Where should I go to shoot animals with my Air Rifle?

Question

I live in scotland and despite being in the country side and having a decent sized garden it can be tricky waiting for animals to appear or finding them. I do not want to fire from my garden across a lane used by cars into other feilds and do not have permission to shoot on the farmers feilds (yet). Is it considered normal to ask to go shooting on farmer's feilds with an air rifle and if not do you still think its worth it? any other ideas of where to shoot animals?

To all u dobbers complaining about animal cruelty I plan to eat the animals i shoot plus its the coutry side, its a way of life, also who gives a foot if i put the i and the e of the world field the wrong way round and ro the person that said that i could not kill an animal with an air rifle u r talking absolute bull ship as i am a good enough shot to hit a pidgeon in the head from 70 yrds. Thanks to all the sinsible non "winy freinds of the earth green happy tree huggers" who have no idea what they are talking about

Answer 1

Go deep into the air forest! There you will find all the air animals you could hope for.

Answer 2

Talk to the local farmers. Unfortunately there's a good chance that most of them will already have an arrangement with someone who shoots their vermin. This is a subject that used to come up relatively often in the UK airgun press, they advised getting to know the farmers so they'd know you were reliable, perhaps even helping out on the farm. You could also try putting an advert in a local shop or looking for other airgunners in the area who already have shooting rights.

I used to shoot on a croft in the north west of Scotland near Arisaig, the farmers were only too pleased to have the rabbits controlled. I have shot hundreds of rabbits, and many crows. A 22 pellet at 650fps will blow the brains right out of a rabbit, aim between the eye and the base of the ear for an instant kill. A neck shot is also pretty immediate, a miss high becomes a brain shot and a miss low becomes a heart/lung shot.

For the ignorant who seem to be policing this group, in the UK you are required by law to control vermin on your land, if you do not the local council can control them and charge the cost to you. That isn't a situation you want to be in.

Answer 3

spread bread across ure garden and wait....its the best option cuz to tell u the truth if u asked a farmer ( i live in scotland too) theyl probz report u to the police due to being moody twats :)
Sorry, that was my annoying son adding his bit, check the urban slang!
Look, the thing is, it's really not worth eating a pigeon believe me. you won't like it either, and seriously you won't kill with your popgun unless it's a fluke, animals move remember, you will probably injure the animal though, and that is not clever, even and especially hunters of the world all stand by the rule to achieve a clean kill, so there should be no suffering for the animal, professional hunters would laugh at you first, then break your air gun so you don't do any more harm. I did have a 12 bore licence by the way, mostly clays, and some rabbits, invited by the farmer, and even a 12 bore frequently did not bring them down, they would bounce about or leap in the air and hit the grond running, to be honest i felt bad about it pretty soon, it was obvious they were getting hurt, and i wasn;t going to be the one to do it anymore, that's when you grow up. Most of the people i knew who owned shotguns and had a proper licence were responsible and serious about there sport, you i'm afraid don't strike me as someone quite ready for that.

Answer 4

There's nothing wrong with shooting animals for food or sport. That's hunting and it's considered the sport of kings.

I grew up hunting doves with my old Benjamin pump air gun that fired .22 cal pellets. That was a long time ago. Today's guns fire .177 pellets at 1200 fps! No problem bringing down doves with that kind of power.

In America, it is normal to ask farmers for permission to hunt. For them, it's pest control. And when you tell them that you hunt with an air gun, they might be even more agreeable because of the decrease in potential liability.

Don't let all the tree huggers and Bambi fans get to you. They probably don't even know how to scale and clean a fish. Forget them.

Answer 5

hi there, this qu. caught my eye so i read what people had to say back to you and i realized that ,strange as it may be people think an air gun is a weak thing , when in fact there are some air rifles on the market that are shooting stronger than a 22 cal. rifle, the one i was reading about was a 25 cal. shooting 1350fps i live in canada and we have to have permission to hunt farmers fields also ,most of the time there is no problem ,just repect their property and be nice ,if you score an extra rabbit ask if they would like to have it, and make sure you clean it for them, have a great hunt.

Answer 6

Pay these people no mind, for they are not worth our effort.
They have no idea as to the need to control the rabbit population let alone the power of a air rifle.

To those who go out of you way to make wayward comments.
It is better to be silent and thought a fool, then open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Now as to your Question.
It is his land and to use it as you would like, you need permission.
I’m in the USA and I would advise you talk to the land owner and be polite and courteous and it most likely will get you access to the land to hunt.
As to is it worth it yes, “always” I have taken a lot of game with an air rifle and it is great sport.
But I am of the mind that my worst day in the field hunting is better then my best day at work .
As to other places I am not sure of the laws in you home land, but I would talk to all the farmers/landholders in your area and see how much land you con get permission to hunt.
Other then that I would look in too any wooded lots and or right of ways here in Oklahoma we have a lot of train tracks that have large wide right of ways, that get quite brushy and grown over.
These make for good sport if it is legal in your area, or old abandoned farms around their out buildings have put many a rabbit in my game bag.
I wish you the best of day a field and hope I was of some help.
From across the Sea.

D58

Answer 7

Shooting animals with an air rifle does not kill the animal (unless it's teeny, that's not food). That will only wound the animal and may cause that animal problems down the road. If your really interested in hunting I suggest you first attend a hunter's safety course. This will teach you safety and morals. They will also be able to recommend a hunter's club that has areas where you can hunt legally. Hunting is a responsibility that you must learn. Not a way to just "shoot animals". Only shoot what you intend to eat! Enjoy it!

Answer 8

I'm in America and farmers here usually welcome the chance to get rid of varmints. Ask the farmer. He'll probably let you do it. Don't mind these other answerers. Shoot starlings, too. They raid gardens, other bird's nests, and eat all the food so the good birds don't come around or starve from nothing to eat. Good for you. Be careful and have fun.

Answer 9

Hey Fish!

Not sure what the local laws or customs are there in Scotland...or even the game. I would approach some area farmers and ask if they allow hunting. You may also want to offer first game to them if they want it.

When I was a kid if the farmers knew your folks and you promised not to shoot their livestock, we could hunt rabbit, squirrel and shoot any crows we saw all day long.

Good luck and happy hunting.

Answer 10

I don't know about the laws over in your country. Like others have stated, talk to the land owner. They might give you the green light. I don't know if you have animals as such as bears, wolfs, mountain lion, ect in your neck of the woods. If you ever come in contact with such animal, don't shoot them. It will only piss them off. As you may already know, air rifles will only kill mice, small birds, ect.

Answer 11

Tell the farmers that you would like to shoot for rats and other predators. They'll probably let you in their property. However, try not to shoot animals bigger than rats, the air rifle will probably injure them and cause slow death.