Shotguns in the garden are a bit of a no no, and besides, doesn’t feel right for rabbit control. I know next to nothing about air rifles…

So, what air rifle for keeping numbers at bay. Over run with the blighters! Don’t want anything too expensive, but needs to be able to get a good clean shot.

Oh, and yes, will be adding them to the pot!

Firstly, can you shoot? If you can’t, whatever you do don’t start on live targets!

After that, I suggest something like a BSA scorpion pre charged. No recoil, astonishing accuracy and I picked up a full setup, charging bottle, scope, silencer and bag for £380.
Of course, Any springer will do the job but you’ve got to be a bit better to get repeatable results with a spring rifle.
The other way is to post in a couple of hunting forums, you’ll be over run with offers!
Also think about what backstop you’ve got. Pellets winginging into neighbours gardens is a bad thing!

Firstly, can you shoot? If you can’t, whatever you do don’t start on live targets!

Yep. Usually pheasant.

Crossbow, longbow or catapult. Rock the old Skool Flashy.

Any public highways or footpaths within 20 (IIRC)) yards of where you’ll be shooting?
Shooting pheasant with a 12 bore is a bit different to shooting rabbit with an air rifle..

For peak STW simply create a bespoke trebuchet from your wood pile….

If you’re going to do it, do it right!

[video]https://youtu.be/H7Wy49bWSfA[/video]

You are Lady Campanula Tottington & I claim my £5!

As above, try the bunny buster, or try Mr Wallace and Mr Grommit of Anti-Pesto
[video]https://youtu.be/QGE23Uykd1Y[/video]

Anything close to legal maximum power that you can hit its head with at say 20 yards. More may work but let’s be cautious. Until this century a springer with open sights was regarded as fine for the job. Bit of practice will solve every thing. Or get a suppressed .410. Rember n+1 applies to shotguns as well.

Crossbow, longbow or cat[s]apult[/s]. Rock the old Skool Flashy.

Rent a fox? I hear the rates are reasonable 😉

Thanks, folks.

This looks a decent set up to me,
https://m.pellpax.co.uk/airguns/air-rifles/spring-powered-air-rifles/pellpax-rabbit-sniper-kit-22/209

Would be fun for target popping as well, I suppose.

No public rights of way.

Oh, and this would be the +1 in the equation! The proper guns are under lock and key. 😉

The proper guns are under lock and key.

In the shooting brake one assumes m’lud.

If only, Matt! Brakes are cooler than a penguin’s pantry!

Where do you live flashy? Welcome to have a play with my weapon if close!!
Buy a decent brand and you,lol be doing fine. .177 is smaller, faster, flatter trajectory but can drill though quarry. .22 will drop more at range but tends to hit a bit harder as it imparts all the energy into the target. Both will take a bunny with a head shot at 35m. Modern pcp’s are amazingly accurate. 10shot groups at 30m with literally one pellet on top of the other. Springers I just can’t shoot as well anymore but used to hunt exclusively with them so they do work -with practice!
Good brands
Weihrauch
BSA
Airarms

Welcome to have a play with my weapon if close!!

😯

Tinybits, am in Hampshire. Amusingly, not too far from Watership Down.

Used spring rifles in my youth, and the simplicity appeals.

As long as you cook them after its all good. Please don’t leave them out ask it attracts buzzards and other nasty burgers like magpies.

used to have a co2 jobbie that of course slowly leaked over the weeks between shots so of course was no good for “Annie get your gun” moments.

Swapped it with a friend for a simple brake barrel with built in suppressor. More clanky, not really as accurate, but easier to grab in a rush and sneak out in jim-jams commando-style between the herbaceous borders and nail the bastards at short notice.

Interesting re leakage, Stoner. The grab and bang approach is more what I need, I think.

Oh, and I don’t wear pyjamas. 😉

Oh, and I don’t wear pyjamas

Yet, what trousers for shooting rabbits…

I’ve got a Weirauch HW 90 which is a break barrel but uses a gas ram instead of a spring. It’s a big heavy beast but very accurate, little recoil & also quiet as long as I use a sound moderator.
You need to be able to hit a 20p piece at the the range you want to shoot the bunnies at, (30 yards tops realistically with a none fac rifle) as that’s about the size of Mr Lapin’s brain.
+1 for eating what you shoot. The offal fried up with wild garlic & mushrooms with some butter & chilli is a great post shoot breakfast.

Had this problem when we moved to our current place (4 ½ acre paddock out back.)

Starting by shooting a few myself. Realised that I wasn’t really making a dent so invited in some locals with better skills and a defender with hunting lights and they didn’t make much difference either (if any).

Then got an unwanted little cat (ginger type) who kills a couple a day for fun. Didn’t take him long to get them under control and requires no more effort then giving him some food ( yep, he can’t even be bothered to eat the bunnies, just kills them for fun).

Also, the moggy approach leaves more time for bike riding which, lets face it, is more fun.

I’m south of bath, even my weapon isn’t long enough to reach!

For springers, I’d be after an old hw77 or hw95. If I could track one down, a Theoben with the gas ram. Awesome rifles.

