i go down a lane near my home, it takes me to an old railway crossing rarely used now things have moved, i have permission on the golf course on the other side of the crossing, but theres only magpies to shoot there , and on this side of the lines i have permission to shoot rabbits, they seem to be around an old train yard about half a mile down the lines from the crossing where the turf fields are, the lines split into  six seperate tracks here too, and my favourite is the right sweeping track looking over the turf fields on the right, spotting rabbits below is easy and there are three large fields joining the enbankment below,there are five decent points to shoot from and each point is marked with a tree or big bush on the railway to look down from,to the fields ,the banking is from the lowest end ,the start about three meters to the field and a low angle ,which is where i was sat with my spotting scope watching rabbits on the tracks sitting on the lines, ten meters disapearing into the distant right bend, typical when youve no gun,then they scarpered ,no warning signs head rearing, just scampered in all directions, hmm! i was half expecting to see a fox come strutting around the bend,no it was the same colour but a lot bigger,at least three foot to the shoulder with a long  slim neck,the female red deer walked toward me untill it was ten or so meters away watched me for a while watching  her, trying not to move in my cramped uncomfortable position,in my cammo gear against a small shrub then casually turned and slowly having a munch on its way back down the lines, that was the last i seen of her,ive since taken possesion of my new  hw97k, and get down there as often as i can at the same time around 3.45 am,but only bunnys, to see any deer around these parts the outskirts of manchester is a sight to behold.

I like to rabbit hunt. That is what i try for after deer season, well that and the wild hogs.

Quote from: Mauserfan in TX;64096I like to rabbit hunt. That is what i try for after deer season, well that and the wild hogs.

theyre great practice for stalking,as where i shoot you have to get quite close ,with the exceptions sometimes,you may get an 80 yarder, i put plenty of practice in at these ranges, ive just got a new hw 97k(i think that would be a beeman 97 to you guys)in 177 and it shoots amazingly straight with the right ammo, and has plenty of energy left for penetration at long ranges, i love it, all the best fella

Tuesday morning hunt,i set off with my gun(hw 97.177) in my rod quiver , i had all day and fancied some pike fishing as well, and as i go to the old canal, i have to pass through my shooting land anyway so,hence the gun,as i got off the old railway to the left i was met by a fox,which soon made off in the opposite direction, well thats a crapper i thought,half way along the first field is a drain, i crossed it and started to climb the fence(keeps the sheep from dropping in the drain)when not twenty yards away i spotted four bunnies,i couldnt have shot from my position,hanging off a fence,i back climbed and tried to line up a shot along the edge,then two of the rabbits chased each other into the field,by this time i was lining up on no 1, i clicked my tongue, to lift its head and THOK,,that was the first of nine rabbits yesterday. the nearest being 10 yards, when a fox hoped into an edge not far from me five or six rabbits flew out,so il be taking advantage of that situation again in future ,my personal best in the daytime,

Quote from: Mauserfan in TX;64096I like to rabbit hunt. That is what i try for after deer season, well that and the wild hogs.

where do you go shooting hogs, that sounds good, i bet they taste great too

There is a huge swamp in the back of my folk place that the hogs frequent. they make their way in and out of it onto the woods and pasture areas, they can be very destructive to food plots and crops as well. The neighbors really don't mind if i go onto their place and shoot a few, or trap them.taking them in the swamp is a real challenge, and during this time of year you have to watch out for Cottonmouths,Copperheads and Alligators as well. They will leave you alone if you do as well.You are correct, wild hog meat is delicious. The bunnies around my place are in some thick briar patches,and you have to get in close to get a good shot. On occaision you may get one that will run out about 30 yds or so. A wild sow can be really mean if you get between her a nd her young ones. I have been run up a tree on more than one occiasion because of this. Take Care Amigo and happy hunting.
Danny

that sounds great,i get the idea youve got quite a spread to shoot over,of varied terrain ,that in itself can be a challenge, having to change tactics as the ground underfoot changes, Take care fella,      i  love it

rabbit hunting is fun. im supposedly going out on tuesday with my uncle from australia. we'll both have 12 bores but im gonna take the 10/22 as well, so hopefully we'll get a good haul. the guy that owns the land is 70+ and doesnt shoot, and no one has been shooting there for at least 3 years, so were exptecting quite a few rabbits, crows, magpies and woodpigeon to be in attendance.itll also give me a chance to try out my new benelli, thats a game buster if i ever saw one!

