Shooting rabbits at 200 yards with a .22LR

How far away would you shoot a rabbit with a .22 rimfire? 50 yards? 60? Maybe even 80? That's nothing to Robert Bucknell's gamekeeper friend, Jon Cook. He's happy taking them at 200 yards. That is possible thanks to a new scope he bought recently. It’s an Arken Zulus HD 5-20x LRF - a digital day-night scope with a laser rangefinder and ballistic calculator. Once you have set it up, two presses on the button will tell the range and provide an aiming mark calculated for that distance. Jon finds it allows him to shoot not just rabbits but also foxes at ranges previously unthinkable with his 40-year-old CZ bolt-action.
For more about Arken scopes, see Scott Country g.co/kgs/Fdd7ZVg
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We’re proud to promote enjoyment of fieldsports and the countryside. There are three guiding principles to everything we do on Fieldsports Channel:
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Why shoot rabbits?
Rabbit shooting, ferreting and catching rabbits with dogs are legal activities in line with UK animal welfare laws. They are designed to remove rabbits, cute but a major pest, from agricultural land, where they damage crops, and dig up ground causing hazards to livestock. Both ferreting and shooting are more selective than the alternative, poisoning rabbits. Rabbit hunting is also social, involving groups of ferret owners or shooters, who go out at weekends and have little or no representation in other media. Plus rabbit meat is lean, healthy and local sourced. Give it a try.

[@pvegod1484]

Having shot this setup, I’ve put 100% correct info into the zulus and came out with 4 inch errors in holdovers at more than 100 yards with chronod ammo. This guys found the perfect ammo and data set, it’s not this easy guys 😂😂

[@English_Speaking_Fox]

The Arken is a great scope. Already got a strong following here in New Zealand and is being used for all sorts of shooting. I’ve got two, on a CZ455 Varmint .22LR for rabbits & hares, and a Tikka .223 Rem SuperVarmint for red & fallow deer, goats, pigs. The key is the ammunition. It took me a good while to find .22LR ammunition that was consistent enough for the kind of longshots you’re seeing in this video. Settled on Czech made Sellior & Bellot 40gr HP which was not what I was expecting! Was very cost-effective buying in bulk (10,000 rounds). Very low ES and fantastic tight groups, at 100m it significantly outperformed the CCI, RWS, Fiocchi and Eley I tried. The .223 Rem ammo is hand loaded, 75gr Hornady ELD-M in Geco brass. Lots of time spent on brass prep & consistency. The Arken makes long kills shots a doddle. The best bit of kit I got for this rifle was a sitting position tripod. Rock solid.

[@farooq5235]

Hi, I was thinking of getting this scope for my cz455 varmint barrel. Which type of mounts did you use?

[@SilasMoleCatcher]

You're right there mate. It can take ages to find the optimum ammo for a gun.

[@English_Speaking_Fox]

@@farooq5235 PM35S 35MOA mount on the TGR “improved” rail.

[@farooq5235]

Which one would you recommend 3x12 or 5x20?​@@English_Speaking_Fox

[@crazyeyes1533]

I love my Arken Zulus! very hard to get in Canada but I managed to get one!

[@JudahMaccabee_]

Absolutely love CZ rimfires. CZ firearms in general are superb. I havethe CZ 75, and Shadow 2 pistols in 9mm and are both wonderful. I have the CZ 452 American, BRNO Mod 2 and Mod 4 rimfire rifles all in .22 lr. They are very high quality, accurate and dependable. Best quality for the price.

[@paulhampson8496]

What a bit of kit brilliant

[@omarabdelrahman3739]

That scope looks very high off the bore (to me). Those CZ rifles are great, I had a BRNO model 3 that was more accurate than any Mauser I ever saw. Finally, Lapua ammo is now the best.

[@MrPh30]

My choice would been .22 Win Mag or a .22 Hornet , but it shows why the .22 LR , Long and Short have been in continuous use and manufacturing since before the War between the States . It just work . As the great Pondoro said about an.22 lr rifle and a heavy revolver and he would not walk hungry on his expeditions.

[@andrewgrimsted7947]

if the rifle was decent like my dads brno model 1 with a parker hale tv vision scope in hillba mounts using rws bullets 100 yards all day not a problem.

[@user-yz3bc9ok9l]

阿肯瞄准镜看起来不错呢

[@other2535]

Where to buy scope and how much was ot? Tha

[@Non-Stick_Pan]

Chav turned gamekeeper...lol

[@Mooseracks]

I shoot gophers at 100 yards all day...longest shot was 340 yards....took me 5 shots though

[@user-my5gj4me6q]

Dang, how long is that barrel?

[@davidoldboy5425]

You never see sniper rifle carbines mate, for a good reason.

