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Which Hunting rifle?
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26-06-2010 5:37pm#1
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Ian Crehan wrote: »I am looking to start deer hunting but cant decide what rifle to get.
I want something cheap in between E200-E300 with good acuracy and with the capability of shooting medium to long range.
Any recomendations of any rifle you can think of would be a great help.
Thanks.
best of luck, your description of what you want does not match your budget. you might be lucky to get something for about 6-700 otherwise leave it where you saw it.
cz would come highly recommended, and if you found a clean second hand one it might be bought right
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Tackleberrywho wrote: »On that budget baikal or CZ.
A friend of mine had an old BRNO .270 for many years, He even won competitions with it.
However You will need a good scope & bipod/Shooting sticks to shoot with a reasonable degree of accuracy.
For €700-1000 you would get a rifle scope and bipod, all second hand.
You would have to do a lot of looking though.
If you upped your budget to €500 for a rifle and €500 for a scope and Bi-pod you would be starting off on a better footing.
Deer stalking is normally 50-150 yards so most use low mag scopes 2-10x or 4-16x magnification. The Objective lens or the front of the scope would need to be a min of 44mm IMHO.
If you have a low budget you are at a disadvantage.
What is the best you could come up with?
If you want a rifle to shoot Foxes and deer the .243 or .25-06 would probably the way to go.
How much shooting have you done to date?
http://irishguntrader.openseason.ie/0 -
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Hunterjohnb wrote: »Hello Ian. you would need to up your budget a little.A second hand CZ would be a good starting point in 243 or 6.5x55 .Either one is kind to your shoulder and readily available.Agood knife will cost from as little as 10 euro. Look on the CZ website scopes available at reasonable cost. They are very good to shop with and send goods on very quickly.Most important of all is that you do your hcap. By starting this way you will make a lot of new friends and get the basics right.
The HCAP although not essential is a start.
However it will not prepare you for stalking, more casually introduce you to it.
If you want to learn stalking, many start by teaming up with a stalker and helping them with the stalk.
After a few successful stalks you will be in much better stead.
Most lads will bring a helper gladly as lugging a heavy animal out of a dyke single handed is not easy.
If you want to lease Coillte or go in on a lease/letting you need HCAP.
However if you can not afford a high end rifle you will not be able to afford a lease
Original poster
Have you got shooting permissions or have you got your own land to shoot on?
Without either you are best advised to start getting some permissions then look for a rifle.0 -
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Hi Ian
As you say money is a factor and your new to hunting. It's hard to see photo's and videos on hunting and as with a lot of new people just starting out they all want to get right in there and start.
But if you go for the big option in a deer hunting rifle you could be setting yourself up for a fall. It's not that you can't do it but it takes practise and at €1.50/€2.50 a round for the centre fire ammo you will spend a lot of $$$$$$$$$ getting any good at it. And miss or wound animals in the field.
And you will walk into getting a deer hunting gun that won't suit you because you don't know enough about them - again big $$$$$$$ spent for little return.
My advice start as many here did, myself included, with a 22lr. They can be got for little money, my son picked his up for €250, cheap as chips on the ammo at from €4.50/50 rounds to €25 for a box of 525 rounds. At that money you can plink away and get your eye in for distance and bullet drop. You can shoot rats, squirles and rabbits. Target shoot on a small bit of land with a good back stop and be happy. And my avice is go for any of the CZ range of 22lr rifles you won't be dissapointed. Ring around all the dealers for the best prices and ask if they have any second hand in stock.
Give yourself a year at that and then you will know about getting something bigger. I went up to a 223 and then within the same year had my 308 for deer shooting.
Best of luck with your choice.
clive
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Howya Ian, I agree with most of the lads above - start of with a .22LR and get some practise in before even thinking abour going up calibres.
As for starting with an air rifle - I wouldnt, as theres a difference between using an air rifle and a .22LR. A .22LR will give you more distance then an air rifle so it will instill in you as a shooter from day one, the importance of BACKDROP - or where your bullet will end up if it doesnt hit or goes through its intended target. Also you will get the feel of using and handling live rounds rather then just pellets. Whatever road you take just be careful with your gun for your sake and those around you and I wish you all the very best for enjoying your new sport. 0 -
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Hi Ian,
Welcome to the forum
I agree with the other posters that you'll be better off starting out with a rimfire calibre such as the .22lr. It's a very cheap calibre rifle to run (which is going to save you money learning to shoot), centrefire rounds are a lot more expensive to buy. At 16 you have plenty of time to progress on to a deer legal calibre rifle.
If it were me I would buy a copy of the Irish Shooters Digest and ring around as many dealers as you can, look for a Sako Finnfire, it will be second hand but they consistently get rave reviews for accuracy. The CZ is likely the most popular brand of .22lr calibre rifle in recent times, I like the look of the American model. I would stay away from the Lux type models with the hogs back stock - if you find a photo of them you will see the butt drops away which is good for open sights but not so good for a scoped rifle. I wouldn't bother with a varmint (heavy) barrel.
