Crow's and 12 ft lb air rifle.

minktrapper

At what kind of distance can a crow be killed with a 12 ft lb air rifle?

skipking

around 40yards with a head shot .theres a lot of drop with a 12ftlb set up targets at different distances learn your pellet drop and get a rangefinder

minktrapper

How far with a body shot.

deeksofdoom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119724939#Comment_119724939

FFS, your wasting your time with a body shot, head shots or nothing. Where are you planning on shooting these crows anyway?

minktrapper

In and around farmyards.

deeksofdoom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119725722#Comment_119725722

Well then you'll have a lot of fun with these.... they are lethal for headshots!

Asus1

Why are you getting 12 ft-lb air rifle,why not just get a rifle shooting a bit harder.I had a gamo in 22 and I got a fella that was into Airsoft and had a chronograph and we measured it was putting out between 18-19 ft-lb.

I used to shoot rabbits with it around the 40yrd mark but would always go for head.If I was buying again I'd go .17 as the 22 was a bit loopy over 50yrd for crows and they are hardy yokes.Id have one in the safe if no licence was needed.

minktrapper

Just wondering how hard it was to kill them. Would they stand still long enough for a head shot. 40 yds is a good distance.

Asus1

I used to chest shoot crows with I think jsb Jumbo's at max 50yrd and most dropped on the spot but some took off then fell from the sky.

I would never have tried head shooting them as their head is a small target and I knew I wasn't a good enough shot.Mine was a Springer so not the best you can buy in comparison to PCP rifle's .

I also used it to dispatch mink in cages and it did the job fine and safely

minktrapper

50 yds is a good distance. I presume hitting them from the side is a non runner. The wing feathers can be hard. But as you said it was more than 12 ft lbs.

Mississippi.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/106173061#Comment_106173061

if this link works "extremetaz " gave a good comprehensive answer on the subject on 18/2/18.

alan86

Just to give my own 2 cents. I have a weihrauch hw110 in .22. I use this mostly in around farmyards for crows. To answer your question on would they stay still long enough for a head shot they mostly definitely do. I have often shot one and another crows 10ft away didn't even fly away and I would in turn shoot the second crow as well. For me I try to keep them in around the 30 to 40 meter range as I have the rifle zeroed at 30 meters. I find body shots can work but once you start getting closer to the 40m mark it's not a clean kill. I find what works best in farmyards is stake it out and find the locations they hang out and then either make a hide or use existing structures to get within a clean kill range instead of taking shots too far out and not having clean kills. One of the keys here is to ensure you have a pellet that matches your rifle well for accuracy.

fiestaman

You'll need to be a sharp shooter to head shoot a crow at 40yrds with a pellet, any breeze and your missing. 12ftlbs on crows will have to be head shots so I'd say about 20-25yrds. Stick up a €1 coin size target and see can you hit it 100% each time at different distances. As said above if your going to go sub12 ftlbs a .17 might be better as there is Savage drop in a .22 sub12 pellet. If it were me I'd be going with an FAC .22 and shoot jsb hades or h&n barracuda hunter extreme pellets which will be up around 30ftlbs and chest shoot out to 50yrds. From first hand experience they will drop on the spot. Using domed pellets won't drop them with chest shots at that distance as they don't dump enough energy. Crows are hardy and need a good shot placement to drop them. No point taking pop shots and birds flying off to die slowly. In the end, HOW FAR is as far as you can hit a €1 coin 10 out of 10 shots without missing, that will tell you the distance

minktrapper

Excellent into there. How far out will the FAC air rifle shoot flat. If a 12 ft lb air rifle can kill out to 30-40m it would cover most farm yards. But the 30 ft lb would kill better. Would it be safe to shoot upwards with an FAC air rifle?

fiestaman

I zero my fac at 50yrds. About 1" drop from there to 60. I wouldn't shoot past that and it would have to be ideal conditions if I did. You'd have a second zero at about 20yrds and anything between 20 and 50 you'd be holding under. Shooting up depends where you are, if you know there is noting between you and say 200yrds then the pellet will have lost all energy by then. Of course its not recommended to shoot up but if you know its safe...make your own mind up. I shoot pigeons in barns with jsb hades pellet and on full power at 15yrds and they dump all enery in the bird with a chest shot and will not hole sheeting at that distance. 50yrds is a long way resting on a gate or a wall or sticks, sitting at a bench with bipod and sandbag is easy but real world shooting with air rifle requires good shot placement as there is no ballistic tip to blow up, your relying on hitting vital organs to kill the target.

