Learning to shoot?

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Learning to shoot?

Downsizer Forum Index -> Shooting and Trapping for the Pot

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NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4630
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 1:55 pm Post subject: Learning to shoot?
Having a think about learning to shoot - mainly as pest control and for the pot. Currently failing to find any kind of tuition that isn't plinking airguns or going for a tweed-clad jolly with the old boys. Bright ideas? Local agri college doesn't seem to cover it. Google found me sniper training...

BahamaMama

Joined: 21 Sep 2006
Posts: 2315
Location: Away with the fairies

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 2:14 pm Post subject:

Where are you based?

By coincidence I had a shooting lesson this weekend with a chap who is changing career and setting up his own business, check his FB page:-

https://www.facebook.com/Small-Shooting-613234682174570/?pnref=story (can the linky fairy help please)

I had a really great time, he is very gentle and calm and actually got me hitting more than the sky. I would heartily recommend him.

He is based in Twyford (outside Reading) but I am not sure how far you/him would be prepared to travel.

BahamaMama

Joined: 21 Sep 2006
Posts: 2315
Location: Away with the fairies

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 2:15 pm Post subject:

mousjoos

Joined: 05 Jun 2006
Posts: 1986
Location: VERY Sunny SW France

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 2:15 pm Post subject:
I'd go with sniper training just a personal thing for me but pest control can be useful too same thing in certain cases

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4630
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 3:38 pm Post subject:
For those REALLY sneaky bunnies! I'm currently in Somerset, Taunton is closest town. There is a national ladies shooting day where you can join a tweedy lot for �40, might be worth it as a taster. Either that or I got completely the wrong end of the stick!

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 4:00 pm Post subject:
Rifle or shotgun? They are totally different. Shotgun and the lot at National Ladies Shooting Day will give you a go at it. Or Abbey Ling (nee Burton) is based in Somerset. https://abbeyburtonclayshooting.co.uk/index.htm Rifle and you'll need to find your local gun club. https://www.smallborerifle.co.uk/clubs.php?County=Somerset

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 4:03 pm Post subject:
When you do get out to shoot make sure it's only the stick you hold the wrong end of.

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 4:08 pm Post subject:
If you're planning on shooting for the pot, you need to make sure you have the appropriate consents for the land you shoot on.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46238
Location: yes

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 4:35 pm Post subject:

the local gun club should be able to help for long arm training,practice and fac applications .although most are target shooting based there will be hunters among the members.

find a local keeper willing to exchange training for help feeding,hedge work etc etc

clay clubs can help with shotgun practice but shooting clays is a very different set of skills to pest control and most for the pot stuff (bunnies and deer).

shot gun will work for bunnies, foxes etc but it can be either rather cruel or very messy depending on range etc etc (enough shot through the victim to guarantee an instantly fatal head shot often leads to a very mangled dinner and possibly a dentists bill , getting close enough to a fox for a kind shotgun kill is difficult).a suitable rifle is much cleaner for most quarry ,for small stuff a springer or pcp is good , imho owt bigger than a bunny firearms are required.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4630
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Tue May 17, 16 7:46 pm Post subject:

vegplot wrote:

When you do get out to shoot make sure it's only the stick you hold the wrong end of.

That bit I DO know

The certificate/security needed for rifles seems a bigger deal than that needed for shotguns. I do have an air rifle that I need to get practising with, but that will only do pigeons and very close, very slow rabbits.

Permissions, insurance, etc all very valid points but I think I'm a way off that skill level yet

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Wed May 18, 16 7:46 am Post subject:
Shotgun licences much easier to get than firearms. Do have a go at clay shooting, it's good fun. Expensive hobby if you get hooked though (as I've found out).

perlogalism

Joined: 27 Nov 2009
Posts: 440
Location: Near Welshpool

Posted: Thu May 19, 16 11:16 am Post subject:

Nowt wrong with a decent (just) sub 12ftlb airgun. No, ,it won't get you a bunny at 100m but you'd need to be a pretty good shot to do that with any firearm.

I'd practice with the airgun you have (what is it and what sight do you have?). Start with targets at 20m and work up to 50m (plenty for the airgun). Don't bother with buying targets, just draw black circles on waste cardboard and staple that to wooden stakes at range. Lying down (Prone) is generally the most accurate method and get yourself some support. A bipod is nice but a rucksack or pillowcase with some old rags / poly beads / newspaper / whatever achieves the same end.

Have a look at this. Although it's long range and rimfire, the techniques are the same regardless of range and calibre.

After you've put a few hundred pellets downrange, you should have a good idea of how accurate you and your rifle are. As long as you keep your quarry within that range then you'll be fine. OK, after a while you'll probably want to extend that range and that's the time to look at getting a licence. Having used an airgun for a while will put you in a better position come the Firearms officers question session though

A quick bit of advice on shooting law: If you trespass on land you don't have specific permission to shoot on with your airgun OR if one of your pellets goes onto that land, you are guilty of armed trespass! That's 5 years inside

OK, the landowner would have to be pretty churlish to do that to anyone but it ain't worth the risk. Best to talk to some local farmers and ask if it's ok to zero your rifle initially. If they're OK with that then there's a good chance that they'll be more agreeable to letting you hunt small game / vermin later. Oh, while I think of it Google "General Licences". It's worth being aware of them

Word travels quickly in the farming community: I started off shooting rats with an airgun for a dairy farmer. He was so impressed that I actually collected the bodies for him that he told all his mates. I now have permission to shoot everything from Rats to Deer over thousands of acres and it's enabled me to get my section 1 licence

I hope this hasn't come across as patronising

Feel free to PM me if you think I can help further.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Thu May 19, 16 2:07 pm Post subject:
An air rifle would be good start as it avoids needing a shotgun licence or firearms certificate. If you want or need a shotgun for vermin control a small .410 is ace - https://www.shootinguk.co.uk/reviews/shotgun/gun-reviews-mossberg-410-shotgun. A rifle that requires a firearms certificate is a lot of hassle to get and you're limited to where you can shoot.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 16 7:35 pm Post subject:

Did you manage to sort anything out?

The best way I can think of is finding someone who shoots locally who can show you the ropes. I know that can be hard, a bit like finding a local tradesman who's highly recommended, but it would make things much easier.

You may have a local shooting club that could offer a cheap introduction to shooting but they can be variable depending on the type of members they have (some are more aimed at pure target shooting than others). Might be worth asking as even a target shooting club will probably have a bunny or bambi bashing members.

As for what to shoot, if you have access to land with a safe backstop a simple .22LR bolt action rifle is probably one of the easiest things to shoot. Much easier than a springer air rifle IMO.

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