that can effectively kill rabbits upto around 50m.

For example a Google search immediately throws up this. Is this reasonable? I probably do not want to spend much more than this.

I do not want to have to get a license which I understand can be required over a certain power.

I have no experience with air rifles, but have shot in the past (air pistols, .22 rifle, shotguns etc). Does it take much practice to get accurate or are they pretty much point and shoot (pun intended).

My understanding is that rabbits are classified as a pest and I am free to kill them on my property. Is this correct?

Many thanks
Simon

Im no gamekeeper and have only ever shot rabbits and pigeons with a shot gun before on farmland.

However with regards to shooting an air rifle, then it will take practice to hit the target where you want. You need to aim for a 1 shot/1 kill scenario to minimise the suffering of the rabbits.

This will take time and patience to learn how to control your firing position, your hold, aim and shot release so practice on paper targets or on a static target of some description until you get the shot to fall where you want it to every time. And then move onto the rabbits.

Also learn the maximum effective range of the weapon you buy, its pointless trying to drop an adult rabbit with one pellet from 100yds if your rifles maximum range is 75yds.

I would suggest a rest of some description for the foregrip, or a bipod. This will help keep the aim steady.

Hi Simon i could give you loads of info as i have been shooting air rifles for over 50years you will get so many different answers everyone has there opinion 50m is max range 30 to 40 is better .22 caliber hits and kills harder but some swear by the flatter shooting .177 my preference .22. 2 basic types of gun spring either brake barrel or under lever or pcp this has it's own air tank you will have to refill this every 80 + shots very quiet and can have a silencer easy to use, rifles can be pellet fussy don't buy cheap a good s/h air arms bsa weihrauch are good spend as much as you can afford dont forget you will need a telescopic scope as well . Go and see a good gunsmith don't buy cheap Chinese imports
hope this helps
Alan

I've got the Weihrauch HW97 which is a solid gun. You won't want to be shooting at 50m if you want a decent hit rate. Depends if you want an element of sport, or to be more efficient, in which case a shotgun is better Td4 XS manual, Orkney Grey, MY2014

in my limited knowledge of shooting live quarry.

An Air rifle (.22) sub 12ft/lb will have a best effective range of upto 45 yards (40metres) and even then you will have to allow for such things as wind, and what you have zero'ed in the scope at, e.g. If you have zero'ed in at 30 yards, a 45 yard shot will be a couple or so milldots up.

either way, only shoot live quarry when you a competent enough to hit a 1p size area pellet on pellet at the desired range, by not doing so your risking pain and suffering to the animal if you miss.

I looked at allsorts of guns last year when i purchased my air rifle, I opted for a Hatsen At44-10 in Synthetic finish, its is very accurate, silenced and comes in both .22 & .177 bore, its a PCP so i have to either opt for a foot pump or a dive tank to fill


BSA, Weireich, Daystate all good guns, but my Hatsen cost a fraction of their price

As for rabbits in your garden, you can shoot them, as long as you pellet doesn't leave your property, if you miss, or the rabbit runs off with it Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

there is too many to choose from when starting out,pcp,spring powered or gas ram.The pcp will be the quietest but more expensive ,the springer will be cheapest but next to the pcp will be noisy,the gas ram option may suit you best plus you will not have to worry about the spring fading over time.what ever you choose must be under 12ft lb don't bother with fancy pointed pellets etc use a dome headed pellet one that suits the gun as you can have huge results with different pellets.There is no problem shooting on your own land as long as the pellet does not leave your property.shoot at lots of targets and ranges before going on to live quarry,As this will be new to you I would not exceed 30 yards as there is too many variables for any one with limited experiance,when you have mastered it enjoy the rabbit pie.
There are lots of good second hand air rifles for sale have a look in your local gun shop ( nowt you can do about the rabbit running off ) only ensure that you shoot exactly where you want the pellet to be.

Thanks for all the replies.

