Reaching the point at which you arrive at an air rifle, optic and ammunition combination which works so perfectly it simply cannot be improved is something we all strive for. This airgunning nirvana can take years to achieve but when it arrives it instils an overwhelming sense of confidence and satisfaction every time you delve into the gun bag.
Some of you will know what I’m talking about. Some will know enough to covet this tenth state of airgunning consciousness. Most will simply think I’m off my nut.
I consider myself lucky to have achieved this higher sense of enlightenment with more than one set up. My 12ft/lb .177 Daystate Blackwolf and King Cobra F2 scope is the latest, but my most powerful hunting set up – a 90ft/lb FX Airguns Impact Mk2 paired with a DNT Optics ThermNight TNC 335R – is the one I am most confident about.
It wasn’t always so. The rifle has always been good but then I sent it off to Ratworks to be tuned and they turned a good rifle into a great one. I’ve owned the Impact Mk2 for several years and during that time I’ve been through several infrared scopes. Some were too heavy and bulky. Some too fiddly. I even had one that threw a mood every now and then and would either not work at all or decide to introduce yards of hold off but not tell me.
I’ve written before about DNT Optics’ ThermNight multispectral scopes and how they are the best NV optics I’ve used to date. Using 44.75 grain JSB Diabolo pellets, I have zeroed the one on my Impact to 50 metres and the ballistic calculator remains the only one I’ve come across that doesn’t need to be fiddled with to work. Simply push the rangefinder, then push it again for the ballistic calculator to indicate a revised aimpoint and then let the rifle do the rest. I shot a rabbit at 91 metres the other night as clean as a whistle.
So, when I was asked to visit again some paddocks I cleared of rabbits a couple of years ago, it’ll come as no surprise to learn that the Impact Mk2 and TNC 335R was my first choice.
Below: Rich’s highly tunable FX Impact mk2 runs 44.75 grain .30 calibre pellets at 950 feet per second to deliver 90ft/lb of shock energy
The paddocks themselves are relatively small at around five acres, but the surrounding empty farmland stretches almost as far as the eye can see in every direction and is owned by the same people. In other words, safe fall out wasn’t an issue.
Unfortunately, despite all this open space, the rabbits persist in coming into the paddocks and digging potentially-lethal-to-a-horse holes, especially in the dressage and jumping arena.
With the lighter evenings, I had to wait until 8pm before arriving at the yard in the last throes of daylight. The windy conditions of the day before had disappeared, leaving a perfectly still night. In fact, the lack of any breeze, a cloudless night sky and an almost full moon weren’t ideal. However, the horses had been moved off site especially for me, so I had no choice but to press ahead.
I’d made good use of the late start by filling the Impact’s 23-shot magazine and charging the batteries in the TNC335R, as well as my Hikmicro Habrok HH35L thermal binoculars, at home.
So when I arrived, all I had to do was grab my bean bag cushion to sit on and Primos Trigger sticks. The only other job was to dry fire the Impact inside my truck to muffle the noise before loading the magazine. It’s something of a habit, but I like to make sure the regulator and everything else is warmed up.
At last, it was dark enough to start. I scanned the paddocks to my left immediately next to the yard where I was parked and spotted a rabbit by the far hedgerow. It was a little way off but well within the .30 calibre Impact Mk2’s range.
Faced with the choice of clattering through the gate or resting on the fence, I chose the latter. However, the top rung was too high and standing on tip toe for any shot, let alone a long distance one, is not a recipe for success. In the end I used one of the spars on the gate. It was a little low, so I used my bean bag as an additional rest.
Pushing the button on the ThermNight to switch to the thermal mode, I confirmed the rabbit was still there and happily munching on the grass. I switched back to the IR mode and then pushed the rangefinder button. The laser splash was easy to see in the monochrome image as I placed it on the still blissfully ignorant rabbit. Seventy-seven metres. I pressed the button a second time and the ThermNight’s ballistic calculator worked out the holdover.
With a stable and comfortable rested platform, the shot would be a formality. I slipped the safety catch, took a final breath and…missed. I saw the pellet strike the grass over the rabbit’s head. That’ll teach me.
