16 y/o Air rifle or .22?

mightywarrior

Hi everyone, I am 16 and want to apply for a firearms license. I understand all the laws regarding all aspects of firearms regulation in Ireland so what I'm really inquiring about is would I get a license? I've been told by some that because I'm 16 my super is less likely to grant me a license even though I'm legally allowed to have a firearm and surely he can't refuse me just because I'm 16? Also would you recommend an air rifle or a .22. I've shot both before but dont have much experience with them.

Thanks.

Cass

mightywarrior wrote: »

....... would I get a license?

In short - yes.

Not so short - Assuming you are not disentitled, etc, no convictions, you are free to apply. Whether it's granted or not is another matter. There are security issues to be addressed, if living at home you need your parents consent to store the firearm in their house, etc.

......... surely he can't refuse me just because I'm 16?

No. He cannot refuse you based non age.

Also would you recommend an air rifle or a .22. I've shot both before but dont have much experience with them.

Air rifle is not as powerful as a .22lr. So the range is limited. However a .22lr is not exactly a long range rifle either, but as a "newbie", non of these should concern you. If it's rabbits, and other vermin/game then the .22lr is probably the better option. If it's short range stuff (35-50 yards max), then possibly an air rifle.

My own choice is always the .22lr. Better range, larger selection of ammo, larger variety of guns, and seen as how the process to get the gun is the same regardless of whether it's an air rifle or not, it's a personal preference.

mightywarrior

Thanks a lot for the info. I have parental consent, all I was really worried about is if he could refuse me based on age.
Sorry to plague you but if you were to recommend a .22 rifle what would it be?

Cass

Like all things that depends on you and how much you want to spend. For example:

• Under €300 - You'll get a second hand rifle (CZ, etc) with scope. You can also buy a brand new Puma rifle with no scope.
• Under €550 - New CZ, Marlin, Puma and possibly a scope on all of them. Or a second higher level/price gun such as Savage, Anschutz, etc.
• Under €1,000 - Pretty much anything you want. New and second hand with top quality scope.

It depends on your budget, your preference to which gun suits you, the style of it (timber, composite, stainless barrel, blued barrel, etc). So you need to pin down a budget and then start looking around. nothing beats going to a shop but you can find a list of online shops here or a list of firearms dealers to see which is closer, and check out what they have in terms of makes, models, price, etc.

FISMA

mightywarrior wrote: »

Sorry to plague you but if you were to recommend a .22 rifle what would it be?

Aside from the purchase, will you have steady funds to buy ammo?

Being your first firearm, I take it that you will want to shoot as much as possible, as most of us did. If cash is a concern, an air rifle will offer the cheapest ammo.

Although still cheap, with respect to center-fires, a 22lr will cost more to feed than the air rifle.

Have you a preference between bolt action or semi auto? I would suggest a CZ on the bolt action side and a Ruger 10/22 for the semi-auto.

Without knowing you personally, it would be difficult to say which , if either, would be best for you.

Cass

FISMA wrote: »

If cash is a concern, an air rifle will offer the cheapest ammo.

For comparisons sake:

Firearm

|

Amount per box

|

Lowest price

|

Highest price

|

Average price per round

|

.22lr

|

50

|

€6

|

€8.50

|

€0.10

|

Air rifle

|

100 - 500

|

€9

|

€12

|

€0.0010

|

You can also buy tins of .22lr ammo, but even at €35 for 525 rounds it still will not be as cheap as an air rifle.

That being said i still think the .22lr is the better option, but as said above it's a personal choice. The ammo is not expensive for either gun. The .22lr has a better selection of ammo in most shops and it's a case of load and shoot. Most good air rifle need a refill tank, etc. So there is the extra cost there. Plus a lot of air rifles i've seen are actually more expensive than the .22lr rifles.


IOW it's a case of pros and cons for both.

clivej

imo if you go with an air rifle you wil only be looking to trade it up for the 22lr soon after buying. You'll get good fun out'a a 22lr.
The CZ range are good value and shoot well from the off. Don't get the Lux version as that's best suited for using the open sights that come on it. Get any of the others and a cheap (ish) scope and you'll be ready to hunt.

amadablam

I'll have to agree on the advice already given.

If you have a tight budget, the. 22lr is easier to get. I have a pcp air rifle and getting a full setup, rifle, scope, dive tank and filling kit is going to cost you significantly more.

Having had a few. 22lr over the years and wanting something different that gives me the opportunity to shoot safely in places a 22lr would not. I really enjoy the pcp rifle. With practice and skill you can push the range out beyond 100 yards for crows and the like.

Mine is 32ft/lb so has plenty of use able power and can be turned down to 6ft/lb if you want and set at every level in between.

Hope you find what you want, you should have no problem licensing it as others before me have advised.

mightywarrior

Thanks for everything lads. I think I'm going to go for the .22. I'll head round to my local dealer and have a look. Im interested in the ruger 10/22, anyone have anything to say about them?

clivej

mightywarrior wrote: »

Thanks for everything lads. I think I'm going to go for the .22. I'll head round to my local dealer and have a look. Im interested in the ruger 10/22, anyone have anything to say about them?

Ruger 10/22 "Anything to say about them".

Not as accurate as a bolt action (but not too much), Great fun to own and shoot, Many competitions during the year to shoot with them (Irish International comp. starts July 11, 12, 13).

