Straight after my last hunting trip in mid July, I flew south for some weeks of family activities. While I was away I had a few calls from farmers experiencing wild dog attacks on their stock and pets. Since getting home mid last week I have been out and about trying to get on to the offending canines.

There has been no luck on that front but I have got to see some beautiful sunrises. The last few days I have been busy with bird photography. For anybody who likes to see some good photos of our wild birds, have a look at https://bestbirdphotos.com.au/latest-bird-photos/ which features some great photos from a range of photographers.

A close by farmer sent a message this morning and asked me to come and deal with an infestation of rabbits. That was a great excuse to put my camera down and take the Weihrauch HW100 PCP out in the field. I received this rifle from Alcock & Pierce to use in the pellet testing project I am undertaking. So far I have not completed that exercise and the rifle has shot only targets. There was also another good reason to try for some bunnies.

I took a pinch of .22 H&N Barracuda Hunter pellets which weigh just over 18 grains and feature a big hollow-point. Conveniently, the rifle happened to be sighted for those. I figured they should be ideal for hitting some bunnies. I only had 20 of them left and reckoned some hunting was the perfect way to use them up.

I was hoping for a few bunnies, but not expecting much. The property owner concerned is sometimes prone to exaggeration. It was only a few minutes’ drive and I was there just before sunset. Promisingly, a few bunnies scampered across the driveway as I drove in.

My friend had not been exaggerating at all. After a quick chat as the sun set, I could see more and more rabbits emerging from the bordering field of long grass. I walked the several hundred metres along that boundary, potting rabbits from 10 to 50 metres range. I am pleased to say that there were no missed shots. I did shoot a couple of bunnies twice if they were still kicking.

The Weihrauch HW100 PCP in .22 calibre with those H&N Barracuda Hunter hollow-point pellets really did the job. I was impressed – and out of ammo. By my count, I had dropped 16 bunnies along the edge of the long grass. I was getting quite dark as I retraced my steps, collecting the rabbits.

A few will end up on our dinner table, but the rest I will use for my raptor photography. In the last few days we have had up to nine birds of prey at a time coming to the rabbit I put out each morning. That includes six separate species up to and including the mighty Wedge-tailed Eagle, only thirty metres from my patio breakfast table! You can see why sometimes bird photography takes me away from my shooting.

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