stuppers Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) i am 16 years old and would like to start pest control on a farm with an air rifle controlling rabbits pigeons etc but i dont know the best way to go about this. i have a shotgun certificate and shoot a variety of quarry from pigeons to pheasents (next week cant wait) Would i even be allowed to do this alone or would i need to be accompanied? Would many farmers be willing to let a young shot on their farm with an air rifle. how would you go about getting permission? i dont have an air rifle or any equipment and i am not made of money!! i understand it can be expensive but i dont want to spend too much money on getting started. what air rifle would you recommend. PCP or Springer. how much is the equipment for a pcp air rifle as i understand that they are more accurate. what air rifle in particular would be a good one to start with. it needs to be quite accurate but i dont have much money to spend thanks i would like to go out on an evening after school and bag a few rabbits but i dont know whether this would be possible or if i would get an oppurtunity to do this Edited October 26, 2009 by stuppers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) Well at the age of sixteen you can do the following: borrow an air rifle and ammunitionuse an air rifle, without supervision, on private premises where you have permission you cannot: buy or hire an air rifle, or ammunition, or receive one as a gift. Your air rifle and ammunition must be bought and looked after by someone over 18 – normally your parent, guardian or some other responsible adult. have an air rifle in a public place unless you are supervised by somebody aged 21 or over, and you have a reasonable excuse to do so (for example, while on the way to a shooting ground). i know you said you dont want to spend much but can you please give me a price range and i'll be able to help a lot more. i.e £300-£400. im sure some farmers will want there rabbits/woodpigeons/ferals/rats/squirrels cleared out around your area. the importnant thing is when asking for a new permission to make a good impression. i.e dress smartly, be polite and offer to give some of your quarry to him/her. just ask around local farms or if you go on a pheasent shoot then ask the other shooters there if they know anyone with a pest problem. as soon as you put up a price range and what quarry you are after i'll be able to help a lot more. i'll be able to help you more Edited October 26, 2009 by aaron airgunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuppers Posted October 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) ok thanks but the cheaper the better would i be able to buy an airgun for under £100 but i suppose i could go up to £300 with help from parents. i guess that air rifles last along time do they i am quite lucky as my uncle is a farm manager so i could go around that particular farm but i dont think the owner would like me going around on my own. it is also quite far away and i want to be independant and go for a couple of hours when i want to Edited October 26, 2009 by stuppers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townsend819 Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hello mate, glad to see another youngun on here, bringing the average age down a bit... You seem to be in the same position I was in a few years ago, so for a start, it is extremely difficult to gain permission for pest control, as there seems to be a bit of a stereotype for lads our age nowadays, farmers do not think we are safe etc. The best method to try and gain premission is to turn up at a farm, and ask really polite, dont set standards on how much land you want, I have one permission at present, a less than three acre poultry farm, that is also the home of a racehorse trainer, so my discreet rabbit control is much appreciated. My best advice would be to join a club, where there is lots of experience to help you, this is where you may find a person who maybe would like to take you with him hunting, like me, who goes lamping with a fox shooter regularly, and knocks off many a rabbits with him. also, you cannot legally own an air rifle until you are 18, so the gun is your dads until then, and you will have to be taken to your shooting ground and back again, even if it is within walking distance because you cannot be in posession of an air rifle in a public place. Now, I douldnt say that pcp's are more accurate than springers, because they are not, springers are just harder to shoot for the shooter, because of the recoil you have to be totally consistant in your hold of the gun. But the flipside of that is you have to have £150 of charging gear to use a PCP, and as a rule, they cost more than a springer. Buy a few magazines, try a few guns at a club and make an educated decision on the gun that suits you. Hope these ramblings help you, because two years ago I would have never guessed that I would be in the position I am in now. Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 ok so your budget is £300 so that rules out getting a brand new pcp. for a good springer the following are good: hw77 hw80k hw90k hw95k webley stingrays II xs (these are top notch) air arms pro sport (expensive, but accurate) air arms tx200 (very nice but heavy) bsa lighting xl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 Here's a couple of good guns in the for sale section. pcp's are much easier to achieve accuracy with so therefore increas the range you hunt at but you will need to get a dive bottle which will cost you "£140+ airarmss200(PCP) bsaultra(PCP, GOOD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuppers Posted October 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) kk thanks i will have a look. how much does a hand pump use. (i guess they have to be specialist not just the average foot pump) are they worth getting over a gas bottle what calibre would be best for me to use .22 or .177 Edited October 26, 2009 by stuppers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 ok if you decide to go for a small cylinder pcp (i.e bsa ultra has 40 shots per fill and a s200 has 60 shots) then you usually need 4-5 pumps to prime it and then a pump for every shot. BUT it is hard work and you will be puffed out at the end. it is hard work. diving bottles are far easier but are more expensive. if you have a gun shop or a dive shop in your area then they will fill up your gun for about £2. as for .22 vs .177 its entirely up to you. anybody who has been in this sport for any time will probably have herd the old chesnut ".177 for feather and .22 for fur" this is absalout pants. it probably arose in the 1950's and was in print regularly by the 1970's. at this time .177 was giving out about 7ftibs and .22 closer to 9ftibs. .22 is a heviar pellet than .177 and therefore will drop more over range. in the 1950's hunting ranges were at about 20 yrds. feather was not larger birds like woodies and crows but smaller species which are now illegal to shoot like starlings and sparrows. .177 would have been seen as a distinct advantage for small targets overr the .22's loopy trajectory. wthe generally accepted kill zone for rabbits today is the cranium. becasue of the inaccuracy of air rifles in those days the area hunters would be aiming for would be the chest. of the rabbit trying to hit vital organs. the .22's greater mass and more power would have outweighed its loopy trajectory. nowadays both .177 and .22's are punching out around 11ftibs. there only real difference is that .177 pellets are cheaper than .22! its really up to you what you choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townsend819 Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 The pumps are great to start with, but the hilarity soon wears off when you are pumping that gun to breathless, also you will need a filter otherwise you will get dust particles stuck in valve causing leak and a trip to manufacturers, so by the time you have bought the pump £100 is at cheapest with filter £30 - 40 ish you are into bottle prices, which with my seven litre one gets a lot of use and has only been refilled once since bought in april. it is around £4 for a refill and is much easier than pumps, also put consideration into size of your bottle because if you have to carry it anywhere for any length of time then 7litre is too big, even for a 6ft rugby player like myself (bigger than my dad) go for a 3 litre for mobility. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuppers Posted October 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 ok thanks alot. Did you say that it only costs you £4 to refill the bottle i thought that you had to buy another bottle at £100+ what would be expected to pay for a 3L bottle? how long would it last? i have found a bottle Charging Kit and Bottle Complete charging kit and 3 Litre 300BAR bottle for most rifles except Rapid or Superten. Charging kit includes bottle with pressure gauge, bleed screw and hose with 1/8th BSP female end. Please note bottles are not filled when sold as couriers will not except them. 3L £150 7L £195 it is not even filled? and seems to be a bit expensive? what does the 300 BAR mean and what BAR will i need to get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 with a 300bar bottle you fill it for £4 from a dive centre. then you get about 18 gun fills from it i think. i have 232bar bottle and have had about 13 fills of my gun before i have had to get the bottle refilled. bottles are far more beter value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuppers Posted October 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 would it be better to buy sencond hand because surely a bottle is a bottle so it wont make a difference as you can just fill it up. what gas is put inside does is matter or does it have to be oxygen co2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 (edited) I must be an animal then as I own a Hill's Pump with a Dry-Pac and can pump my Harrier X back to 180 bar from 100 with very little effort at all (giving me 40-50 shots). Certainly not enough to raise my heartbeat high enough to effect my shooting directly afterward? Doesn't take more than minute and a half to do it either... My advice would be wait till you have a little more money, or sell your XBox (whatever) and get yourself a secondhand PCP and a pump, a pump ain't much cheaper than a bottle but you'll never need to go back to a dive shop to get your tank topped or checked. Buy a Hill's pump with DryPac, shop around for the cheapest. Gun wise I would opt for the Air Arms or if you're lucky you may find a Daystate Harrier X for around £200-250, I payed £215 for mine, fitted a new safety and a few o-rings and now have a very satisfactory and accurate bunny bashing tool. Edited October 27, 2009 by mick miller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 didnt know there was such thing as a daystate under £500. are they really as cheap as £200? