Hunting Fish With An Air Rifle...

[chris u'5]

Ever heard of this;

https://thearmsguide.com/14713/hunti...ventional-fun/

I haven't!

[bighit]

An ex friend used to do it at the weir when the salmon were coming up the river. He would wait for them to jump up the weir and the fish would be in the water flow for a few seconds trying to swim against the flow to get over the weir. He hit a few and recovered them.

He got caught by other fishermen who reported him to the police . He got the rifle taken off him and marched 1/2 a mile to the police station.

I had stopped going fishing with him months before due to his poaching . I bought the relevant permits and he did not. And he tried to use my permit if we were stopped by the water balliffs.
He lost the rifle and got a caution. He had a new rifle days later .he is still a thieving twat to this day. This was 25 years ago.

[piggy589]

Surely the main reason not to would be the risk of ricochets?.

Unless you were shooting them in the proverbial barrel.

[bighit]

Surely the main reason not to would be the risk of ricochets?.

Unless you were shooting them in the proverbial barrel.

Depends on the angle.

[chris u'5]

So the pellet could ricochet off the surface of the water like when skimming stones???

Is it actually illegal here in the UK? The article mentions it is illegal in many places.

[air-tech]

I don't believe it will work. I occasionally spearfish, and believe me, fish are tough. They don't just belly up and die. If a fish comes off the spear, you will never see it again, even if it leaves its guts behind. I think the only time I hit a fish and it just died was when the spear glanced off its head taking out its brain. Other than that every fish that I take off the spear will need restraining, actually will need to have wire looped through it prior to taking off the spear otherwise the chances are high that it will slip from my grasp and disappear. Not forgetting that an air rifle pellet will likely only make it through a few inches of water, even a 9mm (Cartridge calibre not airgun) IIRC won't make it to the bottom of a swimming pool.

[jon_h]

Few of the old boys down this way used to get mullet this way. Wait until a decent shoal was spotted going close by the shore swimming on the surface and unload a .22lr at them. Then walk down when the tide had gone down a bit and pick them up. This was many years back mind and done in times of relative hardship for the food.

[chris u'5]

I think as that link was from an American website they are probably talking about rifles that would be FAC rated here.

[starrysmoothhound]

yes, I used to hit grey mullet as they came up a small stream in Milton in Pembrokeshire, used to wait on a small bridge not two meters deep and wait for a fish that had broken the surface( they did this all the time), then wack, the fish was in shock/dead, used to just get down and pick it up, the pub, the Milton arms used to take them for free food and drink, considering I was only 14 it was a good deal.:
it was a .22 relum tornado.

[angrybear]

So the pellet could ricochet off the surface of the water like when skimming stones???

Is it actually illegal here in the UK? The article mentions it is illegal in many places.

Yes, it's almost certainly illegal here, both shooting in public & legal fishing methods.

[Steyr]

you can fish with many things.

I like bows, rifles, shotguns, Anti Tank rockets, electrical paddles and 6 million volts (catches and cooks in one), grenades, stultifying liquor....