I can honestly say that I am "one of those people." As you stated, 8 fpe is sufficient for the "large small game" (rabbits, squirrels, etc.) With that said, I am not comfortable with shooting at one with less than 20fpe.
I'm of the opinion that there are too many variables you can't control (wind, animal movement, faulty rounds etc.) That using the minimum fpe to hunt is undesirable. This is of course compiled when you add human error to the mix This is not to say that you shouldn't hunt with 8 fpe; this is to say that I am not comfortable doing it myself.
I can honestly say that I am "one of those people." As you stated, 8 fpe is sufficient for the "large small game" (rabbits, squirrels, etc.) With that said, I am not comfortable with shooting at one with less than 20fpe. I'm of the opinion that there are too many variables you can't control (wind, animal movement, faulty rounds etc.) That using the minimum fpe to hunt is undesirable. This is of course compiled when you add human error to the mix This is not to say that you shouldn't hunt with 8 fpe; this is to say that I am not comfortable doing it myself.
"How can we educate those that think that you need 20FPE to kill a field mouse that you only need 2.4FPE at target to kill a field mouse? In other words how can we show that AirGun hunting is practical with mid range AirGuns?" Hand them a quality airgun, see if they can shoot inside a dime at 50 yards, and if not just don't even bother talking about hunting with them unless they want to learn to shoot better. For years (maybe still? I don't know) 3" at 100 with a BP was considered "good" for hunting in print, "I" wouldn't hunt with a rifle that shot that poorly but most did/do. It does take a lot of power ( more than most any airgun can make) to hunt with only so-so shot placement. Find some good UK airgun hunting magazines perhaps. 12fpe max and rabbits at 50 all night long (lamping don't ya know).John
In my personal view when AirRifle hunting using 20FPE on a rabbit is like using a 4 maga-ton thermonuclear explosive to disable a row-boat.
How can we educate those that think that you need 20FPE to kill a field mouse that you only need 2.4FPE at target to kill a field mouse? In other words how can we show that AirGun hunting is practical with mid range AirGuns?
I do understand long range shooting. When I was a teen-ager (19 years ago) I was tsught to shoot .22 from 10 yards to 400 yards, and a .50 cal from 250 yards to 2000 yards. These distances are not possible with any AirRifle that I know of.
Though when hunting I have never made a kill at any range beyond 50 yards, regardless of the hunting tool used, be it a bow, AirRifle/AirPistol, or a fire arm. Thus AirRifles are more than capable of doing the job. Even with fire arm training I was taught that a 0.5 inch group is required (and it took me two years of daily practice to get that at 500 yards with a .50).
As a young girl, I sometimes used a Sheridan Blue Streak, in lieu of my 22 rifle or pistol, to hunt squirrels and rabbits. I used 5 pumps with the Sheridan, since that was about all I could manage. Even used those old yellow box Sheridan pellets, which we all know weren't the greatest pellet for accuracy. Still, I took many a squirrel and rabbit home for the stewpot. Just made sure I was very close and took only good shots. That was long before there were forums or an internet, so I guess I didn't know any better. I see the same kind of thinking preached on other forums about squirrel hunting. Yup, you need a super accurate, shoot them at 100 yards 22 LR rig with ultra high magnifications scope, blah, blah, blah. In all my years of squirrel hunting I can hardly recall ever shooting a squirrel at more than 35 yards. To me, it was about the hunting. I would have been embarrassed NOT being able to get close enough to a squirrel to shoot it with a pistol or that old Blue Streak. Guess I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to shoot them up so close.
As a young girl, I sometimes used a Sheridan Blue Streak, in lieu of my 22 rifle or pistol, to hunt squirrels and rabbits. I used 5 pumps with the Sheridan, since that was about all I could manage. Even used those old yellow box Sheridan pellets, which we all know weren't the greatest pellet for accuracy. Still, I took many a squirrel and rabbit home for the stewpot. Just made sure I was very close and took only good shots. That was long before there were forums or an internet, so I guess I didn't know any better.
Quote from: North Country Gal on December 20, 2014, 01:55:52 PMAs a young girl, I sometimes used a Sheridan Blue Streak, in lieu of my 22 rifle or pistol, to hunt squirrels and rabbits. I used 5 pumps with the Sheridan, since that was about all I could manage. Even used those old yellow box Sheridan pellets, which we all know weren't the greatest pellet for accuracy. Still, I took many a squirrel and rabbit home for the stewpot. Just made sure I was very close and took only good shots. That was long before there were forums or an internet, so I guess I didn't know any better. I'm not one to discount something that works. All the desk calculations in the world don't mean jack when they don't correlate with real world situations. With that said, the Sheridan Blue Streak (I looked up a 1960~ model), from a quick google search, pushes 14.5~ fpe. This is consistent with some of the lines of thought discussed earlier.Being able to hit a 1" target at 100yds with a .22 isn't about being able to hunt squirrels at 100yds. It's about being able to use a rifle proficiently. 1" circles have been relatively standard for awhile, its where the '1/4" MOA' measurement on the scopes comes from.As for people using high magnification scopes to hunt a squirrel from a quarter mile away? Your guess is as good as mine. It's not like squirrels are particularly hard to sneak up and close the distance on.