# Hunting > Varminting and Small Game Hunting >  Air rifle hunting pics

## Mintie

Most of the hunting I do is small game, and I almost always pick up one of my airguns to do the job. 90% of the time I am hunting on orchards or vineyards with houses around the boundary and using an airgun vs a rimfire gives me much more confidence in taking the shot safely, it also helps me gain more permissions to shoot on as land owners are generally much happier to allow airguns than rimfires.

I have loads of old photos of pests I have bowled over so I thought I will post some of them up here and start a thread for people to add to with their own airgun pics - I'm sure lots of you have airguns in the cupboard that get used occasionally.

These 2 rabbits were taken last night on an apple orchard 5 mins from home, both were shot at around 50m. The rifle is a Russian Edgun Matador in .22. It is currently tuned to run the 18.1 gr pellets at 905fps but I have some new 25.4gr pellets that I will be tuning it up to around 915fps in soon.

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## Cordite

> *90% of the time I am hunting on orchards or vineyards with houses around the boundary and using an airgun vs a rimfire gives me much more confidence in taking the shot safely, it also helps me gain more permissions to shoot on as land owners are generally much happier to allow airguns than rimfires.*


 @Mintie

Great approach, not just the obvious safety aspect.  No rimfire cases about, and less lead than .22LR.  Could even use lead-free / low-lead pellets to impress. (-:

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## rossi.45

+900fps sounds impressive  . . . what kind of range can you go out to ?

R.

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## Mintie

> +900fps sounds impressive  . . . what kind of range can you go out to ?
> 
> R.


This platform is very adjustable, The tune is set to the most stable speed for the pellets. This could easily be tuned up above 1500fps if I wanted to make some noise with it but it wouldn't be accurate  :Have A Nice Day:   I haven't had this particular rig too long but I have taken rabbits at 100m with it, with the heavier pellets (and more powerful tune) it should be able to take rabbits out to 200m. The rabbit that was taken at 100m was interesting, it was a lung shot due to a little bit of wind drift and the pellet passed through the organs without hitting any bone and was captured just under the skin on the far side with no damage to the pellet at all other than the clean rifling marks - see the pic I took of it.

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## Lore

> This platform is very adjustable, The tune is set to the most stable speed for the pellets. This could easily be tuned up above 1500fps if I wanted to make some noise with it but it wouldn't be accurate   I haven't had this particular rig too long but I have taken rabbits at 100m with it, with the heavier pellets (and more powerful tune) it should be able to take rabbits out to 200m. The rabbit that was taken at 100m was interesting, it was a lung shot due to a little bit of wind drift and the pellet passed through the organs without hitting any bone and was captured just under the skin on the far side with no damage to the pellet at all other than the clean rifling marks - see the pic I took of it.
> 
> Attachment 86027
> Attachment 86028


What pellets are they?

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## Cordite

> how many shots out of 1 fill and where did you get it from.can these be refilled with a pump rather than a dive tank.that is a *nice airgun ideal for lifestyle blocks* .


 @berg243

I strongly agree with the spending justification you are just now busy concocting for your chief financial officer.  

But do precharged pneumatic air rifles not require a FAL, and thus lockup as for A-cat, and restrictions therefore on leaving them in unattended vehicles etc?  (Please correct me on this, someone.)

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## Fawls

PCP needs FAL.

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## Mintie

> how many shots out of 1 fill and where did you get it from.can these be refilled with a pump rather than a dive tank.that is a nice airgun ideal for lifestyle blocks .


On its current tune this one is around 120 shots before it starts to drop off its regulator. When I tune it up for the heavier pellets i'm expecting about 90 which is still heaps, I have never needed more than that in a night but if I was to head down to Otago I have a small carbon fiber tank I can take out in the back pack to give me a handful of fills. They can be filled from a hand pump but it takes quite a while and can be quite exhausting.

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## Mintie

> What pellets are they?


Those are the 18.1gr Edgun pellets, Same as the JSB Exact heavy but a slightly better die used and better QC (rumor has it they are sorted by hot Russian chicks)

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## Mintie

> @berg243
> 
> I strongly agree with the spending justification you are just now busy concocting for your chief financial officer.  
> 
> But do precharged pneumatic air rifles not require a FAL, and thus lockup as for A-cat, and restrictions therefore on leaving them in unattended vehicles etc?  (Please correct me on this, someone.)


Yep PCP rifles need a fal, PCP pistols on the other hand seems to be ok without a FAL but they are restricting the importation of them now.

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## Cordite

> Those are the 18.1gr Edgun pellets, Same as the JSB Exact heavy but a slightly better die used and better QC (rumor has it they are sorted by hot Russian chicks)


Yeah, right!

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## MB

Air rifle threads are always of interest to me as I grew up shooting them. Now I have a FAL, don't think I'd bother - heavier rifles, less range and more to go wrong versus rimfire, but I see why you use them. I wonder how low velocity 22LR compares?

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## Cordite

@MightyBoosh

Not enough difference to matter for Brer Rabbit, methinks.  (-:

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## kukuwai

Here's a picture from about 40min ago.
This is a .22 stoeger air rifle.