Fortunately, the rabbit simply ran in a circle and ended up closer to me – 66 metres according to the rangefinder. With holdover recalculated, I settled over the Impact once again. This time the shot was true and the sound of the connecting pellet rolled around the paddock as the rabbit crumpled.
Below: Rich lines up for a shot after the ThermNight's ballistic calculator presents him with a clear aiming solution
I left it where it lay and made my way into the field. I knew any other nearby rabbits would have disappeared but was hopeful one or two would make their way out again before too long.
But I was wrong and after half an hour sitting in the corner of the field with no bunnies for company, I decided to make a move to the other side of the paddocks. I retrieved the dead rabbit and dropped it off at the back of the truck.
Scanning the paddocks through the Habrok binos again, I could see the thermal image of a couple of rabbits on the far side of the paddocks. I thought I’d be clever and use the cover of the stable block to start a slow stalk into a shooting position. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten the security light which sensed my movement and burst into illumination.
I shuffled on, hoping the rabbits would be accustomed to the light coming on every now and then and paying it no heed. At the end of the block I paused, rested my trigger sticks against a stable door and raised the Habrok to my eyes again.
Thankfully the rabbits were still there and in fact I could now see a third. I picked up my sticks again and carried on, wishing I’d remembered to put a sling on the Impact. When I reached a fence, I was once again faced with the prospect of clambering over it. Instead, I discarded the sticks and moved along the fence to get level with the rabbits.
Below: Rich uses his Hikmicro thermal binoculars to scan for rabbits in the darkness
Stooping down to make use of the meagre cover provided by the fence, I inched along until I felt I was in position. Placing my beanbag cushion on the top rail, I rested the rifle and used the TNC335R’s thermal mode to check the position of the rabbits.
One had disappeared but another was sat by the edge of the next paddock. The laser revealed the distance of 47 metres. I activated the ballistic calculator out of habit, but given the Impact’s 50 metre zero, any holdover was negligible.
The bunny needed a couple of squeaks to lift its head, but once it did, the 44.75 grain JSB Diabolo whistled across the grass and knocked it over with a minimum of fuss.
Switching immediately to the ThermNight’s thermal mode. I scanned for signs of any more rabbits. There was just one a little further beyond the one I’d just shot. This time the range finder read 64 metres which resulted in the green revised aimpoint moving further down the reticle as the ballistic calculator dialled in more holdover.
The rabbit was sat with its back to me, but head held high and to the right. Back in IR mode, I tweaked the ThermNight’s magnification from the base 5x up to 12.5x. With the green aimpoint settled on the rabbit’s eye, I flicked the Impact’s safety catch, held my breath once more and let the shot go. A fraction of a second later the third rabbit of the night rolled over stone dead.
Below (top): Zeroed at 50 metres, Rich’s FX Impact Mk2 needed barely any hold off for this 47-metre shot
Below (bottom): The ThermNight TNC335R’s thermal mode activates at the press of a button, defaulting to 2.5x for optimum field of view and image clarity
It turned out to be a long and tiring night, but my reward was a haul of rabbits that will make the pony paddocks a safer place for their residents. And all the free-range meat from those plump bunnies will be put to good use by my local birds of prey centre.
With peak rabbit breeding season upon us, my work is far from done and I will need to put in frequent late shifts through the summer months. You can rest assured that I will be choosing the very best tools for the job.
GUN: FX Impact Mk2. 30 calibre 90ft/lb FAC fxairguns.com
SCOPE: DNT Optics ThermNight TNC325R scottcountry.co.uk
AMMO: JSB Diabolo Exact .30 44.75 grains schulzdiabolo.cz
GUN REST: Primos Trigger Sticks Gen 3 bisley-uk.com
THERMAL SPOTTER: HikMicro Habrok HH35L Multi Spectrum Thermal Imaging Binoculars scottcountry.co.uk
FLEECE: Jack Pyke Sherpa Fleece pullover jackpyke.co.uk
Article first published 30th April 2025
