do you think this is OK ?

[lewis collins 4]

hi guys just wanted to say

 

I'm 13 years old and I am shooting targets at the bottom of my garden to zero the scope,

i have a back stop of several pieces of wood to stop any pellets going through the target in to my back lanes

my stepfather is supervising me at all time's

and we carefully make sure that there is no one behind or getting closer to the target before we shoot

 

do you think this is ok

i have also looked at the lawside of things to make sure that this is ok

 

here is the link

My link

 

feel free to make any comments

 

thanks guy's

 

lew

[gurtwurz 792]

if your backstop is solid and theres no chance of pellets leaving your property or of causing injury, then you should have no problems lewis.

 

nice to see a young 'un getting into it mate, good luck to you

 

cheers, wurz

 

edited to say- a paving slab makes a much better backstop than wood, or even better get 4 slabs and get your stepdad to build a kind of open ended box with them so that all your pellets will stay safe.

Edited May 17, 2011 by gurtwurz

[Malt 379]

As above, plus I always find hanging an old, doubled up woollen blanket over a hard backstop is very handy for cutting down ricochets. Once you've heard a few kercheeeeeewww's whistle back over your head you tend to start looking into ways to cut it down, if you've got any sense!

[Phantom 631]

Lewis,

 

The ONLY thing you should be aware of is that if you are within 50feet of the centre of a public highway (or back lane in your case) is that if someone walking past hears your gun being fired and it "Scares" them, then you are committing an offence. But you seem to have that angle covered by checking before you are firing

If you/your stepfather were to ask someone to wait until you've taken the shot you may think thats good, but in actual fact, you are hindering them and again if that person whinges to the police, then again an offense has been committed Its very very complicated law in that it is very much open to interpretation by people

 

So if someone is approaching wait until they are well past and as above the paving slabs are fantastic pellet arrestors

 

Other than that, as long as your pellet does not leave your boundry your sorted

 

Welcome aboard bt the way

 

Tony

[Marksman 934]

Hi Lew

 

Welcome to the world of airgunning.

Well done on taking a sensible approach and learning about it instead of doing what " most " others would do and just jump in blind.

As previously said if you do your bit abiding by the law with preventative measures etc then you should have no problems.

 

Just out of curiosity what aspect of airgunning are you interested in??..... Targets, hunting??

 

The guys in here including myself are all full of sound advice so I'm sure we'll try and help where we can with whatever you need help with

 

I look forward to seeing more about your progress. Maybe try and throw a few pictures in for good measure

 

Darryl

[lewis collins 4]

Hi Lew

 

Welcome to the world of airgunning.

Well done on taking a sensible approach and learning about it instead of doing what " most " others would do and just jump in blind.

As previously said if you do your bit abiding by the law with preventative measures etc then you should have no problems.

 

Just out of curiosity what aspect of airgunning are you interested in??..... Targets, hunting??

 

The guys in here including myself are all full of sound advice so I'm sure we'll try and help where we can with whatever you need help with

 

I look forward to seeing more about your progress. Maybe try and throw a few pictures in for good measure

 

Darryl

 

 

just to say,

im into a bit of both but i prefer hunting with my grand father and step dad

 

thanks alot,

 

lew

[pianoman 3,587]

Hi Lew.

You seem like a sensible lad and I'm sure you'll be safe, fine and happy whichever way you choose your shooting to go. Just remember that no air rifle, or any firearm is ever unloaded until you have made it safe. It is the easiest thing there is to forget your gun is loaded...until you touch the trigger

 

And be careful with using wood for a backstop. It can whack a pellet back at you with rebounding force, while material like MDF wood fibreboard can be penetrated within a few shots from a .22 air rifle.

 

I agree with Wurz. If you get your step dad to make you an open-ended box from four paving slabs, fill it with heaped sand from the back, you'll have a safe pellet trap that will take your target holders, pop-ups, whatever you use without worries

 

As with Darryl, looking forward to seeing you progress with your shooting, young fella.

 

All the best.

 

Simon