Air Rifles

[NinjaDad]

I'm starting to look into the possibility of either an airgun or recurve bow, but I know I've got to do a lot of research to see if it's viable, safe, or even cost-effective, since we have 3 young children here.
Luckily, the MIL's boyfriend has invited me to go with him to a shooting range that he frequents himself over the weekends, and says that they rent out guns for as little as a fiver for the day. That way, I can find out if that's for me or not. I don't know what type his is, but apparently he can hit targets the size of ping-pong balls from up to 100m away. But maybe I'm getting old and my memory's playing tricks on me, because that sounds too powerful to be an average air rifle. Although, to the uninitiated (like myself) it looks like a professional sniper rifle!
Apparently, there's an archery club fairly close to where I live, so I'll be looking into whether or not they rent/hire the right equipment for the day, since there seems to be alot to learn as well as buy, so would be unfortunate to spend all that money and then realise that it's not the sport for me.
My main problem though, is secure storage. Three young kids, so would want something that not only is locked, but also would rather them not even knowing that there was even a gun / bow in the house to start with.
If anyone knows any links for what would be classed as a safe and secure cabinet or chest for potentially deadly weapons, that would be really helpful.

[notrab99]

One thing to bear in mind is that a powerful bow can be quite a strain on the body. Also without an arm guard you may get some nasty abrasions. Alot of people also use finger protection. On the plus side they can be easily dismantled so that they are useless to kids. I use the loft for storage, it would fit underneath the insualtion quite easily.

[Yogi1kanobee]

I'm starting to look into the possibility of either an airgun or recurve bow, but I know I've got to do a lot of research to see if it's viable, safe, or even cost-effective, since we have 3 young children here.
Luckily, the MIL's boyfriend has invited me to go with him to a shooting range that he frequents himself over the weekends, and says that they rent out guns for as little as a fiver for the day. That way, I can find out if that's for me or not. I don't know what type his is, but apparently he can hit targets the size of ping-pong balls from up to 100m away. But maybe I'm getting old and my memory's playing tricks on me, because that sounds too powerful to be an average air rifle. Although, to the uninitiated (like myself) it looks like a professional sniper rifle!
Apparently, there's an archery club fairly close to where I live, so I'll be looking into whether or not they rent/hire the right equipment for the day, since there seems to be alot to learn as well as buy, so would be unfortunate to spend all that money and then realise that it's not the sport for me.
My main problem though, is secure storage. Three young kids, so would want something that not only is locked, but also would rather them not even knowing that there was even a gun / bow in the house to start with.
If anyone knows any links for what would be classed as a safe and secure cabinet or chest for potentially deadly weapons, that would be really helpful.

If you want to keep your guns secure maybe you should think of an actual gun cabinet, like this -

http://www.guncabinetsdirect.co.uk/Buff ... 0q3000.htm

Though I would pay just a little bit more and get a 3 gun shotgun cabinet, as you would need one if you ever decide to get a shotgun licence.

[bulldogeagle]

why dont you get both an airgun and a bow, its probably better to have a choice" on the day" as it were, i have both, airgun as the main weapon but a bow and arrows as a back up. dont rush into buying anything, have a look around and see what is available and what the costs are. a rifle that shoots 100metres isnt going to be any airgun i've ever shot, you'll be lucky if you can hit anything at half that distance, if your shooting for the pot you will be shooting up to 30metres maximum.

[Triple_sod]

If you want to keep your guns secure maybe you should think of an actual gun cabinet, like this -

http://www.guncabinetsdirect.co.uk/Buff ... 0q3000.htm

Though I would pay just a little bit more and get a 3 gun shotgun cabinet, as you would need one if you ever decide to get a shotgun licence.

I'd never seen a cabinet marketed specifically for airguns before, that looks pretty good, but reckon your right, may as well go for a police approve one. They actually get quite a few on ebay, with some as little as £40 if your prepared to collect, so reckon it pays to shop around.

[BigMacKin]

An Air Gun is a good investment and great fun!! Whilst a ping pong ball at 100 metres is theoretically possible, with a 12ft lbs air rifle (legal limit) you'd probably just knock it off a stick and cause zero damage. I still have a weihrauch hw95k and it drops rabbits at 35 yards easily. Its not too expensive and they come in at a good price 2nd hand too. It doesn't have iron sights so you'll need a decent scope with it. There are PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic) guns that are a wee bit more expensive and tend to be a bit more accurate for the less experienced as they have no recoil.

If you do need something that is clean kill for bunnies at 100 metres then you'd need to think about an air rifle more powerfull that 12ft lbs Something around a 35ft lbs PCP might do the job in the right hands but you'd need a fire arms certificate (FAC) for this and if you need that sort of power and are going to that trouble then you might as well consider a rimfire rifle. The range of guns is very wide and your choice would depend on the quarry you're after. Good advise is to join a local gun club and get a bit of training/experience/advise - target shooting is a good start and when you go for your FAC you can state the reason is target practise and competition: your membership and support of the gun club goes a long way to convincing the Police you have good reason to have a firearm. As others have mentioned you'll need a properly fitted gun cabinet as well - which is even a good idea if you have air rifles.

Shooting is a great sport and if you do go for live quarry then there is nothing that compares to when you stalk and take your first hind or when you sit in a hide waiting for the elusive long eared ones to pop their heads out and make the perfect shot.

Hope this is of some help, try http://www.basc.org.uk for tonnes of info on shooting.

[notrab99]

after reading the posts here I ordered a catapult (with arm rest) off ebay for £10. Money well spent, me and the kids had a blast. I didn't realise just how powerful they are plus they would hardly be noticed if carried in public - good stress relief and good fun too! I don't know if I could ever manage to hunt successfully with one but it could certainly dish out a nasty bruise or get somebody's attention.

[Triple_sod]

after reading the posts here I ordered a catapult (with arm rest) off ebay for £10. Money well spent, me and the kids had a blast. I didn't realise just how powerful they are plus they would hardly be noticed if carried in public - good stress relief and good fun too! I don't know if I could ever manage to hunt successfully with one but it could certainly dish out a nasty bruise or get somebody's attention.

I remember someone on here being an avid catapult hunter, pretty sure it was jansman. Certainly I’ve herd of people taking rabbit and pheasants with them no trouble. As you say though they are a lot of fun just to plink with in the back garden.

[nickdutch]

after reading the posts here I ordered a catapult (with arm rest) off ebay for £10. Money well spent, me and the kids had a blast. I didn't realise just how powerful they are plus they would hardly be noticed if carried in public - good stress relief and good fun too! I don't know if I could ever manage to hunt successfully with one but it could certainly dish out a nasty bruise or get somebody's attention.

I remember someone on here being an avid catapult hunter, pretty sure it was jansman. Certainly I’ve herd of people taking rabbit and pheasants with them no trouble. As you say though they are a lot of fun just to plink with in the back garden.

Skilled slingshot shooters on youtube can slice a playing card in two sideways on with a slingshot from 75 ft away.
With practice they promise to be an accurate hunting weapon.

[Rosesandtea]

I'd never seen a cabinet marketed specifically for airguns before, that looks pretty good, but reckon your right, may as well go for a police approve one. They actually get quite a few on ebay, with some as little as £40 if your prepared to collect, so reckon it pays to shop around.

Oh good, I was afraid they'd all be in the hundreds of pounds. Thanks for this info.