I had a go of my nephew's air rifle at the weekend. It was only a cheap one but it was absolutely commendable.

I'm the wrong side of 29 and have never been interested in shooting (guns). we were firing at cans and targets in a controlled and safe environment (out laws massive back garden) and I came away thinking "Christmas.... Must.....Have....Air Rifle."

The only trouble is, they've got a bit of a bad reputation. There's the chavs shooting at pensioners from tower blocks, and young kids "accidentally" blasting each other's eyes out. I feel uneasy at the idea of something that could cause serious injury or even kill.

However, I would like to get an air rifle coz I find shooting at inanimate objects strangely satisfying.

Are there any members who own an air rifle, but dont use it to shoot next doors cat/ old folks/ their mates? Or even any who attend shooting clubs an that? I'd be interested to know.

Here's one I've been looking at;

that looks the biz!

If you're responsible with it, there's no good reason why it can't be good safe fun. Make sure you're up on the laws of owning/transporting/using them, they're pretty minor but quite easy to fall foul of if you don't know them...

If I was owning again, I'd definitely invest in a decent lockable gun cabinet to stop it falling into the wrong hands.

Rob.

can you legally shoot chavs with it?

can you legally shoot chavs with it?

Not legally, but as far as I know it's "decriminalised"...

Rob.

PS. This does not constitue as legal advisement.

why do i feel the urge to build an octavia gunship?

Ian do you fancy being the tail gunner?

Rob can take the left side ... neo on the right... and we have a fully functional chav clearence unit!

JOB DONE!

Growing up on a farm i have used and been around guns my whole life and still am... when used resposibly and saftly they can be great fun... when you think about it cars a potencially leathal weapons as well if abused...but when used resposibly and safly they are fun... again its the minority spoiling it for majority...only take a few arrogant/ignarant people to give something a bad name...eg drivers under 20...there not all crazy unsafe speed freaks! but a hand full of them are giving the rest a bad name..the same way that all people with air guns/guns we all dont go shooting old ladys, or holding up post offices...

see my point?

if this is your first gun...i woudl contact your local police force for safty tips..and the laws surrounding such weapons...ie haveing the weapon consealed in public places...age limits for using the weapon...etc etc..

Joel

Mate has a simple air rifle that looks like the one above, without the techie bits bolted on. Good for shooting rabbits and pest birds, and cans I guess.

used to use one when I was younger with my dad, me mum didn't like it that much but nevermind, when my brother was old enough to have a go we would use it together having a game of who is the better shot, we made our own target board out of cardboard boxes and di it all in the back garden. That was some time ago and things hav changed! As everyone else has said as long as you are careful with it and responsible then they are alot of fun.

btw ****ing looking air rifle your looking at............the temptation of it all!!!

A friend of mine used to do alot of shooting many years ago. Thing is he used to put bigger springs in the air riffle and eventually it was powerful enough to warrant a shotgun licence, can't remember the max PSI you can run at but there is a limit before you need to own a shotgun licence

Guns are great, guns do not kill people, the misuse of guns do. The gun laws in this country are crap, while gun control should be tightened. We legally have firearms in the household as my brother is in a gun club. However there potsy 22s.

Id love to have a selection of assault rifles, but that is illegal. Ive never robbed anyone, never hurt anyone, never killed anyone, never raped anyone, never stole from anyone, no criminal record and no previous mental history. I do not intent to harm any human being. hence joining the TA.

As regards to a shot gun licence, by law you must have a spacer fitted so that means you can only hold 2 cartridges. Then again its not hard at all to remove if you familiar with stripping and rebuilding firearms.

I have never shot an air rifle or pistol, but by shear coincidence I was firing the SA80 A2 assault rifle and my 9mm Browning MK2 pistol this morning on the 25M range. Was rather scundered by my score. Only got 48 out of 55 shots with the rifle at 25m (with a small target meant to make it equivalent to firing on a 100m range). I got 9 out of 10 with the pistol at 10m. Last year I got 55 out of 55 (with a SA80 A1) and 10 out of 10 :(. Have to get some practice in. Still it is great fun. Being Navy am not allowed to fire the SA80 on automatic :(.

Guns are great' date=' guns do not kill people, the misuse of guns do. The gun laws in this country are crap, while gun control should be tightened. We legally have firearms in the household as my brother is in a gun club. However there potsy 22s.

Id love to have a selection of assault rifles, but that is illegal. Ive never robbed anyone, never hurt anyone, never killed anyone, never raped anyone, never stole from anyone, no criminal record and no previous mental history. I do not intent to harm any human being. hence joining the TA.

As regards to a shot gun licence, by law you must have a spacer fitted so that means you can only hold 2 cartridges. Then again its not hard at all to remove if you familiar with stripping and rebuilding firearms.[/quote']

Not all 22s are crap. The British SA80 assault rifle is the metric equivalent of a .22! Still bloody deadly.

http://www.essextargetsports.co.uk/, getting the airsoft gun at the top of the bargain page!

