This flapping around after death is quite common in chickens I have dispatched. My mate Pat Yoko told me of a Cape Buffalo shot with a 375 Holland and Holland and it ran over 100 yards before dropping. When butchered its heart was found to be destroyed. Its thought the muscles in the body and legs keep the blood pumping around for a while. What a subject to get on !
Baz
BE AN INDEPENDENT THINKER, DON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD
I converted to .177 in sub 12 for all my hunting a few years ago.
Without doubt shot placement is key.
But..... what I've found is that most .177 pellets do over penetrate. My thinking on this has lead me to use JSB express in .177 but actually at lower power.
I run all my springers at 10.5 with express. The energy transfer with the lighter pellet is staggering. No over penetration, much more of a visible "mess" and cleaner kills.
So in my mind its not about greater power. Its getting the combination of the rifle power and pellet choice right.
B.A.S.C. member
We should all use .50 BMG with body shots to be 100% sure.
Until they are banned!!
Master Debater
And that would be the same if you used a higher powered airgun or powder burner .
so are you saying hunting with ALL firearms should be banned ?
Or should we do as Murphy says and use a .50bmg to shoot animals as even if you hit its eyelash it will still blow it to pieces
Well, not really.
The movement required to make a 12 Fp airgun pellet miss the brain is miniscule - 8-10mm ?
The movement required to miss a heart/lung shot with a .22 RF or 30 FP airgun is more like an inch.
The heart/lung target area is much larger, but is only really an option when you have more power.
This is what I found when I hunted with FAC air and RF anyways - it probably only extended my range from sub 12 40 yards to FAC 55 yards - but it meant I didnt need to aim for the tiny brain of my quary for every shot.
Now the HMR allowed much longer ranges, but was just too noisy for someone used to silencer air or .22 subs.
Always looking for any cheap, interesting, knackered "project" guns. Thanks, JB.
As hunters we should all try to be good sportsmen and do our very best to be as humane as possible. But we must recognise it is not a perfect science. Respect your quarry.
Let us also remember that the Natural World is by far the cruelest of them all. Even human industrialisation can't match it. Most humans haven't any clue what is done on their behalf to provide for their needs and wants. At least a good sportsman recognises the magnitude and responsibility of what they are doing, and what they are doing is quite natural and normal and nothing we haven't been doing from the very beginning.