What can I hunt with my air rifle?

Moo said:
Total: 6 Shots
Is this normal? :eek::eek:
Click to expand...

6 shots isn't normal...

Before your next "hunting" trip, may I suggest some practice (and some more practice) untill you are able to constantly take head shots at the range you will be shooting...

And next time, instead of just putting more shots into the dying bird, just grab him and use your hand to break it's neck.

If you are not confortable killing something with your hands... maybe you shouldn't be hunting it.
 
And, as an aside, get your #### together and get sorted out on what species you are dealing with.

Aside from coming off looking like a grade A moron, you are putting yourself at risk. Songbirds are protected by law. Migratory birds, as well as Upland game birds, both need separate licenses, as well as seasons, which must be followed, or you are, again, going to run up against the law.

There are species of birds that are considered pests, and can be shot at any time. Some of theose species, like the English Sparrow, look a lot like any of a dozen or more species of protected songbirds.

Important to know, else you get to explain yourself in court, you get to lose your gear and your right to buy more, and you make shooters in general look bad by association.

Get a copy of the hunting regs. Usually the pest species are listed therein. Get a decent air rifle. Practice until you can reliably hit a headshot.

Really. If you are shooting at random birds, without a clue what they are, AND you need 6 shots to kill one, you deserve a whack upside the head with your air rifle.

Trev
 
Moo said:
Update
I shot a bird today with this gun. Don't know what kind of bird it was but it about the size of a small pigeon. Used .177 Pellets

First I hit it in the chest at 7 yards....flew off like nothing happened to it.

I tracked it and shot it in the wing again, it glided to the ground.

Then I shot it 3 more times in the back but it kept walking.

Finally I nailed it down with a headshot.

Total: 6 Shots
Is this normal? :eek::eek:
Click to expand...

Nice tracking job on that mysterious bird. Next time you can do it blindfolded. :p

BTW, what did you say when your neighbour was asking "Have you seen my parrot?". :kickInTheNuts:
:D :D :D
 
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I went out to my friend's small piece of land near Calgary to take out a few gophers with a 495 fps pellet rifle. While it did the job on most, I would hesitate to do again. There were a lot of incidences where the gopher almost managed to crawl back into the hole, or squirm around. It's barely enough to be considered humane.

As for shooting non-pest songbirds, I refer you to the book "To Kill a Mockingbird". Atticus Finch has some advice for you that you should've learned a while ago...

Quite frankly its ridiculous that they draw the line at 500 fps for air guns, and even more ridiculous there's a line on air guns at all, but what can you do. We're all now much safer for it :rolleyes:.
 
Moo said:
Update
I shot a bird today with this gun. Don't know what kind of bird it was but it about the size of a small pigeon. Used .177 Pellets

First I hit it in the chest at 7 yards....flew off like nothing happened to it.

I tracked it and shot it in the wing again, it glided to the ground.

Then I shot it 3 more times in the back but it kept walking.

Finally I nailed it down with a headshot.

Total: 6 Shots
Is this normal? :eek::eek:
Click to expand...

Maybe you should practice on Grizzly Bear first.
 
Moo said:
I have a daisy, 500fps, .177 pellet/bb

What kinds of animals can I hunt with it?
Click to expand...


that should be plenty or power for birds and squirrel if you get headshots but you obviously can't aim for #### if it takes you 6 shots to bring down tweety-bird, stop shooting songbirds you jackass
 
If you can't shoot it in the head then don't shoot simple as that. I've shot dozens of grouse with my c-40 pistol, and my bakail rifle. All in the head or neck. One shot one kill. If it's the gun then get a different one, if it's the shooter use a bigger gun. Simple
 
Please don't hunt with that underpowered airgun.A poor tweety bird died miserably, from it's ineffectual power and aim.Even a small mouse would likely take 3 or more shots to finish it off.I would stick to nothing bigger than a grasshopper or cockroach.Go for headshots only, or better yet draw a picture of an animal and shoot that instead.If you don't want to follow this advice, then go all the way and go for Grizzley.Only then will you find out if your truly CUT out for hunting.
 
6 shots! god using a 500fps its NEVER taken more than the second shot ever, and rarely is a second needed. i have a feeling that that rifle might not be doing the 500 it sais on the box, or those were real terrible shots. and like evrybody has said, dont shoot songbirds. a guy i know (notice i didnt say friend) once shot a robin in the wing and never tracked it down when it ran away under a fence. that still p!sses me off. he doesnt even feel sorry for the d@mn thing, you know someone has moral issues when they dont give a sh!t about letting a bird leave injured.
 
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Thanks for input everyone! Will be sure to follow all of your advice

3 questions

1) How do I identify a songbird and distinguish it from other birds?

2) Are all other birds except songbirds OK to shoot? Which ones are OK to shoot?

3) Any tips on how to track a bird? I'm a complete newb and I have a hard time tracking wounded birds.
 
why are you wanting to shoot birds that arent causing any harm? shoot birds that are destructive or aggresive, or tasty, etc. you shouldnt be out to just kill sh!t cause you can.
 
A couple of notes. Your airgun may only be accurate to about 8-10 yards. Practice at that range and when you can hit a quarter every time your ready to think about shooting something living.

But that doesn't mean that you should shoot something living. Shoot animals for pest control, predator control, defense, food, or sometimes for trophies. And even then just becuase the law says you can doesn't mean you should.

Think on this a while.

Best of luck with your new shooting and hunting hobby. Just think it through a little more as you go.

RG

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