Fac Air Rifles.......????

[Lid 194]

Not currently as our farm became the motorway in the early 90's. I used to have fac years ago though. I also do still have some permissions, so I'm thinking about it again and in fact I have been asked to help some-one's son on a friend's farm get started. To be honest at the moment I still prefer the gun.

 

Back on topic, I stopped shooting .22 lr in the air after I read the offending story in the book I mentioned, despite others saying it doesn't matter. So in my opinion an fac air rifle has a very useful function to shoot vermin out of trees,

[RemyBolt 420]

Not currently as our farm became the motorway in the early 90's. I used to have fac years ago though. I also do still have some permissions, so I'm thinking about it again and in fact I have been asked to help some-one's son on a friend's farm get started. To be honest at the moment I still prefer the gun.

 

Back on topic, I stopped shooting .22 lr in the air after I read the offending story in the book I mentioned, despite others saying it doesn't matter. So in my opinion an fac air rifle has a very useful function to shoot vermin out of trees,

I was going to respond with my earlier question of 'wouldn't a larger FAC AR pellet have similar downward force as a .22lr if at the end of the arch?" I could see this conversation becoming circular.

[Lid 194]

If you mean a .22 AR pellet, then I don't believe so. I am sure it will have much less energy than a .22lr bullet due to the affect of air resistance on the much lighter pellet.

[moxy 617]

Muzzle velocity and projectile weight?

[paulus 26]

weight of the projectile would determine its terminal velocity once the energy had expired, if i remember correctly a 100grn .308 bullet would return to the ground at a maximum terminal velocity of about 105 mph. mythbusters tested the theory and could not get the bullet to even penetrate pig skin !!

[Lid 194]

No-one usually shoots a weapon vertically as the norm and there are plenty of examples of deaths from higher calibre weapons discharged into the air, including on mythbusters itself, where they also discuss this experiment. In fact that particular mythbuster investigation has all 3 possible results from them, ie busted, plausible, and confirmed.

[paulus 26]

No-one usually shoots a weapon vertically as the norm and there are plenty of examples of deaths from higher calibre weapons discharged into the air, including on mythbusters itself, where they also discuss this experiment. In fact that particular mythbuster investigation has all 3 possible results from them, ie busted, plausible, and confirmed.

if that was the case there would be hundreds a day dropping dead in most middle eastern countries

[Lid 194]

 

No-one usually shoots a weapon vertically as the norm and there are plenty of examples of deaths from higher calibre weapons discharged into the air, including on mythbusters itself, where they also discuss this experiment. In fact that particular mythbuster investigation has all 3 possible results from them, ie busted, plausible, and confirmed.

if that was the case there would be hundreds a day dropping dead in most middle eastern countries

 

 

Not necessarily - most will miss and as you say they can’t be falling that fast, so only a very small percentage will result in death or injury. Of course we know the upward journey is also hazardous - I found a report on a helicopter pilot who had a bullet that was unintentionally fired upwards through his foot. When I used to shoot on ranges (303, bren, 7.62, etc) we always stopped when aircraft flew near in case of ricochets upwards.

 

 

Have google – there’s lots of plausible examples and discussions about falling bullets doing harm and some information on landing velocities, etc. Some examples :

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14616491

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/24/how-dangerous-is-celebratory-gunfire

 

 

There are also some good websites to help calculate different bullet energies at different muzzle velocities, weights and trajectories, eg http://www.handloads.com/calc/

 

[Born Hunter 17,780]

They found that while bullets traveling on a perfectly vertical trajectory tumble on the way down, creating turbulence that reduces terminal velocity below that which would kill, it was very difficult to fire a bullet in a near-ideal vertical trajectory. In practice, bullets were likely to remain spin-stabilized on a ballistic trajectory and fall at a potentially lethal terminal velocity. They also verified cases of actual deaths from falling bullets.

[thursodog 353]

Yawn, sorry lol. And the moral of the story is if its a risky shot it shouldn't be taken. I'm going back to sleep now

[Lid 194]

but the point is that some risky shots with a .22 lr are not be risky at all with .22 FAC air.

[moxy 617]

but the point is that some risky shots with a .22 lr are not be risky at all with .22 FAC air.

don't be using this quote on your FAC application

[thursodog 353]

Its a pointless exercise talking about what a risky shot is like this thread is trying to do.

Its all about the moment, that second when you are going to take the shot with whatever type of gun and whatever the situation.

Too much blurb for me I'm sticking to real world risk assessment on each shot I take whether its my 97kt or the Pro hunter.243.

Backstop backstop backstop I must have a backstop, say this a thousand times then head out for a bit of shooting.

[Lid 194]

You don't usually need to worry about a backstop if you are shooting pigeons in trees with an air rifle though. . Of course you do need to consider potential ricochets, but the pellet is highly unlikely to harm anyone if it accidentally lands on them at the end of its flight, although there is always potential.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Lid

[John Stott 202]

Interesting comments, and yes this can go round in circles. Fact is any shot with any caliber is potentially lethal. Deaths do occur in the mid east from falling 7.62. I personally don't want deaths occurring in Britain if avoidable.

So, safe shooting is the mantra for all.

My old goat of a neighbour had a visit from the licence chappy two years ago. He was popping .22lr towards our boundary from 50 yards. One round spun off a fence post passed my head missing by six inches. Another hit the side of the farmhouse bouncing off a branch. Moral of that story is obvious.

My boy and I visit a pleasant woodland air rifle range monthly, nice setting and you guessed it, a ricochet from the zero range hit my arm leaving a lovely pellet bruise on our first trip. Could have been an eye.

No shooting is 100% safe, so if not sure don't take the shot.

 

Funnily but we live on a small island, our activities are the most licensed in the world, even these threads are read by plod. Do not give anyone any chance to restrict our activity even more, they are just waiting for any excuse to restrict. Ask the .22 National Pistol Team what that means and you get an idea.

 

Now that has gone off topic, but is worth saying again and again. Shoot safe.