first rimfire

[Rifleman88 28]

ive been shooting airguns for a good 10 years now and have recently put in my application for my 1st fire arms certificate, i would greatly appriciate any guidance on what sort of setup to go for, i,e caliber,rifle,scopes,ammo,tips and hints,

cheers lads, Nathan

[Deker 3,478]

ive been shooting airguns for a good 10 years now and have recently put in my application for my 1st fire arms certificate, i would greatly appriciate any guidance on what sort of setup to go for, i,e caliber,rifle,scopes,ammo,tips and hints,

cheers lads, Nathan

 

 

Errrrrr!!!! "Calibre"...you will have needed to state that on the FAC application, they are not usually happy with an application that says "rimfire/centrefire" ...and did you apply for expanding ammunition and a sound moderator?

 

I was going to ask what calibre you have applied for and what you intend to do with it, probably a good starting point to get some helpful responses!

 

Edited October 24, 2009 by Deker

[JohnGalway 1,043]

I presume you want to shoot rabbits?

 

I would start off with a .22lr bolt action rifle. CZ's are popular, Sako or Anschutz if you're flush.

 

Scopes are a world of personal opinion. You'll need decent glass for shooting in low light conditions like dusk/dawn, and at night under a lamp. I have an MTC Viper 4-16x50 on my .22lr, not the best for low light but under the lamp and in daylight it does the job just fine. One good thing about my scope is it's reticle, it's got a heap of aim points which let me quickly shoot at different ranges. There will be as many scope suggestions as people replying to this thread Conventional wisdom on scopes says to spend as much as you can possibly afford on them, quality of the scope is more important than quality of the rifle - within reason.

 

Most using .22lr's will have a moderator on them, usually SAK or Parker Hale, and use subsonic ammo, makes for a nice quiet set up.

 

I think the advantage of shooting the .22lr is it's trajectory. It is more "loopy" than a .17HMR and that forces you to think about what your bullet will do. .22lr ammo is also considerably cheaper than .17HMR. In other words, you won't be spoiled first off with a flat trajectory but I'm sure you know all this from airguns.

 

A range finder is a good idea, I use a Leica CRF 900. They aren't cheap, but they do have good quality glass allowing you to see better.

 

That's all I got for you at the minute

[Rifleman88 28]

on the app ive written , .17 hmr, .22 lr, and .222 for calibre's and also moderators for each. What do you mean by expanding ammo?

Nathan

[Rifleman88 28]

cheers mate thats very helpful, ive heard good things about the cz's, ive got a range finder too, just need to get a cabinet sorted this week and this may be my new favorite forum

[Deker 3,478]

on the app ive written , .17 hmr, .22 lr, and .222 for calibre's and also moderators for each. What do you mean by expanding ammo?

Nathan

 

 

Well, that's your calibres sorted out then! What do you intend to shoot with them?

 

Expanding ammo is what you will ideally want to use to most efficiently stop pretty much all quarry, even though it is only a legal requirement on deer! But if you only intend to punch paper then no problem!

 

If you are unsure about expanding ammo I suspect you are not going to reload, changing the .222 to a .223 asap may therefore be to your advantage as the ammo choice and availability is MUCH better!

 

If you need a cabinet I can help, look here and let me know if anything suits and I'll give you best price....

 

http://www.djsproducts.com/

Edited October 24, 2009 by Deker

[Rifleman88 28]

my main quarry is going to be rabbits and fox, i'd like to go for .223 but ive been told there's a slim chance of me getting it on my 1st application. the only reason ive put down .222 is because ive heard there is a law coming in which doesnt allow the use of .22 on fox's. is that true?

[Deker 3,478]

my main quarry is going to be rabbits and fox, i'd like to go for .223 but ive been told there's a slim chance of me getting it on my 1st application. the only reason ive put down .222 is because ive heard there is a law coming in which doesnt allow the use of .22 on fox's. is that true?

 

 

I find any set of circumstances difficult to understand where you may get a .222 but not a .223!

