ballistics advice

[big bad lindz]

I am thinking of applying for a FAC and I have seen many comments and advice on PW.

What I am looking for are there any good books on the market that I could swat up on regarding calibre & ballistics etc and what I can and cannot use for Roe deer, fox`s & rabbits. Is there a rifle that will do all three?

I have spoken to the guy who has given me permission to rough shoot on his land and he in principle has no objections for me to move up from a shotgun to using a rifle but I will have to go out with him a few times with his gun so he is happy with what I am doing and that I have a good understanding of ballistics, range etc.

any suggestions ?

 

Cheers,

 

BBL

Edited May 29, 2012 by big bad lindz

[Harnser]

You could do worse than asking a few questions on this forum .There are some very experianced shooters on here that will answer your questions and give you good solid advice .

Harnser .

[neil w]

get your self a rimfire . learn to be a safe shot . then think about centre fires for fox and deer . field craft is a must to learn

[big bad lindz]

Cheers Hanser,

I know there is a lot of knowledge out there in the PW membership and what has already been previously posted.

I suppose sometimes you feel like a numptie asking questions that a lot of people take for granted. When I think back to when I got my shotgun I had a load of questions and I did ask around and did a bit of reading up, and there still times when another question crops up.

 

As for your comment Neil, I am always looking at ways to improve my field craft for rough shooting & wildfowling and it will be a further learning curve if I go for a FAC.

So I suppose my first daft questions are why start with a rimfire and then move up to a centre fire, what is the diffrence,could I not learn to be a safe shot as quickly with a centre fire? Am I wrong in saying the power/velocity of the rounds?.

I am sure I will have more questions.

 

 

Cheers guys,

 

BBL

[neil w]

swat through a few more books and talk to your fire arm officer about ballistics . i am sure he will be impressed and give you a 308 . as you say what is the difference between that than a rimfire .. ?? ps a 308 will do all three good luck in your application

[bedwards1966]

You could get some books, but I think your questions can be answered at least as well on here. Unless you want to get deeply into reloading for extreme accuracy as a hobby or something like that I don't think you need books.

 

For roe deer you need to be looking at a .243 or larger calibre, but for rabbits a .22lr (rim-fire) or .17HMR (rim-fire) tends to be ideal.

Foxes really require at least a .22 hornet (centre-fire) upwards depending on the ranges you are shooting at.

 

You could theoretically use one gun for everything, but it's not really a good option. A .243 or bigger is needed for Roe, it's also ideal for foxes, but it's far too much for rabbits, it'll lead to meat damage. The ammo also costs too much for rabbit shooting, large centre-fire rounds aren't ideal for rabbits.

 

You should be able to get everything in 2 rifles easily enough, probably a .243 for foxes and deer and a rim-fire for rabbits. As to what rim-fire you get depends on the type of land you shoot on and the ranges you will shoot at.

Don't go down the route of starting out with rim-fires then getting centre-fires, there is no need to do it that way, it costs more money and if you have a need (i.e suitable land) for a centre-fire then you can get one when you apply for your FAC. A safe shot with a rim-fire tends to be safe with a centre-fire, an earth backstop is needed whatever is being shot.

Edited May 29, 2012 by bedwards1966

[MiLisCer]

There has been some good advice above and some inaccurate advice too.

 

As you are in Scotland you can shoot Roe with a 22 centrefire rifle. It must use a bullet of at least 50 grains AND have a minimum muzzle velocity of 2,450 feet per second AND a minimum muzzle energy of 1,000 foot pounds may be used

 

So something like a 222 or 223 would cover you nicely for Roe and Fox, plus long range rabbits.

 

In England and Wales it needs to be a .240 Calibre and minimum muzzle energy of 1,700 foot pounds for shooting Roe and the larger deer.

 

Mike

[kent]

As with all forums, the advice can vary from very good to terribly inaccurate and misleading. The book you might be looking for is

Sporting rifles By Bruce Potts Crowood press isbn 978 1 84797 107 4

 

its filled with sound advice, though is packed out with a section on rifle reviews (this is always a very personal view). it covers all classes of rifles (excluding air) and all classes of Quarry.

 

I must agree if its a centrefire you have "good reason" for there is no point in getting a rimfire just as a training aid. The view that rimfire is safer is one taken by certain Police areas but its full of holes and if you havent a need for a small vermin and ground game gun then you have no "good reason". I know things have changed from my first rifle but the laws and guidelines have not

 

Another book worthy of note in relation to Fox work is Foxing with lamp and rifle by Robert bucknell Self published under Foxearth publishing ISBN 0-9540206-0-x . it is a bit baised towards the calibres and gear he as actually used, but is pretty much spot on surounding the practice of foxing.

 

My recomendation is not to by Robin Marshal- Brown 's book "the sporting rifle" Its a work of limited personal experiance and reseach in my opinion

[bedwards1966]

I didn't realise the OP is in Scotland, I ought to improve my geography knowledge!

That does change things slightly, a .223 could do it all, though it might depend on just how much you will shoot. If you're popping of thousands of rabbits a year then a .223 might prove a bit costly compared to using a rim-fire.

I'd still be inclined to have something like a .243 for deer as I tend to feel that it's best to have more power than you need to ensure dead is dead, but it could all be done on 1 calibre, especially if you aren't shooting huge numbers of deer.