Do i need a firearms liscence to buy a air rifle that fires pelets not small bore?
Can i carry it in the boot of my car legaly if the plod stop me?
Or do i need to join the local gun club and do this by the book?, There is one a mile from home by all accounts it's a bit clickey im not into those sort of places.
All i want to do is target shooting at work on nights nobody is about but me and the rats and i won't shoot them honest.
Last edited by: car4play on Sat 18 Sep 10 at 06:55
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you have to sign for the gun with name address and telephone number in the shop
and have some id
and you can only buy up to 12 foot pounds
it will kill rats
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Be very careful where and when you use the weapon.
The constabulary, understandably, take reports of 'man seen with gun' very seriously.
Assuming it's not the type of firearm that has to be kept in a locked cabinet, I don't see a problem with carrying it in the car.
But get a case - if you are stopped, you will look more like a responsible owner.
Good luck with your rat extermination programme, you will be doing us all a favour.
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Good luck with your rat extermination programme, you will be doing us all a favour.
and go after the pigeons as well!
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Years ago thats over 10yrs fishing shops sold air rifles is this still the same or do i find a gun shop?
Thanks for the link to the police thats were i was going next to see a copper.
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Many sports shops sell air rifles, these people www.pellpax.co.uk/ will deliver to your door but you must be there to sign for them when they arrive.
Get a gun with full power for rat shooting, flat or hollow nosed pellets will give the best results. I also have a pistol for finishing off those ones who don't die instantly.
Be warned though, it is a very addictive hobby and you will soon be looking at all sorts of expensive accsessories.
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Before you go rushing off, have you seen the price of Air rifles these days?
You may decide to take up another sport. Buy a catapult, give the rats a sporting chance
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I had a rubbish air rifle, but that didn't matter because I was a rubbish shot.
We used to poison rats on the farm, and they would sometimes 'come out' to die - you would see one wobbling slowly, as if drunk, across the yard.
These were the only ones I could hit.
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catapults are more addictive than guns
you end up dismantling things looking for bolly bearings to use :-(
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Try a crossbow. Far more satisfying to shoot with than most air rifles.
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The trouble is you may then leave the evidence of a dead vermin with a bolt through it's body for some animal rights looney to find and start screaming.
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>have you seen the price of Air rifles these days?..
They're not cheap are they? I have an Edgar Bros. Model 60S which, at around £120, is probably the cheapest "decent" air rifle suitable for shooting vermin.
It's very accurate once sighted in but also fairly heavy so it needs good support.
Kevin...
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...It's very accurate once sighted...
A quality air weapon is favoured by some poachers because it is relatively quiet.
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Local auction house has air rifles from time to time - usually go for about £20.
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>> Do i need a firearms liscence to buy a air rifle that fires pelets not
>> small bore?
Not if it's an "ordinary" one firing pellets with less than 12 ftlb energy measured at the muzzle. If you buy a second-hand one, check the power - a gunsmith (or possibly gunshop) or gun club will be able to do this. I might be tempted to do this anyway, even with a new shop-bought one.
>> Can i carry it in the boot of my car legaly if the plod stop
>> me?
Yup. Make sure the trip's it in connection with shooting to be on the safe side, e.g. you are going to shoot it, coming back from doing so, or taking it to be cleaned, etc. You should carry it in a gun cover
>> Or do i need to join the local gun club and do this by the
>> book?
If you need a firearms certificate, joining a club is one way to get it. You won't be able to use it for "official" air rifle target shooting, though, so... Also, you will only be able to use a .177...
>> There is one a mile from home by all accounts it's a bit clickey
>> im not into those sort of places.
They're all "cliquey", by definition!
>> All i want to do is target shooting at work on nights nobody is about
>> but me and the rats and i won't shoot them honest.
You might have very serious problems if "work" finds out, and have not given you permission.
www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/air-rifles.cfm
www.chweston.co.uk/acatalog/Airgun_Laws.html
There's lots lore out there.
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>> If you need a firearms certificate, joining a club is one way to get it.
>> You won't be able to use it for "official" air rifle target shooting, though, so...
>> Also, you will only be able to use a .177...