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 I must admit, it was a real, real bargain. Not sure if the previous owner just wanted the cash to buy an HMR in a hurry, but I thought it was a steal at that price, even minus a safety. The point remains though, there are some bargains out there in PCP world, especially if you don't mind the odd scratch and aren't after something in mint condition. Air Arms would be my advice, you can get a good gun at a reasonable price - take a look on the guntrader site and keep your eyes peeled at the items for sale on this site and other sites tailored at airguns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick darstardly Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 Jumping on to gain some advice, if i was to buy a first air rifle just to get a couple of rabbits or pigeon for the plate would you guys suggest a break barrel type rifle? Can someone advise me apart from the obv reloading/noise issue what else the break barrel type rifles lack? Can you shoot good distances with a decent one? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 (edited) break barrels are harder to achieve accuracy with becasue of their recoil. with a good break barrel rifle (not cheap one) and a decent scope you might be able to achieve 1" groups at 30 yrds. this might be increased to 40 yrds with a PCP (recoiless) rifle. also because of the recoil they behave differentwhen you shoot them from diferent stances. for example if you have zeroed you rifle from a kneeling position then when you shoot from standing position or leaning on something hard it will shoot completely diferently. so if you plan to put a bipod on a spring gun then you can only use it from a bipod and you can't take shots from any other position or it will behave differently. also if your gun is unloaded then and you come across some quarry, a wary rabbit or cautious woodpigeon will rarely sit through the snap and clack of a break barrel being loaded. Edited October 27, 2009 by aaron airgunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuppers Posted October 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 am i legally allowed to shoot in my back garden as i live in a residential area. what precautions would i need to take to do this safely cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 (edited) am i legally allowed to shoot in my back garden as i live in a residential area.what precautions would i need to take to do this safely cheers You certainly can.......... as long as you do not allow the pellet to escape your land - so if you are target shooting in the garden you need an absorbent backstop to trap the pellets and ricochets - old carpet works well and a pellet-trap target holder. If you are plinking away all day, every day, you may well be accused of causing a nuisance to your neighbours - so a bit of common-sense, discretion and a good silencer are always handy. When I shoot the pigeons off my veggie patch I shoot from an upstairs window so that all pellets land in soft earth - but I am surrounded by trees, so the neighbours cannot see what I am doing - a rifle at the window might excite comment in some residential areas! The only problems that I have had were when I had to ask an "anti" neighbour for permission to retrieve a couple of winged pigeons from her garden - regrettably on two consecutive weeks. Edited October 29, 2009 by amateur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peek-at Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 would it be better to buy sencond hand because surely a bottle is a bottle so it wont make a difference as you can just fill it up. what gas is put inside does is matter or does it have to be oxygen co2? a dive shop will re-fill your cylinder with compressed air. keep an eye on ebay and the 'for sale' section on this site. try and go far a 300BAR cylinder. This means that it can hold 300 times its empty volume so it wont need to be refilled as much but will still cost the same to refill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuppers Posted October 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 thanks for all the advice i seem to be veering towards a secondhand BSA ultra and i dont really know whether to get it in .22 or .177 but i am thinking .177 will be better. with this i notice that the multishot is alot more expensive that the single shot. can you buy the 10 shot magazine and fit it yourself to the single shot as this would be about £60 cheaper than buying the multishot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townsend819 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 thanks for all the advice i seem to be veering towards a secondhand BSA ultra and i dont really know whether to get it in .22 or .177 but i am thinking .177 will be better.with this i notice that the multishot is alot more expensive that the single shot. can you buy the 10 shot magazine and fit it yourself to the single shot as this would be about £60 cheaper than buying the multishot I am faraid not, as the system works some bells and whistles actuating the magazine as you cock it and the single shot version is withoult the bells, and even the whistles.... someone more qualified will explain this better in due course, but in short the answer is no, and I dont knw of any aftermarket conversion kits, so if there are any, someone shout up. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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