Air Rifle

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alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 6:25 pm Post subject: Air Rifle
My DH has says he is going to get me an air rifle! Which is the best type to get, bearing in mind we already have a Magnum .22 rifle. Is it best to have a FAC air rifle or a non FAC one. I am trying to get all the options and the pros and cons. I would be looking to shoot pigeons, rabbits and maybe the odd pheasant, if it gets too close again. all advice gratefully received.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 6:55 pm Post subject:

Have you used an air rifle before? The spring ones are harder to use than a rifle and need to be kept steady longer as the pellet takes longer to travel up the barrel. They are meant to be a good way to learn to shoot! They need a bit of strength to cock and they have a fair bit of recoil. Having said that they are cheap to use once you have the rifle and a good back up which are reasons I got mine.

A compressed air rifle is much easier to shoot and can have a magazine of pellets if you plan to shoot a reasonable number of rabbits at one time. There is little recoil but you will need a method of recharging the compressed air cylinder and there can be other problems with them.

Never used a FAC air rifle but I would imagine the air rifle would be used for close shots so I'm not sure what extra benefits you would get with a FAC.

I would say be a little careful with some makes of rifles as I found the quality of mine left a bit to be desired and get the impression some are sold like 'toys' rather than a rifle.

If you do get one, you will need to find the best ammunition for it as some guns fire far more accurately with some makes of ammunition. In mine it is especially noticeable. It is a .22 and I think there are two slightly different sizes of .22 pellets. There are places that sell a small amount of a range of ammunition for you to try or you may be able to borrow some different makes from other people.

As regards to calibre and quarry I'll let others cover that as I've not shot live quarry yet.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 7:08 pm Post subject:
I have only done very limmited shooting, but I don't like using the rifle, so I thought an air rifle would be better to use.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 7:12 pm Post subject:
Is it the recoil, weight or the noise of the rifle? Bugs has used our spring rifle and it has taken her a while to get used to it but know she can get on with it. Do you know anyone with one you can try?

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 7:33 pm Post subject:
I guess it is the potential of harm I don't like, and I know that sounds strange, seeing that i am looking for a different type of gun, but the thought that I do a bum shot and it injures someone in Ilfracombe is not a comforting thought. The actual feel of the gun is fine.

leebu

Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 418
Location: east yorkshire

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 8:19 pm Post subject:
I can relate to that, Alison. I don't think I would upgrade to a rifle for that reason. I have a BSA Lightning (springer) which is fairly reliable- despite my dropping it on its sight the other day . My friend has a Webley Longbow which he swears by. Both are available for under �200 with sights and silencer, if money is an issue.

anneka

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 158

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 9:58 pm Post subject:
I have a BSA Supersport which is very good and close to the 12 ppsi limit, so powerful but still legal without FAC. It cost me around �250 with the scope. Anneka

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 05 11:52 pm Post subject:
I have an old BSA meteor and it seems quite ok, I have been shooting it for the last 15 years odd and i have got used to the recoil so its not a problem now. I do have another question about air rifles though, someone recently told me all air guns need to be regestered with the local police wether they need a FAC or not. Does anyone know if this is true or not?

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 05 7:59 am Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

I have an old BSA meteor and it seems quite ok, I have been shooting it for the last 15 years odd and i have got used to the recoil so its not a problem now. I do have another question about air rifles though, someone recently told me all air guns need to be regestered with the local police wether they need a FAC or not. Does anyone know if this is true or not?

I am a member of a rifle club where they point out any new changes and I also read a fair bit of the shooting press. As far as I know an air rifle up to 12ft/lbs needs no licence. There are new restrictions on the ages of people using them.

The restrictions people often confuse are laws requiring FAC registration to air cartridge weapons. These are where the air is stored in an cartridge and the pellet loaded on top.

deerstalker

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 589

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 05 10:47 am Post subject:

anneka wrote:

close to the 12 ppsi limit

Think it may need a new spring Anneka, as I can blow harder than that!

No, air rifles below 12ft/lbs do not need to be registered with the police.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 05 1:46 pm Post subject:

An interesting point that I have no idea if it's true or not. If you have an air rifle that's right on the limit and then you use lubricated pellets then it can be measured over the limit.

All due to the calculations working out the power using the velocity of the pellet that is increased using some of the lubricated pellet treatments. I think most air rifles tend to have a power of about 11-11.5 even when listed as 12 so this wouldn't affect most people.

Anyone know if this is true or a leg pull?

deerstalker

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 589

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 05 1:59 pm Post subject:
Lubricated pellets can improve accuracy and sometimes muzzle velocity. This will not however, increase the muzzle energy.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 05 2:09 pm Post subject:

Deerstalker wrote:

Lubricated pellets can improve accuracy and sometimes muzzle velocity.

This will not however, increase the muzzle energy.

Isn't the way to work out the power of an air rifle to measure the speed of the pellet and do a bit of calculation? If the velocity increased then the calculated energy would also increase? The actual power of the rifle would not increase but less energy would be lost by the pellet travelling up the barrel?

deerstalker

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 589

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 05 2:25 pm Post subject:
Pellet energy (E) is a function of both it's mass (M) and velocity (V). Thus (E=1/2M.V squared). As the mass remains the same and velocity increase is only marginal, muzzle energy does not increase!

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 05 2:26 pm Post subject:
You need to know a bit of physics to be a deerstalker eh?

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