It seems to have no problems dropping possums from trees with a well placed shot.

Its actually really handy when spotlighting as often come across 2 possums at the same time. One gets the .22 rimfire and one the air rifle 

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## 6x47

Can't beat a decent PCP. Rabbits are in serious trouble under 100yds and certain dead meat at 60 with any sorta rest

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## Mintie

Went looking through at some of my old airgun hunting pics for you guys to bring this thread back to life.


A couple of Rabbits shot with the Cometa Fenix and a Hare shot with the BSA HV Sportsman both in .22cal




Boris the Rusky out doing his job.


This one is a custom built PCP by a friend of mine for me, Its .30cal and shoots at 46fpe. Grunty little thing!



These 2 are custom Crosman 2250's that I have built up, co2 powered bolt action rifles which are very modifiable! 




This beast is a Korean Evanix AR6 Hunting Master. Its a 6 shot revolver style action PCP rifle in .22 cal shooting at around 60fpe! Took many many pests with that rifle!

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## Mintie

A few from a little walk last night with the boy







This Plover was a beauty head shot at about 80m

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## 6x47

About to have another session on a small orchard/ life sentence block. Got 24 bunnies there last Thur in ~45mins  :Have A Nice Day:

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## dannyb

One down hopefully many more of the destructive little roof invading bastards to go

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## 6x47

Yup, starlings sure are persistent and can take some hunting skills to catch them out.

Got back home at 6.20 having been back out to the bunny place. Took a mate out with his .177 PCP, a -super accurate- single shot one. His is certain death to bunnies under ~35yds if he has a rest. Between us, we bettered last week's tally in an hour but a much higher proportion of smaller ones this time. Smiles all round

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## Boar Freak

> A few from a little walk last night with the boy
> 
> Attachment 96277
> 
> Attachment 96278
> 
> Attachment 96279
> 
> This Plover was a beauty head shot at about 80m
> ...


Hey  @Mintie what brand is that rifle with the wood stock? I have some starling problem but its a no shotgun area. Range would be 30-60 yds so I thought maybe an accurate precharged would do the job.

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## dannyb

> Yup, starlings sure are persistent and can take some hunting skills to catch them out.
> 
> Got back home at 6.20 having been back out to the bunny place. Took a mate out with his .177 PCP, a -super accurate- single shot one. His is certain death to bunnies under ~35yds if he has a rest. Between us, we bettered last week's tally in an hour but a much higher proportion of smaller ones this time. Smiles all round


our Starlings appear to be retarded and have little fear of man or cats.....easy pickings and mostly shot at under 10 meters

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## 6x47

Not round here Danny. They get constant harassment on our life sentence block and know they need to keep a good 100m away. Even then, I've nailed quite a few. Same applies to maggies.

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## Mintie

> Hey  @Mintie what brand is that rifle with the wood stock? I have some starling problem but its a no shotgun area. Range would be 30-60 yds so I thought maybe an accurate precharged would do the job.


Thats an Edgun Matador R3m in .22, It would be the perfect tool for Starlings and would knock them over out past 150m with the right shooter.

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## Mintie

Wanted to resurrect this thread again a little with some pics from a recent hunt.

The Crosman 2240 is a very versatile platform for modding, this one has been changed out to .25 cal  and had all of the internals tuned up - it now gives 3 times the original power output at 18fpe.









This one is a Zbroia Kozak PCP in .22 running at 31fpe

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## Mintie

And a couple more from other random hunts

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## Jusepy

Nice job mintie, I shall post some up next time I go out with the cometa.

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## Uplandstalker

I'm liking this thread! Currently in the market for the PCP for around the house etc. There are a few rifles in here I hadn't looked at.

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## mikee

> I'm liking this thread! Currently in the market for the PCP for around the house etc. There are a few rifles in here I hadn't looked at.


Where would you go to buy a good quality PCB and what sort of $$ are they??

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## Uplandstalker

From what I've found, there are a few retailers in NZ. Prices from $1k to  +$3k

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## Jusepy

Youngs Air gun center is a good place to buy PCP, Also if you pm me I know a couple of guys in wellington selling a couple of guns. 
I have been looking for one myself but want to buy a rim fire first ,  and I have been putting feelers out their on a airgun nz site.
Another point is , on trade me there seems to be a couple for sale.

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## Fawls

Yes Youngs is great but mikee is in Nelson, PCP's are not cheap, I would want to try something expensive before making any decisions. His site does have a catalog on it which would give you an idea of prices bearing in mind a PCP needs a way of recharging of which vary in price and effort and convenience. 
Young's Airgun Centre

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## Josan

Remember, if you want to shoot a PCP a lot and/or high power, you will need to fill from a dive bottle and have a dive shop or other filling station for the bottle close to you. If you don't shoot a lot and shoot lower power (around 14 fpe or less) , a hamdpump is an option. In the latter case a quality springer is also a good option.

