While most people are well aware of the damage rabbits cause to grass and vegetable crops, and the danger their burrows can pose to horses and ponies, the destruction they cause to trees seems to be discussed far less.
Rabbits have a habit of chewing the bark at the bases of young trees – presumably to access the sap in the same way as squirrels do. If they nibble all the way around, nutrients are unable to flow between the roots and the leaves, and the tree will die.
A friend of mine manages a moderate area of woodland for conservation. Sections of Rick’s woods are coppiced, which creates valuable habitat for species including the endangered dormouse. This coppiced hazel also yields the wood from which he makes his living – mostly by producing charcoal, but also through other coppice products such as shanks for walking sticks and materials for thatching and hedge-laying.
Apart from chewing at bark, rabbits also like to browse the tender new shoots that emerge from recently cut coppice. This stifles the trees’ regeneration, and any shoots that manage to survive end up deformed, which reduces their value both in terms of wildlife habitat and Rick’s coppice products.
Rick likes to live and work alongside nature. He knows that rabbits form an important part of the diet of other wildlife on his land, including peregrine falcons. However, when rabbit numbers spiral too high, action must be taken to protect the coppice and the wealth of wildlife it supports.
So, when Rick thinks the rabbits are getting too abundant and having too much of an impact on the habitat he manages, he calls me in to thin them out. This spring saw a bumper breeding season for the burgeoning bunnies, so the call was made.
This is a tricky place to shoot; the rabbits can be cunning and after-dark shooting is not an option. Because it’s so challenging, I want to use kit I have absolute faith in. Gun choice for my latest trip was my sub-12ft/lb Daystate Huntsman Revere (Safari Edition) paired with a pin-sharp MTC King Cobra 4-16x50 F1 scope.
I kicked off the evening by loading the .22 calibre Huntsman Revere’s magazine 15.89 grain Rangemaster Sovereign pellets before heading out towards the most recently coppiced area of woodland. Despite making a painstaking effort to move with absolute stealth, I didn’t see a single rabbit there. I consider that a good thing because it suggests that the destructive little mammals haven’t really established themselves in this particularly sensitive area.
Below: Mat loaded up his Daystate Huntsman Revere airgun with Rangemaster Sovereign pellets before heading out on his roving rabbit hunt
Another reason I was pleased not to see any rabbits around the new coppice is because it would be very tricky to shoot them there. The remaining trees and rapidly growing annual vegetation create numerous obstacles to get in the way of pellets. To add to the problem, Rick has put up several stretches of deer netting. This fencing is protecting the coppice by keeping out another tree-nibbling pest. Unfortunately, rabbits are able to burrow beneath it without much trouble, but threading a shot through it to deal with the uninvited guests would be extremely challenging.
I’m not the greatest fan of hot weather – especially when I’m trying to hunt – and heatwave conditions were making things rather uncomfortable. Assuming that the rabbits would be similarly reluctant to venture out in the full heat of the sun, I stayed away from the more open area of the yard (which can be a productive area later in the day) and picked a route that took me around the perimeter of the main block of woodland.
My chosen pathway took me along a grassy ride, where rabbits that live along the woodland margins often hop out to feed. Apart from providing them with lush grass to nibble at, the route along the ride also meant that I would be keeping to the cooler shady areas of Rick’s ground, which was appealing.
It proved to be a good choice, as I soon crossed paths with the first rabbit of the evening as I rounded a corner in the trail. As expected, it was out on the ride gobbling grass and was only about 25 metres away from me.
The rabbit was completely oblivious to my presence as I settled down to take a kneeling shot. I steadied my breathing as the King Cobra’s crosshairs settled on its head. Applying just a touch of hold-under to the shot, I squeezed through the trigger to release a shot that hit home with a crack which echoed through the woods as speeding lead connected with the rabbit’s skull. The rabbit rolled over, gave one kick of its hind leg and expired.
I slipped the rabbit into my gamebag and continued on my way around the woodland border, feeling very grateful of the fact that the Huntsman Safari edition was no great burden to carry on such a warm and draining evening.
Below: Mat's kneeling shot with the Huntsman Safari resulted in the first rabbit of the evening
There were no more rabbits to be seen along the woodland edge, but there were lots and lots of birds around. Rick’s efforts to manage his woods as a rich wildlife habitat were clearly apparent, and the air was full of birdsong as I made my way back towards the point from which I had started.
I have learned to turn the stealth up as I approach the yard, as it’s a favourite with rabbits, some of which seem to be burrowing beneath Rick’s lean-to sheds. Although there were no bunnies in this area when I first headed out, the temperature was now starting to drop, and I had a feeling they would soon be venturing above ground to dine on the dew-softened grass.
Sure enough, as I approached the spot where the woodland trail opens out onto the yard, I saw no less than four rabbits. Staying in the shadows, I crept out to a spot where some stacked timber provided cover and support from which I could line up on the closest rabbit.
Again, it was a shot of no more than 25 metres, and it resulted in another clean kill. The silenced Huntsman doesn’t make much noise, but the sound of the pellet hitting its mark was enough to send the remaining rabbits dashing for cover.
One of the departing bunnies made the mistake of lingering, and I quickly cycled the Huntsman’s sidelever to re-cock the action and load another Rangemaster Sovereign pellet into the breech. Without delay, I lined up on the hesitant rabbit, which was sat bolt upright, testing the air with its twitching ears.
This shot was a slightly longer one, but still less than 30 metres. I took a moment to compose myself and regain control of my breathing before settling the crosshairs and unleashing another shot, which struck home with pinpoint accuracy.
Below top: Mat makes the most of the support provided by a heap of timber
Below bottom: A quick cycle of the Huntsman Revere's sidelever and Mat was loaded and ready for another shot
After bagging up the two shot rabbits from the yard, I made another circuit of the woods. I only saw a single rabbit on that second pass; it was clearly on high-alert and disappeared into the nettles long before I was close enough to think about taking a shot.
I was hopeful of seeing more rabbits in the fading light, but it wasn’t to be. It doesn’t take much shooting pressure to drive rabbits to ground on small permissions, and that seemed to be the case on this occasion. I’d had had a lovely evening though, and felt like I had made the most of the opportunities that came my way. As I said at the start, Rick doesn’t want the rabbits on his ground to be shot too heavily. I was pleased to have accounted for three of them, and it was a real bonus to be going home with some fine meat for the table.
RIFLE: Daystate Huntsman Revere (Safari edition)
SCOPE: MTC King Cobra 4-16x50 F1
MOUNTS: Sportsmatch Scope Mounts
SILENCER: 0DB Pro System
AMMO: Rangemaster Sovereign .22 (15.89gr)
Article first published May 26th 2026
