General Rule Of Thumb For Types Of Rifles Commonly Accepted On Farm Land

[OxfordNurse 1]

After a long time away, I was wondering what could be accepted on farm land in terms of single shot rifles? I want to keep my shotgun for club clay pigeon, but really need advice on what type of rifle or rifles are good with scope/stalking for small game. Thank you in advance

[jacknife 2,005]

You nee to know what calibre the land has been cleared for

 

A must have rifle for most people is a .22lr then something like the .243 covers most things

[OxfordNurse 1]

Thank you jacknife, I was hoping for .22 lr. I have some experience with the .22 lr and like their performance. I shall check out the land requirements. Need to find somewhere to shot first in the Oxfordshire area!

[Cedric 132]

.22lr is the way to go for a start, versatile, cheap ammo, very quiet with subsonic ammo. Only real drawback is the the bullets tend to bounce! Have to make sure of safe backstop. Good out to 100 yards for rabbits if you take the trouble to learn the trajectory.

 

PS. each section of land has to be passed by the police stating which calibres are acceptable.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Cedric

[Alsone 789]

Calibre choice really comes down to exactly what you're shooting and how large the land is as this affects suitability for the prey, cost and chances of the land getting / being passed for the calibre concerned.

 

For rabbits most people would recommend .22LR (see also Cedric's comments above), or .17hmr (but the latter does have some ammo quality supply issues).

 

For fox, you really want a CF in a calibre from .222 - .243, although there are one or two outside of this range, most notably .22 hornet for shorter ranges and some might recommend .20 for mid range although this has some drawbacks. It's all going to depend on typical range to the target. .223 is probably the most popular although .22-250 is the choice of many as it's more powerful and flatter shooting. .222 is liked by some and .243 gives a bit more range and deer capability. However, as with anything there's no easy one size fits all answer, as range, safety and simply ammo cost all play a part as mentioned above. The best thing is come back with the size of your land, any hazards and the typical range to your prey eg fox and someone can give more precise advise. As always, the ability to backstop all of these rounds is paramount.

 

You can check with your local Firearms Dept. to find out what calibres it's cleared for currently, if any.

[danw 1,748]

All the above is irrelevant no land = no fac And it's Oxfordshire so good luck on that score anyway your first bet is probably a club from memory there is a small bore club in Bicester and a full bore club shoots Otmoor range it's called something like Oxford rifle Association

[Si-Fi 2]

If your around the Bicester area then pop along to one of our club practices (clay shooting) and I can introduce you to members that shoot FAC at Otmoor etc.

check out the dates on www.shootcentral..com and look for Kingswood Gun Club.

Simon

[Deker 3,453]

Whatever your definition of small game is, a .22lr can accommodate a lot.

 

You really need to get land first and find what quarry is on it, then tailor the rifle to your requirements.

 

No region is going to give you any rifle for land/quarry you don't have.

 

Alternatively, join a club, get some experience/rifles/contacts!

Edited April 4, 2015 by Deker