Thread: Rules around shooting on a lifestyle block

Originally Posted by Shamus_

Maca is on to it - 22 subs would be about the worst thing you could use in terms of safety.

centrefire subs are way worse..... scarey as fook when they whizz off into yonder regions

Originally Posted by MB

The question of extra low velocity (720 fps) fragmenting 22LR for these situations has been discussed previously. Any thoughts?

fragmenting SHOULD counter tendency to bounce...years back the splatter instead of bounce reason was marketing for stinger .22lr

It was once safe to shoot here on the farm Im on, now I have to really concentrate on the background of the shot. Sooooo many new houses on the road now.
Kind of depressing as, slowly we are being built up around the farm as townies buy "lifestyle blocks".
Ohwell life goes on I guess !

Bushveld, many years ago in Northern Africa. A farmer shot at a hardwood tree with his .375 , thinking nothing of backstops. The bullet passed through the trunk, hit the door of a dwelling a mile away ,to penetrate long wise and killed the lady occupant. Always made me think of the unknown direction and passage of a bullet since.

Stuff the .22 subs.
I shot a rabbit 20m away. Bullet went straight through the chest, bounced off the paddock and I heard it hit neighbours tin shed 50m away.
Never used them again.
Bought a high power air rifle and have had no problems. Still drops bunnies at 40m

Essentially it comes down to not upsetting the neighbours. I have a 10 acre lifestyle block and am married to a police officer. Yes we live in a rural area but have houses in a fairly close proximity. We shoot rabbits, clays and a small amount of centre fire sighting in.

My wife deals with complaints like this regularly and it generally comes down to people acting responsible. No booze, sensible hours, not too much shooting. And talk to neighbors. Talk to your local cops and trek them what you will be doing.

Get ahead of the game. Explaining is losing.

I totally understand the risks with .22LR subs. Big problem for me as we become increasingly hemmed in by new lifestyle properties. (And we have an explosion in rabbit numbers.)

What puzzles me is how much “safer” a PCP air rifle really is in this environment. I get that there’s a decent muzzle energy difference between a .22LR and say a .25 cal 28gr / 850 ft./sec PCP, but what is that pellet gonna do?

I have zero experience with PCP, so I’m curious to hear about ricochet risks from those that use PCP rifles a lot in relatively constrained areas. I was watching a YT video last night of a guy using PCP on rabbits close to roads / houses, he seemed to think it was the “safe” option.

Also, what is the real effective range on small game?

Comments?

I had a 50m range set up at my old place and plenty of neighbors nearby.
closest would have been 500m, another at that range and a couple not much further.

I shot my ar at least once a week, usually two or three times a week during the day.
suppressed usually.
also a .45acp carbine got thousands through it.

I called the neighbors if I was planning to shoot loud centerfire stuff (id call the day before)

the way I see it is that my loud hobby was very loud, but very short. (a shoot usually took ten or twenty minutes)

some of the neighbors fired up a tractor or a chainsaw etc for 8 hours, sometimes all day and all week.
I dont mind what the noise is during the day, so long as its not intentionally inconsiderate.

We share the place, kinda like a timeshare.... some of us choose to make some noise sometimes, some choose to not.
My hobby is loud, but very brief.

I only had one neighbor who was a shitty karen. the rest appreciated my efforts to notify them and also that I purchased a couple thousand bucks worth of suppressors for their benefit.

The std PCPs are way safer than rimfires. I have a 40ft-lb .22 cal and consider the pellets pretty much expended after 250yds. The pellets have a crap BC and lose vel quickly. That gun will level rabbits easily at 80yds and I've shot them further. With any sort of rest, bunnies are guaranteed dead at 60yds. So unless you have big open paddocks with no cover to sneak up in, the PCP is good for the job.

Really? You can use 22lr segmented HP @ 710fps, which is rated at 45ft-lb.

If you are referring to my first sentence, it relates to std rimfire rounds including subs

The segmented subs ricochet more than a solid 22lr round from my experience. Bullet breaks into 3 petals, and each has the ability to ricochet.
The difference is the lack of mass or aerodynamics of each petal, so they don't fly far. They still whizz as they fly.

I scan the neighboring properties for livestock before heading out, and know safe corridors of fire. I'd rather not take a shot, than have to explain to the police why there is a bullet hole in something that should not have one. You can always head back out tomorrow to get a better angle on a rabbit - they are not going to pack their bags and leave after all.

Originally Posted by quentin

I scan the neighboring properties for livestock before heading out, and know safe corridors of fire. I'd rather not take a shot, than have to explain to the police why there is a bullet hole in something that should not have one. You can always head back out tomorrow to get a better angle on a rabbit - they are not going to pack their bags and leave after all.

That's exactly what's happening to me now. I'm spending a lot more time planning how to get onto a warren these days. Usually means it's a long walk round as rabbits seem to work out where to setup shop with minimum risk to them and maximum risk to me!

the amount of rabbits Im seeing on lawns,tanker tracks close to houses and roadsides close to towns at the moment is eye opening..havent seen this many around for years. most nights there is 10-dozen between orari and rangitata right on very edge of tarseal SH1.... its warm n dry and safe...

What if you have a suitable "safe area"
But you don't get on with the neighbors and a local cop who doesn't like firearms and they all are going to say no any way
Then what?