Perhaps this is going to be more costly and less immediate than I had hoped. Currently rabbits are tearing up our garden and my attempts to trap have been unsuccessful. However I had to tweak the trap to make it even the least bit sensitive, and it looks like the design has changed, but more often than not the bait wasn't even taken, despite the trap being in the area that they are seen.

More practice with the trap might be the best approach then.

Get a dog that roams your garden, or get a pest controller to gas them Td4 XS manual, Orkney Grey, MY2014

I've read that a rabbit trap in the open works best, with carrot chopped lengthways

What's the plan when caught, hands on dispatch with a priest or close quarter pellet?

How many rabbits are there? Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Some good advice here.

My tuppence worth pretty much repeats it. Take more time to save the money and buy second hand pcp - easier to learn to shoot well, more accurate in the hands of most people. With a scope you are probably looking at around twice as much as you looking to spend but you could get lucky!

.22 best for rabbits but a well placed .177 will do the job easily enough. My club generally suggest Air Arms as a well priced decent quality rifle to start. There are others however but whatever you do don't buy Chinese imports - horrible and useless.

Forget 50 yards - please! 30yrds max a better range until you are skilled enough and that will take time and lots of practice.

You should really practice until you hit pretty much what you shoot at or at least within less than half an inch off, and you know exactly at what distance you zero the gun and how much the pellet drops (or rises) at 5yrd intervals out to your maximum distance before attempting to shoot live quarry.

Rabbits need killing but not wounding and suffering a lingering death. To that end head shots between eye and bottom of ear NOT body shots.
Best bit about rabbit hunting is that once you are proficient you will always have something for the freezer! There are folk who
turn their noses up at the idea of eating them but it's their loss!

Good luck

Maybe a meet, sort a few bunnies out for him, then bunny stew, bunny kebabs, on the BBQ

Instead of buying a air rifle, put the money behind the bar that evening  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Hi Simon, I think they will breed quicker that you can shoot them! Exclusion works for us, but they can dig under the wires. Electric wires may be an option? Best thing we have found is owning a cat, be careful as you may get the odd half eaten bunny brought in, but our cat far out performs my potencity to shoot them.
Plus as suggested, save the money and buy some beers!

if you have lots of them then buy some rolls of chicken wire and and nice big battery.

you will have to keep any pets and children (optional) off the grass for a bit and you may get a few sparrows, blackbirds and hedgehogs as well as rabbits but it may well do the job better than an air rifle



disclaimer - I am only joking

unless you are an experienced shooter, know your pellet trajectory / hold over etc are sure of the power output of your chosen rifle, then 50m is beyond most part time shooters ( and many of the cheaper rifles) to guarantee a clean humane kill.

a PCP has many benefits, shot count, ease of firing, and the fact they are often (O well mostly) very quiet so potentially you can get off multiple shots before the bunnies are aware of you.

However a Springer is cheaper, so perhaps better suited to occasional usage - but may require more practice at 30m+
A walther LGU is one of the better springers out there at moment, but there is a lot of choice

edit: if you purchase, check the power output, many cheaper rifles only have 5-8 ftlb, you will need 11 really for any distance above 10m

if you register on airgun forum co uk, there are lots of members who would be willing to come and deal with them for nothing.......In fact they have a dedicated thread for "permission wanted"

If I was local, I would do it for free.

If you want to PM me details, happy to post your needs on airgun forum for you.

good luck 

I have done some work for a Firearms Dealer and give a lecture every year to University Forensic Science students on firearms. All I will add is that if you have an air rifle with more than 12 ft/lbs then it is classified as a Firearm and needs a full Firearms Certificate (not a Shotgun Certificate). If you don't you are "In Possession" and it's serious.
To have a Firearm cert you need to demonstrate to the Police a definite need for it as opposed to a Shotgun where you have a basic right (to feed your family) but the police can say no. Both need a police interview but they can more easily object to the firearm being held. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE