andystone Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 morning all, i've owned my .22 air rifle for a year or two and until now have only 'killed' several beer cans in my back garden. i'm looking to expand my knowledge and ability, hence joined this forum. primarily i would like to shoot rats (if i'm allowed) as i fish and see them as a pest (eating baits, rat urine etc) where do i start with laws, getting somewhere to shoot etc etc???!? (i'm near yeovil, somerset if that helps!) andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNAKEBITE Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 ADMIN, ANOTHER STICKY COMING ON? Right, first step is to make sure you are CONFIDENT in hitting the target area of the intended prey. Rats are very quick, very intelligent and damned hard targets! Secondly you must get permission from the landowner or tennant of the property you are shooting on. Writen permission is better but not mandatory. Thirdly get insurance. You can do this by becoming a member of BASC or another shooting (orientated) organisation. As for getting land to shoot on it just a question of asking EVERYONE you can think of. You will get knocked back many times but stick at it and you will eventually get a shoot. Good luck and keep us informed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 Welcome aboard mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 Welcome onboard Andy. To start with you should make sure that you are totally familiar with your rifle and your ability to use it, before attempting live targets. Even rats deserve a humane kill. Easy enough, set out some paper targets at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 yards and practise hitting them. From this you will be able to work out how much hold over you need to hit a target area of 1 inch. If you cant, keep upo the practise until you can. Once your there, you should be ready to start out on live quarry. But before you commence and as Snakebite mentions, get yourself some liabitlity insurance. Legality wise you can get the general gist of things from the Basc website here: BASC - Airguns Once you have the ability and understanding, you'll be good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roblade Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 quick question from me is, what rilfle are you using? some rifles are suited to the back yard plinking of tins cans and are happy to be used the the fields, unfortunatly some are only good for the tin cans before you even think about hitting the fields or even apporaching land owners about a pest problem, you should be able to get almost every pellet inside a 2" circle at any distance. as has been said above practise at variouse ranges and then once you happy with your ability to place your shots where you want them, then is the time to approach land owners. ROB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andystone Posted March 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 quick question from me is, what rilfle are you using? some rifles are suited to the back yard plinking of tins cans and are happy to be used the the fields, unfortunatly some are only good for the tin cans before you even think about hitting the fields or even apporaching land owners about a pest problem, you should be able to get almost every pellet inside a 2" circle at any distance. as has been said above practise at variouse ranges and then once you happy with your ability to place your shots where you want them, then is the time to approach land owners. ROB i'm not sure what make my rifle is, but i know it's not the best you can get! i bought it from my local fishing shop and cost about £180 with scope. i'm at work at the moment so i cant check what make it is neither! on the subject of airguns and back gardens, is there any specific laws to using an airgun in my garden? ie minimum length garden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancs Lad Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 No laws regarding the length of your garden. However there is a law against your rounds straying, ie riccochets or penetration. You need to make sure that you have a suitable back stop and that your shots can not riccochet into anyone elses property. Creating a "range" type of box would be good, where you can put your targets in, line it with old yellow pages and carpet this should prevent any bounce out. "It is against the law to trespass on any land (including land covered by water) or in any building, while you have an air rifle with you. Whether the gun is loaded and whether or not you have pellets with you is irrelevant. If you go onto land without permission, you are trespassing, unless there is some right of access for the public. If there is a right of access for the public the restrictions set out above will apply. Trespass with an air rifle is 'armed trespass', a criminal offence, the penalties for which can be severe. As well as the offences already mentioned, it is against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway, if by doing so you cause any member of the public, using that right of way, to be injured, interrupted or endangered. This offence could be committed, for example, by someone on private property close to a road who uses an air rifle in a way which endangers people on the road." Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roblade Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 (edited) nope no legal limis really to shooting in your back garden. apart from the following: 1. must not shoot within 50 ft of the centre of a public highway or pathway. 2. If in a council property you must get permision from the council. (or at least thats the law) 3. and the most important PELLETS MUST NOT LEAVE YOUR BOUNDARY! never have found out what law your breaking but this is the biggest one. Depending on how well you get on with your neighbours might be worth havign a chat with them and soundign out how they feel about you shooting in the garden. But there is very little they can do, apart from cause you a lot of hassle as for the rifle sonds like it should be pretty good from local shop at that price. all the best ROB ps damn someone beat me to it LOL as for the back stop i use an old microwavebox covered in carpet with a load of old clothes (jeans and jackets) rolled up inside the box, after many 100s of shots its still holding together pretty good and gets heavier every day i use it LOL Edited March 8, 2006 by roblade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andystone Posted March 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 sounds like my garden will be ok then. around 70ft long with walled end and no roads, with a 'log store' which is pretty enclosed. cheers all for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the lizard Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 primarily i would like to shoot rats (if i'm allowed) as i fish and see them as a pest (eating baits, rat urine etc) Don't forget about the FLYING rats !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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