Hi Tundrik,

Could I strongly recommend that whatever rifle you decide to buy, you get plenty of practice in before you go hunting. Headshots are the only real target area to ensure a clean kill and in particular the pellet should hit the spot midway between the eye and the base of the ear at the side of the rabbit's head. This will ensure the pellet strikes the brain and kills the rabbit cleanly. A badly placed shot will cause the animal undue suffering.

Ideally, you need to be able to hit a ten pence sized group nine times out of ten and when you can achieve that at a particular range that is your maximum hunting range. An experienced and responsible hunter will shoot at a maximum range of 40 yards with a 12ft/lb air rifle. You'll also need to understand the trajectory of the pellet at different distances because it follows an arc towards the target.

As for what calibre to go for, well that is a million-dollar-question. Recently there has been a great movement towards .177 as a hunting calibre because of its flatter trajectory and therefore greater predictability at the target. But some still swear that the "harder hitting" .22 is still the best for the job. To be honest, the jury remains out on this one and it is down to the individual preferences of the shooter.

I have no idea what budget you have for the gun, but assuming Ł500 I'd highly recommend the Air Arms S410 which is a Pre Charged Pneumatic rifle, very light, very accurate and highly reliable. I have taken many rabbits with this myself.

Good luck with the purchase and let us know how you get on