I honestly wouldn’t touch the one you linked to – it’s an air rifle bso!

Thanks, Tiny.

This sort of thing?
https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/air-rifles/theoben/break-barrel-gas-ram/22/eliminator-170908104501002

Right brand, wrong gun. That’s a firearm. If I remember correctly, it puts out 45ftlbs, legal limit is 12ftlbs.

Id buy this one -forgot about the Airarms 200’s, Excellent guns

https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/air-rifles/air-arms/under-lever/22/tx-200-hunter-carbine-beech-171217180731797

AA TX200’s and ProSports are probably some of the best sping powered guns there are – I own a .177 Mk2 TX200 🙂

The HW97 is probably the only other springer I would settle for.

Having said that when it came to bunny-bashing I would bag one bunny with the TX200 and the rest would go to ground. Once I got a silenced pre-charged with bipod and 10 round mag I could get 5 or 6 before the rest knew anything was up.

I miss hunting, it must be 10 or 11 years since I last went.

£300 seems a lot to spend on rabbit control gun. I doubt even shooting a few days a week you’ll control the numbers ? Why not just shoot them with your shotgun with some lighter shot ? Possibly a legal / neighbour reason ?

IIRC the HW90 has the theoben gas ram , It would be a very good call. I’m a .177 fan , it doesnt quite make the same THOK noise tho as the .22.

Get a springer, just more fun imo.

The Weihrauch 99 (lightweight) and 77 (heavy) both come with open sights so great for plinking and short range target shooting as well as hunting.

If you don’t want open sights buy the one that feels nicest.
Air Arms, Weihrauch, Diana and Walther all make nice, quality springers.

No point in buying something cheap from an unknown brand, much more chance of it being a gun shaped object.
There are exceptions, Hatsan from Turkey are nice (and make Webley’s guns for them now).

Hawke and Nikko Sterling make nice mid range scopes.
Get one that’s adjustable for parallax.
Something like a 3-9 mag * 40mm is great for hunting, enabling you to focus down to realistic ranges.
You might want to go a bit longer, say 4*12 if you want to shoot targets at longer ranges.

And a rabbit’s brain is about the size of a 2p coin.
You just can’t risk a missed shot with an air rifle, the bunny will just go to ground and die slowly and agonisingly.
Your range should be limited accordingly.

It can be great fun, rabbits aren’t stupid and it takes a bit of skill to get close enough.
Wood pigeons are even harder – their brains are tiny and chest shots aren’t guaranteed to kill cleanly.

Prefer .177 myself.
Flatter, less affected by wind, cheaper and you can use it for target shooting if you like.

I used to enjoy hunting and everything apart from the rats got eaten.

Then we got a pet rabbit, I found out that wood pigeons mate for life and I became soft.

As said that pellpax thing is a heap.

HW90s have a hell of a kick to them but for some strange reason are still very usable.

You could pick up an old Falcon FN19 Hawk or Raptor for that sort of money, maybe a Prairie if you got lucky. you would still need a pump but you would have a perfect hunting setup. Barrels are Lothar-Walther too so no excuses for bad marksmanship.

Air Arms S200 is another good shout a good little gun made by CZ.

Cheapest springer to go for is the Hatsan 60S (or 50S in .177). Decent enough trigger group that can be great with minor fettling.

Walther LGV’s, Air Arms TX200 or anything made by Weihrauch or Diana that is rated for 12fpe will do the job too. Latter two have excellent triggers, I’d be looking at a Hatsan or Weihrauch HW99 if buying new with scope or HW77/ Diana 430 if second hand. HW90 is out of your budget I think.

I would go for a spring powered purely because you don’t need to do anything to it to be able to shoot.
I’d be looking at Airarms, Theoben or Weihrauch.
Also worth getting a nice torch as it’s easier to shoot at night.

AA TX200’s and ProSports are probably some of the best sping powered guns there are – I own a .177 Mk2 TX200

I had a Pro Elite when I was hunting. Amazing accuracy for a springer, was heavy though..

Oh, and I don’t wear pyjamas

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas!

What it was doing in my pyjamas I’ll never know!

One of my colleagues shoots foxes out of her bedroom window.

Me: “What’s the furthest away you’ve got one?”

Her, straight faced: “Just under a mile.”

They have quite a big garden and I don’t think she uses an air rifle.

I had a Pro Elite when I was hunting. Amazing accuracy for a springer, was heavy though..

Yes, but I bet you didn’t chip your nail polish on the under-lever 😉

Nope, no under-lever to worry about 😉

CFH you can borrow my setup as long as you let me drop a few it off

One of my colleagues shoots foxes out of her bedroom window.

Me: “What’s the furthest away you’ve got one?”

Her, straight faced: “Just under a mile.”

They have quite a big garden and I don’t think she uses an air rifle.

Must have a seriously high powered rifle to be hitting anything at “just under a mile”. Must also be missing and injuring quite a few as well. There aren’t any legally available rifles in the UK that have a grouping capacity to reliably hit a fox from that distance, even if there was no wind.