fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
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| Shooting permissions needed, are rabbits a problem? |
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I have recently taken up air gun shooting with my friend and our sons. We have been looking for somewhere to shoot as you can't just go to a local field and start plinking away.
I am a mature and sensible man of 52 and wanted to do a bit of daytime rabbiting for the sport of it with a bit of dinner thrown in. I am a member of the British Air Shooters Assoc and have public liability insurance to a value of £2m. I can carry out a full risk assessment if required. I have full night vision capability and have a shooting permission at a couple of local golf courses.
What I'm looking for is a daytime permission. Night permissions are good for the winter when the rabbits tend to only venture out in darkness but from about now the daytime starts to pick up and I can't go shooting with golfers on the grounds.
I wondered if anyone out there had some land which was having trouble with rabbits and wanted them controlled in a cost effective way (ie free!). I just want to hunt with my friend and our boys in a safe and sensible way and bring home some dinner. I am hoping to build a good relationship with the landowner for years to come and hopefully offer another pair of eyes regards security of the land thrown into the deal. We have already stopped some motorcyclists ruining the greens at one of our golf courses.
If anyone has a bit of land with rabbits that need controlling, I'm your man if your reasonably local to Romford, Essex. 
Cheers
Fisherman FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
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 16th Mar 2012 10:39 am |
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DiscoDad
Member Since: 06 Nov 2006
Location: Beautiful Teesdale
Posts: 3003
  
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Nice to see you back on here Fisherman!
Shame you live so far away, we are plagued with pigeons in our village.
I might get an air rifle myself, I fancy a bit of pigeon pie!
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| 16th Mar 2012 11:10 am |
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fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
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I have shot Wood Pigeon and they do make very good eating but do make sure they are Woodies and not ferals as they are likely to be a bit mucky and you don't know what they may be suffering from.
Normally if there is an infestation, they're ferals.
There are also collared Doves which are edible. The rest of the birds which you can shoot tend to be Corvids (Crow family) which I have no reason to shoot as I don't want to eat one.
Been very busy for a long time but my work has all but died off over recent weeks. The company I did most of my work for has been in administration for 18 months and it sort of killed off my role by about 90%.
It's been a while since I posted anything, business was good for 5 years nearly.
How time flies.
 FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
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| 16th Mar 2012 11:34 am |
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pom
Member Since: 10 Feb 2008
Location: Worcestershire
Posts: 1790
 
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corvids are vermin same as rabbits, pigeons, pikeys etc. Take them when you can the local songbird population with thank you!
Pom
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| 16th Mar 2012 4:28 pm |
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fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
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I appreciate Corvids are regarded as pests but unless they are a problem to the landowner I prefer not to kill anything which I can't or don't want to eat.
If however they are causing problems to the landowner I'm happy to dispatch as many as I can as part of my free service to allow me shooting rights on their land. FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
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| 16th Mar 2012 4:55 pm |
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Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
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pom wrote:corvids are vermin same as rabbits, pigeons, pikeys etc. Take them when you can the local songbird population with thank you!
Pom
Never seen a rabbit or a pigeon kill a songbird 
Fisherman, wood pigeons, especially in the winter, live in huge flocks often over 1,000 strong I've never seen ferals in those numbers. Good luck with your rabbits though DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
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| 16th Mar 2012 5:06 pm |
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fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
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I don't see many flocks of woody's in Romford, they're generally in small groups of 6 or so.
They do taste very good though.
I'm told the best tasting vermin is in fact grey Squirrel. A furry rat in my eyes and not top of my culinary list by a long way.
I do understand how they are regarded as pests considering how they have displaced our own native red Squirrel.
Everything on the list of allowable quarry is there for a reason but that doesn't mean I have to shoot it. I'm happy to deal with specific problems and happy to eat what I find palatable. Each to his own I reckon. I don't feel the need to kill for killings sake alone. FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
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| 16th Mar 2012 5:13 pm |
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sean 471
Member Since: 26 Apr 2011
Location: Sheffield
Posts: 2990
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Its good to hear from somebody that shoots that they only shoot things they can eat.
Too much wildlife shot just for fun and then thrown in the hedge.
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| 16th Mar 2012 5:50 pm |
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Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
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fisherman wrote:
I'm told the best tasting vermin is in fact grey Squirrel. A furry rat in my eyes and not top of my culinary list by a long way.
They taste fine, but are tough to skin. DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
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| 16th Mar 2012 5:54 pm |
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fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
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To skin a Squirrel I'm told you need to do it immediately after shooting and by cutting just under the tail, stand on the back legs and pull the tail up. If you let them go cold, they glue their coat on!
Rabbit and Wood pigeon are on my menu but getting them in my sights seems much harder than expected.
Poaching is effectively armed trespass and comes with a sentence so I have to have permission to do it first.
Is there anyone out there can help me? FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
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| 16th Mar 2012 10:10 pm |
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Chicken Duck
Member Since: 11 Nov 2009
Location: Italy
Posts: 1387
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Fisherman is your rifle the standard 12 ft.lbs job or a FAC one?
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| 17th Mar 2012 12:30 pm |
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fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
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Standard 12ftlb, too much bother with the FAC and nowhere the wife would want the gun safe to conform. FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
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| 17th Mar 2012 12:35 pm |
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Chicken Duck
Member Since: 11 Nov 2009
Location: Italy
Posts: 1387
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Does it take the bunny out with one shot?
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| 17th Mar 2012 12:50 pm |
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fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
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If the kill zone between eye and ear is hit a 3ftlb will do the job.
It's all about accuracy which is what the sport is all about.
I certainly don't want any animal to suffer from a poorly placed shot. There is more to shooting rabbit than point and squeeze. You have to check the backdrop and ricochet area as well as any meandering person/animal that wanders into shot. The distance has to be within 35 yards to be safely accurate and still be up to dispatching quickly and cleanly.
It is an unwritten rule that the rabbit should be more than 2m from its burrow in case the shot isn't immediately disabling so it doesn't run back down the burrow to die. My gun is a Weirauch HW100 which has a 14 shot magazine and can be reloaded in 2 seconds and refired.
It is a pre charged pnumatic which is pumped up to 300 bar and will safely shoot 60 pellets at a very consistent pressure.
Its regarded as the best there is for hunting without going overboard on price, it still cost over a grand including the air bottle to refill from. FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
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| 17th Mar 2012 1:06 pm |
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Chicken Duck
Member Since: 11 Nov 2009
Location: Italy
Posts: 1387
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Thank's was just making sure,am off to Gun shop this week then Ps wasn't having a pop at you for your sport Is this the one http://airgunbuyer.com/Showproducts.asp?ca...r%20Rifles Been 30 years since i had air rifle i had BSA airsporter they changed a bit.
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| 17th Mar 2012 1:14 pm |
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