Air Rifle

greg-h

Hello I would wonder could someone explane to me the process of geting a low powerd air rifle for pest/vermon controll nd target practice.I live in co cork and have man many acers of land free to me I am 18 years of age.

maglite

get written permission that you can use the land
get secure storage for the gun (this prob means a safe c. €100)
pick out your gun and get the details
bring this to the FO with somesort of way of showing him it is LOW power (many gards see .22 and asume its a .22lr)

greg-h

where in ireland can you buy these guns I have found a uk website that has fantastic selection of rifle's.

maglite

pat hayes in mallow
jeffersports in bandon are the 2 big ones in cork that spring to mind

Umiq88

There are dealers around the country what area are you in?

hillybilly

psittacosis wrote:

There are dealers around the country what area are you in?

DOH !!!! He said cork

greg-h

Well as I said earlier I am from cork carraignavar to be precice all I want is a low powerd rifle I dont want a shotgun as maiming a duck with pelets standing next to it does not intrest me at the moment.What type of gun do you reccomend?

Vegeta

ok to start with i would not advise using a low powered air rifle on vermin if you have never shot before as you seemed to be worried about maiming. A low powered air rifle will do just that unless you are proficient with it.

If you are serious about vermin controll i would advise a Pre Charged Pneumatic known as a PCP. They are not cheap but they are lethal accurate and some come with magazines so no reloading every shot. They are quiet and i find them very very good. if you are serious try to get a rifle with greater than 12ft/lb rating. Get a 30 ft/lb if you can.

if it is more of a passing fancy get a cheap spring powered air rifle. will do the job but they are not the best tool for it

again with either you will do nothing but maiming unless you put time in on the range first and become proficient with it.

could you be more specific about what you need it for and what range you will be using it

greg-h

Well I am mainly intrested in rabbits and things like that I am extreamly intrested in target shooting also,I have a lot of land to hunt on. I dont want a high powed rifle what I want is something cheep and cheerfull that I can use for the above purposes. Also because of my age I dont want something highpowerd that will cause problems Can you recommend any web sites that are usefull for beginner shooters?

maglite

the gards will nnot see the dif gun as an issue a gun is a gun

Umiq88

.22lr sounds like the gun for you. Will kill any small game within 100yards can be silenced and relitivly inexpensive should get the gun and scope for €350 second hand.

Vegeta

psittacosis wrote:

.22lr sounds like the gun for you. Will kill any small game within 100yards can be silenced and relitivly inexpensive should get the gun and scope for €350 second hand.

agree 100%

the gardai will see a .22 as a .22 so you'll probably be just as successful if you apply for a .22lr as you would for an air rifle. Crazy I know but that's the way it is.

as for a website for people new to the sport. Here is probably the best for Irish shooters as we are mostly Irish and can speak from experience about license application

greg-h

The likley hood of me geting a licence for a .22 rifle is slim to none so I am going to buy a secondhand 1 barell shotgun and use that untill I am 21. I hope this will be allright for the purposes that I had outlined earlier

Umiq88

Its not as hard as you think the legal age is 16 and if you have everything in order and put a little effort into it theres a good chance they'll grant it to you.

maglite

what district are you in

Umiq88

He's in cork and i think the super there is pretty reasonable

rrpc

greg-h wrote:

The likley hood of me geting a licence for a .22 rifle is slim to none

The likelihood of getting a license for a 22 is the same as for an air-rifle in this country. If you are thinking that an air rifle will drop a rabbit, think again. You'll hit it alright, but you won't drop it. and it will run off to bleed to death somewhere you can't get to. A 22 will drop a rabbit, and you can use subsonic ammo, which won't make too much noise and will do the job properly. If you want to shoot at targets, then the only air rifles that will do the job are field target or pure target rifles which are expensive, and not very suitable for trekking over rough ground with.

so I am going to buy a secondhand 1 barell shotgun and use that untill I am 21. I hope this will be allright for the purposes that I had outlined earlier

What's the 21 bit about?, the law states that you can hold a firearms license at the age of 16 (it used to be 15 until the 1964 act I think) Shotguns, rifles, air rifles and pistols all fall under this designation as firearms. In other words if you are sixteen, you can get a license for any or all of the above (All other requirements being met obviously).

As for the single barelled shotgun being appropriate for shooting rabbits; yes, for target practice; no (and I include clay targets under that designation)

Sparks

If you are thinking that an air rifle will drop a rabbit, think again.

No, he's right. An air rifle will drop a rabbit - a hunting air rifle, with hunting pellets. Not an ISSF air rifle. Which would frankly just annoy the bunny, and if there's one thing I've learnt from Monty Python, it's not to annoy the bunny.

the law states that you can hold a firearms license at the age of 16

And it'll be 14 from November 1.
Well. He'll be able to get a training licence at that point, and his uncle can teach him from there.

rrpc

Sparks wrote:

No, he's right. An air rifle will drop a rabbit - a hunting air rifle, with hunting pellets.

Sparks, I had a shooting life prior to my target sahooting incarnation, and I can tell you quite categorically that you would be better off sneaking up on the rabbit and clobbering it on the back of the head with a hunting air rifle with hunting pellets in it. If you read my post you would have seen that I had specifically excluded ISSF air rifles from the equation.

Vegeta

rrpc wrote:

Sparks, I had a shooting life prior to my target sahooting incarnation, and I can tell you quite categorically that you would be better off sneaking up on the rabbit and clobbering it on the back of the head with a hunting air rifle with hunting pellets in it. If you read my post you would have seen that I had specifically excluded ISSF air rifles from the equation.

sorry but you're just wrong.

maglite

i'll introduce you to the rabbit in my fridge shall i

Sparks

I can tell you quite categorically that you would be better off sneaking up on the rabbit and clobbering it on the back of the head with a hunting air rifle with hunting pellets in it.

Er, no.