Sigmund Fraud 0 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 (edited) Air Rifle Hunting FAQ Work in Progress Recently I've been doing a lot of research and asking a lot of questions, in an effort to order everything in my mind and to make it easier for other people new to air rifle hunting I've decided to compile an FAQ. This is by no means and exhaustive list, I'm new to the art myself and so I'm simply regurgitating knowledge in an easy to access way. I welcome all questions, comments and criticism. If you have anything you think should be included, please don't hesitate to post it up. Any important questions that don't yet have answers will be posted at the end. Some sections have a disambiguation section at the front, these contain definitions and explanations of important or confusing terms used in that section. Questions with a red question mark below them aren't finished yet, posting this up as a work in progress as I'm off to buy my rifle! Contents Law What can I shoot? Where can I shoot? Equipment Disambiguation What kind of rifle do I want? There are so many pellets to choose from, which should I pick? Do I want a scope or just sights? Maintenance Disambiguation What kind of maintenance does it need? What cleaning products should I use? Shooting Disambiguation What safety precautions should be taken? How do I zero in a scope? What's the best way to practice? Miscellaneous Where can I buy accessories from? Law Q: What am I allowed to shoot? A: This depends largely on country. In England general licenses are renewed yearly to all citizens, these give us the right to kill certain birds and animals, if they pose certain dangers. The license we're most often concerned with is WML Gen-05, the provision to kill or take certain birds to prevent serious damage or disease. As long as you have permission to shoot by the land owner, this allows you to kill birds which threaten to cause damage to crops or livestock. A list of birds covered and more detailed regulations can be found with the links below; it may be sensible to carry a copy of the appropriate license with you in case you are challenged. However, it is always illegal to shoot on land you do not have explicit permission from the owner to shoot on, it's often best to obtain written permission, again in case you are challenged. As long as you have permission, it is legal to shoot rats and rabbits throughout the year. The following can be shot all year round under general license: Birds: Crows, rooks, jackdaws, magpies, jays, woodpigeon, collared doves, feral pigeons. Mammals: Brown rats, grey squirrels, stoats, mink and rabbits Further reading: Wildlife Management & Licensing: General Licenses License to kill or take certain birds to prevent serious damage or disease Licence to kill or take certain birds to preserve air safety Licence to kill or take certain birds to preserve public health or public safety Licence to kill or take certain birds to conserve wild birds Q: Where am I allowed to shoot? A: You are only allowed to shoot on private land on which you have prior permission to shoot. If you do not own the land but have received permission from the land owner, it is always best to have that permission in writing in case it is questioned at a later date. Further reading: Shooting permission forms for you to use Equipment Disambiguation Calibre: The interior diameter of the barrel, the pellets you buy will reflect the calibre of your rifle. Q: What kind of rifle do I want? This is a tough question and varies from person to person. To get a definitive answer it's best to make a post on these forums and receive the advice of the members here, ChrisJones' post Looking For Your First Rifle? will tell you how best to go about this. As a rough guide however, you'll need to get a reasonable powerful rifle for a clean kill. Between 10 ft/lbs and 11.5 ft/lbs is optimum and you should be looking for a good, well known make. BSA, Webley, Weihrauch are all held in high regard by the community and you usually can't go wrong with one of their mid-range rifles. Choice of calibre has been discussed to death before but there is no real best, just different preferences. Seemingly the most popular calibre for vermin hunting is .22, followed by .177; if you're struggling to choose calibre, it may be wise to make a post, following ChrisJones' guide and see what the experts think of your particular situation. Q: There are so many pellets to choose from, which should I pick? A: You can't really go wrong with a good domed pellet from one of the well know brands. Domed pellets are among the most accurate, with a good penetration depth. As long as you have a rifle that falls in the optimum range of 10 ft/lbs - 11.5 ft/lbs you shouldn't need to worry about penetration on most vermin. There have been some studies (see further reading) that suggest round balls have a deeper penetration, without a loss of accuracy; it should be noted however that with thin skinned, thin skulled animals, deep penetration isn't required and can be a negative result. Further reading: Penetration Depth: Domed Pellets vs Pointed Pellets vs Round Balls Q: Do I want a scope or just sights? ? Maintenance Disambiguation Q: What kind of maintenance does it need? A: Air rifles require little physical maintenance beyond regular cleaning, if you care for it well it will take quite good care of itself. A good surface cover such as Abbey Silicone Gun Oil can help to reduce the effects of constant use and a good clean out with a pull through tool such as the Napier Pull Through kit after every 1000 or so pellets is an excellent way to keep it shooting reliably and accurate. Futher reading: Napier UK - Air Rifle Products What cleaning products should I use? Napier of London produce a fantastic range of cleaning and maintenance products; using the Napier Power Lube on your pellets can help improve accuracy and reduce lead residue left in the barrel. Shooting Disambiguation Zeroing - Tuning the scope to aim in the same trajectory as your barrel. What safety precautions should be taken? ? How do I zero in a scope? ? What's the best way to practice? ? Miscellaneous Where can I buy accessories from? ? Contributors: ChrisJones, Deker, GrimReaper, SEAN3513, Sigmund Fraud, wife Edited June 12, 2008 by Sigmund Fraud Quote Link to post
