Figuring out Lethality at Range

Wildcat31,

your question sounds simple, but it's probably not.... ?

? (1)

You want to hunt and want to make sure to "deliver a fatal and ethical shot."

Most shots ARE fatal (unless you miss the quarry entirely). They will either:

● DEATH A: die of septicemia (e.g., infection of the shot wound) – within days

● DEATH B: die of hunger/thirst through the inability to feed from a shot destroying the mouth – within days

● DEATH C: die of organ failure from the shot destroying one or more organs – within hours to possibly days

● DEATH D: die of slow bloodloss from the shot wound – from within several minutes to possibly several hours

● DEATH E: die of rapid bloodloss from a H/L shot (heart/lung shot, or a major artery) – from within a few seconds to a couple of minutes

● DEATH F: die from a B/S shot (brain/spine shot, central nervous system) – instantly (because the brain can't control the body and organs anymore; note that the quarry might still do a wild death dance, flopping and flipping around for a minute, that's just the nerves of a dead animal sending erratic signals to the limbs)

(● the much contested "hydrostatic shock" can(!) happen at velocities above 2,000 fps, so that's not a factor here)

So, you've got 6 deaths to choose from. (For your quarry, not for yourself, of course...! ?‍♂️)

? (2)

You want to make sure to "deliver a fatal and ethical shot."

Now, which of the 6 death types you consider ethical is a decision no-one can make for you.

It might help to consider what deer hunters consider ethical shots, as their quarry often runs off after being lethally hit and they have to track it through the woods.

Some also consider the level of nuisance or threat that the quarry presents, and evaluate the ethics of different death types accordingly. (Compare a native squirrel in the woods, vs. a squirrel that is an invasive species, vs. a squirrel destroying your attic, vs. a lion attacking you.)

? (3)

You say: "I want to make sure I can still deliver a fatal and ethical shot at range even if I miss the kill zone."

Well, if I understand correctly, the "kill zone" usually is considered the brain/spine or the heart/lungs. So, if you miss the kill zone, you would be choosing Death Type (A) through (D).

Now, if you are taking H/L shots, you could increase the likelihood of a quicker death with a few techniques, like larger caliber, more power, expanding projectile (HP), etc. To read more about that, cf. the following article:  https://airgunwarriors.com/community/airgun-hunters/%f0%9f%92%80-quarry-what-killsem-dead-the-mechanics-of-killing/

However, if you are taking B/S shots, and you are missing the brain, then it depends on what quarry you're shooting at:  Pigeons don't have much of a brain, and not much of head, so if you miss the brain you probably missed their head entirely. For comparison, racoons have a lot more going on up there, and missing the brain might result in a wounded animal dying over the course of days (or not at all).

? (4)

You want to make sure at what range your projectile "can still break the skull and hit the brain."

Excellent question! ?

You can obtain test subjects that will volunteer to demonstrate your skull braking potential by first killing them with a body shot, and then subjecting them to your experimental treatment. After all, it's all for science.

With some luck you could acquire a pig head from a slaughter house. However, those won't tell you much about cracking squirrel heads.

Here're a few pointers to kill with head shots, especially for larger critters:

(a) Know where the brain of that particular species is located.
Some time ago I got caught by surprise facing a to me not very familiar critter in need of a pellet. From then on I carry on my cellphone diagrams, photos, and 3D-videos (YouTube) of various animals so I can review such obscure and morbid knowledge if need be.

(b) Choose a part of the skull that is more or less flat, and aim the barrel perpendicular to it.
This way the full force of your projectile works on the bone, instead of glancing off, or trying to enter at an angle which is way less efficient.

