quietest rifle/mod for bunnies ?

brianfrancis45

Was talking to a farmer who has a problem with bunnies and seems like I may get permission to shoot his land but he is concerned about noise as he has a lot of thoroughbred horses on the land who are very skittish and quite highly strung - one of 'em nearly kicked the head off me springer earlier ! :eek: So I'm trying to determine what would be the best and quietest rifle/mod that I could buy/use. Looking at the lie of the land and where the bunnies are mainly located in open land, it looks like most shots would have to be taken from cover about 70-110 yards away. Being a shottie man meself would appreciate any guidance from experiened rifle shooters . Would .22 LR or .17 HMR be best for the job ? I'm guessing the .17 HMR from the range/accuracy point of view but what about the noise level. Is a mod fitted .22 LR much quieter than the .17 HMR ?

Thanks

deerhunter1

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Was talking to a farmer who has a problem with bunnies and seems like I may get permission to shoot his land but he is concerned about noise as he has a lot of thoroughbred horses on the land who are very skittish and quite highly strung - one of 'em nearly kicked the head off me springer earlier ! :eek: So I'm trying to determine what would be the best and quietest rifle/mod that I could buy/use. Looking at the lie of the land and where the bunnies are mainly located in open land, it looks like most shots would have to be taken from cover about 70-110 yards away. Being a shottie man meself would appreciate any guidance from experiened rifle shooters . Would .22 LR or .17 HMR be best for the job ? I'm guessing the .17 HMR from the range/accuracy point of view but what about the noise level. Is a mod fitted .22 LR much quieter than the .17 HMR ?

Thanks

22 with mod and sub sonics would be much quiter than a 17hmr with a mod, but you would not have the range or accuracy of a 17hmr

ormondprop

.22 without a doubt, a .17 with a mod still is as loud as a .22 without a mod, for silence its impossible to top a .22 with a mod and subsonic rounds, and will still reach 100 yards no problem if you know your bullet drops

brianfrancis45

Thanks Ormond. So it looks like 22LR is the lad for it , as long as the other lad (meself) can get to grips with the bullet drops - eek ! I suppose its a practice thing ?

ormondprop

Best thing to do is get a scope with holdover points or mildots and just learn the distances for each point on the scope, thats one problem i have with mine, i only have a normal cross and have to roughly judge how much to aim over or under the bunnys, not the best method but it works some of the time

BELOWaverageIQ

.22 with sub sonics and a moderator would be very suitable but be warned they are a son of a bitch for ricochet and if there are valuable livestock you will need to be very carefull!
Go for a bolt action with subs and a mod ;the bunnies will not hear a thing at the 100yrds.
As for range Ive a drop chart out to 250yrds on my .22 with subs.

garv123

.22 is your only job if horses are involved.


plus 50 rounds into paper will only cost you 6-8 euro. with a hmr it could be 14-20.

buy a .22lr and you can put 150 rounds into paper at ranges from 50 slowly out to 100+ for under 20 quid.
check out the for sale/wanted section on the shooting forum. theres alot of good .22's for sale for good money and ready to shoot.
from what ive seen there could be 6 inch drop on the .22 from 0 at 50 yards firing out to 100.
maybe if all your shots will be longer shots you should 0 it at 70-80 yards which will make drop easier to judge

vixdname

I have an Anschutz .22LR and use subs with a Parker Hale moderator and the only noise you'll hear from the rifle is the mechanism as its a semi-auto.
A .22Lr would be ideal for your situation.

session savage

.22lr with sub sonics is a no brainer.
As for accuracy the .22 is just as accurate as the .17hmr.
I have a CZ .22 and my friend had a sako quad in .17hmr and they are both the very same in accuracy. Only difference is range. I can consistently shoot shamrocks at 100yds with my CZ .22lr.
Personally with a .22 sub sonic I wouldnt go for a rabbit over 150 yards. I shot a pigeon at 150 yards and hit him sqaure in the chest and he needed a follow up. I dont like having to use follow up shots.
I second the ricochet warning. .22 sub sonics will bounce off anything.

rimfireguy

Hi. I have a .22 cz silhouette which I use for rabbits with winchester subsonics and a
parker hale mod. Very accurate and quiet but I think 100 yards is the limit for consistent accuracy with this combination. You say that most shots are on open fields to approx. 110 yards. Keep in mind that if you stay low, keep your silhouette off the skyline and move slowly you should certainly be able to get closer than 100 yards for most shots.
Agree with previous posters re. ricochet, safe backstop essential. Good luck.
Also, I found Eley subsonic hollowpoint xtra to be a superb hunting subsonic round if you can get them. Cant get them here in Kerry at present.

mac80

I have had a number of .22's and they are ideal for ranges below 100 meters and very quiet with a mod.
I now have a .17 HMR and even with a MOD there is a crack out of it but it allows you to reach out to 150 meters so your further back and the it delivers a hell of a punch.
It is also really great at picking off grey backs and Magpies nearly all of which used to be outside of range when I had a .22.

Ammo is a bit more expensive but if you decide to take up Fox shooting then this gun is good to use up to 100 meters with ease.

If its your first rifle then I would go for a .22 ( Remember to ask for a Moderator on license ) see how it works for you and if you feel you want a bit more range you can always change to a HMR.

poulo6.5

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Was talking to a farmer who has a problem with bunnies and seems like I may get permission to shoot his land but he is concerned about noise as he has a lot of thoroughbred horses on the land who are very skittish and quite highly strung - one of 'em nearly kicked the head off me springer earlier ! :eek: So I'm trying to determine what would be the best and quietest rifle/mod that I could buy/use. Looking at the lie of the land and where the bunnies are mainly located in open land, it looks like most shots would have to be taken from cover about 70-110 yards away. Being a shottie man meself would appreciate any guidance from experiened rifle shooters . Would .22 LR or .17 HMR be best for the job ? I'm guessing the .17 HMR from the range/accuracy point of view but what about the noise level. Is a mod fitted .22 LR much quieter than the .17 HMR ?

Thanks

.22lr is the only way to silence properly. and it will do the job out to 150y if you get a cheep range finder you can reach out a bit further. i practice out to 200y with mine and i regularly shoot bunnies out to 120y and one or two out a bit further .

with practice you will get the hang of it fairly quick. get a scope with mil-dots to make it easier to reference hold overs;)

best of luck

Goosie

As most of the lads say, modded 22lr is the job. A long barrel is better than a short one if you want it real quiet.

Goosie

I've had 2 cz lr in my time. A lux with a 25"ish and a Scout with a 16"....big difference in sound. 1 a mini boom and the other just a phut. Some other peoples experience may differ but that was mine. Both were used with a Sak mod.

brianfrancis45

Thanks to all for the advice.

So if I have this right my best bet is a CZ .22LR with at least 20 inch barrels ( seems
shorter would be quieter but potentially illegal ?) ,a Sak Mod and subsoncis (but be wary of richchets) .

Any recommendations for a decent make of mildot scope and approx cost ?

Greatly appreciate the guidance lads .

mac80

Try ano fo the Hawke scopes, good quality and decent price.

ghostmantra

Any recommendations for a decent make of mildot scope and approx cost ?

i only recently got a mamba lite scope. for the price and spec its top class:cool:
http://www.mtcoptics.co.uk/mtcScope_MamLt.htm