It's been a while since I've either been on the forum or out hunting, mainly due to travelling a lot this past 12 months for work. My role has recently changed slightly and the travel has relaxed now, so about four weeks back I had the urge to get out and deal with the overrun of rabbits that are currently plaguing my favorite permission...
It was a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon and after about 30 minutes the first two rabbits presented themselves at around the 40 yards mark. Both were too busy eating and enjoying the sun to notice me, laid up further along the hedgerow, and the whisper quiet S410 took the first one down - a nice clean pellet behind the eye. The second, about 7 yards away from him, hadn't even noticed that his mate had dropped so another JSB exact was dispatched his way and hit home nicely. Two down already, I was happy to start stocking up the freezer.
I finished the afternoon off with a bag of 5 rabbits, getting another three over the next hour or so.
Well, that was it. It had been so long since I'd been out hunting I'd forgotten how addictive it was. I was also shocked at the amount of rabbits running riot over the poor farmers fields
So, I decided that I'd tackle the hedgerow next to the nearest crop field. This is a tricky task with the sub 12 as there is no cover to either approach or hide behind to get within suitable range. No problem, I thought, the next outing will be with the HMR
I popped down mid-week with the rimmy, very excited about the prospect of getting some more rabbits for the freezer. The permission I was on was the site of a motte and bailey castle so there are lots of raised areas to shoot from providing the perfect backstop for the rimfire rifles. I positioned myself around 75 yards from the nearest rabbit hole and waited. Over the next 30 minutes two rabbits had ventured out and had an unfortunate (for them) encounter with a 17 grain projectile. At that range they are alerted to the crack of the bullet going through the speed of sound, but don't bolt as they can't really tell where it's coming from (or what it is).
While I was waiting for the next bunny I noticed a female pheasant wandering around the grass... A shame it's not the season for it!
More outings followed, all with pleasing results. I love hunting with my sub 12, but there is equally enough room in my cabinet for the HMR. Between the two I'm covered from 15 yards right the way through to 115 (and that's just going by the point blank range, the HMR is such a flat round you can shoot it way out if you have the right conditions and know the holdover
).It's safe to say, the rabbit population has been thinned out a bit and I'm back to being in the dog house for spending too much time hunting
I'm now anxiously awaiting harvest time so I can get out with the decoys and get some pigeons - one of my favourite meats! This year I'll be using a different tool than the S410 though...Hope everyone is getting out and enjoying the weather this week! Happy shooting
Cheers,
James
