Advice on FAC air rifle.....

[squimp]

Can anybody offer any advice on the easiest way to apply for an FAC air rifle ticket....Currently I only have a shotgun cert -  so I assume I have to go through the whole FAC procedure?

There appears to be some debate on whether licences for FAC air rifles are issued 'open' or closed'. Does it vary by county (I'm in Glos) ?

At this stage I have access to 2 pieces of land (6 acres and 13 acres) -  the limited size being the reason for going for the air rifle, rather than the std .22 or .17HMR options.

Main quarry will be rabbits with some corvids etc.

In terms of the actual air rifle calibre, I assume a standard .22  (rather than .20 or .25) would do the job out to 60m ish.

I have an Air Arms 410 12lb standard air rifle -  so an FAC version of that would be an easy option as I'm used to it. 

Any pointers gratefully appreciated......

 

[Guest]

A friend has a .25 running at 50lb, 40m zero and kills rabbits clean at 70m. He’s stretched it out to 90m a couple of times, but limits himself to 70m max now. On paper targets, it groups tight out to 70m, more than that and groups open up quite fast. At 40m it’s like a laser!!!

He had to sty a few different pellets to find on his gun liked, fac airguns seem to need a heavy premium pellet to get the most out of them. Also, crows at 40m+ can see the pellet coming, they can dodge headshots, 

 

[ChrisPackham]

A friend has a .25 running at 50lb, 40m zero and kills rabbits clean at 70m. He’s stretched it out to 90m a couple of times, but limits himself to 70m max now. On paper targets, it groups tight out to 70m, more than that and groups open up quite fast. At 40m it’s like a laser!!!

He had to sty a few different pellets to find on his gun liked, fac airguns seem to need a heavy premium pellet to get the most out of them. Also, crows at 40m+ can see the pellet coming, they can dodge headshots, 

I would imagine it’s more likely they have spotted  something is up and spooked, birds can do quite jerky movements, rather than any  matrix like corvid powers ... 

To OP, I’d go for 22 rf, there is a huge range of ammunition available running at different powers for different ranges, it’s more flexible that FAC air and easier to find 2nd hand or to move on, everyone I know who has gone FAc air has gone back to 22

 

[Hamster]

I have had a rimfire for 25 years+ and FAC .22 air guns for almost as long and wouldn't be without the latter as it's infinitely safer and more practical on smaller acreages. The subsonic LR comes into its own when you have no houses for miles around and it obviously hits much harder and is often quieter too (at least until the bullet hits something). 

You cannot safely use a rimfire on corvids unless you only ever take ground shots, (even then ricochets are a real possibility) the plots sizes mentioned would be an absolute no no into trees. 

Regarding whether the license is issued "Open" or restricted my understanding is that only under exceptional circumstances would they grant Open straight off regardless of the type of gun, providing you have ample land and multiple farm access/permission then on subsequent renewal you can ask nicely for the certificate to be made Open. 

As for calibre .22 FAC at 30 ft lbs is adequate with 2nd hand examples cheap and plentiful; I have just put in for a .25 variation and having watched a few experts extol their virtues I wouldn't bet against that fast becoming a favourite as most run at a minimum of 40 ft lbs all the way to 90 ! The beauty of this calibre is that you can push a heavy (by .22 standards) 25+ grain pellet at 900 fps and enjoy flat trajectory coupled to much more power. 

 

[squimp]

Thanks chaps - really useful insights.

 

[salop sniper]

To further fund my clay shooting I am selling my FAC rifles, rim-fires have gone just my very nice FAC Daystate Huntsman is left now, if you want any details on it please PM me.

ATB

Matt

 

[jwpzx9r]

Having had a really good FAC air rifle and then bought a very ordinary 22LR ... I honestly have to say save yourself some money and buy a  Brno 22LR ... cheaper and a lot less hassle than an air rifle. I agree about the power issue because they are way more powerful than a comparable FAC air rifle but you just have to be sensible about it. Remember an air rifle requires a source of air to power it ... don't go for spring or gas ram guns they are... hmmm not that brilliant IMO if accuracy is your goal. Just my opinion though.

 

[Coriolis]

FAC Air rifles have their place. Certainly I have HMR, .22LR and FAC air. The FAC air comes into it's own when shooting into trees or hard ground. If you use standard pellets and not the solid slugs they deform very easily. I had a few acres where the ground was quite hard and the .22LR ricochets were constant. The HMR was better, but the supersonic crack could have masked the "ping" of the ricochet. What has been said about the price is also very true. A CZ LR is about £450 and a good second hand one will sell for £200+, but it is damned hard to wear a .22 LR out and parts are easy. They are as accurate as any other hunting LR too. FAC air new is bloody expensive and you would be looking at £500 and above. I would always have it regulated, so that puts the price closer to £700. I would only ever go for a PCP as break barrels doing anything above 18 ft/lbs is bouncy to say the least. Unless you now what you are doing they are also a pain to keep consistent. Seals and O rings fail and they are generally expensive to maintain. However FAC air second hand can be a bargain I paid about £800 for a  Daystate and another £300 on regs and work. Kept it mint and ended up selling it for £250.

HMRs I believe are a waste of time mainly due to ammunition that seems to have progressively got worse. Mine gets used on calm days only as wind is a bit of a factor in how it behaves too. But that works for FAC air too.

As for an open ticket, for FAC air it should be quite easy to get passed, but you need to give a reason. If you only ever use it on two areas, you may have some difficulty. As for the FAC process, it is exactly the same as any application. The only complication may be that you cant specify range use unless you have a range that allows the use of FAC air. I worked out when I was requesting variations it was easier to state for range use and then get it added for hunting later. This is easier now as all bullets are classed the same rather than non expanding and expanding (you could not get expanding on a range gun)