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FAC advice for a new member


Growly
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Hi all, my apologies as i'm sure this has been raised numerous times.

I used to hold a FAC but when they decided that pistols were the work of the devil and must be destroyed back in 96 I stupidly told them to stuff my cert.

I have held a shotgun cert for over 35 years (I shoot competition clay's every weekend) and am now looking to get back into firearms to control rats and rabbits, I only own 3.5 acres but I am surrounded by farmland, the nearest main road is over a mile away and I am conscious of where my shots will need to be placed with regards to backstops.

I am considering applying for an FAC air rifle along with a semi-auto .22lr through which I will probably shoot subs through a mod, does anyone see any issues with this?

I would love some advice on ammo to hold/buy and also if you think I should be applying for any other calibres, I have access to a friends land (10 acres with a great valley running at the bottom)

I am in Staffordshire..

 

Thanks for any pointers or advice, cheers all, Gra.

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I don't think you'll have any trouble getting an FAC air rifle and a 22lr for the rabbits. They don't have hold/buy any more for ammo, it's just hold. My current allowance is 600, which seems to be about the norm for vermin, and I've never seen the need to increase it. 

 

 

 

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Thanks Ultrastu

I was considering going for both, the range will be pretty limited on my own land as I only have 3.5 acres, I understand the .17hmr is an option but I was concerned over the range being an issue with the FLO, do you need to specify a calibre for the air rifle?, I will mainly be using this in barns and such on the rats, the .22 is for the field for rabbits using subs.

Thanks, Gra.

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Shouldn’t have any issues as stated . You might have an issue using subs in a semi though as most wont cycle them without a fair bit of modding. Most Semi rimfires are inertia operated and subs rarely produce enough energy to cycle the action 😏. No worries tho, just find a round your semi likes and stick a better mod on it! 🤣 I am using an Atec CMM4 on my SIG 522 which has a diet of RWS semi auto and whilst it’s not silent it’s not  noisy either. 

Tbf to your selection if you get a decent .22 or .25 FAC air you should be able to take vermin to similar ranges as sub sonic .22lr  anyway, and with passage of time you will use one more than the other. If you are taking on a serious FAC air then go for a BA lr or a .17HMR to extend you range further.

i personally found that FAC air couldn’t do anything my .22lr couldn’t so ditched it in favour of multiple rf rifles, but I see your logic and 1for 1 variations are free so you may end up swapping about a bit until you find a combination that works for your circumstances. 

Edited by The Burpster
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Fac air is well on the way to what you can do with a .22lR. With what I know now I'd go for FAC air and HMR.

 

A not well known aspect of the HMR is that its sonic crack echo hides the source sound location from the rabbit. As seen here, they hear the sound but as long as you dont do anything else to give away your location they'll just sit and wonder where the noise came from for quite some time. These were all sub 100 yard shots.

 

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If your only shooting rats in and around barns a sub 12 .177 would be a far better choice than a fac air gun .

And yes you need to specify calibre for each gun and also apply for a moderator for it too. 

Thing is with the heavy slowish .22 lr round thats prone to ricochet and bouncing , you will need great backstops .which can be hard to find on 3.5 arces  

 

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Thanks to both Burpster and Dave-G, great advice, will my FLO not be concerned with the greater range of the HMR, my land is only about 300M long, my friends land is much better suited with the low valley giving a great backstop, will they allow 2 shooting area's (one air one rimfire) on the first application? thanks.

Thanks Ultrastu, sound advice, what would you suggest for the bunnies in the field, I have had some sucess at low range with my HW35 but that's a .22 and I'm not confident that it will be man enough for longer range shots.Thanks.

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The HMR should be considered as a safer round because its much less likely to richochet, is less than half the weight of a .22LR hollow point, and mostly fractures on impact so is less likely to pass through flesh. 

Edited by Dave-G
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12 minutes ago, Growly said:

Thanks to both Burpster and Dave-G, great advice, will my FLO not be concerned with the greater range of the HMR, my land is only about 300M long, my friends land is much better suited with the low valley giving a great backstop, will they allow 2 shooting area's (one air one rimfire) on the first application? thanks.

Thanks Ultrastu, sound advice, what would you suggest for the bunnies in the field, I have had some sucess at low range with my HW35 but that's a .22 and I'm not confident that it will be man enough for longer range shots.Thanks.

Whatever you use the bullet needs to be contained in your land with your backstop so no problem with range. I would go .22 air it will be quiet and have the range. The hmr will do for the longer stuff and foxes. I would be thinking partly about what I have now and partly about what you might want to do in the future. 

I did have .22 rf but the .22 fac air quickly replaced it with my hmr doing any of the longer shots. Apply for one place for which you have permission. When you get your ticket get the other places cleared. I had about a dozen places but just put one it so that the ticket is not delayed unnecessarily. 