Do a search here and Google for loads more info

Milkthief

Air rifles are great to learn with. They are well able to hold their own now days verses what I started with. A trusty old BSA airsporter S .22. Daystate and airarms have some impressive Pcp air guns on the market. I just purchased a Daystate Wolverine .303. And it is well able to match any .22 rim fire

lefthooker

Milkthief wrote: »

I just purchased a Daystate Wolverine .303. And it is well able to match any .22 rim fire

Are you North or south?
I'd imagine you'd have a lot of justifying why you need a .30cal air rifle to the superintendent.

vinnie13

is it not 16 for a shotgun and 17or18 for a rifle?

juice1304

vinnie13 wrote: »

is it not 16 for a shotgun and 17or18 for a rifle?

no, 16 for any full firearms licence and 14 for a training cert.

vinnie13

juice1304 wrote: »

no, 16 for any full firearms licence and 14 for a training cert.

must be a local thing when i was 16 i went to the local station to enquire about getting a gun and was told i could only get a shotgun and wait till 17or18 for rifle,ended up keeping the shotgun 9yrs before changing to rifle.

out of interest what does a training cert entitle a chap to do?
its a great idea starting early into safe use of firearms.

Cass

vinnie13 wrote: »

must be a local thing when i was 16 i went to the local station to enquire about getting a gun and was told i could only get a shotgun and wait till 17or18 for rifle,ended up keeping the shotgun 9yrs before changing to rifle.

It cannot be a local thing, legally, as the law says 16 or up for a full license for any firearm. The Gardaí enforce the law, they do not write or change it. They cannot decide to refuse a license based solely on age if the person is 16 or over.

out of interest what does a training cert entitle a chap to do?

A training cert is actually for any person of any age. However it's more directed at those between 14 and 16 (but not actually 16). It allows the carrying and use of a firearm, but only under the strict supervision of the person that owns and has a full license on the firearm. They cannot store or use it without the "owner" being there.

As said it applies to anyone of any age. So if you had a friend or relative than was in his 40's, 50's, etc and they wanted to start you could get the a training cert, but most people would/choose to go for a full license.

1shot16

Was told to get my gaurdian to also apply when getting a .22 air rifle when i applied last year i was 16 now im 17 ,

Decide to sub recently for a .22lr

Air rifle great for learning and wish i could of kept her Will defiantly buy a Weihrauch hw97k again

.22lr is a better job for bunnies and any thing at a bita range,Buy a cz 452 i did and im a happy camper

Milkthief

Are you North or south?
I'd imagine you'd have a lot of justifying why you need a .30cal air rifle to the superintendent.



Living in the south at present but already have it licensed for the north( only took two weeks) having slight issue getting them to understand that I am not buying the rifle a second time just want to get it licensed like the rest of my guns for use down South where I work.

Easy to justify as rimfire rifles are to loud to use round livestock housing and shotguns are to dangerous so air rifles are good as so quiet!

Sparks

Just out of interest since nobody asked, mighty what are you going to do with the rifle? Because that's basicly *the* question that determines what rifle you get.

lefthooker

Milkthief wrote: »

Easy to justify as rimfire rifles are to loud to use round livestock housing and shotguns are to dangerous so air rifles are good as so quiet!

I'd have thought, given UK & northern licensing, that for the reasons you outlined you'd have been asked if or perhaps even told that a .30 cal air rifle wasn't suitable for the purpose. I thought a FO would assess and decide whether to grant or not?????

I could have a .30cal wolverine in within a week but when the super sees .30 cal for vermin control licensing might prove difficult.

Milkthief

Not a question asked in the north. It is so silent with the suppressor on that crows, pigeons and rabbits don,t even stir when you knock their mates down. And even with the suppressor of the noise isn't,t that bad. Still a lot quieter than a .22 which couldn't be used safely round the yards.
Hoping once I get over the slight hitch of already owning it I'll get it passed to bring it down. It took a while with my shotgun and other air rifle but got there after a month or so. Can't wait as the crows are destroying my maize silage covers and feedstore

lefthooker

That's a good result, hope the permit for down south comes soon.
I've an FAC Airwolf for use around the farmyard, never known anything like it.
Best of luck with your Wolverine

Sull576

Not that I would say getting a semi auto is bad for a first choice, but if you got something like lever, pump or bolt action you would get used to trying to hit on the first shot and become trained to being paraticle rather then rapidly firing down on your target. Good luck

mightywarrior

Sparks wrote: »

Just out of interest since nobody asked, mighty what are you going to do with the rifle? Because that's basicly *the* question that determines what rifle you get.

Target shooting at my local range

Milkthief

Yippee!! FAC cert approval in post yesterday. Went to post office and paid 80€ fee. Wolverine 303 ready to go!!

amadablam

Milkthief wrote: »

Yippee!! FAC cert approval in post yesterday. Went to post office and paid 80€ fee. Wolverine 303 ready to go!!

Well done lad.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with it. I went pcp fac. 22 a few years ago and never looked back.

Am sure that the 303 is a beast.

How do you find pellet supply for it?

Milkthief

Pellet supply easy just pop up home and buy the pellets and bring them down not sure if there is a daystate dealer in the south. Hope I'm not breaking any laws!!!

Sparks

mightywarrior wrote: »

Target shooting at my local range

In that case, an air rifle is probably not what you'd be thinking of. You definitely can get excellent air rifles for target shooting for less than the price of a second-hand car -- something like a second-hand Feinwerkbau 600 series would be a good choice for that for example -- but only a few ranges do air rifle target shooting and unless you're in TCD, UCD, or near Rathdrum or Wilkinstown you're rather out of luck. And most of the break-barrel air rifles like the Daisys are grand for shooting rats in the farmyard but for actual target shooting are normally not up to it.

For most ranges in the country, something like a .22lr bolt-action rifle would be the normal rifle you'd start on to learn target shooting (often a CZ).

But really, the best advice is not to buy one at all but to use the club rifles. You don't need to do the whole licence route, you learn the basics in the club, and you'll wind up knowing exactly what you do want instead of buying something and then finding out a month or two later that you really wanted something else.