Thread: Safety, shotgun and small lifestyle blocks

My boss has a lot of spring rabbits running around. I shot ten with a 22 lr and some other pests.

Even got one with my new gevarm and the irons! Good fun.

The place is has two houses in front and behind it but not on either side for a decent way.

I am coming back for more as I'm the only person who he knows with a license


Should I just stick with the 22 and get good at hold over? I freely admit that I have barely any experience with shotguns.

Also what sort of shells should I get?

I have solids, No 4's and 3's. And some clay loads.

Cheers

Your header is...................." Safety, shotgun and small lifestyle blocks"

Simple, stick with the .22 and add a moderator .
Shotgun blasts are just going to really piss of the small lifestyle block owners around you and it is an offence to "annoy" with a firearm.

Originally Posted by Kiwi Sapper

Your header is...................." Safety, shotgun and small lifestyle blocks"

Simple, stick with the .22 and add a moderator .
Shotgun blasts are just going to really piss of the small lifestyle block owners around you and it is an offence to "annoy" with a firearm.

I know that. It was more of a question of if there's no reason other than that to do it. The neighbours are pretty good.

Consider the cost per shot. It’s waaaay cheaper with your .22 once you’ve got your rifle set up

Consider the effective range and your target. Yes if moving and within the range of your shottie, then it’s justified, but if these are sitting shots and you’re able to rest the rifle well...... .22 will offer some exciting and challenging opportunities.

Definitely talk to all neighbours. Even get their text number so you can send them a quick text message in the evening before each shoot. It’s your record of your due diligence.

Check in with neighbours and offer a nice head shot rabbit occasionally. Develop the relationships. They will talk to other farmers and that may bring other hunting opportunities!

Be safety conscious. Wear blaze, even a removable sign at gate “pest control shooting occurring - no entry” etc.

Enjoy yourself!

#4 for rabbits. I have found #3's have too many holes in the pattern. (Using half choke)

Your mileage may vary.

Max....it does. falcon sp36 #3 lead is THE load for rabbits.......trust me on this one having shot literally thousands of them with it over a couple of months period doing so professionally.

to the O.P. a moderated .22lr is far more neighbourfriendly but watch your backstop EVERYTIME. the shotgun is great for sub 40 yard bunnies on the run heading for rubbish piles etc,but sitting under cover and snotting them with .22lr is much more cheap ......in saying that Ive taken to using .223 and highly frangable varmit loads in small reserve for same rabbits. the 75-125yard shot is well easy....vs possible with skill with .22lr.
with shotgun you might get 2 outings with sucess....then they run like stink at sound of shot,so at most will get single bunny per outing.....the .22lr with moderator can allow multiple kills each outing as bunnies dont seem to click on before they are dead.

Not so. See section 48 of the Act. No mention of the words "may" or ,,"without lawful purpose".

or look into pcp

Originally Posted by SiB

Consider the cost per shot. It’s waaaay cheaper with your .22 once you’ve got your rifle set up

Consider the effective range and your target. Yes if moving and within the range of your shottie, then it’s justified, but if these are sitting shots and you’re able to rest the rifle well...... .22 will offer some exciting and challenging opportunities.

Definitely talk to all neighbours. Even get their text number so you can send them a quick text message in the evening before each shoot. It’s your record of your due diligence.

Check in with neighbours and offer a nice head shot rabbit occasionally. Develop the relationships. They will talk to other farmers and that may bring other hunting opportunities!

Be safety conscious. Wear blaze, even a removable sign at gate “pest control shooting occurring - no entry” etc.

Enjoy yourself!

This is just something to do in the evenings. Not too bothered about the cost. I don't shoot much.

I have to get a new 22 so was thinking about a marlin 795.

All good points!

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Max....it does. falcon sp36 #3 lead is THE load for rabbits.......trust me on this one having shot literally thousands of them with it over a couple of months period doing so professionally.

to the O.P. a moderated .22lr is far more neighbourfriendly but watch your backstop EVERYTIME. the shotgun is great for sub 40 yard bunnies on the run heading for rubbish piles etc,but sitting under cover and snotting them with .22lr is much more cheap ......in saying that Ive taken to using .223 and highly frangable varmit loads in small reserve for same rabbits. the 75-125yard shot is well easy....vs possible with skill with .22lr.
with shotgun you might get 2 outings with sucess....then they run like stink at sound of shot,so at most will get single bunny per outing.....the .22lr with moderator can allow multiple kills each outing as bunnies dont seem to click on before they are dead.

Yeah I shoot from either end of the place so I shoot into the native on either side. Have to pass up a few animals but last thing I want is an over shoot.

Originally Posted by berg243

you could buy my air rifle for shooting rabbits. someone makes a suppressor for 410 gauge shotguns i have had good success with mine using 4 shot . try those 22 rounds that are suppossed to break up on impact might be a bit safer for any possible ricochets .

There's not that many rabbits so not a lot of shooting long term. Will just be coming every few months to knock them back.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

This is just something to do in the evenings. Not too bothered about the cost. I don't shoot much.

I have to get a new 22 so was thinking about a marlin 795.

All good points!

Cheers.



Yeah I shoot from either end of the place so I shoot into the native on either side. Have to pass up a few animals but last thing I want is an over shoot.




There's not that many rabbits so not a lot of shooting long term. Will just be coming every few months to knock them back.

Cheers.

Nothing wrong with a 795...


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I'm in a very similar position, and find a suppressed .22lr, shooting segmented subs reduces the pass throughs a lot. You get the odd ricochet of a bullet petal, but they don't go very far, being light and not very aerodynamic. I also find shooting a few rabbits next to each other is very doable, as they have no idea where the shot came from.
I also have a .25cal PCP air rifle for the properties around us that don't want anyone shooting with a .22lr.
For a rifle that dumps all of its energy into a rabbit and has no pass through issues - .17 remington at over 4000fps. Downside is they are very affected by wind.

You will be mildly shocked how many rounds of your .22LR are actually ricocheting unless you are shooting into a backstop. I personally have stopped shooting my .22LR where houses are within a Km and the terrain is flat - way too risky. IMHO this is where the .17HM2 has a niche application and is what I uses in these situation. Its got 90% of the performance of the 17HMR, but a little quieter when suppressed.

At the end of the day, which is more dangerous to the public - noise, or a ricocheting bullet?

Ive given up on using a 22 it ricochets, and am using a 17 hornady with a suppressor. Bullets seem to break up on hitting grass as i cant hit bunnies if they are in long grass.

Originally Posted by hotbarrels

You will be mildly shocked how many rounds of your .22LR are actually ricocheting unless you are shooting into a backstop. I personally have stopped shooting my .22LR where houses are within a Km and the terrain is flat - way too risky. IMHO this is where the .17HM2 has a niche application and is what I uses in these situation. Its got 90% of the performance of the 17HMR, but a little quieter when suppressed.

At the end of the day, which is more dangerous to the public - noise, or a ricocheting bullet?

Of course the bullet. But I'm not going to go out and get a 17 hm2 for a few days a year of rabbit shooting. There's less than ten rabbits above the ground on his place

I have a full length suppressor on a single shot Yildiz 410 shotgun. Quiet and safe re ricochet risk. In my opinion the best option for lifestyle blocks bar none. I am killing rabbits out to 30m. Made by Gunworks. Legendary wee gun and oh so much fun. Way better than an air rifle for the same money. I wont use a 22 anywhere near houses now. Too much risk.