It could have been a huge premium bond win, or even the lottery jackpot. In the end though, the only thing Chris Williams has ever won is a two-day shooting experience with yours truly. And no, second prize was not three days.
Airgun Extra launched the competition earlier this year and entries rolled in from Cumbria to Guernsey. In the end we thought Chris was the most deserving winner as he was desperate to experience shooting in the field but so far had been limited mainly to his back garden. He’d visited a local club a few times but, as the only airgunner amongst rimfire shooters, he’d felt less than welcome.
Chris arrived at my house mid-morning on day one of his prize, along with his .22 calibre 12ft/lb BRK Ghost Carbine which he’d paired with an MTC Atom 10x30 SWAT scope. We spent a couple of hours chatting and drinking tea and coffee in my gun room as Chris went through my airgun collection to choose a few rifles to try out at the range.
In the end, the selection was narrowed down to Daystate’s Red Wolf and Black Wolf and my own Ghost Carbine which was paired with a DNT ThermNight TNC225R multi spectral scope. For good measure, we also took 30ft/lb .22 versions of the AGT Vixen and FX DRS, as well as a 95ft/lb .30 calibre FX Impact Mk2.
With Reading Air Target Shooting Club’s range to ourselves, the plan was not only for Chris to enjoy some uninterrupted shooting with a variety of rifles but to choose which ones he’d like to use the following day when we went hunting.
Below top: The lads had no shortage of hardware for their day on the range
Below bottom: Chris gets to grips with Rich's high power FX DRS
In the end he opted for the Ghost/ThermNight and FX DRS/Alpex Lite combos. For my part, I simply wanted to satisfy myself that he could not only handle a rifle safely but would be capable of taking on live quarry humanely – both considerations were ticked off in minutes.
That evening we discussed the next day’s hunting over a curry and a few beers. I dropped Chris off at his hotel with the promise of picking him up again at 6am the following morning.
I was there on the dot and Chris was waiting. A short drive later, we arrived at permission number one – some woods that border my fruit and egg farm permissions on which we’d be shooting later in the day.
With the gear unloaded, we made our way to the hide and spooked a couple of squirrels that had been enjoying breakfast at the feeder. Confidence high because of this positive sign, we inserted ourselves behind the screen hide and settled in; Chris sat behind the Ghost Carbine and eager for his first shot.
Six hours later we both sat and stared at the same small window of the woods with only a procession of small birds to keep us company. The squirrels were nowhere to be seen, and I began to worry that what was normally a productive feeder would let me down.
We decided to break for lunch and made our way back to the truck for sausages, a burger and some salad all cooked on a camping stove on the tailgate. Suitably refuelled, we made our way back to the hide, me leading the way.
It was inevitable that in the 30 minutes we were away from the hide, the squirrels would emerge, and sure enough, one was hanging upside down on the feeder and scoffing its furry face. We had no chance of creeping back into place before the greedy blighter scarpered.
It began to feel like ‘one of those days’ as we settled in again and half an hour later were still squirrel-less. Then, as is so often the way, one of the grey pests appeared from nowhere and settled on the feeder.
Chris had seen it too and slipped the safety catch as he lined up the shot at a distance of around 20 yards. I watched the squirrel as he squeezed the trigger, aiming as we’d discussed, to place pellet between eye and ear.
Below: A squirrel finally shows up at the feeder and Chris lines up with the BRK Ghost / DNT Thermnight combo
I saw the pellet strike the tree some distance from the squirrel and turned to see what had gone wrong as Chris had been pellet on pellet on the range.
I realised that the shot had caught the edge of the camo netting and couldn’t believe that his first, and possibly only, shot had missed because I hadn’t positioned him properly in the hide.
Fortunately, the shot had been so wide that although alerted and now on the floor, the squirrel hadn’t bolted. Instead, it looked around, on high alert with tail twitching.
Chris had relocated the squirrel in the ThermNight’s display and re-cycled the Ghost’s sidelever. I pulled the hide down to ensure a clear path for the pellet and this time the shot was straight and true. A hollow thud and the tree rat rolled onto its side, feet kicking in the air.
Emotions were mixed; Chris was elated with his first squirrel – I could tell he was grinning at me under his balaclava – and I was relieved the day wouldn’t be a blank.
I whispered to Chris to observe the squirrel through the scope to ensure there were no signs of life. There were none, so with the Ghost reloaded, we settled back hoping for more.
Over the next couple of hours, Chris added three more squirrels to the tally with as many pellets, each perfectly placed to deliver a humane and instant kill.
We could have carried on and I’m sure would have added more to the bag. However, we’d been sat in the hide long enough and I was keen for Chris to try his hand at something else.
Below: Chris made a decent haul of squirrels during the first stage of the hunt
We’d started on the squirrels because they raid the ripe strawberries on the fruit farm that border the woods. Now though, we were heading for a different part of the farm where woodpigeons have been decimating the blueberry crop.
