FAC air rifle vs rimfire

[joelewis1971 0]

Hi guys

 

your thoughts opinions please ..... fac rated air rifle or .22lr on rabbits know futher out than 50 -60 yds

 

this is causing quite a debate in the local pub

 

thanks for your thoughts

 

joe

[joelewis1971 0]

5 acre fields no house' s but a few country lanes flat'ish contor to the land

 

thanks again

joe

[spudlington 3]

I have always used a rimfire and only recently got myself a 22 air-rifle. I think both are excellent tools for the job. Rather than focusing too much on the job in hand why not look at what other hunting opportunities may come your way. If it will be more of the same type of ground then a 22 or 17HMR is probably the best bet. If you have access to roost shooting pigeons or corvids or woodland squirrels and enjoy a bit of back garden plinking then an air-rifle would open up more opportunities.

[stillair1 16]

All depend on the type of land. The main advantage of the rf is upperbody shots are effective thereby giving a larger target. The down side to the .22rf is its propensity to ping off hard ground and travel several hundred yards. Where land is tight an fac air rifle such as a rapid will help you reach out and take 50yd rabbits with ease.

[cbw 4]

I too had this problem, I have owned air rifles for many years and decided I wanted a FAC Rapid. I am surrounded by farms and have permission to shoot vermin on 2 of the largest in the area. I thought this would be a great rabbit rifle and investigated further.

 

I was put off by several factors,

 

I would be for ever recharging the gas bottle 40 shots per charge.

 

Obviously I would require spare bottles.

 

The need to buy a divers bottle and regulator.

 

It is still a FAC and needs a gun safe

 

As a FAC rifle I would not be able to take it onto my friends permission. (As a probationer you must shoot your approved land)

 

I decided to keep my 12fps springer and purchase a .22rf as cost wise it worked out less money for a better/more rifle and I can still shoot my friends permission with the old springer.

 

I took a long time to make this decission and am really pleased with this choice.

 

Regards and good luck!

[trappa 518]

Rimfire. defo. Like cbw says, it will be a fanny on re-filling it and checking the gas etc. The rimmy is ready to rock and roll always.

Cost too. With tighter gun laws air rifles ( even fac ones) are going up in price whereas bullet guns arent. A rapid 7 will cost you £700 say, where my cz style rf, a gun i will never part with as its great, cost only £300.

Plus all you need to do with a rimmie is feed it cci stingers to up the ante, or shorts to lessen the power if the need arises.

[hunter1 63]

cz rimfire good tool

[snapper5 0]

I have a two acre paddock in which I am allowed to use my FAC air rifle (Air Arms S410E) but not my 17HMR (CZ452 AM). So last night out to get the bunnies in the paddock which I have not bothered with for ages as I prefer to go onto one of my permissions with the 17 or 223. Having been so used to to be able to sit 100+yards away and kill first time every time, I'd forgotten how much more fieldcraft I needed to get close enough to take them with the FAC air rifle and a guaranteed headshot. So far fewer kills than I'm used to.

 

So my advice would be to apply for both an FAC air rifle and a 17 HMR rather than a 22r/f. This will open up a wider range of shooting opportunities, distance and type of quarry. If the land has not been checked previously then the FAO will check the land for the 17HMR as a land check is not required for an FAC air rifle. The air rifle is always useful for those pigeon sat in a tree shots where you just can't use a more powerful rifle. If funds are only available for one rifle, I'd go for the 17HMR every time.

[MR TEA POT 1,287]

FAO will check the land for the 17HMR as a land check is not required for an FAC air rifle.

 

Is that right mate?i no nothing about FAC.

I thought when you get any FAC rifle the FO checks all the land wether its a .22rf or a airrifle.

[cbw 4]

I know that when I was going through this I had initialy applied for my FAC rapid and the officer did a land inspection, then I realised I had made a mistake and applied for my rf he did another inspection.

 

Reading other posts on this site it appears protocols vary from area to area. I am in west Suffolk.

 

Regards, James

[snapper5 0]

FAO will check the land for the 17HMR as a land check is not required for an FAC air rifle.

 

Is that right mate?i no nothing about FAC.

I thought when you get any FAC rifle the FO checks all the land wether its a .22rf or a airrifle.

 

My FAO in Wiltshire very clearly told me a land check was not required for the FAC air rifle. I guess it could change depending where you are.

[martin 332]

I am in Avon&Somerset area,and,no land checks for FAC air rifle,but,they did for the rimfire,but,I have an open licence now.And by the way,I think there are times when both are handy,so,it isn't quite as simple as black & white...........Martin.

[Mr_Logic 5]

Land checks are required under the Home office guidance for FAC weapons, so an air rifle is covered. But, an FEO can exercise discretion for all of it, so if they don't want to, they won't.

 

As for FAC air and 17HMR and then no 22LR, I must disagree very strongly. 22LR is an essential tool, it's very versatile and with care can be used almost everywhere.

 

22LR will happily knock rabbits over out to 100 yards (or more), you just need to estimate the range and the drop correctly. FAC air, unless you have land where you really can't use any firearm, is pretty pointless. It's expensive to buy, a pain to maintain due to recharging. With 22LR, you buy a brick of ammo, and it's good for ages, and it's damn cheap to buy in the first place.

 

There are times when a 17HMR is a better bet than the 22LR, for shots from 100 yards to 175ish. So there is a case for 22LR and 17HMR, and it's a strong case - compelling for me, I think... But the 17HMR doesn't replace the 22LR, it's a complement to it - they're very very different tools for different jobs.

[comanche 3,076]

I used to have a triple- two and still use a 12 bore ,410 and air rifles but if someone said that i could only have one gun it would be my faithfull old Brno .22 rim fire. Cheap to run and very versatile thanks to the different types of ammo available. If your land is safe for using one that would be my choice. My son in law,who shoots to quite high competition level and shoots vermin, toyed with the FAC air-rifle idea but decided to stick with his 12 ft lb modern pre-charged rifle.I had a go with it and was amazed at how far air -gun technology had come .