Not all 22s are crap. The British SA80 assault rifle is the metric equivalent of a .22! Still bloody deadly.

Not as much stopping power as the old 7.62 SLR though - still wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of either. At least the SA80 is easy to fire.

Not as much stopping power as the old 7.62 SLR though - still wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of either. At least the SA80 is easy to fire.

Shot per shot that is true, but the SA80 is a more accurate rifle and also being fully automatic it has more firepower potential (not in the Navy as we can only use it if semi automatic mode :().

Thanks, guys, some really encouraging posts. I kind of thought anyone who owned or shot a gun was generally treated as a socal leper (must get some new mates) It's good to see that it can be a rewarding sport or hobby.

I've looked into the laws on Air weapons and as long as you've got half a brain cell, they seem quite easy to follow.

Just got to be careful that the muzzle velocity doesn't exceed 12 foot pounds or a firearms license is required. Although how you measure that, I don't know.

Who knows, I might take up skiing as well and become a world champion Biathlete. Or join a team of crack commandos forced underground after escaping form a maximum security jail (Although what use Commandos would have with an Air rifle is beyond me. They don't really smoke crack in the commandos do they?)

i cant belive no one has sadi it yet... day tripper was close...

'guns dont kill people, RAPPERS do!'

Joel

Not all 22s are crap. The British SA80 assault rifle is the metric equivalent of a .22! Still bloody deadly.

Isn't that the current one they are using in the gulf?

I was reading how they changed to the smaller caliber rounds as they wounded people rather than killing them outright as badly wounded soldiers cause more of a problem for the enemy than dead ones.

Trouble because they aren't as effective as instantly stopping people they are less useful when you are confronted with a suicidal enemy soldier/suicide bomber as tends to turn up in Iraq

Isn't that the current one they are using in the gulf?

I was reading how they changed to the smaller caliber rounds as they wounded people rather than killing them outright as badly wounded soldiers cause more of a problem for the enemy than dead ones.

Trouble because they aren't as effective as instantly stopping people they are less useful when you are confronted with a suicidal enemy soldier/suicide bomber as tends to turn up in Iraq

Yes the current rifle is the SA80. They adopted the smaller calibre as that is what the USA use and NATO wanted all NATO forces to use interchangeable ammunition. The SA80 is very high velocity and very accurate but certainly each round is less likely to kill out right. Main problem in Golf War 1 was lack of reliability. About 40 modifications were made to improve this and the new A2 version is veryy reliable.

Thought as much , ta

The Characteristics of a .22 makes a nastier wound then many other calibres, it may not have the immediate stopping power but not many shots would hit the kill zone on a moving target. I could teach my old mum in 5 minutes to shoot straight at a shooting range, but it's a different ball game on a moving target.

Logun make quality rifles and you won't be dissapointed, My only worry is that the S16 is a serious hunting tool and may be a bit OTT for garden plinking.

You can own any air rifle without a license as long as it doesn't exceed 12 ft per pound.

I go hunting with my .22 Air Arms, got permission from our local farmer so I go up there and shoot his vermin, must be doing a good job as again this year he has given me another bottle of quality single malt for Christmas.

Sorry I shouldnt have said 22s are potsy, i just ment to say I prefer "heavier" guns.

The SLR wasnt that reliable, in the falklands our troops with ditching the slr's in favour of the Argentine fn's. The problem with the Slr is that its too long for urban warefare,i.e. charging through doors, hence the SA80 was developed in 1980 for use in Northern Ireland. I find the SA80 alot heavier than its counterparts. William is are you issued with a susat sight or the normal sight?

Pitt, no crack unless you was a commando in the nam.

When confronted with a suicide bomber what you need is this.

Just in time for Korean War no. 2.

http://www.essextargetsports.co.uk/[/url'], getting the airsoft gun at the top of the bargain page!

Nice site, Airguns for the Pigeons & Paintball Guns for Speed Cameras

Sorry I shouldnt have said 22s are potsy' date=' i just ment to say I prefer "heavier" guns.

The SLR wasnt that reliable, in the falklands our troops with ditching the slr's in favour of the Argentine fn's. The problem with the Slr is that its too long for urban warefare,i.e. charging through doors, hence the SA80 was developed in 1980 for use in Northern Ireland. I find the SA80 alot heavier than its counterparts. William is are you issued with a susat sight or the normal sight?

Pitt, no crack unless you was a commando in the nam.

When confronted with a suicide bomber what you need is this.

[img']http://www.army.mod.uk/img/equipment/pw/sa80g.2.jpg[/img]

Just in time for Korean War no. 2.

Ordinary iron sight. The rifles are really only used by the Navy for guarding the ship while along side. For that reason short range firing is considered the norm for the navy so we only get the iron sight and are only trained to fire in semi-automatic mode. I have no experience of other rifles, but the SA80 is much lighter than the old long barrelled bolt action rifle that my father initially used in the army. Perhaps as I am well above average in physic the weight is not a problem for me. Still I do not like the design of the gun. The cocking mechanism is very poorly situated.