How many foot pounds of energy does it take to take down a rabbit ?

You can kill a rabbit with 6 ft lbs of energy with an air rifle.


http://www.airgun.co.uk/Understanding_Te…


However 12 lbs works best and most the adult air rifles can put out that and more.


And air rifles are not all toys the adult rifles send a .177 cal pellet over 1200 ft per second. The have large caliber air rifles including a .50 cal;


http://www.airgunsbbguns.com/Career_Drag…





People have been KILLED with an air rifle.


http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/article…








I have killed rabbits with pump up air pistols and rifles in both .22 cal and .177. I had a Crossman .177 air rifle that barely made 620 ft per sec and killed rabbits up to 20 yards with brain shots. And all .22 rim fire ammo worked except for the CB cap .22 rim fire. I had a few of them actually bounce off a rabbit at 10 feet.





I wanted to ad that with about 40 ft lbs of energy the .22 long rifle can kill a rabbit a 100 yardsa away and more if you can hit its head. I have killed small game with my ruger 10/22 up to 130 yards.How many foot pounds of energy does it take to take down a rabbit ?
I've taken rabbits out at 30-50 yards with my tuned air rifles. My lowest powered one took a rabbit, it puts out


13.7flbs and shoots at 650-660fps. It's a .22 cal.


Remember, It also depends on how far the shot is taken, the longer the shot, the more power is needed. Also, shot placement is also critical. (head, between eye and ear, and chest shot are better for rabbits)How many foot pounds of energy does it take to take down a rabbit ?
Well we have a bit of disagreement on air rifle hunting! Now I do not dispute air rifle-target’s knowledge about punching paper targets with air guns. I went to your group and noticed “hunting” was not a topic. Well here is a list of the things I have killed with an air rifle in over a half century WITH BRAIN SHOTS;


Small birds, quail, grouse, pigeons, pheasants, ducks, geese, turkey, rabbits, squirrels, rats, groundhog, prairie dog, raccoon, marten, skunk, possum, ferial cats and on badger. And trust me a badger is one tough cookie but at 20 feet I put a .22 cal pellet through his ear and he dropped dead where he stood.


I agree the .177 is not suitable for things larger than a squirrel or rabbit. And you HAVE to hit their brain a body shot will lead to a suffering animal. Some like raccoons, need to be shot in the ear or in the back of the skull where it’s thin, a frontal skull shot will just glance off unless you have a VERY powerful air rifle.


In Europe air guns are used for hunting and have been for decades same goes for Japan.


Here are people who hunt with air guns.


http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthr…


http://www.crowbusters.com/begart3.htm


http://f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/pest.h…








Here is a forum about air rifle hunting;


http://forums.cabelas.com/archive/index.…


Here is some air gun hunting history facts scroll down to air guns; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_wea…





Quote; “Air rifles have long been used as hunting weapons, for well over 200 years. Lewis %26amp; Clark, on their early journey through the Western United States, carried a repeating air rifle for use as a hunting weapon,”… “Air rifles are well suited for hunting small game such as squirrels and rabbits in commonly available powers. Such hunting is widely practiced in the United States and in the UK”…. “Large game air rifles have experienced a resurgence in the last several decades, and are now capable of taking all game in North America…”





Now what else will it take to prove the right air gun with the right pellet placement will take game? I left out air-shotguns that are used in Japan to hunt waterfowl.





Now back to the person asking the question. Air guns are NOT a toy they can kill people and have. Learn gun safety, also learn the limits of your gun. Start with paper and get real tight groups and see to it you can put all your shot in a quarter size group or less. Always aim for the ear canal or back of skull; you have to hit the brain on small game like rabbits.


And read what these hunter on the links above have to say about hunting with an air rifle. As others have said you want to kill it not wound it and have it suffer.
I will guess at 12, we'll just see by the other answers that come up.
I don't know about ';foot pounds'; but a .22LR from most rifles and handguns will do the trick. A few of my friend have switched to the .17 HMR for racoons so I'm sure those will work as well.
it doest need much if you hit it in the head, i use a .22lr for shots under 100 yards
I'd say 20 lbs is going to give you a clean, humane kill. That works out to 800 fps with a .22 caliber 14.3 gr pellet. Forget .177 for hunting.
it has been done with 12 ft lbs
the answer may surprise you. the average pellet fired from a pellet gun travels between 500 and 1000 fps (feet per second). at 500fps, the round carries approximately 8joules of energy (enough to put a hole in an aluminum can). conversely a round fired from a standard air-soft handgun travels an average of 250fps (4 joules or enough to ';shoot your eye out';) but rarely breaks the skin of most adult humans. rabbits have very thin (or easily damaged skin) and the energy from the impact of this plastic 6mm pellet can stop a rabbit's heart if you hit it in the right area (behind the shoulder blade). there is a formula on how to figure out what that is in foot pounds but I'll have to look that up.
the foot pounds of energy that is produced by a .22 caliber bullet fired from a rim fire gun, is ample. Anything less, will most times only wound the rabbit, allowing it to get away, then go someplace , to die a slow death.


if you are going to shoot ANY animal, do it with a weapon, that WILL kill, it in a very timely manner, not just wound it.


Pellet guns, are NOT legitimate hunting guns. but more of a TOY