FAC Air -What calibre ?

[Salop Matt]

I dont know much about FAC air but would like to know what the magority vote is on what is the best FAC calibre. Sub FAC my preference is .177.

 

I am considering changing my .22lr for FAC air, for bunny bashing. A friend has a FAC .177 for sale but i cant help but think the FAC power would trash the little pellet and not be as effective as a larger calibre. I will be looking to use ite it to 60 / 65 yards. The 2 people I know with FAC Air, one has FAc air in .22 and the other has .20 both swear by there claibre of choice !

 

What are your FAC Air calibre preferences and why ? Also what are the downsides to you calibre. If you could also tell me the FTLB your running at to that would be helpfull !

 

Cheers

Edited July 3, 2010 by salop sniper

[BSA_Shaun]

if it was me i would go for the .22 for two reasons the pellet would give more of a punch to large pests etc and it will make it easyer to load with cold fingers

[jamie g]

177 pellet in fac is ok as long as you dont push it at silly speeds. trouble is 177 will give you less shots per chage as it takes more air to get the little pellet up to the same speeds as its 22 brother.

 

a 22 fac at around 28 to 30 ftlbs is more then enough. it hits much harder then the 177 cal. well also giving you a good amount of shots per charge.

you could go to 40 ftlb in 22cal but for the extra 10 ftlbs you get well using more air isnt really a advatage.

 

well fac air will give you more range over standard 12ftlb air rifle. i didnt really see that. its main benfit in my eyes is the stopping power it gives you over normal hunting ranges.

 

i had a beautiful bsa stalker ten. done by john bowkett. in fac. it was 28ftlb with arm arms pellets. and around 30 to 31 ftlb with the heavier biz mags. it had full blue print and fac reg. one of johns over barrel carbon mods. and it was as silent as my standard 12ftlb air arms s410 !

 

the only extra sound was the louder noise when the pellet hit. i found the biz mags more accurate as air arms pellets break easy around the skirts.

if you look through the tim your see what i mean. alot of them are bent on the skirts. where the biz mags are soild.

Edited July 3, 2010 by jamie g

[jamie g]

also look at the rapid 7. that is a superb and prob the most popular rifle to have fac. just buy a fac rifle ready done. as getting a standard 12 ftlb one to fac will cost more money. and yo uwont get it back when selling it

[kyska]

I use a Rapid 12/.22 @30ft/lb using AA fields, the 16 grain ones not the extras, thats gives me .177 trajectory with lots more energy.

 

As said, they don't extend your range hugely, some people shoot or claim to shoot out to stupid amount of yards, myself...I stick to 50 yards max with 30ft/lb, on paper its accurate enough to 80 yards, but in a hunting situation its not my cup of tea to go that far.

[peek-at]

Why on earth are you considering FAC air instead of your .22LR ?

 

.22LR is a fantastic tool for bunny bashing and has more stopping power for a humane kill and is accurate out to further distances.....

 

I'm not saying you wont get humane kills with FAC air.... I'm saying that you should have both to suit differing permissions.

I also have a .22LR and FAC air and although the .22LR gets the most use, there is definitely a place for my Air Arms.

 

Again i'm all for the .22 calibre and as previously mentioned, a lighter pellet will give a flatter trajectory whilst maintaining a good 'thump'

 

ATB

 

[kyska]

Why on earth are you considering FAC air instead of your .22LR ?

 

.22LR is a fantastic tool for bunny bashing and has more stopping power for a humane kill and is accurate out to further distances.....

 

I'm not saying you wont get humane kills with FAC air.... I'm saying that you should have both to suit differing permissions.

I also have a .22LR and FAC air and although the .22LR gets the most use, there is definitely a place for my Air Arms.

 

Again i'm all for the .22 calibre and as previously mentioned, a lighter pellet will give a flatter trajectory whilst maintaining a good 'thump'

 

ATB

 

 

Horses for courses, fac air can be used for arboreal targets for a start. I've tried lr on my land and its not suitable. For the record I use my fac air more than any of the rifle I have. Don;t knock it, if the OP is more comfortable with air, so be it.

[fireshot]

I`v got 2 Rapids MK2 in fac 177 and .22. the 177 is doing 21flb 10.5gr and 22 doing 35flb with 18gr both fly the same up to 70 yards then 22 will drop more and get 85 shot each 400cc bottles , if I was buying one again it would be 22 as it`s better in the wind but saying that I use the 177 alot .

[peek-at]

Horses for courses, fac air can be used for arboreal targets for a start. I've tried lr on my land and its not suitable. For the record I use my fac air more than any of the rifle I have. Don;t knock it, if the OP is more comfortable with air, so be it.

 

 

I think you have just agreed with my point..... It would seem that he has an application for his current LR so for max flexibility he should have both......

(assuming of course he has permissions with varying characteristics - obviously if he has no further use for his LR that is another matter)

[kyska]

That was my intention old bean, just not to put the op off to changing.