(c) The preferred projectile is:
• As narrow as feasible (caliber) – to concentrate more force on a smaller impact area: generally .177 over .22 over .25, etc. – however(!), the other side of the issue is that a .25 PCP with power typical for this caliber will have much more power than a typically powered .177 PCP, cf. the point on power

• As fast as possible on impact (fps) – to overcome the threshold of breaking the bone (all you need is to get “in”)

• As powerful as possible on impact (FPE) – to have more force pushing onto the bone: generally .25 over .22 over .177 – if you have a regular PCP rifle with “for caliber typical power”

• As hard a pellet as possible – to crush the bone instead of flattening out, thus increasing the impact area (the opposite of the first point): hard lead (Crosman, H&N pellets [not slugs], Skenko) over soft lead (JSB, AA, FX, Daystate, Gamo, Daisy)

• As pointy a pellet as possible (an extension of the first point about narrow) – to concentrate more force on a smaller impact area: pointed rather than domed rather than wide meplat hollow points rather than wadcutters

• Pellets that combine the last two points – hard and pointy by using a metal point that is much harder than lead: H&N Hornet | JSB Predator Metalmag | Crosman Gold Tipped | Skenko Ultra Mag Metal Tip

Happy hunting! ?

Matthias

@jungleshooter i appreciate the detailed response.  I'm no stranger to the hunting world, just to airgun hunting.  I do concede to your point that my question was a bit simple, as I did not specify what size limit i was going up to.  I'm looking at possibly predator hunting and small-medium feral hogs(squealing footballs up to family-of-four fire pit size) as well as anything below that in size.  So my main concern is primarily for larger quarry, if i miss the ear or eye or another soft-tissue path to the brain, does my projectile still have enough punch at say 100 yds to break the skull and still hit the brain.  And for larger targets I'd be more than likely using slugs, especially once i get the slug liner to go heavyweight.

My .25 Wildcat shoots around 1/2” group at 80 yards leaning against a tree. 

@wildcat31 

Since you are well acquainted with the hunting world, let me be blunt:
There is NO remedy for a badly placed shot in airguns.

Airguns kill through precision/surgical (literally) hits. Not power. There is no "hydraulic shock" when using airguns, and VERY FEW airguns really have the power to make HP projectiles expand in real life.

In airguns, Fieldcraft is MUCH more important than power.

Personally, I believe that no animal (pest or not) deserves a painful death.

I've hunted the Collared Peccari (Javelinas, usually in the 15-50 # weight)  with 0.177" rifles, but this was under extremely controlled circumstances (tree blind). I've also hunted some predators with 9 mm's airguns (called). The common denominator between these two extremes is the SHORT RANGE.

100 yard shots at larger hogs (50 to 200 # "on hoof"), would be better attempted by larger bores than the 0.25", I would start at the 30 cal's and look real seriously at the 45's, with probably a good "median" in the 9 mm's/0.356" caliber guns, of which you will find some that are accurate enough for the range you stated.

One added advantage of SOME 9 mm's/0.355-7 guns is that the pistol bullets designed for hunting will shoot well out of them. Besides, there are a ton of moulds to cast almost any shape you want in that caliber.

The domestic hog's skull is a bit thinner and less sloping than the feral hogs I know, so if I was doing this test I would take the necessary precautions to set up the test properly.

Sorry for the bluntness, apologies in advance, hope this helps.

HM

The only way you can get a killing shot from the bullet's action with a less-than-precise hit (hitting outside the normal 'kill zone') is to do so much tissue damage that any shot is effectively a killing shot, e.g., a .22-250 on prairie dogs, a .17 Hornet on crows, etc. No air rifle under .50 caliber has enough energy to kill a hog almost instantly with a body shot... and I don't think any air rifle does, nor do most centerfire rifle calibers used commonly on North American big game.

There is no substitute for bullet placement with any rifle. If you plan to shoot hogs, I'd recommend at least a .357 air rifle. Sure, people have killed hogs with .177s, but someone killed an elephant with a .22 LR Colt Woodsman pistol. A .357 PCP air rifle will generate enough energy and velocity to consistently kill hogs out to 100 yards, and IMO that's as far away as you should be shooting at them. You can take a head shot, or a heart-lung shot with this caliber, or larger.

I have a Benjamin Bulldog .357 with a DonnyFL Ronin silencer. I have yet to shoot live game with it, but it is equivalent to a .38 Special out of a handgun in terms of muzzle velocity with a hunting-weight bullet. A Marlin 1894 in .357 shooting .38 Specials is more powerful. Keep that in mind when thinking about appropriate ranges to shoot a hog at. I'd keep my shots within 50 yards... anything else is flirting with wounding but not disabling IMO.