Got an invite to shoot bunnies last night on a farm that’s overrun with them.
A friend knows the farmer and there are so many rabbits they are invading the farm garden and eating all the plants!
The rifles of choice were to be my FAC air for around the farm garden so as not to wake the baby up and my .22lr around the fields.
The farm is cut into a hillside and there are steep bramble and nettle covered banks which provide loads of shelter for the bunnies.
Then there are fields. Those with livestock in are fairly short but other fields have 12 inch high grass.
My friend was late arriving and I was already set up when he got there. I knew something was badly wrong when he struggled to get out of his car - he had done something to his back and could hardly move. He explained that it was so bad, he couldn’t walk around and had left his rifles at home. He might try and spot for me but it was more likely he’d retreat and sit in his car.
We made the short walk to a vantage point looking into the first field and counted 32 rabbits on view. That was in just one field of many.
The farmer had asked for the rabbits closest to the farmhouse to be dealt with as a priority.
I left my friend and had a walk around the property and there were loads of rabbits on the banks and grassed areas - the thermal could pick out good numbers in the brambles and nettles.
It was still light so I went back to the car, had a coffee and chat with my friend and it was apparent he was going to spend the majority of the evening in his car as sitting was more comfortable for him.
As dusk fell, I set off with my trusty FAC air which is zeroed at 40 yards.
Within the hour, I had shot 9 rabbits around the front lawns and banking. I was able to retrieve 6 but 3 others had been shot in the nettles and brambles and I didn’t fancy wading through 4ft high nettles/brambles to get them.
I kept returning to the cars to do a welfare check on my friend - he was doing okay but didn’t want to get out of the car let alone walk around!
I knew we’d have to cut the session short so I decided to spend 30 minutes with my .22lr.
I’ve recently fitted it with the new Pard NV008s LRF with ballistics calculator and although it’s zeroed for 50 yards, the BC just alters the crosshairs to compensate for differing distances.
I had a walk to the field with the longer grass and could see plenty of rabbits in the thermal.
I could pick them out in my scope and a little squeak made them sit up enough for a head shot.
I dispatched 2 bunnies at 76 and 80 yards but despite my best efforts and walking up, down, left and right I couldn’t find them in the long grass and got no heat signature through the thermal - very annoying but no doubt the local fox will dine well.
I managed to find 2 more rabbits in shorter grass at 50 yards and 28 yards and both fell and this time I found them (although finding the closer one was a challenge and I only got it by changing colour palettes on the thermal until I got a slight glow in the grass!)
Finished on 13 with 8 recovered.
Not a bad few hours overall.
It’s the sort of permission that if you went at it all night with 2 shooters you could easily fill a couple of wheelbarrows with bunnies.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed my bunny hunt
A friend knows the farmer and there are so many rabbits they are invading the farm garden and eating all the plants!
The rifles of choice were to be my FAC air for around the farm garden so as not to wake the baby up and my .22lr around the fields.
The farm is cut into a hillside and there are steep bramble and nettle covered banks which provide loads of shelter for the bunnies.
Then there are fields. Those with livestock in are fairly short but other fields have 12 inch high grass.
My friend was late arriving and I was already set up when he got there. I knew something was badly wrong when he struggled to get out of his car - he had done something to his back and could hardly move. He explained that it was so bad, he couldn’t walk around and had left his rifles at home. He might try and spot for me but it was more likely he’d retreat and sit in his car.
We made the short walk to a vantage point looking into the first field and counted 32 rabbits on view. That was in just one field of many.
The farmer had asked for the rabbits closest to the farmhouse to be dealt with as a priority.
I left my friend and had a walk around the property and there were loads of rabbits on the banks and grassed areas - the thermal could pick out good numbers in the brambles and nettles.
It was still light so I went back to the car, had a coffee and chat with my friend and it was apparent he was going to spend the majority of the evening in his car as sitting was more comfortable for him.
As dusk fell, I set off with my trusty FAC air which is zeroed at 40 yards.
Within the hour, I had shot 9 rabbits around the front lawns and banking. I was able to retrieve 6 but 3 others had been shot in the nettles and brambles and I didn’t fancy wading through 4ft high nettles/brambles to get them.
I kept returning to the cars to do a welfare check on my friend - he was doing okay but didn’t want to get out of the car let alone walk around!
I knew we’d have to cut the session short so I decided to spend 30 minutes with my .22lr.
I’ve recently fitted it with the new Pard NV008s LRF with ballistics calculator and although it’s zeroed for 50 yards, the BC just alters the crosshairs to compensate for differing distances.
I had a walk to the field with the longer grass and could see plenty of rabbits in the thermal.
I could pick them out in my scope and a little squeak made them sit up enough for a head shot.
I dispatched 2 bunnies at 76 and 80 yards but despite my best efforts and walking up, down, left and right I couldn’t find them in the long grass and got no heat signature through the thermal - very annoying but no doubt the local fox will dine well.
I managed to find 2 more rabbits in shorter grass at 50 yards and 28 yards and both fell and this time I found them (although finding the closer one was a challenge and I only got it by changing colour palettes on the thermal until I got a slight glow in the grass!)
Finished on 13 with 8 recovered.
Not a bad few hours overall.
It’s the sort of permission that if you went at it all night with 2 shooters you could easily fill a couple of wheelbarrows with bunnies.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed my bunny hunt
