Comfortable hunting range, thoughts on slugs and little guns

[PasadenaMike]

Stuff I learned this weekend shooting my Airguns in the field. Seems like no matter what i shoot i tend to keep my shots within 35 yards. I’m not comfortable doing hold overs on game so I keep the distances short for a clean humane kill. Hold overs are for field target I feel
Like because a mistake in hunting means wounding vs a mistake in ft you just miss. I also learned I don’t like slugs because I feel like they dirty up barrels faster ? I don’t know, maybe. Slugs are useless for 35 yards anyway for me.  Anyway thanks for reading. Oh I also again proved to myself that Leishy sized guns rock for me vs massive heavy guns.

[Habanero69er]

Mike, wait, if hold over on FT is “just a miss”, then why isn’t it a miss on game?
I guess it depends on the size of the game you’re hunting?

[smythsg]

+1 on the light weight guns. This time of year 35 yards is the max you can see in the thick North GA woods so the Notos is my goto for hunting. By mid October, the woods are a little less dense so I will swap to my other "little" gun, my Airforce Escape UL .25 cal. Heeeere piggy, piggy, piggy!

[PasadenaMike]

Mike, wait, if hold over on FT is “just a miss”, then why isn’t it a miss on game?
I guess it depends on the size of the game you’re hunting?

Yeah like a rabbit . I don’t want to shoot him in the butt at 100 yards lol.

[PasadenaMike]

+1 on the light weight guns. This time of year 35 yards is the max you can see in the thick North GA woods so the Notos is my goto for hunting. By mid October, the woods are a little less dense so I will swap to my other "little" gun, my Airforce Escape UL .25 cal. Heeeere piggy, piggy, piggy!

Man if that Notos had a folding stock it would be the ultimate seat gun.

[Habanero69er]

Mike, wait, if hold over on FT is “just a miss”, then why isn’t it a miss on game?
I guess it depends on the size of the game you’re hunting?

Yeah like a rabbit . I don’t want to shoot him in the butt at 100 yards lol.

I think you’re underestimate yourself. Just imagine a 10 ring on his head.  🎯

[PasadenaMike]

Mike, wait, if hold over on FT is “just a miss”, then why isn’t it a miss on game?
I guess it depends on the size of the game you’re hunting?

Yeah like a rabbit . I don’t want to shoot him in the butt at 100 yards lol.

I think you’re underestimate yourself. Just imagine a 10 ring on his head.  🎯

Lol. When I’m hunting it means I’ve been up from early morning so I’m half asleep so I don’t even try hold overs.

[avator]

I don't hunt, I pest. I don't normally even take shots at anything past 35.

[PasadenaMike]

I don't hunt, I pest. I don't normally even take shots at anything past 35.

Honestly the fun of airgunning to me is up close and quiet hunting or pesting in your case , so if I wanted to shoot long distance there are other choices but they’re too loud and defeat the purpose of discreet and safe shooting.

[Back_Roads]

 I may practice out to longer ranges, but most of my shots are 50 and under.

[huntr]

To me… the biggest advantage to shooting a slug, over a similar weight pellet, is the energy retention and slightly flatter trajectory . Even if you are not shooting them at higher velocity, if they are accurate. Pellets are not known for expansion. So what’s the difference if the slug is going too slow to expand properly. Cost… we’re talking pennys difference… if any.

I can’t say I’ve found them to be dirty…. HN, NSA, Patriot, ZAN, Now… I’m shooting everything right out of the tin. No cleaning, lubing, or sorting of any type.

Sometimes, preconceived mental prejudices get in the way.

[HOSPassassin]

If you think about it in terms of how accurate you can be with your rig...

Take the traditional 1-inch target for small game as a given. I have shot an MOA group with my most accurate gun, and HW 30, at 25 yards. However, that was from a bench with no wind at a known distance. The best I can hope for in the field is 2, perhaps 3 MOA. That means at 35 yards I should expect a 1.05 inch group. Forget about terminal effectiveness for a minute. I could be shooting a Dragon Claw but if I can't hit the 1-inch target I will get poor results.

