Can I take down a rabbit with 5ftlbs?

[FrickinChicken]

I have a 495 fps .22 cal airgun and I would like to take rabbit. I calculated it to be around 5ftlbs of energy with a crosman pointed 14.3gr pellet. Could I humanely take a rabbit at a distance of less than 50 yards with these specs? (assuming I make a well placed brain shot).

[Nyksta]

try it out on a gopher and see how it works

[Digger1]

Apparently no one has ever tried it. A long time ago I shot a gopher from 1.3 yards with a pellet gun. It ran away. Then died.

[bb356]

I'd test it out on a stray cat first ...

[walking buffalo]

No.

[Buckhorn2]

I had a break barrel pellet gun back in the 80s when i was a kid. I am not sure of its fps. I dont even know what my current hunting rifles shoot for fps. But i can tell you pellet will kill rabbits under 10yards with a head shot. Never tried over 10 yards. Iron sights and a bullet you could sometimes see go didnt allow 50yard shots


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[Aqr8]

I would say No. At less than 30 - 50 yards, that pellet loses velocity on a 495fps (which is probably 440fps). Also, I've owned a range of pellet guns and accuracy is a bit of a challenge.
I've hunted rabbit in other countries and the 495fps worked at less than 30yrds and some of the 990 or 1100fps .22 I shot were horribly innacurate.

[ROA]

I've shot a few with .177 rifles and a pistol when I was a kid. Mostly used Swift Flight flat nose also used bb and a few pointed Crossman pellets which never seemed as accurate

Range is a big determining factor as is a good head shot. The big old prairie jack rabbits were much harder to kill than the little bush rabbits.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by bb356

I'd test it out on a stray cat first ...

Threw my coat over one of our kid's escaped rabbits once, killed it , believe it or not.

Grizz

[hilt134]

I have done it with the .177 but we are talking ten to fifteen Feet not yards. The 22 will serve you better but the shot needs to be a head shot. Heart and lungs have the potential to either wound it and let it die later or the pellet can swerve and stay in the skin. Which i once found on a squirrel that had been miss shot. If you shoot past 20-25 feet i would say your out of range for a good clean kill. Also the pellets dont expand at all. Forgot to mention it took two shots on both rabbits.

[tracker]

I used to hunt thickets for snowshoes and cottontails all the time as a kid with my pump Crossman. Never had an issue but range was reasonable and head shots the norm.

[Dewey Cox]

If you set your torque wrench to 5 ftlbs and clubbed a rabbit over the head with it, you'd kill it.

[JSAUTO]

I got one jackrabbit with my crosman 1322 pumper , about 8 or 9 yards. Head shot. But using 10 grams alloy pellets which is faster and harder , penatrate better than lead pellets. For 495 fps guns I think msx 15 yards is more effective.

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[Habfan]

Originally Posted by FrickinChicken

I have a 495 fps .22 cal airgun and I would like to take rabbit. I calculated it to be around 5ftlbs of energy with a crosman pointed 14.3gr pellet. Could I humanely take a rabbit at a distance of less than 50 yards with these specs? (assuming I make a well placed brain shot).

With a 177 cal maybe, 22 cal, doubt if it would penetrate past 20 yards. I have a German made Dianna and at 1300 fps, with a 22 cal I wouldn't shoot much past 50 yds. I have shot a couple big Jack rabbits at around 30 yes and they are dead instantly though. Need a PAL as well. If you can break a beer bottle at 50 yds, you can kill a rabbit.

[Abe89]

After taking care of bird pest problems with a .177 495 pellet gun Id say 10 yards, 20 yards max. After that accuracy and good impact seemed to suffer. But that also could just be the gun because it's never operator error right?


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[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by FrickinChicken

I have a 495 fps .22 cal airgun and I would like to take rabbit. I calculated it to be around 5ftlbs of energy with a crosman pointed 14.3gr pellet. Could I humanely take a rabbit at a distance of less than 50 yards with these specs? (assuming I make a well placed brain shot).

I would say close up, but any kind of distance approaching 50 yards you would be better off leaving it.

The pellets lose energy and velocity very quickly, and when you start out just under 500, it doesn't take very far to lose lethality.

I did take quite a few gophers with a Crosman .22 like that at probably a bit better than 50 yards, but a rabbit is a fair bit bigger. Maybe do a few penetration tests.

Originally Posted by bb356

I'd test it out on a stray cat first ...

When I was young, there was a cat that always came into our yard to fight with my cat. He took a .177 to the head with one of the sub 500 rifles at about 7 yards. He barely flinched. Maybe stunned him a little, but didn't show it.

[Tactical Lever]

I would probably look for something with a bit more velocity, if possible.

[Buckhead]

Originally Posted by FrickinChicken

I have a 495 fps .22 cal airgun and I would like to take rabbit. I calculated it to be around 5ftlbs of energy with a crosman pointed 14.3gr pellet. Could I humanely take a rabbit at a distance of less than 50 yards with these specs? (assuming I make a well placed brain shot).

Yes. You can - if you stay within 20 yards.
Any farther then that - probably a no go.
I have taken hundreds of critters with the exact setup that you describe and within 20-25 yards it is not a problem - head shots only.
Airgun pellets slow down quickly so at 50 yards you might be down to only about 3 ft/lbs of energy.

[DanJ]

Go buy a firearm. You will wound a rabbit with that toy and that's not cool. Do NOT assume you will make a "well placed brain shot" which is not a guarantee of a clean kill, especially with the cheap junk you are trying to get away with.

[Torkdiesel]

When I was a kid I had a Diana in .177 that was shooting in the 600-700 FPS range and I killed lots of rabbits with it. Scoped it was deadly out to 40 yards or so. I shot them behind the shoulder with permethius pellets, didn't lose very many of them.

[bb356]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

I would say close up, but any kind of distance approaching 50 yards you would be better off leaving it.

The pellets lose energy and velocity very quickly, and when you start out just under 500, it doesn't take very far to lose lethality.

I did take quite a few gophers with a Crosman .22 like that at probably a bit better than 50 yards, but a rabbit is a fair bit bigger. Maybe do a few penetration tests.



When I was young, there was a cat that always came into our yard to fight with my cat. He took a .177 to the head with one of the sub 500 rifles at about 7 yards. He barely flinched. Maybe stunned him a little, but didn't show it.

I should of added a to my original post or just not of posted ... I like cat's and do not recommend bouncing a pellet off their scull's .

[Chief16]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

If you set your torque wrench to 5 ftlbs and clubbed a rabbit over the head with it, you'd kill it.

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by bb356

I should of added a to my original post or just not of posted ... I like cat's and do not recommend bouncing a pellet off their scull's .

Neither do I, and knew you were joking. I like cats also, and had a good kitty. I figure he probably would have been put down if he had come out of one of those exchanges minus an eye.

I was young, mean; there was a mean cat fighting with mine all the time; I had a pellet gun. It was pretty much a perfect storm.

I would probably handle it differently now. I have my PAL, and a Benjamin Discovery is a heck of an air gun...