minktrapper

Would a lower power setting in a barn not be sufficient at 15 yds in a shed. Have you ever tried slugs or similar in your air rifle?

fiestaman

No, for hades and hunter extremes you want speed so that when the pellet hits the target it dumps all its energy on impact. 16gr at 900fps is lethal, busts pigeons or rats. No, no time for slugs, if I want slug capabilities il go buy a .22lr again. Slugs are a gimmick in air rifles

minktrapper

Out of interest what kind of air rifle are you using fiestaman and how many shots are you getting out of a fill on full power.

fiestaman

Fx crown. I've had others over the years. Around 70 shots for 250bar fill

minktrapper

70 isn't too bad. What size bottle is on it.

fiestaman

480cc. I run a 380mm barrel. More air required the shorter the barrel. 600mm barrel would double that shot count. Assuming. 22 of course

minktrapper

That's interesting that the shorter the barrel is more air is required. How many filled do you get from your air tank presuming that is how you fill it.

fiestaman

Yes, that's how it works. Longer barrel creates more speed with same amount of air used with short barrel. So if you want to send a pellet at a given speed of 900fps then you must use more air behind the pellet with a shorter barrel to achieve this, add a long barrel then less air is required to get same speed.

Can't answer that 100% but I'd reckon 1000+ shots maybe close to 1500, not sure though, never actually done that test

minktrapper

What size air tank have you.

fiestaman

12ltr 300bar

minktrapper

12 Litre is big. Does it cost the same to fill a 7 ltr as a 12 ltr.

tikkamark

Agree with fiestaman,the fac pcp’s are lethal stopping power…Ive had air arms heavy 18gr .22 dome pellets drop grey crows stone dead at .50y and pellets go straight through the chest cavity and exit.Speaking from experience with the pcp headshots on any quarry be it rats crows magpies ect are the norm it just takes patience/concealment for the quarry to be calm enough to keep the head still for a few seconds.My rifle is the Air arms ultimate sporter variable power,awesome tool it is,I can shoot rats all night 80-90 shots on power level 2 or when longer distance is required usually shooting magpies/crows i up it to power 5-32ft lbs but obviously lowers shot count to about 30 shots per fill.

minktrapper

What would be the maximum distance for killing crows.

slipperyox

I know air rifles have their place, and I've had some. But with the availability of various 22lr rounds, the 22lr is better and cheaper.

Ratshot, and the myriad of 22 bullet grains and charge loads that mimic an air rifle, make it extremely versatile.

I don't have one at the moment, and miss the ratshot for inside sheds, using a 17hmr for rats at the moment and I hit quite a few during the year around farms.

Paying for scuba tanks etc just makes it more complicated, expensive, and the bloody drop of air rifles ballsistics is frustrating to say the least.

Regardless, I really appreciate a springer or gas ram as an all in one package.

tikkamark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119926411#Comment_119926411

If you start doing serious vermin control around farmyards or industrial settings like a recycling Center ect that’s where a good pcp air rifle comes into it’s own.

A .22lr or .17hmr has way too much penetration and noise to make them any way serious of a tool in those situations.The other problem is cost,on a good night on the rats I could easily fire 90 pellets that gets expensive quickly if I’m out a few nights in a row.

The other major positive for the pcp is accuracy at distances from 10y to 40y they can and do put a pellet into pellet consistently and all while being whisper quiet.All you will hear is pellet impact noise from a pcp with a shrouded barrel.

Its hard for someone that hasn’t used or seen a good pcp in action to understand how good they are.Yeah there expensive enough to first get setup with a tank and scope ect but once up and running pellets are dirt cheap €12 for a 500 tin of jsb hades or air arms pellets

Minktrapper

They would drop a crow out to 60-70y easily enough- with enough practice and a laser rangefinder to get your pellet drop you’d drop a crow further but wind would make things more complicated.

minktrapper

Thanks for that Tikka.