After swapping the Ghost for my 30ft/lb FX DRS .22 and Hikmicro Alpex 4K Lite, we set off. The farm workers don’t knock off until 5pm and we arrived with enough time for Chris to have a look around. Acre upon acre of blueberry bushes stretch in every direction and while we chatted by the truck, we could see pigeons landing and taking off.
I explained that with so many farm vehicles moving about, the pigeons largely ignored them. As a result, the plan was to cruise the tracks around the field in the truck looking for a pigeon we could shoot. Fortunately, the area is so large that even with an FAC air rifle, there was plenty of safe fall out in just about every direction.
Chris is a big chap, so we needed to build a platform for him to shoot comfortably through the open truck window by bungee-cording a bean bag cushion and his rolled-up fleece into the frame.
Although he’d spent several hours on the range with the FX DRS, Chris took a few minutes to re-familiarise himself with the rifle and, more importantly, the controls on the Alpex 4K Lite, especially the laser rangefinder.
The woodpigeons are obsessed with the blueberry plants and have been attacking the crop since the blossom appeared several weeks ago. Now, with the berries developing but not quite ripe, they were really tucking in.
Unlike the squirrels earlier in the day, the woodpigeons were more obliging, and Chris’s first opportunity came after only 15 minutes. Sat on a metal pole around 25 metres away, it fell instantly to a well-placed heart and lung shot.
Below top: Chris gets his first taste of drive-by pigeon shooting
Below bottom: It didn't take Chris long to get the hang of ranging and shooting pigeons with the Hikmicro Alpex 4K Lite
Over the next four hours we trundled around the lanes, eyes peeled for pigeons as well as jackdaws and crows that fed constantly on the strawberry and raspberry crops.
After dropping another couple of pigeons, Chris soon had a chance at his first corvid. We’d crept down a lane between the rows of strawberries when he spotted a crow waddling between the plants in search of something red and juicy.
I inched the truck into position and Chris lasered the corvid at 30 metres – spot on zero. The crow wandered on another yard or so before stopping and turning to see what we were up to.
Chris let the 18.13 grain JSB Heavy pellet go and it connected with a solid ‘thwok’. The bird scurried off and for a second or two we both feared a misplaced shot. However, after a few feet, it nosed dived into the dust, stone dead.
During our time on the range, I’d explained the Alpex 4K Lite’s laser rangefinder and ballistic functions to Chris, not that it took long; laying a small box in the display over the target then pressing the Alpex Lite’s rearmost button both reads the distance and imprints a revised aimpoint on the reticle.
Having spent hours in the dark with the Alpex 4K Lite, I’d discovered that unlike some other digital night vision scopes, the rangefinder splash is perfectly aligned with the box. As a result, even in daylight, when the splash is not visible, the rangefinder can be relied upon for a true reading, as Chris proved by range-finding a pigeon through a tangle of polytunnel metalwork and knocking it over at 42 metres.
As the afternoon and early evening wore on, Chris managed several more pigeons as well as a jackdaw. Then, as we passed an area of thick brambles, he spotted a young rabbit basking in the sun at the edge of the lane.
Although they can’t reach the strawberries, the rabbits munch through the young raspberry plants and chew through the irrigation pipes that crisscross the entire farm.
I manoeuvred the truck to give Chris a clear shot. The Alpex 4K Lite’s rangefinder indicated a shot of a little under 30 metres and the ballistic calculator dialled in a touch of hold off. With that done, Chris slipped the safety catch and his first rabbit, and fifth quarry species of the day, was added to the bag.
That turned out to be the last shot of the evening as, with the light starting to fade at last, we wanted to head over to the chicken farm to finish off with a spot of ratting.
Below: Chris made a great mixed bag from the fruit farm before moving on for the rat shooting finale
Ten minutes later we pulled into the yard with enough light for Chris to have a quick look around. Andrew, the farmer, ambled over after ensuring the chickens were back in the houses. With introductions performed, he explained that he’d baited several of the spots I usually see rats and then offered Chris a challenge; 10 rats would earn him a tray of medium eggs, 20 rats a tray of large eggs and if he managed 30, he’d throw in a dozen double yolkers too.
Despite the fatigue of an already long day, it spurred us on to finish on a high. Chris swapped back to the BRK Ghost Carbine and DNT Optics ThermNight and I loaned him my Hikmicro Habrok HQ35L thermal binoculars to spot rats more easily.
Having shot from the comfort of a hide and truck, standing shots rested on a set of trigger sticks was a new discipline for Chris and he missed the first couple of opportunities.
We took a bit of time out to discuss technique, which boiled down to setting the sticks at the right height, ensuring the rifle is balanced on the yoke and getting a stable stance.
With those basics nailed, Chris didn’t look back as rat after rat fell to his pinpoint shooting over distances ranging between 12 and 20 yards.
It was nearly midnight when we decided to call it. Nealy 18 hours of uninterrupted shooting had accounted for four squirrels, nine pigeons, a crow, a jackdaw and a rabbit.
As for the rats? Let’s just say we took all the eggs we’d earned, including the double yolkers.
Below: The night vision rat shoot capped off a long and successful day in the field for Chris
Article first published 18th June 2025
