Beginner Rifle

RedRag

Hi All,

New to all this. Just wanted a few opionions on what rifle to buy for a beginner. Just want to shoot rabbits maybe the odd fox. Also what can i expect to have to pay to get set up with rifle and decent scope?

Any advice appreciated.

Black velvit

Hi redrag
My first rifle was a Brno .22 lr (lr stands for long rifle)
Great rabbiting gun and very accurate and reliable.
What you expect to pay is up to how much you have to spend, new or secondhand.
This rifle isnt much good for foxes but it is the ideal gun to start on as it may be harder to get a larger calibre firearm, best hold off shooting foxes til you cut your teeth on rabbits and get your eye in, some good beginner threads on here, Safety,best rounds, shot placment and that kind on thing. buy a decent scope, when i bought the brno i bought a cheap scope and then had no confidence in the gun.
have a look at different target shooting clubs local to you as they will help you learn the basics and it will show your superintendent that you have an intrest in the sport and will be more willing to grant you a rifle as your first firearm.

pestshooter7

Yep a 22lr is the only way to go if its a rifle!
Ammo is cheap and big selection to pick from!
CZ (formerly BRNO) is the best for the price.
very accurate, reliable and easy to sell again.
I would keep to rabbits, crows and mags for a year or two.
shoot a fox only if he crosses your path and make it a head shot!
Dont go looking for fox with a 22lr! its a bad practice im most peoples view.
As for a scope a 3-9x40 is ideal!
Makes such as bushnell,simmons,AGS, hawke are all up to the job!
A good scope is no good without mounts so "warne" or "burris" will do that job!
Now your set!!
< 500 euro

Good shooting

foxshooter243

pestshooter7 wrote: »

Yep a 22lr is the only way to go if its a rifle!
Ammo is cheap and big selection to pick from!
CZ (formerly BRNO) is the best for the price.
very accurate, reliable and easy to sell again.
I would keep to rabbits, crows and mags for a year or two.
shoot a fox only if he crosses your path and make it a head shot!
Dont go looking for fox with a 22lr! its a bad practice im most peoples view.
As for a scope a 3-9x40 is ideal!
Makes such as bushnell,simmons,AGS, hawke are all up to the job!
A good scope is no good without mounts so "warne" or "burris" will do that job!
Now your set!!
< 500 euro

Good shooting

good solid advice

ivanthehunter

the great thing about the .22lr with a silencer ( moderator) is how quite it is when you use it with sub sonic rounds.. you can sit there and pick of a few rabbits in the same spot of the field..No point taking one shot with a more powerful rifle and seeing all the rabbits run.. The only other possible option might be a .22 mag, this will allow you take rabbits out to 150+ish and should be more humane on the foxes but i'm not sure about the noise levels and even if the gun works well with a mod fitted.You'd have to ask someone else about the pros and cons of a mag.22

RedRag

Thanks 4 advice guys. I'm not totally new to shooting, I've been shooting quite a bit recently with my fathers shotgun. The problem with this is as ivanthehunter mentioned is noise, one shot and you wont see another rabbit for hours and also difficult to sneak close enough for a shot. I'll look into the rifles mentioned anyway thanks again for the advice.

RedRag

Another thing I just thought about, will I need to buy one of those steel gun cabinets to store the rifle in, what is the legislation regarding those gun cabinets??

tiny-nioclas

no ya wont need a gun safe for a 22, but their handy enough to have, you might pick a good second hand one up in the buy and sell, i only had to get on when i got my deer licence, i had a 223 and i didnt need a safe cos it wasnt regarded a high powered rifle

tinofapples

Something similar to RedRag only I'd imagine most of my shooting would be on crows and mags.

What does one need to do to purchase and own one of these "beginner" rifles legitimately ? License ? I grew up in the city but am now living in countryside, loads of crows,mags,hares,foxes and deer around here. Not so much rabbits to be seen for whatever reason.

Anyway i'd like to get into shooting but am clueless as to what I can/can't do.

I've fired a couple of times, spent a day at a firing range down in Clare (Clay-pigeon) and went out with bro-in-laws a couple of times.

Do I need a license for the "beginner" rifle's ?

ivanthehunter

go for a shot gun then if its all crows and mag.. you can still shoot rabbits if you find,em:) but just go to you local gun shop a have a word with him, think you are allowed shoot a hare as well but there might be a season rule on that.. shotgun best and easiest

pestshooter7

Yea there is a season for hares!
Not very common to shoot hare arround here!
As for a licence you buy the gun first and apply for the licence after, then when you recieve it you pick up the gun!

tinofapples

Cheers lads.

Anyone know of any dealers in Galway or Roscommon town ? I know of Duffys in Galway City but have heard they aren't cheap !!

What kinda spend would I be looking at ? A second-hand gun would do me.