 

I think you have just agreed with my point..... It would seem that he has an application for his current LR so for max flexibility he should have both......

(assuming of course he has permissions with varying characteristics - obviously if he has no further use for his LR that is another matter)

[Dekers]

I dont know much about FAC air but would like to know what the magority vote is on what is the best FAC calibre. Sub FAC my preference is .177.

 

I am considering changing my .22lr for FAC air, for bunny bashing. A friend has a FAC .177 for sale but i cant help but think the FAC power would trash the little pellet and not be as effective as a larger calibre. I will be looking to use ite it to 60 / 65 yards. The 2 people I know with FAC Air, one has FAc air in .22 and the other has .20 both swear by there claibre of choice !

 

What are your FAC Air calibre preferences and why ? Also what are the downsides to you calibre. If you could also tell me the FTLB your running at to that would be helpfull !

 

Cheers

 

 

FAC air is not the tool for that unless you have other site issues, and even then 65 yards for FAC air is a long way for evey day shooting.

 

.22lr is ideal at that distance, and if it is delivering too much power at that distance consider, longs, shorts or even caps in it, that will be a lot cheaper than chucking it in and going FAC air!

[Maidment78]

FAC air is not the tool for that unless you have other site issues, and even then 65 yards for FAC air is a long way for evey day shooting.

 

.22lr is ideal at that distance, and if it is delivering too much power at that distance consider, longs, shorts or even caps in it, that will be a lot cheaper than chucking it in and going FAC air!

 

Agreed,

 

I love my FAC air but for these sort or ranges I would ask why are you not looking for an .17 HMR as this would be better suited and to get this sort of caliber on your ticket is really no harder thn getting it in the first place. The only time I ever found the question got interesting was for the .243.

 

I use my AIR FACs up to the 50 yrd mark, I know they are accurate further out than this but with so many variables the risk of not getting a clean kill is too high for me and if you can not stalk a bunny to 50 yards something is wrong,,,

[bullet boy]

I've always said .22 for FAC and .177 for sub 12ft/lbs.

[Salop Matt]

Looks like i need to give more info here!

 

The site am shooting on want me to be as discreet as possible so the HMR is out. Also alot of the shooting is around buildings so cant risk a richochett or thats the end of the permition if damage is caused by me aswell as the expense of putting things right.

I love my .22lr to bits but having tryed it last week I had 3 out of 5 bounce off, i had 10ft elevation over the target at 50 yards but the round entered and exited and then carryed on some 150yards where it hit a wall. It put the wind up me and am not sure the .22lr will ever be used there again for fear of a repeat.

 

So the gap between the sub 12ftlb air and the .22lr is FAC air for my bunnys out to 60yards.

 

Would also like to know what folks feelings and thoughts are on using FAC air for crows and branchers (ie, upwards shooting) is a compleet no no with rimfires upwards but how about fac air (22 at 30ftlbs) ?

[kyska]

Its fine to use FAC air into trees, obviously take as much care as you would with a non sch1 gun and consider where your shot will land, thats why I use the air so much.

 

I also have the same problem as you with the .22lr, lots of stone in the ground equalled many, many riqochets, it just didn't suit my ground.

 

60 yards is still a long way for FAC air you know, not undoable but a long way and a lot of skill and perfect conditions will make it possible. As others have said, and I agree I stick to 50 yards, you have to be so accurate on the range. I alter my shooting and fieldcraft, normally static shoot, where as with the hmr I tend to wander a bit more.

 

If you were a bit closer or if you pass through Leicestershire give me a shout and come and put a few targets out and use mine to see if its what you're after.

 

Looks like i need to give more info here!

 

The site am shooting on want me to be as discreet as possible so the HMR is out. Also alot of the shooting is around buildings so cant risk a richochett or thats the end of the permition if damage is caused by me aswell as the expense of putting things right.

I love my .22lr to bits but having tryed it last week I had 3 out of 5 bounce off, i had 10ft elevation over the target at 50 yards but the round entered and exited and then carryed on some 150yards where it hit a wall. It put the wind up me and am not sure the .22lr will ever be used there again for fear of a repeat.

 

So the gap between the sub 12ftlb air and the .22lr is FAC air for my bunnys out to 60yards.

 

Would also like to know what folks feelings and thoughts are on using FAC air for crows and branchers (ie, upwards shooting) is a compleet no no with rimfires upwards but how about fac air (22 at 30ftlbs) ?

Edited July 4, 2010 by kyska

[Salop Matt]

Its fine to use FAC air into trees, obviously take as much care as you would with a non sch1 gun and consider where your shot will land, thats why I use the air so much.

 

I also have the same problem as you with the .22lr, lots of stone in the ground equalled many, many riqochets, it just didn't suit my ground.

