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Airgun Hunting - hunting with airguns. Can it be done?
by Tom Gaylord
exclusively for PyramydAir.com. © Copyright 2012 All Rights Reserved
Can airguns be used for hunting? The answer is yes, but there are some things to think about, and this short article addresses them.
Are airguns humane?
Yes, and there are two key areas to address. The first is accuracy: if you can't hit the target, nothing else matters. Since airguns are best-suited for small game like squirrels, rabbits and many birds, the area that must be hit to ensure a humane kill is small. How small varies from animal to animal, but as a general rule it's no larger than an American quarter -- which is just under one inch in diameter.
At what range can you hit this quarter with every shot? That's your maximum effective range for hunting with a smallbore airgun.
The most effective shot is a brain shot. If it's done right, the animal dies instantly. If you miss and hit the animal elsewhere, it can escape to die slowly. So, you must know where to hit each animal you hunt. On larger game such as deer, a heart/lung shot is preferred because the kill zone is about eight inches in diameter. Deer don't always die instantly from this shot; but when they run, you can usually track them. They don't climb trees or burrow into the earth. Small game often stays close to a burrow in the ground or a nest that's high in a tree. When they run, they can get to a spot that is inaccessible to the hunter. The kill must be instantaneous, or you risk losing the animal. Limit your shots to as far as you're assured of hitting a quarter-sized target every time. You must exercise discipline to take a shot only when everything is clear. If the animal's head is half-hidden, then the kill zone isn't the size of a quarter anymore. If that's the case, use your best judgment to decide if you can make the more difficult shot.
How much power?
The second thing to consider about airgun hunting is the power the airgun generates. Velocity without power is meaningless, so airgun hunters speak in terms of muzzle energy -- never velocity. This subject is hotly debated by two groups: those who believe in using all the power that's possible and those who feel it's possible to kill with very little power. The truth is that it's possible to kill game humanely with very little power; but the lower the power, the more important it is to hit exactly the right spot. In the end, this gets to the ridiculous point of almost no power that must be delivered by a million-to-one shot to be effective. Sportsmen do not like taking chances where there's a possibility that an injured animal will escape, so there are practical lower limits to the power recommended for airgun hunting. These limits are supported by decades of successful hunting experience, both in North America and the United Kingdom. The recommended lower limit for a hunting airgun is one that produces 12 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. That equates to a .177-caliber pellet gun shooting a lead pellet weighing 7.9 grains at 827 f.p.s. at the muzzle or a .22-caliber air gun shooting a 14.3-grain pellet at 615 f.p.s. at the muzzle. Other pellet weights will obviously produce different amounts of energy at the same velocities, and you can use [url="https://www.pyramydair.com/article/What_is_Muzzle_Energy_August_2003/5"]Pyramyd Air's handy energy calculator to determine the velocity of your airgun. Of course, the pellet doesn't retain its energy after leaving the muzzle. A lower-powered airgun has a more limited range of effectiveness, while a more powerful airgun can reach out farther. You'll be limiting your shots to distances at which you can place all your pellets inside a one-inch target. With a 12 foot-pound gun, the maximum range you should engage targets should probably be 35 yards. A 30 foot-pound gun would be useful out past 50 yards, which is a distance where it will become harder to keep all your pellets inside the one-inch target. The maximum range at which game can be taken humanely is limited both by the power of the airgun as well as its accuracy.
What is small game?
To read more: https://www.pyramydair.com/article/Airgun_Hunting_April_2012/83
Airgun Hunting - hunting with airguns. Can it be done?
by Tom Gaylord
exclusively for PyramydAir.com. © Copyright 2012 All Rights Reserved
Can airguns be used for hunting? The answer is yes, but there are some things to think about, and this short article addresses them.
Are airguns humane?
Yes, and there are two key areas to address. The first is accuracy: if you can't hit the target, nothing else matters. Since airguns are best-suited for small game like squirrels, rabbits and many birds, the area that must be hit to ensure a humane kill is small. How small varies from animal to animal, but as a general rule it's no larger than an American quarter -- which is just under one inch in diameter.
At what range can you hit this quarter with every shot? That's your maximum effective range for hunting with a smallbore airgun.
The most effective shot is a brain shot. If it's done right, the animal dies instantly. If you miss and hit the animal elsewhere, it can escape to die slowly. So, you must know where to hit each animal you hunt. On larger game such as deer, a heart/lung shot is preferred because the kill zone is about eight inches in diameter. Deer don't always die instantly from this shot; but when they run, you can usually track them. They don't climb trees or burrow into the earth. Small game often stays close to a burrow in the ground or a nest that's high in a tree. When they run, they can get to a spot that is inaccessible to the hunter. The kill must be instantaneous, or you risk losing the animal. Limit your shots to as far as you're assured of hitting a quarter-sized target every time. You must exercise discipline to take a shot only when everything is clear. If the animal's head is half-hidden, then the kill zone isn't the size of a quarter anymore. If that's the case, use your best judgment to decide if you can make the more difficult shot.
How much power?
The second thing to consider about airgun hunting is the power the airgun generates. Velocity without power is meaningless, so airgun hunters speak in terms of muzzle energy -- never velocity. This subject is hotly debated by two groups: those who believe in using all the power that's possible and those who feel it's possible to kill with very little power. The truth is that it's possible to kill game humanely with very little power; but the lower the power, the more important it is to hit exactly the right spot. In the end, this gets to the ridiculous point of almost no power that must be delivered by a million-to-one shot to be effective. Sportsmen do not like taking chances where there's a possibility that an injured animal will escape, so there are practical lower limits to the power recommended for airgun hunting. These limits are supported by decades of successful hunting experience, both in North America and the United Kingdom. The recommended lower limit for a hunting airgun is one that produces 12 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. That equates to a .177-caliber pellet gun shooting a lead pellet weighing 7.9 grains at 827 f.p.s. at the muzzle or a .22-caliber air gun shooting a 14.3-grain pellet at 615 f.p.s. at the muzzle. Other pellet weights will obviously produce different amounts of energy at the same velocities, and you can use [url="https://www.pyramydair.com/article/What_is_Muzzle_Energy_August_2003/5"]Pyramyd Air's handy energy calculator to determine the velocity of your airgun. Of course, the pellet doesn't retain its energy after leaving the muzzle. A lower-powered airgun has a more limited range of effectiveness, while a more powerful airgun can reach out farther. You'll be limiting your shots to distances at which you can place all your pellets inside a one-inch target. With a 12 foot-pound gun, the maximum range you should engage targets should probably be 35 yards. A 30 foot-pound gun would be useful out past 50 yards, which is a distance where it will become harder to keep all your pellets inside the one-inch target. The maximum range at which game can be taken humanely is limited both by the power of the airgun as well as its accuracy.
What is small game?
To read more: https://www.pyramydair.com/article/Airgun_Hunting_April_2012/83