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## southernman

I have just entered into the PCP air rifle, rabbit hole of expense, with the purchases, of an FX streamline, in .25 cal. scope and a hand pump. xmass pressy to self.
 I am amazed by the accuracy, its way better than any of the .22 rimfires I own, 50m I can get 10 shots into a thumbnail sized group, Thought the wind defiantly pushes pellets around, more than I expected. 
 Already got tired, of the hand pump, Have a Nomad electric pump, sitting on the floor, just picked up from the post office.

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## Jusepy

[ATTACH]130202
A rabbit I dispatched with my cometa .22 air rifle.

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## Jusepy

Went out for a shoot tonight  , was a beautiful evening .
Managed to shoot three rabbits and saw a fair few more..
.[ATTA[ATTACH]130274CH]130277[ATTACH]130278

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## tiroahunta

> Went out for a shoot tonight  , was a beautiful evening .
> Managed to shoot three rabbits and saw a fair few more..
> .[ATTA[ATTACH]130274CH]130277[ATTACH]130278


The rifle must be pretty good second photo down....it followed the curvature of the earth...


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## Mintie

Knocked this hare over last night with the Zbroia Kozak, it was about 90m and slightly down hill of me so I lined it up and squeezed the trigger... He just flopped forward then over onto his side with no kicking or anything. Cooking him up at a scouts camp tonight to show the kids what it tastes like.

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## Mintie

> nice looking rifle @Mintie how many shots per fill? and what cal is it?


Thanks, It gets around 60 shots @ 32fpe on the reg before it starts to drop. .22

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## Ultimitsu

> .... FX streamline, ...
>  I am amazed by the accuracy, its way better than any of the .22 rimfires I own, 50m I can get 10 shots into a thumbnail sized group, Thought the wind defiantly pushes pellets around, more than I expected.


What are the 22 rimfire rifles you own or owned?

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## flock

Here a blast from the past  -  HW 80  accupells 14g at 850fps, Scope is a Leapers the only Scope that has handled the strange recoil that springer possess

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## flock

The Bunny on the left I rushed the shot because his ears were down, as you can see he didn't have any. Not sure why, perhaps fighting?

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## Jusepy

Youngs Air gun center is a good place to buy PCP, Also if you pm me I know a couple of guys in wellington selling a couple of guns. 
I have been looking for one myself but want to buy a rim fire first ,  and I have been putting feelers out their on a airgun nz site.
Another point is , on trade me there seems to be a couple for sale.

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## Fawls

Yes Youngs is great but mikee is in Nelson, PCP's are not cheap, I would want to try something expensive before making any decisions. His site does have a catalog on it which would give you an idea of prices bearing in mind a PCP needs a way of recharging of which vary in price and effort and convenience. 
Young's Airgun Centre

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## Josan

Remember, if you want to shoot a PCP a lot and/or high power, you will need to fill from a dive bottle and have a dive shop or other filling station for the bottle close to you. If you don't shoot a lot and shoot lower power (around 14 fpe or less) , a hamdpump is an option. In the latter case a quality springer is also a good option.

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## southernman

I have just entered into the PCP air rifle, rabbit hole of expense, with the purchases, of an FX streamline, in .25 cal. scope and a hand pump. xmass pressy to self.
 I am amazed by the accuracy, its way better than any of the .22 rimfires I own, 50m I can get 10 shots into a thumbnail sized group, Thought the wind defiantly pushes pellets around, more than I expected. 
 Already got tired, of the hand pump, Have a Nomad electric pump, sitting on the floor, just picked up from the post office.

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## Jusepy

[ATTACH]130202
A rabbit I dispatched with my cometa .22 air rifle.

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## Jusepy

Went out for a shoot tonight  , was a beautiful evening .
Managed to shoot three rabbits and saw a fair few more..
.[ATTA[ATTACH]130274CH]130277[ATTACH]130278

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## tiroahunta

> Went out for a shoot tonight  , was a beautiful evening .
> Managed to shoot three rabbits and saw a fair few more..
> .[ATTA[ATTACH]130274CH]130277[ATTACH]130278


The rifle must be pretty good second photo down....it followed the curvature of the earth...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Mintie

Knocked this hare over last night with the Zbroia Kozak, it was about 90m and slightly down hill of me so I lined it up and squeezed the trigger... He just flopped forward then over onto his side with no kicking or anything. Cooking him up at a scouts camp tonight to show the kids what it tastes like.

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## Mintie

> nice looking rifle @Mintie how many shots per fill? and what cal is it?


Thanks, It gets around 60 shots @ 32fpe on the reg before it starts to drop. .22

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## Ultimitsu

> .... FX streamline, ...
>  I am amazed by the accuracy, its way better than any of the .22 rimfires I own, 50m I can get 10 shots into a thumbnail sized group, Thought the wind defiantly pushes pellets around, more than I expected.


What are the 22 rimfire rifles you own or owned?

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## flock

Here a blast from the past  -  HW 80  accupells 14g at 850fps, Scope is a Leapers the only Scope that has handled the strange recoil that springer possess

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## flock

The Bunny on the left I rushed the shot because his ears were down, as you can see he didn't have any. Not sure why, perhaps fighting?

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