FAC backstop.

[Gixxerboy]

Just a question really for the rimfire shooters among us. I was out with the .22LR other day and was presented with a shot that caught me in two minds wether or not it was safe. A jackdaw landed face on to me at about 35yds but there was no backstop as it drops into a valley behind it and I know that there was nothing but empty fields for a considerable distance. If I had taken the shot into the chest of the jackdaw at that distance I'm assuming the bullets speed and energy would take it straight through it and carry on travelling. For what sort of distance do you reckon the bullet would travel after passing through said jackdaw? Would the bullet de-form enough to make it merely tumble say 100yds or would it keep some of its shape and carry further? I was using Winchester subs hollow points by the way.

[Blackbaronfish]

You don't say how high the bird was. They will have a drop of 4 inches at 100 yrds. The round will tumble after the strike and loose its efficiency.
There are many more shots you cant take than ones you can. If you had to think about it by instinct then the shot wasn't on.
If the bird was lower to the ground you might have had enough angle to hit soft earth,but it could skate and bounce for another 500 yrds plus.
Winchester subs are quite a soft round compared to others.

BBF

[Gixxerboy]

Sorry Ray.. We were both at ground level. I was sat against a gate post and the bird landed in the field behind me.

[vasbyt]

you always have to take into consideration the "killzone" and if you feel that the shot isn't safe go with your gut and don't take it. I have seen bullets do some strange things after leaving their intended target (I may be new to air rifles but I have over 45 years of rim fire and full bore shooting behind me)

[Gixxerboy]

I'm sorry but I don't understand your post. What do you mean by considering the "killzone"??

[Blackbaronfish]

I'm sorry but I don't understand your post. What do you mean by considering the "killzone"??

Soft tissue will allow a bullet to pass very easy. Skull and hard bony parts will fragment the round.

BBF

[vasbyt]

I'm sorry but I don't understand your post. What do you mean by considering the "killzone"??

Killzone has nothing to do with the target - it is the area in which your bullet when fired can kill, and that could be a considerable distance beyond the target