Specific FAC question... calibre and deer

[farmershort 0]

Hi,

 

I tried asking some questions about hunting on the bushcraftuk forum, and they directed me here. I;ve read through the sticky threads on the FAC application process, very useful indeed! thanks!

 

I have 1 or 2 specific questions relating to it... please feel free to direct me if I'm on the wrong sub-forum...

 

I've had an SGC for some time now, and now I want to be able to shoot geese, and munt jac (or any other deer I can get too), which I imagine needs a min calibre of .308

 

My question is, do people apply for this calibre straight away, or do you apply for a .22 250 first, the after a year or more apply for the .308?

 

I'm an amateur hunter, but could probably find someone as a mentor... I'm keen to avoid lots of very very expensive courses. I'm all about the free / cheap food, rather than the sport of it.

 

oh bugger, just realised I haven't done an intro post... will do it retrospectively if thats ok?

 

Thanks

 

Adam

[Guest dazzb]

hiya mate whats with the .308, what i think you should do is take a couple of days to look through the post in this section, you will be surprised how much you will learn, especially about calibre etc there is some very knowledgable people on here but your questions are a bit random, im not having a go mate it's just if you have a good read through this section then you will be able to pin point your questions a bit better

atb daz

[whippeter69 88]

HIa mate. Im half way through processing my FAC and have done a lot of research into curtain calibers for curtain animals. From what I gather, If you have a "Good Reason" to possess that caliber then they cannot refuse you. I.E if you want a .308 for Deer then they have no reason to refuse the application for this caliber. As long as they see that you have a good understandment of safety and a bit of experience with this rifle would help towards your application

 

I hope iv had a good shot at this question ( Excuse the pun) Best of luck buddy

[farmershort 0]

hiya mate whats with the .308, what i think you should do is take a couple of days to look through the post in this section, you will be surprised how much you will learn, especially about calibre etc there is some very knowledgable people on here but your questions are a bit random, im not having a go mate it's just if you have a good read through this section then you will be able to pin point your questions a bit better

atb daz

 

No, that's fine chap, I understand completely... I've been looking into this semi-seriously for over 2 years, but this is the first i;ve found decent internet resource, which is why I've sort of boiled it down a bit...

 

I'm literally at the point where I'm about to apply for my FAC, but want to get it right first time (already have permission on 150 - 200 acres)... I also don't want to bother with a higher calibre than .22 250 if there is no way of bagging deer on the cheap in england. I hope that makes sense, but I will continue to read through the section to see if there's already some answers.

 

Thanks

 

Adam

[Guest dazzb]

if you think .308 is the minimum calibre or the correct calibre for geese and munty i surgest you do a bit more homework about it or you FEO will see straight through you, my surgestion would be to start with a rimmy

[farmershort 0]

if you think .308 is the minimum calibre or the correct calibre for geese and munty i surgest you do a bit more homework about it or you FEO will see straight through you, my surgestion would be to start with a rimmy

 

 

I may be mis informed, and very ready to admit it... I was lead to believe, by a few shooters, that a .308 is the 'sensible gun' for deer shooting. and that the legal minumum calibre is only slightly below this, (although I'm aware there is a difference between england and scotland).

 

I'm not a gun geek, I will fail technical questions about calibres... as I say, not interested in the sport side, just want to hunt for food.

 

From what I know about rim fires, they're only a slight upgrade from a good air rifle, and only good for rabbits and vermin. again, please correct if I'm wrong. We have sheep every so often, so I have legit reason for something to shoot foxes - hence the SGC in the first place. No, I didn't think .308 for geese, but just wanted to point out that I wasn't just after deer, and I'm not solely a rabbit man. I'm just after advice, but I sense my requirement is non-standard.

[farmershort 0]

Thanks chaps, I think I've found what I was looking for... apologies for the post in which case...

 

http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=142209

 

I didn't realise the lage min for munt jac was .22250, and then .243 for roe... in this case, the advice seems to be to get the .22250 first, and then .243 if needed later as a variation.

 

god it's good to have finally found a proper hunting forum... please excuse my earlier uneducated enthusiasm.

[jamie g 17]

min cal for muntjac and cwd is 222 mate not 22/250. it would help if we new what deer you have on your land and have you got permission from the farmer to shoot them ?

 

if you only shoot muntjac then a 22 centrefire min 222 will be fine but if you have roe then min of 243 is needed. dont forget 243 is legal for all uk deer. even if some people perfer to use larger calibers for the bigger deer.

 

if it was me and you can get 243 fromt he start then go for that. if not then 223 would be good as you could shoot heavier bullets from it then 222 or 22/250.

[farmershort 0]

min cal for muntjac and cwd is 222 mate not 22/250. it would help if we new what deer you have on your land and have you got permission from the farmer to shoot them ?

