afternoon…my current shooting permission has, if things go well over the next few months, offered to sponsor me for my FAC. but which to go for? anyone on STW shoot both? which is the better for bunnies and other vermin? and yes there are loads on other forums about this but stw usually (occasionally?) has good advice
cheers

I had both and short regularly. For me it depended on the land.
17hmr will always be supersonic so there is that to consider, but it’s a great round and flys flat as you like.
22 will give you the option of using subs which are ideal for vermin at close range or in smaller fields etc

In reality you need both as they are different tools for different jobs.
If you can only have one, I’d say 22 just from the variety of rounds you can use ( shot shells etc )

Oh, you’ll probably be able to justify both on your ticket and make sure to also get some slots for silencers.
I’d also suggest you get two 22 slots. One for a bolt action and one for a semi auto.

When I initially made my FAC application I had 6 slots including one for and air rifle. I’d say it’s easier to get more than you need rather than try and get them later when a good deal on a rifle presents itself.

I’m going to see if I can get one of the rifles that has a changeable barrel. The ground I shoot on is really flinty so there is a real ricochet possibility…

In that case I would go for .17 – it’s a lovely flat trajectory, great for longer distances, especially useful for crow bashing, and versatile enough to take fox much more happily than with .22. less prone to ricochet due to the lighter, faster, frangible bullet.

Why are you only considering .17hmr and .22lr? Are they the only two cals the land is cleared for? What’s your quarry list? Have you considered FAC air rifle? There are some real bargains to be had on used examples. Power up to around 40ft/lbs which will deal with bunnies out to 70m in the right conditions.

The hmr round is ideal for wily corvuds; jackdaws and crows that won’t come in closer than 150m. It’s a loud round though even with a decent reflex moderator.

If your ground is flinty then I wouldn’t even consider .22lr. Air for bunnies and the hmr for anything else.

If I were to get one it would be either one of this:

1. CZ512 semi-auto
2. Ruger
3. Savage

For vermin 17hmr
For food .22lr

😛

edit: Crikey I don’t even know you need to consider the appropriateness of the ground to buy a rifle in the UK … arrrghh … which means buying Mossberg 590 Shockwave is out of question … 😆

Yes that’s all the ground is rated for… I already have a sub 12 air rifle that can be turned fac, but the offer of a sponser isn’t to be sniffed at these days

for small fur/feather go for 22lr if your after foxes then you’ll want .222 or .223 center fire.

I’d go for a couple of .22lr rifles (1 x bolt 1 x semi-auto) and a .222/.223
If your ground is not passed for center fire go for a 22WMR

Support the above comment on the Cz as they are lovely (but bolt action obviously as we are talking .17)

Still dont understand why mags are so expensive though, worse than bike parts

Tramps much of a problem round your way?

ninfan – Member
Still dont understand why mags are so expensive though, worse than bike parts

I don’t think the govt want to encourage cheap ammo coz I might take up proper shooting … 😀

maccruiskeen – Member
Tramps much of a problem round your way?

You want a Mossberg 590 Shockwave for that … fire from the waist or hip …

I reckon I’ll have a chat with my gun shop too… I don’t need to go up the calibers yet as they have a chap who comes in for the foxes, deer are taken out on the adjoining land, so it’s bunnies and feather for me…

daftvader – Member
… so it’s bunnies and feather for me…

I think you will end up with a .22lr …

In that case CZ512 retails at £425. 😀

You will have good bunny pies …

I’ve got both, or rather my lad and I have both between us.

Echo all that’s been said above. .17hmr has its uses, corvids etc, and shoots flat(ish) out to 150 yds. However, .22lr is in my humble opinion far more suited to bunnies. It’s much much cheaper to feed, in the right hands it’s accurate out to 85 yards, 100 at a stretch. Yes, you do get the occasional bouncer, but with the right mod it’s whisper quiet.

A session with the HMR showed me that it’s noisy, even with a decent moderator. Out of the thirty or so bunnies we shot, all were headshot but five of them had damaged shoulders due to the v-max rounds.

In he last few months .17 rounds have been increasingly hard to find. Quality control is out of the window with many reports of split cases and squibs. They are also badly wind affected. I wanted to like it, but it isn’t the wunderkind we were led to believe.

FAC air is a good shout.

Yeah, everything is leaning to 22lr…

.223 center fire.

What’s the difference between that and 5.56mm NATO?

Oh and for those saying get a couple… I don’t have the finances for that…

ratherbeintobago – Member

.223 center fire.

What’s the difference between that and 5.56mm NATO? [/quote]

Some info from GunDigest

😛

I have a couple of .22 lr.
A CZ for dedicated night vision and a Browning T bolt for daytime use. Never fancied a HMR as I like be quiet and there to noisy for me.
My PCP air rifle will kill Rabbits at 50 yards and i find they a more accurate than the rimfire over that distance.

bear, mine is happy at about 40-50 yards but the bunnies are mighty skittish. everything is now pointing to 22lr… quiet, cheap, with the right round accurate to 200 yds…

Bear-uk

There must be an issue with your rifle if your 22 won’t group at that distance.
My old anschutz 22lr semi was awesome after I change one sound mod for another. Have you cleaned it recently or are the baffles in the mod getting clipped ?

From everything I’ve read I’d go FAC air and .22

Unless you already have a suitable airgun I’d forget about putting it on ticket and just get one that’s already registered, you can get ticketed Rapids for silly money compared to the sub-12’s plus the usual old Theobens and HW80’s if you fancy a rammer or springer.

i already have a hatsan AT-44 which has been tuned to the max! it will also go fac if i want, but is currently sub 12. i will be going to my gun shop in a week or two (i am collaborating with them on a knife) so will have a chat. 22lr looks the way forward however

If I were to get the Ruger 10/22 I would it with the Alangator TriMag Coupler and the BX-1-CLR mag (clear mag). 😛

Note that once an air rifle is FAC, it’s always FAC. You can’t modify it to sub 12 and treat it as off-ticket.

You could get a Theoben Eliminator. Around 25ft/lbs and just gorgeous. It’ll turn you into a real rifleman too!

The eliminators need a fair deal of technique to shoot accurately. I loved to use mine at the range but didn’t get on with it for hunting ( it was too long ) Rapid seven at 35ish was my bunny basher.

Technically to can pull an FAC air rifle off ticket ( or you could 10 years ago ) it really depends which county you live in and the FLO you are assigned to.

I purchased a few FAC AA410s for peanuts and took them off ticket to sell then for a profit.

Daftvader, you mention the ground is only passed for rimfire calibres? Have you rung your firearms licensing dept and checked with them? You mention the fact that the permission owner has offered to “sponsor” you. I take it you mean that they have offered to grant you permission to use FAC rimfires on their land, and take you out with their rifle for a bit of hands-on experience?

Which police force covers your area? Edit, seen you’re in Hampshire.

Scapegoat, I’ll be checking all that when I get enough cash to go ahead, and yes they have offered that, but I will also be looking at local target clubs to get my accuracy up before I start to shoot live targets. And afaik the local firearms officer is a buddy of the farmers!