Should I hunt rabbit with a hollow point air rifle pellet or a pointed deep penetrating air rifle pellet?

.22 caliber Beeman Crow-Magnums or .22 calber Beeman Silver Arrows??? Why would one work better than the other and for what reasons???Should I hunt rabbit with a hollow point air rifle pellet or a pointed deep penetrating air rifle pellet?
The answer depends entirely on what you are hunting with. If you are running an air rifle which reliably generates 15+ foot pounds of energy at the muzzle, then a Crow Magnum will typically still expand out to 40 yards or so, according to some different sources, as well as some experimenting I have done with my Webley Tomahawk, you need something like 6 - 8 foot pounds of energy to get them to expand.





So if you are running something in the 12 foot pounds of energy range, like an R11, or an R9 then I'd be more inclined to use the Silver Arrows unless you are running inside of 30 yards for your shots.





Personally, I'm not a huge fan of pointed pellets except in low powered air rifles and would suggest you look at some of the domed, my favorite being the Crossman Premiers, Webley Lazapels and the JSB Exacts for higher power or the express for a lower powered gun.





I'm assuming you have sorted out your skill with the air rifle for making humane shots, and have sorted out the laws in your locale for doing your rabbit hunting.





ThinkingbladeShould I hunt rabbit with a hollow point air rifle pellet or a pointed deep penetrating air rifle pellet?
bunnies are very thin skinned


i have used both with the same result


dead bunny and one shot kills


which ever is the most accurate in your gun will be more of a concern for you so that you can place the pellet where you want it every time.
I have to disagree with Chuck.





Unless your an expert marksman then air weapons are at best marginal on any thing bigger than rats. I'm a firm believer in humane kills.





Best thing I can say on air weapons is that they don't blow holes in the barn when you shoot the rat.





Ian M
A - Always use the pellet your rifle is most accurate with





B - Domed pellets are ';generally'; the best for hunting, since they retain velocity better and therefore deliver more energy at impact than other pellet shapes





C - You're going to have to have a very powerful rifle to push .22 caliber 18.2gr Beeman Crow-Magnum pellets at what IMO is an optimum velocity(around 900fps).....A MV of 900fps gives you a very flat trajectory and an inherently accurate rifle/pellet combination.....You would need a 20.0fpe rifle to push that pellet at even 700fps....





I don't know what rifle you have, or other factors, I'm only trying to make a point....%26gt;A rifle/pellet combination that gives you a poor trajectory makes it difficult to hunt effectively and humanely.... IMO, it's not fair to the game we hunt. You can't afford to be off by even an inch in your hold over/under let alone 2 or more....





Could it be done, you bet, it becomes much more difficult though....If you're the kind of person that puts 100 or more rounds through your rifle each day, and knows to within 1/4in your hold over/under at every range out to the effective limits of your rifle, then you could do it.....
doesnt really matter, as long as you have a decent gun they'll both work wanders,





just a personal note: i've already killed a rabbit with head shot at 45 yards using crossman premier hollow points with a 1000fps .177 pellet gun





EDIT; some people will come on here and sware that a 22LR is the way to go, but those are just the people that have never shot a high powered pelllet gun before





EDIT: or you'll get some PETA FRECKS saying how bad it is to hunt, all i got to say is RABBITS MAKE GREAT STEW!!!








EDIT:


IAN M- shoot a high powered adult air rifle once, not all air rifles are like the red ryders, there some pellet guns out there that have BEEN PROVEN to KILL mountian goats, and when your blowing stright though a 4x6 and a 2x4 at 50 yards, i'm pretty sure that its a little over kill on rats, I've already got INSTANT KILLS on ground hogs/ woodchucks at over 100 yards with a high powered pellet gun
if they are accurate in your gun, they are both good rounds and ive killed bunnies with both.
well if you are in pennsylvania, thats illegal my friend
You shouldnt hunt rabbit at all. What have they ever done to you?