Since moving to the relative ‘suburbia’ in which we now find ourselves I’ve wrestled with the idea of disposing of my firearms, an old Stirling single barrelled shotgun (with a kick like a horse) & a Ruger lever action/9 shot .22 magnum rifle. (Ruger 96/22M). Neither were likely to get any further use here. The shottie has been a useful tool & I have always liked the short barrelled little Ruger. Have had both for around 20 years. However on just a bit over two acres with neighbours relatively close by, using either to try to keep the rabbit population under control is fraught with problems. Both are loud & likely to put the wind up the neighbours, & the magnum’s range is a liability, especially due to the proximity of the road & the number of horses who live across the road. The thought of a ricochet hitting one of the the neighbour’s prized harness racers doesn’t bear thinking about let alone a passing car.

Today I took the guns into town to the gun dealers & exchanged them for a new .22 air rifle which should have the capability of knocking over the bunnies which are breeding (like rabbits!) on our place. It is commonplace to see half a dozen or more of the little bleeders at a time on our lawn. New scrapings appear every night & the garden is becoming so cratered areas of the lawns are beginning to resemble the moon’s surface. I was amazed that many air rifles cost more than .22 rimfires, but with a little ‘horse trading’ managed to get a new air rifle, a gun bag, 5 x500 quality german made pellets & my old scope fitted on the new rifle plus $50 cash in exchange for my two guns. Probably could have done a bit better if I had travelled to Melbourne, but I was happy enough with the deal & it was convenient to trade locally.

All air rifles are considered ‘Group A’ firearms, in the same category as non repeating shotguns & small bore rimfire rifles which I find both surprising & somewhat over the top . Very different to when I was a kid in the UK, although I understand that today air rifles above a certain muzzle velocity are also now regulated in the UK too. The one I’ve bought has a moderate (by today’s standards) muzzle velocity of 720 fps in .22 (1000 in .177). I believe the threshold in the UK is 600fps, over which they are considered ‘high powered’ & regulated.

It’s certainly not a ‘high end’ gun but considering that when I was a kid I could knock over rabbits & squirrels with a worn out old BSA Meteor (or was it a Super Meteor) & no scope so I reckon the new one will be more than adequate. It’s a Spanish made Gamo Shadow IGT. The IGT (Inert Gas Technology) bit being a relatively new ‘springless’ mechanism, (aka a ‘gas ram’) which retains the old ‘break the barrel method’ to cock. http://www.sportingshootermag.com.au...-igt-air-rifle