Mellor

Duffys have .22lrs starting from €300 new.
http://www.shoot.ie/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_25&sort=20a&page=1

You could pick up a good second hand rifle for the same. Uncle recently bought a brno + scope + moderator for €500

thehair

hi redrag my rifle burno .22lr and3x9x40 and SAFE +gun club+insurance
and case for carrying in the car and FAC total 660.00euro

rifle and car case second hand

Trojan911

RedRag wrote: »

Just wanted a few opionions on what rifle to buy for a beginner. Just want to shoot rabbits maybe the odd fox. Also what can i expect to have to pay to get set up with rifle and decent scope?Any advice appreciated.

Well, I have a CZ .22LR with moderator. I paid €455 for the CZ (new), €36 for the moderator and it is my perfect rabbit gun.

Stick with the .22LR for the time being & then maybe buy a shotgun for July '09 licences as well or vice versa.

As mentioned a 3-9 X 40 scope will be good. Preferably get a new one however, a good second hand one should cost around €50-€70 euro, but make sure you get an assurance with the dealer that if the scope is not up to scratch within two weeks of purchase, you get your money back.

tikkamark

.17hmr would be an ideal first rifle no loopy trajectory like the .22lr and power to kill a fox out to 100yrds you can also knock good craic out of picking off Bunny's at long distance on the summer evenings:)It is a good bit noisier than the .22 and more expensive but a cracking tool all the same;)

It wasn't me!

Yeah, if I get a sporter it will probably be a .17hmr, pretty impressive round, and while more expensive to run, not beyond reasonable means either.

ivanthehunter

Somebody prob warned you about me!! They prob said that i suggest a .50cal.. but the .22 is the best you can get normal rounds-subs sonic,high vel, hyper vel, but you can also get .22bb cap shot(one very small round with a single ball fitted in the brass) their good for pigeons and other tree based targets.. You can get Rat shot for back yard shooting and you can get halved sized rounds for even less power than standard sub..

All boils down to a big range of rounds to suit the needs of .22 hunting and target firing. subs fire at 900ft/sec and are below the speed of sound(sound barrier) and the make no bang as such.. The speed of sound is around 1080ft/sec at 20deg^c. The worst thing about normal rounds is that the travel at speeds just above sound say? 1200ft/sec and the slow down quickly and fall to speeds below the speed of sound, this effects the flow of air over them as the travel at the same speed as the sound wave of a fraction of a second. This energy gathers around the projectile in the form of a air cushion and causes instability in the ballistic trajectory.. so you go and buy high velocity and dont suffer this instability until much further down range.....

meathstevie

I'd like to chip in with Mark. The .17HMR would also be less prone to ricochets due to it's velocity and the fact that the bullet disintegrates quite easily.

Mocha

Galway- Corrib tackle, on one of estates off Tuam rd. They do Henry rifles
- Edmund O'Hara in Kilimor has mostly shotguns (aya and Laurona), but may do rifles as well..
Roscommon- Trapper John in Tulsk, co. Roscommon.
- Abbey marine & field sports, Carrick rd. Boyle, Co. Roscommon

Invincible

tinofapples wrote: »

Cheers lads.

Anyone know of any dealers in Galway or Roscommon town ? I know of Duffys in Galway City but have heard they aren't cheap !!

What kinda spend would I be looking at ? A second-hand gun would do me.

Give David Mulvehill a shout,086 8229827,on Roscommon/Athlone road,sound fella,no bullsh1t,good selection,very reasonable.

RedRag

Put deposit on CZ .22 on Saturday, Garda told me 2 to 3 weeks for licence so really looking forward to collecting it. Shop owner told me I need a licence for silencer before he can sell me one but I can go to local hardware and get one over the counter.Mad or what!

bunny shooter

RedRag wrote: »

Put deposit on CZ .22 on Saturday, Garda told me 2 to 3 weeks for licence so really looking forward to collecting it. Shop owner told me I need a licence for silencer before he can sell me one but I can go to local hardware and get one over the counter.Mad or what!

Under new regs a moderator for a 22 is unrestricted and doesn't need a permit/licence. See thread re restricted list.

IRLConor

bunny shooter wrote: »

Under new regs a moderator for a 22 is unrestricted and doesn't need a permit/licence. See thread re restricted list.

Just because it's not restricted doesn't mean you don't need a permit/license.

Section 7 of the Firearms Act would still apply, no?

tinofapples

Spoke with a dealer today and he had a second-hand Krico .22lr semi-auto with scope, asking for €380. i didn't ask what kinda scope on it cause well I don't know anything about them anyway.

Would I be better off buying the likes of Remington 597 Semi Auto :

http://www.shoot.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_25&products_id=22

Also what do they mean by "Starting at: €300.00" ??

Opinions appreciated.

alan123

Trojan911 wrote: »

Well, I have a CZ .22LR with moderator. I paid €455 for the CZ (new), €36 for the moderator and it is my perfect rabbit gun.

Stick with the .22LR for the time being & then maybe buy a shotgun for July '09 licences as well or vice versa.

As mentioned a 3-9 X 40 scope will be good. Preferably get a new one however, a good second hand one should cost around €50-€70 euro, but make sure you get an assurance with the dealer that if the scope is not up to scratch within two weeks of purchase, you get your money back.

How many rounds go in that magazine Trojan? Did you pick it up seperately?