Hunting Air Rifle

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Plymtom
Posts: 2670
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:11 pm
Location: Plymouth

Re: Hunting Air Rifle

Post by Plymtom »

bladefalcon wrote:
thedugfather wrote:we are soon going to need a licence for sub 12ft lb. I think the bill got passed a few weeks ago.
Love our country... Pfff...

How much will the license cost..?

I don't know if they've gotten that far yet, what I do know is that a few here are considering going full FAC/SGC, because unless it's like a fishing license that you simply pay a fee for (if the idea is simply to be making airgun owners more traceable) and don't have to go as far ( which isn't that big a deal unless you have mental issues or a criminal record) as you do for the SGC/FAC, it depends what you want to do, Rabbits for instance whilst you can get them out to a certain distance with an air rifle the .22LR or .17HMR take them a lot further out, as for expense, if you're plinking a cheap springer is all you'll ever want (which could come in handy for small game) but if you're hunting/pest control or serious target shooting you can pay every bit as much and more for an air rifle than you can for a licensed firearm.
I have a strategy, it's not written in stone, nor can it be, this scenario has too many variables, everything about it depends on those variables, being specific is not possible.
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bladefalcon
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2014 10:23 pm
Location: Area 12 (Gwent)

Re: Hunting Air Rifle

Post by bladefalcon »

Plymtom wrote:
I don't know if they've gotten that far yet, what I do know is that a few here are considering going full FAC/SGC, because unless it's like a fishing license that you simply pay a fee for (if the idea is simply to be making airgun owners more traceable) and don't have to go as far ( which isn't that big a deal unless you have mental issues or a criminal record) as you do for the SGC/FAC, it depends what you want to do, Rabbits for instance whilst you can get them out to a certain distance with an air rifle the .22LR or .17HMR take them a lot further out, as for expense, if you're plinking a cheap springer is all you'll ever want (which could come in handy for small game) but if you're hunting/pest control or serious target shooting you can pay every bit as much and more for an air rifle than you can for a licensed firearm.
Yeah I have two .177s which are very much around for hunting use... Looking into the SGC quite seriously anyway, I guess that will help out in the long run! Thanks for your thoughts!
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thedugfather
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Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 3:21 pm
Location: glasgow

Re: Hunting Air Rifle

Post by thedugfather »

Having the license is expensive is it not? plus there supposed to be hard to obtain as u need proven permission or be part of a shooting club more or less u need to ive to have a very good reason to own a FAC firearm where as with an air rifle you don't

Plus having an air rifle adds to the challenge fair enough with FAC u get more range but with the air rifle you need to stalk closer and need more skill to shoot also be good at range finding wind calculation postion and hold of the rifle to compensate for the recoil as this makes a big difference when shooting a springer.
if you can see it you can shot it.
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Plymtom
Posts: 2670
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:11 pm
Location: Plymouth

Re: Hunting Air Rifle

Post by Plymtom »

thedugfather wrote:Having the license is expensive is it not? plus there supposed to be hard to obtain as u need proven permission or be part of a shooting club more or less u need to ive to have a very good reason to own a FAC firearm where as with an air rifle you don't

Plus having an air rifle adds to the challenge fair enough with FAC u get more range but with the air rifle you need to stalk closer and need more skill to shoot also be good at range finding wind calculation postion and hold of the rifle to compensate for the recoil as this makes a big difference when shooting a springer.
Last year FAC/SGCs were £60 individually or £100 together for 5 years, yes you need permission or club membership, yet with the latter you can make friends have enormous family fun, become a bloody good shot, and not have to kill anything, the other way has it's advantages sure and just because you have a license, doesn't mean you can't have or wouldn't bother with an air rifle - the ammo's cheaper and if you love the taste of rabbits and pigeons at close range it's still the right tool for the job :mrgreen:
I have a strategy, it's not written in stone, nor can it be, this scenario has too many variables, everything about it depends on those variables, being specific is not possible.
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Steve C
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:28 pm
Location: Hampshire

Re: Hunting Air Rifle

Post by Steve C »

ArethusaF38 wrote:I have a Gamo Hunter 440 .22 calibre. It's full-sized, relatively heavy at 3 kg and with a bit of a kick (and quite loud - a silencer would have been good), delivers 1000 ft/s and from target practice I have found it to be quite accurate (making allowances for my shooting, of course *cough*). I purposely bought a spring action only as if/when the SHTF CO2 charged rifles will be useless once the gas runs out. The scope is a 4X32 Hawke Sport HD.

Modestly priced at around £160, it has pretty good reviews and there are videos of it being fired on Youtube, but the trigger mechanism needs an upgrade. Here's a link for Gamo spring air-rifles:

http://www.pellpax.co.uk/acatalog/Gamo- ... ifles.html
Hope you have a FAC, 1000fps on a .22 is well over the legal 12ft lb limit for a 'general public' rifle. I normally shoot RWS Superfield pellets and at 560 fps that works out at about 11.3ft lb!