 

60 yards is still a long way for FAC air you know, not undoable but a long way and a lot of skill and perfect conditions will make it possible. As others have said, and I agree I stick to 50 yards, you have to be so accurate on the range. I alter my shooting and fieldcraft, normally static shoot, where as with the hmr I tend to wander a bit more.

 

If you were a bit closer or if you pass through Leicestershire give me a shout and come and put a few targets out and use mine to see if its what you're after.

 

Thank you very much and thats a very kind offer !

[Maidment78]

Know it makes sense, .22 FAC air then, I would look for around 40ft. with a fairly large air resivoir like the airwolf or something similar.

 

Sounds like a nice shoot though,

 

Paul.

[Salop Matt]

Its taken me 9 months of patients and hard work and its not a straight forward one but still much appreciated.

 

Only been the once so far to shoot and the bag was 22. I know bags will reduce in numbers as I get on top of them but still

 

Well fingers crossed I may look out for a FAC .22 or .20 rapid 7 to take the place in the cabinet of the .22lr .

[Dekers]

Its taken me 9 months of patients and hard work and its not a straight forward one but still much appreciated.

 

Only been the once so far to shoot and the bag was 22. I know bags will reduce in numbers as I get on top of them but still

 

Well fingers crossed I may look out for a FAC .22 or .20 rapid 7 to take the place in the cabinet of the .22lr .

 

People seem to forget you can get caps at around 30ft lb, shorts a bit more and then longs a bit more still, as well as shotshells to fit the .22lr, all offer easier options and save a lot of money compared to buying a FAC air rifle!

[farmboy99]

17hmr gets my vote too but if you like fac air then i'd say .22 unless you're going up to 50/60lb/ft then i'd go .25 my mates got one and loves it says the stopping power is immense of course you only get about 40 good shots this is a rapid 7 by the way. good luck whatever you end up doing

[Salop Matt]

Dekers, I havent forgot abot CB`s etc but they wont group for me !

 

Farmboy, the HMR would be fine only the noise doesnt allow me to stay discreet !

[wimone]

For moost situations I would take a .22 28ft/lbs / 30ft/lbs with 16 grains JSB (AA or Daystate 16 grains pellets).

You get a good nr of shots and rabbits pigeon crow at 80m are no problem if there is not much wind.

(you need a good laser rangfinder and a scope with bullet drop compensator or enough compensation points in the reticule)

 

25 cal is more limited you need about 45 ft/lbs, and you need a air rifle with big air volume to get enough good shots (40 shots) , like a theobens rapid 7 (400 a 500 cc of air), also it's much more dangers then a .22 (airr.) ricochet of weat grass etc and shooting through everything, So not for every place!

If you have enough space and if you have the right rifle and pellets (jsb .25 king for example) it's a killer! but with his limitations.

Yes you have less wind drift, then the .22 above, but you also have to compensate for it, but just a little bit less, if you don't compensate for the wind you will miss, also with the .25 cal.

 

Then there is a other thing, the impact from a .25 cal pellet at 900 ft/s on a rabbit, pigeon, crow is loud and sometimes you can get more shots with a .22 airr. then with the .25

 

If I understand it correctly you don't have experience with FAC air rifles, so I guess, you will shoot a lot paper targets first to get used to the traject, winddrift etc, so you will shoot a lot of pellets first before you go hunting. With this in mind you will use a lot of air, if you don't want to recharge the rifle after 40 shot don,t buy a .25 cal air rifle in FAC, a .22 airifle in FAC uses also a lot of air but much less then a .25 cal. also think about buying a 4000 psi divers bottle with charging gear! With a .22 cal 16 grains 27 ft/lbs you could go with a stirup pump only.

 

 

So for allround FAC level work I would go for a 29 ft/lbs .22 airrifle.

But I also love the .25 cal but only for special occasions.

 

 

Things to think about when shooting long range air rifles

-Good laser range finder,

-Good scope with BDC or multiple aiming points

-Good air rifle combination with good pellets,

-Charging gear,

-Knowing youre BDC and wind drift and how many good shots you have.

-offcourse doing everything right youre self.

 

And yes I also have a FAC .177 but I think .22 and bigger is better. also beacuse the more efficient air use with bigger calibers.

I don't like magazins for hunting rifles because you will probably have to load and unload a lot and with a magazin this will give problems.

Maybe you can make up youre mind with this info.

best regards Wimone

[farmboy99]

you'll find fac air nearly if not just as much loud i should think mate they're not silent like normal sub 12 i shouldnt think there would be much in it between them both moderated of course

[bigmick11]

I must admit having had an AA S410 XTRA .22 FAC, I would love to try the .25.

The .22 is adequate, I would think the .25 awesome.

[terrier]

.25 is a superb cal for a Fac airgun!

I own a Lonestar for pest control, and there can be large pests.. Nile Geese, Nutria's etc, No problem voor a Lonestar/ H&N Barracuda 31 grain, even at 70 yards. A good scope, practising and no recoil will help you