[@southerndiscomfort2412]

That CZ452 model (Ultra Lux) has a 28" barrel. The longer the barrel on a .22 the slower the bullet will travel. A 28'' barrel will considerably slow a .22 bullet down due to friction. Around 16'' will give you max velocity for the .22LR cartridge. Centerfire cartridges however are different due to more powder, so a longer barrel will result in higher velocity.

[@davidoldboy5425]

@@southerndiscomfort2412 Point taken, but as you can see the proof is in the pudding (old quote UK), looks good to me?

[@user-my5gj4me6q]

@southerndiscomfort2412 what's the farthest hit you got?

[@kerimibrahimov1748]

Hello, what model is your gun?

[@markmurphy854]

Possibly CZ452. I got that from a response below.

[@user-po7iv4ni3o]

I'm the most floored by the fact that such a scope can already sell for under $500 USD. Not "cheap"... but wow, that's CHEAP! 😂 You know what I mean...

[@other2535]

Where did you see it for under $500?

[@pinocolada4254]

200-300 yard plinking and even groups are quite common in pcp airguns today. That is airguns without FPE regulations and using slugs with a good balistic coeficient.

[@L.V-Rider]

@pinocolada4254 What does that has to do with this video about a scope? Anyway, I also have a few PCP rifles, but I don't play it off against any of my PB rifles, including my .22LR.

[@pinocolada4254]

​@@L.V-Rider What i mean is, like said in this video, people tend to believe 22 isn't made for longer shots. All depends on the setup and ammo. To me its sounds like a 22 PB cant be trusted to lets say 150yds by most of the people yet airgun enthousiast manage to shoot those distances and act like its common these days. May not be the case in the UK were anything over 12fpe needs FAC. And another big difference between 22 and airguns in the US. Not many people consider a 22 with 120+fpe to take wild boar yet in the US airguns scene a 60FPE .25 airguns seems to be considered enough to take a pig. To me its odd there are this big differences in trust in the material between the 2 scenes. PB and air. In my eyes PB should do everything an airguns is capable of and beyond. If i can hit a can at 200 yds with a 22 airgun, slugs and a cheapish scope, anyone with a 22lr and a comparable scope should do better.

[@nigelbase1196]

Bet you dont show the ones he's wounded!

[@shropshireladoutdoors743]

Scope isn't available

[@predatorprotectionuk]

Yes they are, I put a link in a review video I made not long ago. Optics Warehouse stock them 👍

[@MrZombieslayer409]

Takes all the skill out of it.

[@RuffsTV]

"It is cheap" - £600 isn't cheap.

[@precisionairgunninghunting6265]

Yes it is for what it is, on one of my FAC Air rifles I have a IOR Vulcan & another I have the Valdada Recon G2, which is way over 2k & i take wabbits over 200yds with ease 🙂

[@predatorprotectionuk]

Compare that with the equivalent from Pulsar or HikMicro, and it’s CHEAP. Not only that, but it’s a fantastic scope both daytime and at night too.

[@thedalesrabbitcontroller5265]

It's cheap compared to the market prices for the competitors

[@nicholasrichards2402]

Repeat again

[@davidoldboy5425]

I shoot, but playing devils advocate in our sport, with modern technology it is actually getting harder to miss than hit. Thus the animals chosen to shoot have next to no chance, resulting in larger 'bags', there are many instances on social media showing huge hauls of animals. Whilst we look upon this as good, I'm afraid that in the modern world a lot of people do not, I would call upon you all to stop this practice for the good of our sport, this is used against us. I'm not saying stop but saying be more cautious in what you publicise, my gut feeling is that with the present lot night sights may be banned, we shall see?

[@mikecollins8241]

The people in charge of the management of the animals (wildlife biologists and game keepers) have studied populations closely and make regulations accordingly 😉 it is called conservation, and has been in standard practice for 100 + years now..

[@davidoldboy5425]

@@mikecollins8241 ???????????? what has this to do with what I said?

[@samuelgoad7320]

Id agree, the technology can seem scary good but the bag limits are set as to only cull surplus, Here in Virginia bag limits can vary from year to year depending on what our Wildlife department determines

[@shotgunsurgeon3849]

"with modern technology is is actually getting harder to miss than hit" as someone who worked on a gun range for years, I respectful disagree. 😂

[@davidoldboy5425]

@@shotgunsurgeon3849 Admittedly a bit of poetic licence, but you know what I mean.

[@AnthonyNewman-pq3el]

not very sporting just high tech not many rabbits about round my way !!!

[@L.V-Rider]

@AnthonyNewman-pq3el For that matter, no rifle is very "sporting", not even a bow and arrow will be. All that is just .... high tech. Go and catch it with your bare hands, that will be sporting, wouldn't it?

[@bones6978]

Some real "old man yells at clouds" energy coming from this comment, I'm positive people said the same thing about hunting with rifles when they first came out.

[@RoderickMcCafferty]

Okay for targets, but unethical for foxes. Good way to draw negative attention. Sport is meant to be "sporting" that is ethical. This is not sporting or ethical.