The .22lr is a rabbit/small vermin type calibre, in the hunting sense. Used within it's capabilities it will kill foxes but it wouldn't be my rifle of choice to go looking for foxes with. I shot a few foxes with the .22lr I had, but never past 80 yards, and only when I was confident of my ability to place the shot and happy with the weather conditions. It's a great calibre for rabbit shooting. Most people would get their .22lr threaded for a moderator (silencer in Gardai terms) and use subsonic rounds - the bullets don't break the sound barrier making a crack! and the moderator quietens most of the noise of the gasses exiting the barrel so it's a very quiet set up.
I'll leave others to advise you on scopes and mounts, my knowledge on both of those are limited as I got mine and stopped looking then. The best bipod, in my opinion, is the 6-9" swivel Harris bi-pod. A decent sling is a good idea also.
I can't say as there's any such thing as a "normal .22". I know the terms can be confusing when you're starting out. But, you're getting good advice in this thread on how to go about it
The only aspect of the .22lr I would say is a disadvantage are ricochets. .22lr have a tendency to "bounce" off things.
The fun aspect of the .22lr is the flight path of the bullet, called the trajectory. Shooters need to "zero" their rifles first. This means that at a certain range, usually 50 or 60 yards, the bullet will hit exactly where your crosshairs are pointed. At 10, 20, 30, 40,----, 70, 80 yards etc, that same bullet will strike higher or lower than where your crosshairs is pointing.
The trajectory of the .22lr forces you to think about your shooting, it forces you to develop range estimation skills (or buy a rangefinder!). These are things, properly learned, which will stick with you, and stand to you throughout your future years of shooting
ONE IMPORTANT THING.
Please, before you put a deposit on any rifle, come back here and ask the members. I don't know how many people buy something and THEN ask for opinions and advice on it. That's the wrong way, always ask first and then you'll go into the shop armed with better knowledge - so you'll be less likely to swallow any BS.0 -
johngalway wrote: »Hi Ian,
Welcome to the forum I agree with the other posters that you'll be better off starting out with a rimfire calibre such as the .22lr. It's a very cheap calibre rifle to run (which is going to save you money learning to shoot), centrefire rounds are a lot more expensive to buy. At 16 you have plenty of time to progress on to a deer legal calibre rifle.
If it were me I would buy a copy of the Irish Shooters Digest and ring around as many dealers as you can, look for a Sako Finnfire, it will be second hand but they consistently get rave reviews for accuracy. The CZ is likely the most popular brand of .22lr calibre rifle in recent times, I like the look of the American model. I would stay away from the Lux type models with the hogs back stock - if you find a photo of them you will see the butt drops away which is good for open sights but not so good for a scoped rifle. I wouldn't bother with a varmint (heavy) barrel.
The .22lr is a rabbit/small vermin type calibre, in the hunting sense. Used within it's capabilities it will kill foxes but it wouldn't be my rifle of choice to go looking for foxes with. I shot a few foxes with the .22lr I had, but never past 80 yards, and only when I was confident of my ability to place the shot and happy with the weather conditions. It's a great calibre for rabbit shooting. Most people would get their .22lr threaded for a moderator (silencer in Gardai terms) and use subsonic rounds - the bullets don't break the sound barrier making a crack! and the moderator quietens most of the noise of the gasses exiting the barrel so it's a very quiet set up.
I'll leave others to advise you on scopes and mounts, my knowledge on both of those are limited as I got mine and stopped looking then. The best bipod, in my opinion, is the 6-9" swivel Harris bi-pod. A decent sling is a good idea also.
I can't say as there's any such thing as a "normal .22". I know the terms can be confusing when you're starting out. But, you're getting good advice in this thread on how to go about it
The only aspect of the .22lr I would say is a disadvantage are ricochets. .22lr have a tendency to "bounce" off things.
The fun aspect of the .22lr is the flight path of the bullet, called the trajectory. Shooters need to "zero" their rifles first. This means that at a certain range, usually 50 or 60 yards, the bullet will hit exactly where your crosshairs are pointed. At 10, 20, 30, 40,----, 70, 80 yards etc, that same bullet will strike higher or lower than where your crosshairs is pointing.
The trajectory of the .22lr forces you to think about your shooting, it forces you to develop range estimation skills (or buy a rangefinder!). These are things, properly learned, which will stick with you, and stand to you throughout your future years of shooting
ONE IMPORTANT THING.
Please, before you put a deposit on any rifle, come back here and ask the members. I don't know how many people buy something and THEN ask for opinions and advice on it. That's the wrong way, always ask first and then you'll go into the shop armed with better knowledge - so you'll be less likely to swallow any BS.
