DO YOU HUNT WITH YOUR AIRGUNS?

[jarmstrong]

50% pesting, 50% plinking +targets. mostly around home, but do out to my friend's a couple miles outside of town.
No hunting for human consumption,, not against it, just don't go anymore, I am tempted by the darn turkeys that invade my bird feeding areas on the ground. They are pigs ,, eating all the song birds' dinner. Neighbors think I am crazy chasing them off with a boom handle,

 

[MickeyD]

Both. My sons take for the day

 

[Doc C.]

Mickyd.
Do you eat those iguanas? If so, how are they?
Just curious.

Doc

 

[Jasonmc]

80% of the time I hunt with my air guns that are my go-to rigs. When I get a new hunting rig I won't take it until I sit and become one with it. Then when it's go time it's on!

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

Both. My sons take for the day
View attachment 334570

Tastes like chicken!

 

[Chukar60]

Same here. I rarely hunt any more, only pesting. Used to hunt birds. Walk ten to twelve miles and maybe get two or three pheasants all day. Now I shoot a couple of rounds of Trap and then eat a roasted chicken and a cold beer. Ambrosia.

I am very fortunate. We manage a large ranch that was a hunting operation up until last year. I have access to the hunting now and the place is loaded with quail and pheasant. I mostly like running my pointers and watching them work. Don’t really care to shoot a bunch of birds anymore.
Some days the desire for upland pizza overtakes me and I go shoot a couple roosters or a mess of quail.

 

[delooper]

I pest with my airguns. That's their primary purpose. I suppose that's a kind of hunting, but fussy people might say pesting isn't proper hunting.

 

[JohnTaylor]

Will check it out, thanks... I only have two goals with this endeavor... 1. Hit one bird and 2. Dont embarrass myself! If I accomplish those, I'll be happy to pay for food/drinks!

Don’t forget to follow through with your shot…nice easy swing..don’t poke. Have fun! John

 

[EdinGa]

I do both. I keep coming back to scroll through the comments and see if anyone hunts but doesn't shoot targets. I know firearms people that never shoot paper, but I don't know any airgunners that I can say that about.

 

[JimD]

I also do both. Hunting season isn't long enough but paper punching helps fill the gap.

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I do both. I keep coming back to scroll through the comments and see if anyone hunts but doesn't shoot targets. I know firearms people that never shoot paper, but I don't know any airgunners that I can say that about.

Guilty ...only paper I shoot is to zero a scope then couple shots when I take a gun hunting to make sure the zero is spot on.

I just find target shooting with a PCP extremely boring,...I get my target shooting fix with my Longbows or selfbows.

 

[EdinGa]

Guilty ...only paper I shoot is to zero a scope then couple shots when I take a gun hunting to make sure the zero is spot on.

I just find target shooting with a PCP extremely boring,...I get my target shooting fix with my Longbows or selfbows.

But you do target shoot to sight in. I've known quite a few old guys that never put a bullet through paper. They would take a shot at an old stump, or whatever was in the area. If they hit it they called it good and hunted the rest of the season.

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

But you do target shoot to sight in. I've known quite a few old guys that never put a bullet through paper. They would take a shot at an old stump, or whatever was in the area. If they hit it they called it good and hunted the rest of the season.

Well Dang that if your game is the precise brain shot would be a completely stupid thing to do,...I see target shooting as sitting down several times a week printing groups for a bunch of rounds.

Anyway back to your point,....that is why when people keep telling me to use the right tool for the job, you need to take into consideration what you just said, some hunters completely rely on overwelming power and that becomes less ethical then using a precise small bore airgun for big game brain shooting.

 

[EdinGa]

Well Dang that if your game is the precise brain shot would be a completely stupid thing to do,...I see target shooting as sitting down several times a week printing groups for a bunch of rounds.

Anyway back to your point,....that is why when people keep telling me to use the right tool for the job, you need to take into consideration what you just said, some hunters completely rely on overwhelming power and that becomes less ethical then using a precise small bore airgun for big game brain shooting.

I'm mainly talking about old time deer hunter using iron sights. I really don't remember ever seeing my grandfather shooting paper with his JC Higgins .22, and it never had a scope either. He killed a bunch of squirrels and crows with it though.

I'm with you 100% on the ethics of our sport. If you are going to hunt, you owe it to your quarry to be as precise as possible and eliminate as much suffering as you can. In my opinion, you need to be proficient with any projectile launcher you choose.

 

[357cal]

I use my 357 and modified 25 cal for both, I hunt woodchucks, coyotes and rabbits. using small bore on big game, small bores are getting more powerful, i have seen 25 cal avenger putting out 100 fpe and then you have 257 Texan 170 fpe thats a lot of power for a smaller slug, deep penetration that can go thru both lungs or heart shot with in range. But in my state it is unlawful to do so.

 

[MikeAndrews]

My primary pleasure is target shooting, benchrest, silhouette, field target. I’m also in charge of elimination of pests on poverty acres ( my home ).
certainly not opposed to hunting, just don’t have a need yet.

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I'm mainly talking about old time deer hunter using iron sights. I really don't remember ever seeing my grandfather shooting paper with his JC Higgins .22, and it never had a scope either. He killed a bunch of squirrels and crows with it though.

I'm with you 100% on the ethics of our sport. If you are going to hunt, you owe it to your quarry to be as precise as possible and eliminate as much suffering as you can. In my opinion, you need to be proficient with any projectile launcher you choose.

BINGO !!!!

 

[Trucker3573]

Fall into both. Mostly target but sometimes I just can’t resist the ole bird on a wire target if you know what I mean.

 

[lrjimenezjr]

I like to Shoot Both I take mine hunting and I also target shoot. Not for competition but to make sure my practice is still there hard to shoot at an animal if you cant hit a target either.

 

[Emu]

45 years I was an avid hunter with powder burners. When I was young I was a really good pigeon competition shooter. The money for buying my first car came out of what I won in pigeon shooting competitions.

Later on I made a try with bow and arrow and got to the conclusion that because of my skills it was not ethical for me to hunt that way.

Last 15 years I mainly have hunt with my PCP's. I do enjoy it. I have taken white tailed deers, javalinas, coyotes, foxes, wild turkeys, rabbits, jack rabbits, three variances of squirrels (including a beautiful fox squirrel), doves, ducks, ....

I shoot my PCP's at my house almost daily now that I am retired. I like to change scopes and see which scope fits better for each of my PCP's. I learn which scope is reliable for hunting purposes both with PCP's and with my 30-06.

Shooting PCP's are super practice for being sharp for hunting with the 30-06.

One very traumatic truth I have learned is that no matter how well you shoot paper targets at 100 yards nor how your groups tightens, when in a hunt it is much more difficult to hit an animal that could be much bigger than the target on paper. There you become conscious that, when hunting, you need to make close shots to make an ethical kill. No matter how expensive your PCP is nor how tight your groups are at 100 yards shooting from a bench.