Rabbit "Hunt"

This is normal behavior for rabbits in the city. Mostly because they have few to zero natural predators (and humans can't hunt them either). The video did say new permission so it may not have been hunted before. Also air guns are silent, that's a big factor. An actual gun would have sent all those rabbits running. Of course country rabbits aren't like this at all they wouldn't stick around. Just my observation of rabbits in my area (Midwest US). So I would say it's normal behavior for rabbits with no predators (that changes after a few "permissions")
-Jimmy

I have dispatched squirrels similarly within feet of each other with no alarmed reaction. I think the whisper quiet PCP has a lot to do with it. It's also why it's called pest control. With no natural predators in the area the population explodes and they become a nuisance. My state went to one whitetail doe PER day a few years ago to try and reduce the population. They also introduced coyotes to try and curb the herd growth. Now they are promoting coyote hunting because their numbers are ramping up- go figure. On the 3000 acres that I hunt we have had to cull wild pigs. They call it game management. I just enjoy the hunting and bacon. 

Infrequently shot places are like that. The creatures have not been "educated". I shoot one location 2-3 times per year at which it is normal to shoot 200-300 each day. If there is an ATV available to remove them, and pit already dug by JCB, then we'll go for 500+. It is actually boring WORK.

I know of one place, near an active USAF base in Suffolk, which is plastered by naïve rabbits and it hasn't been shot for three years that the farm manager knows of. I know of another site in Suffolk, next to a famous inactive USAF base, which is rarely shot ( I used to shoot over it 4-5 times per year) and that is still plastered with virtually tame rabbits, partridge and deer. I know of a farming estate next to a well known RAF base that is again plastered by rabbits etc, yet rarely shot. I know of a "satellite communications centre", cough cough, on the way down to Devon which is very high security and which is never shot for obvious reasons ....resulting again in big bags on a adjoining farm....which is only shot over after harvest and during the Winter. I know of a UK port that is crying out for good shots with an air rifle to shoot lots and lots of pigeons and yet all they require is a simple positive security clearance. I know of two large property management companies who want trustworthy shooters to turn up, when they say so, to shoot large quantities of mainly rabbits, pigeons and rats. I know the owner of two Castles who has a serious bird problem, and for the sake of spending 2-3 hours per week walking around a Castle scaring birds with a low powered air rifle....he gives virtually unrestricted access to his other land for nine months of the year. I can think of umpteen places, from Kent, to Cornwall, Norfolk, Wales to the Highlands of Scotland where large numbers of rabbits are left unhindered...despite there being a law placing a positive duty on the part of landowners to control rabbits.

And do you know something, there are people in Britain persistently moaning that they have nowhere and nothing to shoot! Or is it that they are lazy, want to have their cake and eat it, and aren't prepared to literally JUMP to someone else's tune?

no offense meant but maybe You Guys across the pond need to start a program like hunter's for the hungry .To dump 500 rabbits into a pit seems to Me a waste of the resource a waste of protein and would seem offensive to the non hunting public .We feed hundreds of thousands of meals to the needy. Many who have not eaten game meat and surely We have improved Our image to the non hunting people .

It was 500+ each per day. Type of ground and nearby watercourses etc controlled how many pits had to be dug, also how many could be dumped per pit. In the 1980s a local shooting estate buried pheasants by the thousand. 

In most parts of the UK people will only buy meat in plastic, just as they buy milk in plastic bottles; rather than have anything "disgusting from animals". Up until about 2008 my local game dealer would take anything and everything, but the person who bought the business was unpredictable and started refusing to take allsorts.... inc rabbits. Besides, to process rabbits that have to go into the food chain you'd have to undertake processes that would seriously impinge upon the rabbit shooting. 

"ncstan"no offense meant but maybe You Guys across the pond need to start a program like hunter's for the hungry .To dump 500 rabbits into a pit seems to Me a waste of the resource a waste of protein and would seem offensive to the non hunting public .We feed hundreds of thousands of meals to the needy. Many who have not eaten game meat and surely We have improved Our image to the non hunting people .

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You are to be commended for thinking of others less fortunate than you. The reason this food is wasted is probably financial. Lets say you have 500 fresh dead rabbits. These must be, at a minimum, dressed and refrigerated, in a timely fashion, in a sanitary place or the meat will spoil. How many could you do in one hour? Then when they are processed and stored under refrigeration they must be transported, under refrigeration, to be given out. Your guess is as good as mine as to how many people and how much money it would take to do this every day.. Yes a waste but it costs money to give stuff away for free.
Red.

I almost passed out watching this. Every time he settles for a shot I cant help exhaling and trying to stay steady. After so many rabbits in a row I was not inhaling enough because I was holding my breath hoping he wouldn't miss. 

"Lets say you have 500 fresh dead rabbits."

Never happens. Most would be off before you finished.

Because they have to be gutted/cleaned quickly in order to protect the meat, and always at a warm time of year, we would we would have to spend a lot of time processing them rather than shooting. Since in that situation we have a limited window for shooting rabbits then you have to make the most of that key time factor by shooting as many as possible. It isn't pleasant work, but it hones your shooting skills and partly gives me the authority to shoot and fish elsewhere.

On most occasions you can't give rabbits away, even though they've been shot in the head. I could tell you a story about trying to give away some salmon, but you wouldn't believe me.

As I stated Guys no offense intended or no judgements made .I realize that this is pest control and not hunting .Red in the My area (southeastern N.C.) deer populations are high .Seasonal limits in My area are 5 per season .In some parts of the south there is no limit .Years ago a group of men got together and formed Hunters for the hungry .They set up drop point for deer with butchers around the country .On certain days they accept the deer process the animal and package it .The meat is then distributed to the needy .Cookie We also have people that think their meat comes man made from a factory and snub the thought of eating Bambi .Any way Guys the best of luck to Ya . Stan

Epic days hunting and fishing can certainly be few and far between. I can remember several of those with my younger brother growing up on 600 acres. We had a dove shoot when the sky was incredibly full and everyone took the limit, a duck hunt when we had ducks whizzing past while we were reloading and we finally ran out of shells, and a morning last fall when I had 14 deer around my stand at one time (alive that is, I chose not to take one). We still talk about hunts like that and love it when we can feed the entire clan with a fish fry. Getting it on film is awesome, but then my fish would stay the same size and not grow with each re-telling. I might have to check out photoshop editing to see if I can fix that ! Haha. I'm sure this hunt/target practice was awesome, and was a day that let him exercise all the skills he had worked on. There were some awesome shots and he showed patience. Some days you can't eat it all at once, but that's when I'm thankful for a freezer or sharing. Keep those pictures and videos coming. I love them and hope the next time I get lucky the cameras are rolling.