I think this is why anyone who goes past 35-40 yards with any pellet-shooting AG should be the exception rather than the rule. How many of us can honestly say we can be consistently accurate enough to go farther? FT enthusiasts obviously would be more likely. But for us poor schlubs who want to spend more of our limited time hunting than shooting in competition, 35 yards is going to end up being an applicable guideline.

[starlingassassin]

i dont hunt,but i pest ALOT.

and dont know about the rest of you,
but 99% of my shots are at 50-100+yds.

rarely do i take a closer shot when pesting,
but im confident enough with my gun and shooting ability to make those long shots consistently.

practice,
and knowing what you and your gun can do,
goes a long way.

[wolverine]

i have been recording the distances of all my kill shots while hunting for the last 8 years.  squirrels:  average shot on a squirrel is 34 yards and this varies on the time of the year.  during the early days of the season when the trees are still holding leaves, the shots rarely are over 20 yards.  as the season progresses and the leaves fall, the shots become farther.  my closet kill shot was at 3 yards and the longest was 53.  because of this, i bring paper targets with me when i go out.  i scan the woods with a range finder and find the average shooting distance.  then sight the rifle in at that distance.  i always start out with the rifle sighted in at 30 yards so this takes very little time.


rabbits: records show the average shot is 53 yards.  i have never taken a rabbit in the woods, only in cut fields or in open areas so i can't get close without spooking them. 


pesting:  50+ yards.  most pesting is done on chippers, starlings, and ground squirrels while setup in a blind or an elevated position.   

[PasadenaMike]

i have been recording the distances of all my kill shots while hunting for the last 8 years.  squirrels:  average shot on a squirrel is 34 yards and this varies on the time of the year.  during the early days of the season when the trees are still holding leaves, the shots rarely are over 20 yards.  as the season progresses and the leaves fall, the shots become farther.  my closet kill shot was at 3 yards and the longest was 53.  because of this, i bring paper targets with me when i go out.  i scan the woods with a range finder and find the average shooting distance.  then sight the rifle in at that distance.  i always start out with the rifle sighted in at 30 yards so this takes very little time.


rabbits: records show the average shot is 53 yards.  i have never taken a rabbit in the woods, only in cut fields or in open areas so i can't get close without spooking them. 


pesting:  50+ yards.  most pesting is done on chippers, starlings, and ground squirrels while setup in a blind or an elevated position.

Wow good to know

[Novagun]

My guns are sighted in at 27 metres because that is the distance from the workshop door to the wood heap. I try to keep my shooting range to about 35 metres but do reach out to 45 on occasions. My longest measured shot with a kill is so far 57 metres. I don't hunt but I do pest a lot. Walking the dog through lanes, country roads and open paddocks. Nearly all my shots are off hand because you have to be quick. There are plenty of trees and rough ground and hedges for rabbits to flee to. There isn't really much opportunity to set up and shoot as in Field Target. There are also plenty of rabbits but sometimes I will walk and see nothing. Look aloft and invariably there is a Hawke  or NZ Falcon cruising the patch. Sometimes I cruise past at 20 metres on the quad bike and the rabbits don't take any notice. Walk the same path and they are off. I think they can hear and recognise my footsteps and their hearing is superb. I don't think they see very well, at least not in detail but they notice movement instantly.
My best rabbiting gun is a BSA Spitfire in .22. Not an expensive gun with a Hawke no AO scope. It puts out 18.5 ft/ lbs with 15.89 gr pellet.  My second best is a Umarex Octane Elite at 22.21 ft/lbs with an 18.36 pellet. Good gun but long and heavy and hard to cock. Third is a Webley Tomahawk that puts out 17 ft lbs with an 8.44 gn pellet.

i never take any of my three Wheirachs (forgotten how to spell it) rabbiting. They are all .177 and just are not enough gun for the job.

[techted]

Only do pesting and measured 4 last successful shots.

1.  50 yards Hatsan M99 .177 cheap red dot
2.  28 yards Hatsan M99 .177 cheap red dot
3.  35 yards Hatsan M99 .177 cheap red dot
4.  42 yards Hatsan 125 .22 Hammers 3-9x40

It's hard for me not to spook my game below 40 yards if I'm not camping already and most of the time I'm forced to shoot @ 40-50 distance kneeling or left hand rested V-shape on some branch or post.