bunnie bashing in north dublin

rushcz214

hey lads.

so heres the story, myself and a buddy are at the end of our tether trying to get bunnies. we are out around 2,3 times a week. day and night shooting. however the only bunnies we seem to get are just out of dumb luck. is there anyone that can advise us on what we could be doing wrong. or is there even anyone in the area shooting bunnies with rifles that could show us the tricks of the trade?????
at this stage any advice is really appreciated.:D:D:D
we have lamps we are well hidden and at least a hundred yards from any target.

session savage

Do you or your partner partake of the ould chat? Rabbits have great hearing ya know.
Personally I like to go for rabbits on my own as I find it easier because I can sneak along really quietly.
If there are rabbits there and you keep quiet and stick to the hedges you should have no problems.
Typically early morning is the best or late in the afternoon I find. although I'm luck to have a huge rabbit population outside my back door and have rabbits out 24/7.

blackstairsboy

Is the ground you are lamping lamped often? The rabbits will quickly become lamp shy if lads are running dogs at them and not catching. When you flick on the light do rabbits immediately run for cover? If it is frosty or snowy at the moment they will easily hear you coming with the crunching of the grass. A dark windy night is the best when we lamp with lurchers. I do not have experience with rifles so I do not know how a strong wind will effect you but do avoid moonlight nights. You could try a red filter on the lamp but with reduced vision you will have to be familiar with your land and know your backstops. Walk the land in daylight and if in doubt do not fire. A good tip I picked up is if you have the lamp on a rabbit and he begins to run put the beam in front of the rabbit between the rabbit and the ditch. This should stop the rabbit running as he will not run into the light.

cavan shooter

Cant believe your struggling to get rabbits in and around Rush, Lusk, Skerries. I have 3 jointed in the freezer shot during the day all from around Whitestown area.:D:D

Have you considered fishing:rolleyes:

Octopus

Hmmmmm...

It's a long way from in front of your laptop in Cavan to Whitestown.

rushcz214

Well cavan. We are very new to it. Where in whitestown where you shooting? I know its hard to pass on a skill like this via a forum but all advice is going to a good cause:-). Basically our set up at the min is using a net as a hide and a lamp to light up an area we know bunnies are because we have seen them during walkabouts in daylight.

Octopus

Well cavan. We are very new to it. Where in whitestown where you shooting? I know its hard to pass on a skill like this via a forum but all advice is going to a good cause:-). Basically our set up at the min is using a net as a hide and a lamp to light up an area we know bunnies are because we have seen them during walkabouts in daylight

No point building a hide and waiting for them to come out. As mentioned the bunnies are wary enough when hunted regularly so they might not just pop out if they think you are around. Keep on the move and cover more ground.

You're doing the right thing during the day, walking, so replicate it at dawn and/or dusk. Keep on the move for the bunnies.
There are some hilly areas in North Dublin to sneak up on the bunnies but what I look for is grass fields with curved/bendy ditches with plenty of brambles / gorse sticking out in clumps. There may be ditches with loads of rabbits but if the ditch is dead straight with no cover it's hard to get up close even with a .22 you'll want to be within 80 yards. A good rough ditch where you have to zig zag out and around the clumps of briars will allow you to get right up to your quarry if you do it right. Stealth is the key.

kildare.17hmr

Whats the ground like that your shooting in? flat, hills ect? are you above the rabbits when your shooting? as in are you shooting down at them? a young lad in my area had a similar problem and was not adjusting his aim for shooting at an angle. when ever i go after bunnies i walk all the fields and come back through to where i started. never go home empty handed

gripp

rushcz214 wrote: »

Well cavan. We are very new to it. Where in whitestown where you shooting? I know its hard to pass on a skill like this via a forum but all advice is going to a good cause:-). Basically our set up at the min is using a net as a hide and a lamp to light up an area we know bunnies are because we have seen them during walkabouts in daylight.

why dont you shoot them as you see them on your walk abouts

juice1304

gripp wrote: »

why dont you shoot them as you see them on your walk abouts

we would if we saw any, but we see very few when we go walkabout.

kildare.17hmr

juice1304 wrote: »

we would if we saw any, but we see very few when we go walkabout.

yous must be makin alot of noise or something, iv nearly stepped on rabbits at night iv got that close! Lampin for rabbits is best done alone or if a big permission start in the middle and head oppisate ways

juice1304

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Whats the ground like that your shooting in? flat, hills ect? are you above the rabbits when your shooting? as in are you shooting down at them? a young lad in my area had a similar problem and was not adjusting his aim for shooting at an angle. when ever i go after bunnies i walk all the fields and come back through to where i started. never go home empty handed

it's quite hilly ground, we would be shooting down from where we would usually go. but we set up a target there the other day to check holdover so we should be grand there. the first night we went out with the lamp we switched it on and gave the field a sweep and saw 4-5 bunnies i took a shot at one and missed:rolleyes:, And then we sat down for a good twenty minutes being quiet and when we gave another sweep of the lamp nothing. then the last night we went out we were sitting there for a good while and nothing, so we went for a walkabout and saw nothing and the we went back to our spot and sat there for a while and saw no bunnies, But we did spy a fox about 150y into the field. i'd say we just need to be a bit more stealthy.

kildare.17hmr

the thing with lampin is "shoot the ones infront of you and keep movin"(i no i robbed that quote from someone else here but its the simplest way iv heard of explainin it), dont shine the light accross the whole field you will just let everything know you are there. shine ahead of you and in range of the gun and be quiet. i think its just more practice ya want!

juice1304

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

the thing with lampin is "shoot the ones infront of you and keep movin"(i no i robbed that quote from someone else here but its the simplest way iv heard of explainin it), dont shine the light accross the whole field you will just let everything know you are there. shine ahead of you and in range of the gun and be quiet. i think its just more practice ya want!

thats a good tip thanks:)

Thomasofmel

I shoot occasionally in north Dublin as well - I walk a lot, learn to know where the bunnies are, come back the next time sneaking close been lamping there as well - but seen so many other lamping groups out there, that I recon the bunnies know the thrill already - hide, quick

cavan shooter

Octopus wrote: »

Hmmmmm...

It's a long way from in front of your laptop in Cavan to Whitestown.

Everything and everyone from that area is so much nicer:D:D
its worth the trip:p

lamper35

invest in a few ferrets and carry them along with uput them down the holes and shoot the bolting rabbits;)

juice1304

lamper35 wrote: »

invest in a few ferrets and carry them along with uput them down the holes and shoot the bolting rabbits;)

It would be a bit hard hitting moving rabbits with a rifle, And even if we did hit them you can't guarantee in a clean kill.

lamper35

juice1304 wrote: »

It would be a bit hard hitting moving rabbits with a rifle, And even if we did hit them you can't guarantee in a clean kill.

i missed the rifle bit:D

juice1304