Air rifle advice

[Back Stabbath 1]

Hi, I am looking to apply for an firearms licence in Ireland (required in Ireland even for air rifles). You have to I think buy the gun before you apply for the licence in Ireland and put the serial no. on the application form. I would like to know what gun to apply for. I am new to air rifles. Don't know whether to get a recoilling or recoilless rifle. Needs to not be too expensive either because I don't have much money. I want to hunt mainly rabbits, but also some woodpigeon and crows. I want to preferably get a .177 type as I have a tin of .177 pellets at home.

 

(Posted this in the other subforum too but I think it should have been here)

 

Any help you could give me on what type of air rifle to look for would be much appreciated, thanks.

[kev1986 0]

i not to sure on the laws etc but as for rabbits i prefer .22 but personal preferance it really depends on what you want to spend for about £180 you could pick up in uk a second hand bsa lightning with scope and bag , or about £250 a aa pro sport with scope and bag , or a bit more for hw95

stick to air arms, bsa and weihrachu and you wont go far wrong

[Back Stabbath 1]

Okay, thanks kev1986. And what about the different types like co2, pump up ones, spring ones? Excuse me if I come accross as a complete fool!

[hughes_jh 0]

Hi Mate,

I know the score, you have to buy the rifle, the gunshop owner keeps it in his safe, you apply for a licence, and about 3 months later you can collect it!

 

Its quite tricky applying too. Even though we own over 100 acres I also had to get two other landowners to give me written permission to shoot on their ground too. I also had to get a gun cabinet installed (which is a great investment, everyone should get one)

 

If you're on a budget, then get a Spring Air Rifle. They generate the thrust to shoot the pellet by a big spring inside. You won't need much else to maintain it, just a little oil. Don't worry about the calibre, .177 and .22 are so similar you will be fine either way. Also, I wouldn't worry about the pellets you have lying at home, after a while lead pellets will get damaged or oxidise and change their properties. Just buy some new ones (no more than £10 for a tin of 500) when you get a gun. Also, strictly speaking, you shouldn't have pellets without a licence!

 

OK, so which gun should you go for? Absolutely agree with Kev, stick with those three brands and you'll be fine. Get a good 2nd hand gun, don't be put off by any cosmetic damage and walk away from any mechanical damage. Also, make sure you get a gun with a scope on it, you'll want something like a 4x32, 4x40, or if you're lucky a 3-9x40. I think you should be able to get a fantastic choice for around £150 - £300 for everything you need.

 

Hope this helps!

 

John

[Back Stabbath 1]

Thanks very much hughes_jh, that was quite helpful.

 

I think I could get 2 landowners permissions, I'm sure my uncle whos a farmer would let me shoot on his land, and I could ask my other uncle or the farmer that owns the land behind me.

 

Looked at some prices for gun cabinets, bloody 'ell... I think for the whole setup it will cost around 500 euro. Really don't know whether I could afford that with college and flights all at the moment, but we'll see! At least I'm more knowledgable of the process now. Would be just my luck that I'd get the gun and all and either there'd be no rabbits around anywhere or I wouldn't be able to hit em! lol

 

I will certainly be looking into this, and I'm hoping my folks in Ireland wont mind me keeping a gun in the house and that my being in England most of the time wont affect the application.

 

Cheers

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