Big Rifle Little Gun Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Alright all, I've just recently bought myself an air rifle and a was looking for some opinions and a bit of advise. Firstly a was just looking for an opinion on the rifle I've bought, a got a Webley Stingray XS .177 with a tasco world class 3-9x50 from my local gun dealers for £230. And second off a just wanted some general advise on how i would go about getting into hunting, a don't have any mates who do it and a just wanted to know how ad go about getting into it. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Afternoon mate and welcome on board! Firstly, where do you live? If you don't have any friends who shoot and you don't have any ground over which you have permission to shoot, then find yourself a local range, get down there and get shooting! finding a club may not be too hard, depending on your area and distance you're able to travel. However, it does seem that the further North in the country you live, the easier it is to find a club. That might be just my limited experience of trying - and failing - to find a club near where I live in the south! Google your area plus air rifle ranges and see what comes up! That way you get in some practice and meet people who are like minded! you don't have any friends who shoot yet, but a club would soon sort that out! When it comes to hunting you need to be totally confident that every shoot will produce a good clean kill every time; you get that good by practising! All animals deserve the respect of a clean quick kill, whether it's a rat or a rabbit. Then it's a matter of trailing round local farms asking for permission and this IS hard, especially if you're new to the sport. But showing you're a member of a club, and getting yourself some insurance (someone reputable, like BASC or National Gamekeepers Organisation)will help no end. Maybe even a letter of reference from president/chairman of the club might help? The first permission is always the hardest. After that, assuming you don't screw up on their land - you can ask for references from the land owners as you pick up permissions. IT IS HARD; remember it's their land and they need to know what's going on on it and whether it's being looked after. But persevere with it. Find land owners' local pubs, by them a round, and in everything you do sell yourself as responsible and someone who can do them a service by pest control, whether it's rabbits, pigeons, magpies squirrels, whatever! And keep up to date here! you'll get a lot of advice and help if you ask and there are some great people kicking about who know their stuff! Good luck! P.s. I can't say anything about the gun; i've never owned or shot a webley so i'm a little in the dark about that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Rifle Little Gun Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Cheers for that mate plenty of sound advice for a novice like myself. Aye a know what you mean about about being totally confident a wouldn't like to shoot something for it to get away then die needlessly, I'd like to make good use of the animals that a killed. A live on tyneside and theres a shooting range in sunderland but by the look of the website thats for the real mccoy guns, am also reasonably close to a few farms. a didn't even know you could get insurance haha thats new to me, does it cost much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Well. You get what you pay for! British Airgun Shooters Association (BASA) is about £20, but i'm yet to hear a good report about them! Things like spelling mistakes on insurance cards, impossible to get hold of etc... not the sort of things you want from an insurance company! I'm with National Gamekeepers Association (NGO) which is £35 a year and they seem pretty good. the cover is good and, unlike BASA, they support causes close to shooting as well; it's not just a money spinner, they care about the sport and the issues surrounding it! The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) are hugely popular on this forum and always get positive reports. They're more expensive (£45ish I think) but they do a huge amount beyond just insurance. Wildlife conservation game keeping support, as well as lobbying the government on issues like the impending licensing bill of airguns in Scotland. I'm sure there are others out there! but those are the ones I actually know anything abut! Go to their websites and have a trawl through a few of them! It is worth going for a company that do more than just insure you for your money, as gamekeepers and land owners will look much more favourably on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Rifle Little Gun Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Cheers buddy a think al have a look on the BASC website and get meself some insurance once me next pay day comes along (seeing as av left meself skint after buying the rifle this month!). Al just keep plinking away at targets in me back garden till then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattF Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Have a look here Thorn Dell Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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