Gav 1,708 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 So far so good, the way you are going I think you will be able to finish it on your own and look forward to seeing the completed post. Well done Maybe a little about safe shooting and distance for quarry should be included. Safety being a critical one high on the list. It certainly answers many a question that has been posted over and over again. Quote Link to post
SEAN3513 7 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 (edited) FAQ are always useful,but: theres alot of information in your article that has been compiled and suggested by other people. ( grimreaper, chris jones and deker) but you list yourself as the sole contributor. many years of experience has taught us all somthing..........which we are very willing to share, but just pasteing it all together in one article is the easy bit. Chris has been compiling a similar article "pinned" at the top of this page, which is also work in progress. sorry to be critical...........but this may be seen as treading on toes !!!!!!!! this is only my opinion..........so please don't take offence. with regards sean Edited June 12, 2008 by SEAN3513 Quote Link to post
Sigmund Fraud 0 Posted June 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 I understand where you're coming frmo Sean, I tried to make it clear with the paragraph at the top that this wasn't original research. The contributors list was going to be for people that suggested questions and answers on here to add; in hindsight I'll add the names of those who helped me find this all out in the first place. I started from the top of the list in compiling it and had to post it before it was finished as I went out to purchase the rifle earlier. I was intending the FAQ to mostly cover things that I haven't seen mentioned in the main stickies however I felt that it was necesary to repeat some of the information others had given, and then link to their topics for more detail; this was simply to make it flow easier if a completely new member read this. Thanks again for your comments and many thanks for the ideas Gav, I'll add those now. Quote Link to post
SEAN3513 7 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 I understand where you're coming frmo Sean, I tried to make it clear with the paragraph at the top that this wasn't original research. The contributors list was going to be for people that suggested questions and answers on here to add; in hindsight I'll add the names of those who helped me find this all out in the first place. I started from the top of the list in compiling it and had to post it before it was finished as I went out to purchase the rifle earlier. I was intending the FAQ to mostly cover things that I haven't seen mentioned in the main stickies however I felt that it was necesary to repeat some of the information others had given, and then link to their topics for more detail; this was simply to make it flow easier if a completely new member read this. Thanks again for your comments and many thanks for the ideas Gav, I'll add those now. Quote Link to post
Sigmund Fraud 0 Posted June 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 (edited) Expanded maintenance section, cleaned up some formatting stuff. EDIT: Added safety heading. Edited June 12, 2008 by Sigmund Fraud Quote Link to post
moxy 617 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Looking good and i hope to see the finnished piece upon the pinned board, you are certainly putting some effort into it. I think something that is vital to be added is a section on fieldcraft and stalking quarry. Hopefully by adding this section it will answer a lot of questions and help people build up and develop a much needed part and skill of airgun hunting. Therefore leading to cleaner and more accurate kills and not just taking silly and potentially inhumane shots from ridiculous distances. Good luck and all the best Quote Link to post
Coney 3 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Some great work there I'm sure many members will refer to it and use it to answer many FAQs, well done. Quote Link to post
ChrisJones 7,973 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 I like it and I'm going to sticky it too. My sticky was concerned more with buying the rifles and what to look for, basic stuff. This one appears to be more of an intermediate step and I think should be labelled as such. My only criticism is that you might want to edit the heading to say so. Great stuff though! Thanks for contributing. I'd like to see 2008, onwards, see THL advance over the BBS for airgunning. That's why we need more contributors like your goodselves. This has been a pleasure to read and I thank you on behalf of the site for contributing to this section. I've been spending much more time here, reading your stories, and that is a good thing! All The Best Chris Quote Link to post
Malt 379 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 This place is already a lot better that the dreaded BBS, I hope it stays pretty much the same, ie: without the sanctimonious ar*es! Quote Link to post
Sigmund Fraud 0 Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 I never bothered to post over at AGBBS, just didn't seem very friendly, or that mature. Much nicer atmosphere here and I've been made to feel very welcome. Only right to give something back. Quote Link to post
ChrisJones 7,973 Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 I've been called a sanctimonious arse on here a few times. Sounds like I need to work harder at it. Quote Link to post
cometa300s 20 Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 thanks for the info mate Quote Link to post
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