Now that sounds like a piece of heaven,my nan was from the south of ireland and she used to tell us storys of plagues of rabbits,i think she drilled it into me at an early age! benelli is that an expensive 12 bore,i used an old o/u 12 bore 28" barrels it was great/ im going back ???i was 18 anyhow,loooong time ago i got the shot guns off a neighbor, an 8 shot spas ,but that was a bit sore with a folding skeleton stock,it was a slugster launcher, so i got rid, for a miroku,,then not long after the laws changed so i stuck with airguns, if you get a good one they can really amaze you,but i would like to play with the ruger down here ,them bunnys are breeding quicker than i can shoot them,,have a knockout time on tuesday fella,try not to scare everything off with the benelli,,in fact save it for last,,you might be wandering around all day wondering where everythings gone with whistling ear holes

it didnt happen, the wimp called it off cos it was too cold and wet - what the **** else did he expect it to be like over here?! anyway you think that was heaven? when i was living with my ex girlfriend i had sole hunting rights on 50+ acxres of land surrounding our house that belonged to her family. all i had to do was jump over the garden fence and start shooting. in fact there was a few memoral occasions when i took a few shots from the window of the bedroom... she didnt like that much!
 
i got talking to one of my mates yesterday, so were going to go to his brothers farm on friday night (hopefully) and get a few rabbits and stuff (well pretty much anything that moves as long as its legal to shoot it...) so im hoping ill get the cobwebs blown off the 10/22 and get used to the benelli. no it wasnt expensive, only cost £245; shes a magazine fed semi auto (might have a pic somewhere if i can find it ill post it). she only holds 1 in the breach and 2 in the magazine (thats what the shop told me and thats all the police say im allowed, tho i reckon itll take 4 or 5 in the mag...). bought her 2nd hand, mainly because i needed to do a 1 on 1 off asap, and also i always reckon buying 2nd hand saves having to break in the gun (tho you need to be careful its not worn or anything).
 
ah heres a pic, its not great but you get the general impression.
 

a nice looking auto,have you tried slugsters in it?,i got a franchi spas when i was 18, the guy i got it off thought it funny to give me a handfull of home loaded slugsters,wow! i was with a mate of mine stood in mud aiming at this old steel door, when BLAM i was lay on my back covered in ****,from back of my head to my feet,ears ringing,    i handed the gun to my mate after slurping to my feet ,no no its ok il watch you!!!the hole in the door was  fist sized, the shoulder stock hurt like ****, folding metal job,it had to go.That was my first shot of a 12 bore

i havnt even tried anything in it yet! im supposed to be going shooting 2nite after work, a mates fiancee's dad owns alot of land in south armagh (yeah, bandit country, ha ha!!) so were gonna have fun, tho my last 2 or 3 shooting trips have fallen through so im not banking on going 2nite.
 
ive got over 200 no 6 shells that i need to get rid off so were taking torches with us as well, a few years ago we wouldnt have been able to do this up around there-  its not the first time theres been three heavily armed men in camo clothes running around the fields in south armagh! ;o)

hi all ,
i,m very lucky on that score i can shoot rabbit off my back garden fence ,got permission on the farm land right behind my house ,be honest with you though i use the savage 17 hmr at the moment but its a little agressive with the v,max bullet even out over 80 yards it makes a mess if you dont get head shots,i,m starting to miss my weihrauch hw 100 air rifle think it was a mistake getting rid of it .
toying with the idea of an air arms s400 so i can get back on the rats and feral pigeons again oh and the squirels of course
all the best richie
p.s by the way we call it bunny whoofin lol

Sounds like you lads are having a real ball hunting those rabbits.
After reading your posts I got to wondering what "kind" of rabbit you might be hunting? Is it the small cottontail variety or is it the much larger hare that is found throughout much of Europe?
 
Scoper-uk mentioned using a .177 ie...............

Quoteive just got a new hw 97k(i think that would be a beeman 97 to you guys)in 177 and it shoots amazingly straight with the right ammo, and has plenty of energy left for penetration at long ranges,

To me, I find it amazing that a simple air-rifle will have the energy to take one of those large european hares at the ranges mentioned.
 
You have my curosity up on this air-rifle! I would also like to hear a bit more on this rabbit hunting story. In the mean time, I will look up the Beeman 97 and learn a little more about this amazing little air-rifle. My garden has a definate need for such a little gun, since I now live in town, and it sounds as though this just might be the ticket.
 
Respectfully, Russ...

hmmm i normally just go after the rabbits, very rarely see a hare. the other thing about hares is that they make the most god awful noise if you dont get a clean kill, you really dont want to hear it, so unless its under 30 yards with a 12 bore id leave well enough alone...