 

The Home Office Firearms Guidelines 2002 (basically the Bible the forces use) makes it very clear that Rimfire is generally NOT suitable for fox and MANY regions will not consider them for fox at all. Who knows what your region will do, but a long shot I'd say on the whole, especially for a first grant!

 

Not heard anything about a law coming in on fox, what is that all about and where did you hear about it?

[Rifleman88 28]

one of my mate's who's been shooting firearms a while, and i got to be 1 of my referee's has told me to put down .222 as one of the guns i want to purchase because if i ever want to move to a bigger calibre i'll have to fill out another form and its going to cost me another 26 quid

on applying for my first grant do you think its worth putting down .223 rather than .222 ?? cheers

[Deker 3,478]

one of my mate's who's been shooting firearms a while, and i got to be 1 of my referee's has told me to put down .222 as one of the guns i want to purchase because if i ever want to move to a bigger calibre i'll have to fill out another form and its going to cost me another 26 quid

on applying for my first grant do you think its worth putting down .223 rather than .222 ?? cheers

 

 

Now I'm getting confused, I was under the impression you have already applied, that being the case I personally would suggest phoning and changing the application asap to .223! Simply because it has the edge on power, and the ammo choice is vast compared with .222 and much easier to get!

 

Your chances of getting it are down to your background, experience and NEED! If you can demonstrate appropriate need they will have a job refusing you, although they may well try. If you can't present a compelling case you won't get it, simply as!

[Fishslayer 10]

Get out and finger f**k as many different brands/models/calibers you can (gunshops, ranges, shoots). Like women, the fit, finish, actions, placement of safety, triggers, etc... of different rifles appeals to different people.

Above all, have fun.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[saxosportsaxo 2]

I have just been through all of this..... I was in the same situation..

I had my Firearms certificate through the letterbox 2 weeks ago...

After alot of thought i decided instead of spending £450 on a .17 HMR set-up, that i would buy a 10 shot semi auto .22 Magtec. Now i kitted myself out for £210 which included Ammo, New Nikko scope, and SAK moderator.

I felt this was a good starter rifle and that ammo was half the price of the .17 HMR.

The Magtec doesn't have the best name but i'm knocking rabbits down with it.........

My theory behind all of this was that i would purchase a nice .17 HMR at a later date, an spend £500 - £600.....

 

Just get yourself started........ You might spend alot on something you don't like.!

Edited October 27, 2009 by saxosportsaxo

[stillair1 16]

When Mr feo comes around, you can seek his advice and amend .222 to .223 as required as he will have the paper work with him.

[cyclonebri1 8]

When Mr feo comes around, you can seek his advice and amend .222 to .223 as required as he will have the paper work with him.

Sound advice from above, bend around the feo, make him think he is in charge, (he is actually).

 

As an aside when I reaplied for my fac a year ago I put down, .17hmr and .22.

The feo went out of his waqy to convince me the hmr and a .223 would be a better combination.

 

2 points,

 

I wouldn't be without the .22 for anything,

 

And I will probably get a 223 anyway, even if I don't need it, but because I want the experience.

 

Good luck. with yours

[njc110381 0]

If you can, change the .222 for a .223. It's pretty much the same thing so if you can get a .222 then you will get a .223. The only difference is ammo availability, and you can get cheap .223 ammo very easily!

 

I'm not sure what to suggest as far as first guns are concerned. I started out with a HMR and it's a great beginners calibre. It's quite safe and the trajectory is very flat so small mistakes in range estimation are not a problem (they are with a .22lr!). They are much easier to use that a .22. Having said that, I have now sold my .17HMR. I've moved on to bigger and better things and have started to rate the .22lr more highly. It's cheap to shoot and very quiet, and if I need more range than it can offer then I just use a bigger gun (ie the .223 in your case!). The HMR is kind of a half way house. It's better than a .22lr for longer range vermin, but if you have a centrefire then what's the point? It hasn't got the balls to do really long range stuff so just stick to the .22lr for silence and a centrefire for stuff needing more range/power.