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johngalway wrote: »Hi Ian,
Welcome to the forum I agree with the other posters that you'll be better off starting out with a rimfire calibre such as the .22lr. It's a very cheap calibre rifle to run (which is going to save you money learning to shoot), centrefire rounds are a lot more expensive to buy. At 16 you have plenty of time to progress on to a deer legal calibre rifle.
If it were me I would buy a copy of the Irish Shooters Digest and ring around as many dealers as you can, look for a Sako Finnfire, it will be second hand but they consistently get rave reviews for accuracy. The CZ is likely the most popular brand of .22lr calibre rifle in recent times, I like the look of the American model. I would stay away from the Lux type models with the hogs back stock - if you find a photo of them you will see the butt drops away which is good for open sights but not so good for a scoped rifle. I wouldn't bother with a varmint (heavy) barrel.
The .22lr is a rabbit/small vermin type calibre, in the hunting sense. Used within it's capabilities it will kill foxes but it wouldn't be my rifle of choice to go looking for foxes with. I shot a few foxes with the .22lr I had, but never past 80 yards, and only when I was confident of my ability to place the shot and happy with the weather conditions. It's a great calibre for rabbit shooting. Most people would get their .22lr threaded for a moderator (silencer in Gardai terms) and use subsonic rounds - the bullets don't break the sound barrier making a crack! and the moderator quietens most of the noise of the gasses exiting the barrel so it's a very quiet set up.
I'll leave others to advise you on scopes and mounts, my knowledge on both of those are limited as I got mine and stopped looking then. The best bipod, in my opinion, is the 6-9" swivel Harris bi-pod. A decent sling is a good idea also.
I can't say as there's any such thing as a "normal .22". I know the terms can be confusing when you're starting out. But, you're getting good advice in this thread on how to go about it
The only aspect of the .22lr I would say is a disadvantage are ricochets. .22lr have a tendency to "bounce" off things.
The fun aspect of the .22lr is the flight path of the bullet, called the trajectory. Shooters need to "zero" their rifles first. This means that at a certain range, usually 50 or 60 yards, the bullet will hit exactly where your crosshairs are pointed. At 10, 20, 30, 40,----, 70, 80 yards etc, that same bullet will strike higher or lower than where your crosshairs is pointing.
The trajectory of the .22lr forces you to think about your shooting, it forces you to develop range estimation skills (or buy a rangefinder!). These are things, properly learned, which will stick with you, and stand to you throughout your future years of shooting
ONE IMPORTANT THING.
Please, before you put a deposit on any rifle, come back here and ask the members. I don't know how many people buy something and THEN ask for opinions and advice on it. That's the wrong way, always ask first and then you'll go into the shop armed with better knowledge - so you'll be less likely to swallow any BS.
Thank you very much for your brillant reply, it really straightend thing up for me.
I now feel more confident in starting hunting from all the great advice i have been getting here.
When I am applying for a gun license do i need to be a member of a gun club or have land to hunt on? If so can you advise me on any good ones, for starting out, around thee Dublin 15 area as i dont think there is any close to me in Meath.
All the replies are great so far and i'm learning alot from you's so thanks very much for that.
Please keep the replies comming as it is great learning from peoples experiences.
Thanks very much for all the replies so far, Ian.0 -
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johngalway wrote: »Hi Ian,
Welcome to the forum I agree with the other posters................................
ONE IMPORTANT THING.
Please, before you put a deposit on any rifle, come back here and ask the members. I don't know how many people buy something and THEN ask for opinions and advice on it. That's the wrong way, always ask first and then you'll go into the shop armed with better knowledge - so you'll be less likely to swallow any BS.
Ian John put it just right for you.
As for permission to shoot on land NOW is the time to start asking farmers for permission to shoot on their lands. And get the farmers to sign a letter with their name address and phone number as you will need 2 or 3 letters of permission for your license application. Best to have a cover letter made out in advance for them to sign, keep that cover letter simple.0 -
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Ian Crehan wrote: »Thanks for your reply.
When you say "start asking farmers" do you just mean any local farmers, or is there a list the gardai can give me to let me now all farmers in the local area willing to alow hunters on there land?
Also what is the cover letter and what should be entailed in it?
Thanks very much for all your replies, very helpful,
Ian
No list anywhere you just have to get up off your arse and go a asking.
Now is a good time as the farmers are out cutting silage, that's grass to you townies:D:p
Change this for what you need.
Permission to shoot .22 caliber rifles on lands.
Name ______________________________________________________
Address__________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Phone ___________________________________________________________
Acreage (approximate)_______________________________________________
I hereby give Clive J permission to shoot his .22 rifles for the control of vermin on my lands at the above address. My lands are used for the farming of cattle and sheep. These lands are away from the public roads and the fields are divided by hedges.
Signed __________________________________________ Date______________0 -
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