Explain please.
MD
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I've got a Crossman "Rabbitstopper", one of those CO2 powered bolt-action jobs. Bought it to get rid of crows and squirrels.
Utterly useless; the only way it'd ever stop a rabbit is if you hit the beast with the butt end!
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Not had any reason to look at air rifle costs for many years. Amazed to do so now and see the Weirauch HW77 plus Tasco scope and clip-on light outfit I bought the Mrs 20yrs ago is now a £400+ item.
I was bought up in a shooting household and had my first air rifle at 5yrs old! By the time I was an eary teen we had shotguns plus automatic rifles and pistols in the place. Guess you can't have that automatic stuff any more?
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>> I've got a Crossman "Rabbitstopper", one of those CO2 powered bolt-action jobs.
>> Utterly useless; the only way it'd ever stop a rabbit is if you hit the beast with the butt end!
>>
12 ft/lbs is perfectly adequate to kill a Rabbit at 20-25 yards with a head shot. Most full powered, i.e. legal 12ft/lb rifles are generally set at about 11.5 to ensure that they are below the 'limit' Over 12ft/lbs a firearms licence is required.
Should one seek a rabbiting tool above the 12ft mark then a .22 rimfire rifle is the way to go as they are very much cheaper and more effective than high powered air rifles. If there is a downside to this it is that the rimmy will not be as quiet.
Martin.
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This is were i stick my neck out.............................
If i wanted to own a "real" gun like the Lee Enfield 303 rifle can i own one with a licence but do i have to be a member of a gun club?
I see these for sale on some of the web sites not sure if there de comisioned & sniper rifles at real money prices.
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YEs you need to join a gun club, or show you have suitable shooting rights on land.
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Can the firearm be taken home or does it stay at the gun club?
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Home if security etc. is suitable. The licensing officer will advise.
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Im presuming the Police will want to come to my home to see if there is a suitable place to put this rifle?
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BigT, if you want a proper gun, you are going to have to join the gun club.
Join the gun club, they will have a guy who's role is to guide you through all the steps and requirements in obtaining the firearms certificate.
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>12 ft/lbs is perfectly adequate to kill a Rabbit at 20-25 yards with a head shot.
Therein lies the problem. You'd need a guaranteed head shot for a clean kill.
I wouldn't use an air rifle for anything bigger than a squirrel at that range and I'd prefer a Gatling gun for them.
Kevin...
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...12 ft/lbs is perfectly adequate to kill a Rabbit at 20-25 yards with a head shot...
We used to use a shotgun, might have been a .410 or a 12 bore.
Me and my brothers would have objected to any unusual meat, so my mother - who butchered the animal herself - used to disguise the rabbit by mincing it and putting it in a cottage pie.
Very nice, although a few bits of lead shot always slipped through.
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>> >> If you need a firearms certificate, joining a club is one way to get
>> it.
>> >> You won't be able to use it for "official" air rifle target shooting, though,
>> so...
>> >> Also, you will only be able to use a .177...
>>
>> Explain please.
>>
>> MD
>>
Air rifles have 2 sizes of bore, .22 and .177.
.22 is the heavier one for shooting rats etc, but I think official target shooting only uses .177.
But if you are just going to play around shooting at your own targets (very addictive) then the .22 is much more fun. Nail a sheet of tin to something 25 yards away and mark a bullseye on it, then you get a satisfying noise as the pellets sometimes penetrate and sometimes ricochet off with a noise like in a spagheti western.
I bought a nice polished wood rifle from an angling/sporting shop for £50, and I found I was surprisingly accurate with it. It's fun gradually getting better and then increasing the range.
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When I was a kid I used to fire from a bedroom window into one of these new-fangled plastic bags, filled with water, suspended from a clothes post. The game was to hit just below the water line so you only ever had a couple of streams coming out of it.
You could then retrieve the pellets to use again!
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>> Air rifles have 2 sizes of bore, .22 and .177.
>> .22 is the heavier one for shooting rats etc, but I think official target shooting
>> only uses .177.
>>
And .20 (rare) and not so rare .25
Martin
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Fire arms liscense......................bang bang. - Bromptonaut
