Fac Air Rifle

[walshie 2,804]

I personally don't have FAC air on my ticket purely because I don't have the need for one. If your permission is the sort of place where FAC air is the answer, go for it. A place for everything and everything in it's place and all that.

[dadioles 68]

Hello Adrian

They were well considered comments which I appreciate, thank you.

I cannot help but get the feeling that you are in a similar position to where I was many years ago and I had used air rifles "for ever" and it was only when a fellow air rifle user obtained his firearms licence that the penny dropped and I realised that it was both attainable and sensible.

 

The move to proper bullets rather than pellets was a little intimidating and I applaud your caution but cannot help thinking that you are better off getting a .22lr from day one. Like so many things though, it is only an opinion and we all tend to be biased towards what we know and are comfortable with so go with what your head and heart say is right for you, and that may be FAC air.

 

I have not considered "elevated shots" by which I assume you mean shooting birds and squirrels in trees. I do use my air rifle for that and would not generally consider it safe to use the .22lr or .17hmr for obvious reasons although I did shoot a squirrel on the side of a huge branch of an old oak tree as the tree made its own backstop. Elevated shots.... That is an interesting thought, maybe others have a view on it, a shotgun is probably the best tool for this.

 

The risk of ricochet around livestock with a .22lr.... Yes, I understand your point. I shoot around horses, sheep and cattle and they are generally not too badly disturbed by the noise, a great deal of common sense is required. In my area (Cambridgeshire) the small amount of land occupied by animals is all soft pasture, no rocks to cause a ricochet. The golf course can be a problem when it dries to be rock hard and I shoot flat and low off a bipod but it is so huge and there are good backstops that the odd zinger is not a problem. On arable land with or without crops I have hit the odd stone and heard the .22lr zing off but again these are big fields.

 

I don't want to sound complacent but in "the real world" the theoretical range of a .22lr bullet is a bit different to reality. After about 100 yards it drops like a stone and although there is still a lot of killing potential in the bullet it will embed itself in the dirt and not travel the 2000 yards you mention. .22lr does need treating with great respect, however, and too many people underestimate them and their retained killing power at distance, also true of an air rifle of any power of course.

 

Given that you already have a dive tank that does change the arithmetic and I can see a good argument for you wanting FAC air presumably in addition to your sub 12ft air rifle.

 

One thing to be aware of, you probably know this already. The probability is that your new licence will be restricted "to land approved by the Chief Constable....." which can be a bit of a nuisance in some circumstances and in some police areas. You can use your sub 12ft air rifle anywhere you like with the landowners permission, the use of FAC air (or .22lr or hmr) will be a little less straightforward until you get an open ticket.

 

You are going about this the right way, take advice, talk to people, develop your knowledge before parting with your cash.

Spend more time with .22lr if you have a mate who will let you and not just a couple of shots, spend a few hours getting through a box or two of ammo on targets. Have a go with the hmr and experience the extraordinary flat trajectory and accuracy at distances that air rifle users can only dream about - 1 inch groups at 100 yards.

 

Take your time and make the right decision for you. (now I really do sound like an old man!)

[Adrian Prisk 6]

thanks for the reply dadioles,interesting read. I will try to get out with my friend and his 22lr sometime to get the feel of it. I have permission on about 600 acres of adjoining hilly land and when i mentioned to the landowners about going fac air one said straight away go for full power rifle. Another reason for air i didnt mention is hopefully the freedom,i know nothings definate but i was told with fac air there will be a good chance of a open ticket,i also emailed basc about this and they said it should be open ticket.

[dadioles 68]

Policy tends to be not to grant an open ticket on first application but varies hugely from area to area depending on the whim of the police force involved. Whether it is more lax for FAC air I do not know. The restriction is not as bad as it sounds as most farmland is already cleared for rimfire. It only becomes a problem if you want to shoot at short notice on land that you are not certain has been cleared.

It seems as though there are different attitudes and procedures as far as cleared land is concerned. Before my ticket was open I would get permission from the landowner in writing (in writing is essential in my view) and send a copy of that to Cambs Police so they had it on file. They would normally confirm if the land was cleared for rimfire by telephone, a quick and simple call, although the efficiency of that depended a bit on who answered the phone. I would never take the word of the landowner or a "mate" who shoots the land, it is not their licence at stake.

Take the view that a firearms licence is a privilege and not a right and some of the hoops we have to go through become less painful.

[stillair1 16]

If you have a requirement for say .22lr and hmr as well as fac air. Then I would advise putting in for all of them at you initial application providing you have the funds to purchase in the 5yr period. The reason being it'll only cost you the same fee at grant or renewal, but if you decide at a later date then it'll be another £26 for a variation. In addition there would be a time delay as each variation would require a visit by your feo and this can take anything upto and beyond 3months depending on the force.