Starting out. Advice needed.

[Newbie]

Hi all,

 

As the name suggests I am absolutely brand new to this.

I have recently shot rabbits with a degree of success (good, clean kills) on my own land (large acre and half garden surrounded by woodland) with a very low quality 12ft/lb air rifle and enjoyed it.

As well as combating my ongoing rabbit / crow / pigeon problem I can obtain permission to shoot on surrounding farmland where I can literally walk 100m out of the door and take aim at any number of pests / food.

I would have no problem getting a fac (I think).

 

As a starting point I have 3 major questions...

Based on your personal experience and knowing what you know, would you start out with a fac level rifle? Which one?

 

If not then what would you buy? I've looked at the Air Arms S200, S400 and the S410 for multishot.

 

.177 or .22?

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Newbie

[Peter_HMR]

For air rifles

 

.177 for 12lb ft or less

.22 for fac

 

Personally i'd go for a .22lr or a .17hmr if you can get it as the gun will be cheaper more accurate and a .22 costs next to nothing to run and you dont have to worry about how many shots you'll get filling gear or anything and also keeps the weight down.

[Newbie]

Thanks for the reply but I would prefer to stay with air power Although I could apply for fac I'd rather not bother if I can get sufficient range / killing power from less than 12 ft/lbs.

One thing I forgot to say is that I have been looking at pcp rifles for the silence. I've also had a read around other threads and am now looking at the bsa ultra too.

 

I think a multishot rifle would be worth the extra cost too

I've found the ultra multishot at a cost of £350 with silencer and the S410 for about the same cost second hand.

 

Which one though? Or does anyone have an alternative suggestion?

Any scope recommendations?

 

Decisions Decisions! :thumbs:

 

N

[happyshooter]

hi newbie i would go for the s410 its not been voted the best airgun over the last few years, for nothing its a good handler, the mags are easy to load and reliable, the guns very accurate , get a good scope at least 3---9--50 jsr are very good value. get this gun you won,t go wrong

good luck and welcome to the forum.

regards brian

ps there is a s410 fac model also Av.

[SNAKEBITE]

would you start out with a fac level rifle?

 

If not then what would you buy?

 

First answer........ no.

Get some experience under your belt, learn fieldcraft and if you can get the critters with a 12lber then you can get them with anything. Build up slowly, no rush, just enjoy what you are doing and learn the basics.

 

Second answer......... How long is a bit of string?

There are so many quality guns out there it is hard to get a bad one. It all depends on budget and on how the gun fits you. Try as many as you can before you buy. Join a club to see what there is out there. you can try peoples guns normally, and see what you think for yourself.

 

Anything else just shout!

[joekid]

if youplan on eating the rabbits forget the 17hmr

[pin]

if youplan on eating the rabbits forget the 17hmr

 

Sorry but what utter ********, have you got an HMR? Last 3 evenings I have been out and had two dozen, shot between 60 and 160yds and every single one was fit for the pot.

[bunny buster]

id go BSA Ultra good alround hunter

[SAVAGE HMR]

I know you were not 100% keen on the F.A.C. but if you did get it I'd highly recommend a .17 HMR way better than a .22 F.A.C. great range, awesome power! Probably the best varmint caliber in the world, you can get a cheap HMR second hand for around about £180, get a decent scope on it and your set. No more out of range critters or inhumane shots.

[Hardy]

Ditto the above - start out with a 12lb air rifle & get practicing whilst your fac is being processed.

 

What rifle depends on your budget as much as anything. Mine was limited when I bought mine so went for Brocock Hunter pcp with synthetic stock. Cost £300 all in about a year ago (gun, silencer, scope & pump) - I did have liking for the AAS200, especailly as it can be multishot - next time perhaps. I take it out rabbiting most weekends & its very accurate, I just have a wander around 2 of our fields (about 15 acres) & generally get a couple each time.

[paddypower999]

If you go for an air rifle i can highly recommend the air arms 410k its by far the best gun i have ever owned it give me so much confidence that where i put that mill dot that is where its going if it doesnt that i know it was me and not the gun.

 

Hope this helps let us know what you go for.

 

Paddy

[bunnybasher07]

alright, if i were you i would take "snakebites" advice.. hes right keep the airgun until you have saftey skills and get used to the fact that they can kill people and the basics of stalking and so on...

 

well its up to you what gun you buy, join some shooting clubs and decide what gun you are looking for.ie a .17 hmr, 22lr, pneumatic air rifles, springers or even shotguns. If you need the range the .17hmr are great guns and are all round guns but if you can get close enough say 40 yds get a pneumatic because i think the best part of shooting is stalking the animal and watching it and then taking the shot, i have a BSA Scorpion and cannot fault it best gun out of all my brothers guns and the accuracys great, most reliable aswell anyways hope that helped and keep us informed on what you buy

 

GM

[Gonna Shoot a Wabbit]

I agree start off with a 12ft/lb er and work up to FAC once you have some experience.

 

Any of the PCP rifles from the main manufacturers will do what you want it to do. As already mentioned you will be limited by your budget rather than choice available.

 

As far as scopes are concerned again your budget will decide as you can spend as much as you like. If you are mainly using it for hunting a scope with good light pick up will be more important than one with lots of gadgets on it. I Personally favour the simmons WTC 3-9X40. I rarely move the zoom off 6X. The scope has very good light gathering capability for the money paid. I have one one my BSA lightning and CZ rimmy and am very pleased with them. However they are not cheap.

 

Hope this helps and best of luck.

[SAVAGE HMR]

Just one more thing, this is just a personal thing but a lot of people that use .22lr rifles might agree with me here. If your going for your F.A.C. skip the .22 and go for the .17 HMR

Reason being the ricochet problem. The HMR and the .22lr both fire a lead projectile at the target your shooting at but, the .22lr doesn't have the velocity to break up the bullet after it passes through it's target. If you hit a solid object like a rock or something after your intended target the bullet will skiff off in to god knows where. The HMR on the other hand breaks up and is less dangerous where a ricochet could be a factor. If anyone here with a .22lr is skeptical I'd advise a night time shoot with tracer fire, you'll see what I mean. You hear them ocasionaly but seeing them is something quite different. Makes you think twice about pulling the trigger.

[A K A]

hey newbie. :unsure: a friend of mine is the manager of a shop that sells rifles and accessaries, or whatever way you spell it. anyway, he recomends the 17 hmr every time for the type of shooting that you are looking at doing....read savages last post and then read it again,, his advice is spot on. good luck with your venture, and keep us upto date.