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Can you shoot muntjac with air rifles and shotguns?

Ignore photographs of foreigners using air rifles to shoot Mubtjac rifles because this is illegal in Britain, George advises

An air rifle for shooting muntjac?

Q: Is there any way I could use a high powered air rifle for shooting muntjac? If so, would it have to be a FAC weapon? What are the restrictions?

A: Absolutely not. In England and Wales section 4(2)(a) of the Deer Act prohibits the use of any air weapon to take, kill or injure any deer.

Can you shoot muntjac with shotguns?

Muntjac are deer and are therefore protected by the Deer Act which prohibits the use of shotguns except in very specific circumstances.

The species deserves to be treated properly and to this end you should use a proper deer rifle. In England and Wales this means at least a .240 calibre and in Scotland, where no calibre is mentioned, a bullet of at least 100 grains which effectively also means .240 minimum.

There is no close season for muntjac but when culling female muntjac, it is recommended to choose immature or heavily pregnant does to avoid leaving dependent young.

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Can you use solid shotgun slugs for deer stalking?

Generally, the use of shotguns is neither permitted nor recommended for deer control. However, they may be used under specific circumstances by specific persons in order to prevent serious damage to crops etc. (You can read the rules in detail here in The Deer Act 1991.)

Those persons are:

The occupier of the land on which the action is to be taken
A resident member of the occupier’s household, authorised by him in writing
An employee of the occupier, authorised by him in writing
A person having the right to kill or take deer on the land (ie. the shooting or stalking tenant) or any other person acting with his written authority

Such action may only be taken where the damage is actually being done, and not in an adjoining field or woodland (Traill v. Buckingham 1972).

In England and Wales, if a shotgun is used it must be at least 12-bore and loaded with either a non-spherical bullet of at least 350 grains weight or with AAA shot – which means only AAA, not anything larger or smaller.

The same restrictions as to authorised persons also apply to the use of a rifle if it becomes necessary to shoot deer out of season.

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