 

if you only shoot muntjac then a 22 centrefire min 222 will be fine but if you have roe then min of 243 is needed. dont forget 243 is legal for all uk deer. even if some people perfer to use larger calibers for the bigger deer.

 

if it was me and you can get 243 fromt he start then go for that. if not then 223 would be good as you could shoot heavier bullets from it then 222 or 22/250.

 

That's interesting thanks... didn't know about .223, so many calibres... so little time. the landowner will give me permission for whatever I want... he's a farming pal... the problem will be if anyone asks me to prove that there's a certain type of deer there. There are plenty of deer in our bit of leicestershire, but I couldn't swear to bigger deer being there... also thanks, didn't realise .243 was the min for all uk deer.

 

I'm going to speak to a chap tonight who already shoots, and my hope is that i'll just be able to make some contacts and shoot bigger deer with them when i'm able. I'm not really considering shooting everything solely on this one 150 - 200 acre farm, it's just a useful place to start my licence off. The open licence will be the key from what I understand.

[Treacle Trackpad 6]

You have the land but do you have the permission to shoot deer? The two do not come hand in hand. Also your land needs to be suitable and cleared for the relevant calibre by the police.

 

As Jamie says, .222 is the min calibre for Munty but there are also bullet weight and muzzle velocity restrictions too. .243 is a good all round cal but I would suggest you need to get out with someone who knows about these things rather than jumping feet first into a world that has the potential to ruin you life if you make a mistake.

 

These forums are good for getting advice but nothing replaces a face to face knowledge transfer and experience.

[farmershort 0]

You have the land but do you have the permission to shoot deer? The two do not come hand in hand. Also your land needs to be suitable and cleared for the relevant calibre by the police.

 

As Jamie says, .222 is the min calibre for Munty but there are also bullet weight and muzzle velocity restrictions too. .243 is a good all round cal but I would suggest you need to get out with someone who knows about these things rather than jumping feet first into a world that has the potential to ruin you life if you make a mistake.

 

These forums are good for getting advice but nothing replaces a face to face knowledge transfer and experience.

 

Agree completely about the face to face... trying to make it happen this way... just a matter of finding the contacts

 

I'm not sure I understand the distinction at the start of your post. If the landowner writes a letter saying "I give permission for XXXX to shoot .243 calibre on this land, and to take deer." or something a bit posher sounding, isn't that enough?

 

Yeah, I know the land needs to be passed.. there's a bit of a rolling hill feel to most of the land, so plenty of chance to shoot into a bank...

 

I was hoping someone might offer an opinion as to whether a block of 150 acre farm land is usually alright for XXX calibre, but not for XXX calibre.

 

I'm a member of a scuba diving forum (my expensive hobby), and there is a trips section to the forum where anyone can join a trip and go along... with the correct experience of course... Is there a similar thing here? Just looking for a way to find some knowledgable people in my area, and learn a bit more.

 

Thanks

 

Adam

[Treacle Trackpad 6]

Ok so you know the land needs passing and once it is, you have permission from the land owner to shoot whatever calibre and to take deer...you are sorted on the permission front.

 

As for what calibre fits what land there is no distinction here, the calibre is specific to your needs not the land, if you can safely shoot it on your land you have no dramas. Safety and backstops are the watchwords here.

 

As for experiential trips I suppose the nearest you will get is paid accompanied stalking or a friendly forum member who is local and willing to take you out (there will be someone I am sure).

 

Just a thought on deer, do you have any experience? The stalk through to the shot placement and gralloch are things you really need to be shown before embarking on such things. Just my opinion FWIW .

[farmershort 0]

Ok so you know the land needs passing and once it is, you have permission from the land owner to shoot whatever calibre and to take deer...you are sorted on the permission front.

 

As for what calibre fits what land there is no distinction here, the calibre is specific to your needs not the land, if you can safely shoot it on your land you have no dramas. Safety and backstops are the watchwords here.

 

As for experiential trips I suppose the nearest you will get is paid accompanied stalking or a friendly forum member who is local and willing to take you out (there will be someone I am sure).

 

Just a thought on deer, do you have any experience? The stalk through to the shot placement and gralloch are things you really need to be shown before embarking on such things. Just my opinion FWIW .

 

The shot placement, etc... done a fair bit of research, but I'm at the position where "I know this is going to come up, and will have to cross that bridge at the time" (by which I mean, at some point, I'll get someone to show me). As for the cleaning of the kill, I'm pretty confident I can do this... I can certainly do it with lambs

 

Fingers crossed to friendly Leicestershire forum members then

 

thanks, your opinion, and advice, have been great!

[Treacle Trackpad 6]

No probs mate we all have to start somewhere. Have a read of these, there is some good info for you to be going on with

[farmershort 0]

No probs mate we all have to start somewhere. Have a read of these, there is some good info for you to be going on with

 

 

Fantastic guides! thanks very much!

 

one last thing if anyone is still listening... rifle ranges in leicestershire? google search yields not much...