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Great, cheers, I may be better applying on my friends land first as he has 10 acres with great backstops, Staffordshire have a minimum requirement for centre fire on foxes , they don't consider the hmr has the oomph, so it would need to be probably .223 or I guess 22.250.

thanks for all the help, it's appreciated, Gra

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1 hour ago, Growly said:

Thanks to both Burpster and Dave-G, great advice, will my FLO not be concerned with the greater range of the HMR, my land is only about 300M long, my friends land is much better suited with the low valley giving a great backstop, will they allow 2 shooting area's (one air one rimfire) on the first application? thanks.

Thanks Ultrastu, sound advice, what would you suggest for the bunnies in the field, I have had some sucess at low range with my HW35 but that's a .22 and I'm not confident that it will be man enough for longer range shots.Thanks.

Hi growly .

For rabbits it depends on your perm and how you feel .What i mean is , a .17hmr is the best bunny gun there is really .

Its long range .and gives you a large kill zone on the animal to dispatch it quickly .but it is loud and you have to consider backstops. And the rounds arent cheap .

You may get more enjoyment out of a sub 12 .177 airrifle . (Still very effective in the right hands -make no mistake ) or anything in between .Thing is a sub 12 pcp airgun doesnt take the same level of commitment as an fac gun does. (On ticket  land permission etc ) and its very quiet and relatively safe to shoot into trees and inside barns etc .where any fac has a lot more to consider before pulling the trigger. .

If i were you right now before i applied for my fac cert .id buy a nice pcp airrifle in .177 probably a bsa or airarms .Learn it ,enjoy it, shoot some rats and rabbits and pigeons .

Figure out what you cant do with it .and that will lead you to the correct desision on which fac s to possibly apply for .

And if  the gun isnt for you then sell it px it what ever but your not stuck with an fac you cant use .

Edited by Ultrastu
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2 hours ago, Growly said:

Great, cheers, I may be better applying on my friends land first as he has 10 acres with great backstops, Staffordshire have a minimum requirement for centre fire on foxes , they don't consider the hmr has the oomph, so it would need to be probably .223 or I guess 22.250.

thanks for all the help, it's appreciated, Gra

Never underestimate the 22 hornet. :good:

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8 hours ago, walshie said:

I don't think you'll have any trouble getting an FAC air rifle and a 22lr for the rabbits. They don't have hold/buy any more for ammo, it's just hold. My current allowance is 600, which seems to be about the norm for vermin, and I've never seen the need to increase it. 

 

 

 

For some reason Kent thought that 1500 for each of my rimfire and 250 for centrefire calibres was reasonable. 

Go for 600 rimfire as a minimum, cheaper to buy by the brick, but don’t tell the police that’s the reason! Same batch number for accuracy is a good reason!

Edited by Tford
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There isnt a limit on the number of slots for first or any other application .

But you have to show good reason for your calibre choices .

Often there my be some over lap between cals for specific purposes and your feo will ask you why you want each one .

Tho i cant see much issues justifying the above guns .

Other than for you .you might find the .22lr becomes redundant sitting between the other 2. 

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25 minutes ago, Growly said:

Thanks Tford

Just a thought, how many slots are there available for the first application,  would there be anything preventing me from applying for:

FAC air .20 cal, .22lr and .17hmr - with a mod on each, this would then cover everything for the foreseeable 

Put a .223 on for fox for your mates 10 acres. It's a handy slot to have. You may get some more perms 😉 I used to have .243 conditioned for fox and deer on just 4 acres. I would also stick to .22 for fac air for more options although here (Avon) they were happy to just put FAC air down without a calibre. I have a 40 ftlb daystate it is very versatile. 

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Thanks Ultrastu and oowee, I think your probably right about the .22lr and it makes sense to more the air to a .22 as oowee mentioned. 

I think I'll apply for fac air in .22, .17hmr and .243 with mods on all, I'll use my friends well laid out land with backdrops.

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If you go for .243 and you have deer on your mates ground it's ok. If you want it just for fox then it may help if you intend to shoot deer later and dont want to have too many rifles.Otherwise how will you justify .243 rather than something like .223. When I first went for my c/f police insisted on a c/f course first. Cost me £100 but was well worth the money even though I thought it an unfair request.

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47 minutes ago, Growly said:

Thanks Ultrastu and oowee, I think your probably right about the .22lr and it makes sense to more the air to a .22 as oowee mentioned. 

I think I'll apply for fac air in .22, .17hmr and .243 with mods on all, I'll use my friends well laid out land with backdrops.

That's a big jump up from someone simply after a 22 LR. In view of your acreage, you may be able to keep your FEO on side for future purposes if you select your calibres which are appropriate to your available land and bearing in mind that you've made no mention of deer. Some will say that safe is safe - or not - irrespective of calibre. The mindset of the average FEO is not so conditioned so they need leading on occasion. After all, a variation when necessary is usually quick enough. If you want to throw fox into the equation, Walshie has the answer and I'll hazard a guess that it would be one of your first purchases that you don't sell any time soon.

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