.22lr / .22 FAC air rifle, have I made the wrong call?

[hammo]

Merry Christmas all!
I recently sold my .22lr Browning TBolt. As I have an up coming variation, I have applied for an FAC .22 air rifle to replace the .22lr.
But have I made a mistake?
I was looking for low noise - both fit the bill, but also the ability to take birds out of the trees or barn roofs. I have had some horrendous ricochet experiences with the .22lr, with a reasonable backstop. Not an uncommon experience! I had experimented with CB longs, which were great and offered acceptable accuracy up to 30m, but sadly only round nose solids; I would have preferred a deep hollow point. Shooting anything not on terra firma with .22lr is obviously an absolute no-no, unless of course you are a regular on 'the shooting sherrrr'!!
Would I have been better off sticking with .22lr, and getting a sub 12 air rifle? or will the FAC air rifle really be the jack of all trades I want?
Really interested to hear opinions.

 

[LuckyEddie]

No mistake, get the FAC and the sub 12ft/lb one as well as you still don’t need a license south of the border.

 

[ruger77]

I have an fac air rifle it does more damage than a 22 rim fire

 

[hammo]

I would like an adjustable power air rifle, but I think they are big bucks! unless I strike lucky with a secondhand deal.

 

[Ttocs]

.22 FAC air is ok for rats, rabbits and birds at sensible ranges. I stick to <70 yards as the lightweight pellets are adversely affected by wind. An FAC air rifle is no .22LR, think of it as just an air rifle but with more clout; not necessarily more range just more clout when you hit the target. You’ll need to take care if shooting into trees as the pellet will still travel a long way, there’s also a risk of ricochets of the target or the tree. The .22 FAC air will still ricochet of the ground but the lighter projectile won’t as far as 40gr of .22LR lead. You’ll need to take care not to shoot holes into buildings too. im not sure I’d be so confident using slugs in the air rifle as they would behave more like .22LR bullets but with less weight and energy. .22 Air is bigger, heavier, more expensive and more technical than 22LR.
Anyway, I have both, I use the air rifle for rabbits, rats and birds; the .22LR is a bit of a cabinet queen as it’s just so dangerous with its tendency to bounce 40gr lumps of lead of just about anything you point it at. It’s good to use at the range for practice but, for the reasons mentioned above, rarely used on bunnies.
N

 

[harrygrey382]

Have you tried rat shot in a 22LR? I’ve shot a lot of small birds in large shed roofs with it and it knocks the birds down pretty well but doesn’t even go through the first foil layer of insulation. Goes well on snakes too. Similar range and lethality as a 12ftlber I reckon but much less collateral if you miss. Then you have the options to switch ammo if needed. They’d have to be really quiet with a mod

 

[DVS1]

I've used my .25 edgun fac on ferals in a barn before but made sure I had the steel joist behind them when they're roosting or you will pop holes in things that shouldn't be ventilated

 

[Steve123]

If you get an FX in some models you can easily change to .30 calibre if needed. They shoot very well even to 100 yards with pellets and knockdown is very good. I am in this position , just sold a .25 fac FX Crown and was considering a .22 rimfire but every time I am at or around farms there are loads of vermin I could shoot with the air but not the Rimfire. Disappointing really as very good rimfire can be had for £400, whereas a good air rifle is more like £1500. But I view it as ownership cost , it will still be worth a good amount after a few years , so its not wasted money. Also with the FX guns you can turn down the power dial and make it even safer around barn roofs etc.
I think I will get a .22 because the slugs are good to 100 yards easily and more, but the Hades are still good for shots off barns etc where you don't want the power to carry too far.

 

[Boosh]

For what you need sub 12 would be good, fac air still needs a backstop, 900 fps/300mtr/sec with 18 grns aint something that should be shot skyward and will knock holes in buildings.
Could you not have both on your ticket, I have no probs having both on mine.

 

[Fox Red]

Shooting anything not on terra firma with .22lr is obviously an absolute no-no, unless of course you are a regular on 'the shooting sherrrr'!!

That was a bit of a shocker, wasn't it? I think the video was taken down pretty quickly. I was quite surprised!

 

[25 Sharps]

If you get an FX in some models you can easily change to .30 calibre if needed. They shoot very well even to 100 yards with pellets and knockdown is very good. I am in this position , just sold a .25 fac FX Crown and was considering a .22 rimfire but every time I am at or around farms there are loads of vermin I could shoot with the air but not the Rimfire. Disappointing really as very good rimfire can be had for £400, whereas a good air rifle is more like £1500. But I view it as ownership cost , it will still be worth a good amount after a few years , so its not wasted money. Also with the FX guns you can turn down the power dial and make it even safer around barn roofs etc.
I think I will get a .22 because the slugs are good to 100 yards easily and more, but the Hades are still good for shots off barns etc where you don't want the power to carry too far.

If you’re shooting .22 slugs through an air rifle you are basically shooting a .22 LR with all the safety draw backs.

New FAC air rifles depreciate massively as the secondhand market is very limited plus carbon cylinders have a limited life and are costly to replace

 

[25 Sharps]

For what you need sub 12 would be good, fac air still needs a backstop, 900 fps/300mtr/sec with 18 grns aint something that should be shot skyward and will knock holes in buildings.
Could you not have both on your ticket, I have no probs having both on mine.

Interesting comment, the main advantage of FAC air being the Diablo (shuttle cock) pellets lose their energy very quickly due to their shape compared to a bullet or slug. Therefore if you shoot them in the air they come down with far less energy.

a jsb 18.1 fired at 900 FPS has 1 ft-lb energy at 500 yards. A H&N 30 gr slug fired at the same velocity is carrying 12 ft-lb at 500. 40 gr subsonic is around 25 ft-lb.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d not be shooting through a hedge with one but birds up trees where you know the pellet will be decelerating it’s whole flight, very quickly after the first 150 yards, is fine. So long as the pellet can’t cross the boundary

 

[Pellet Pinger]

If you get an FX in some models you can easily change to .30 calibre if needed. They shoot very well even to 100 yards with pellets and knockdown is very good. I am in this position , just sold a .25 fac FX Crown and was considering a .22 rimfire but every time I am at or around farms there are loads of vermin I could shoot with the air but not the Rimfire. Disappointing really as very good rimfire can be had for £400, whereas a good air rifle is more like £1500. But I view it as ownership cost , it will still be worth a good amount after a few years , so its not wasted money. Also with the FX guns you can turn down the power dial and make it even safer around barn roofs etc.
I think I will get a .22 because the slugs are good to 100 yards easily and more, but the Hades are still good for shots off barns etc where you don't want the power to carry too far.

If you buy a FAC FX you won’t be able to turn the wick down enough for safe shooting in roofs etc.
I had a .25 Impact running at 52ftlbs and the lowest it would turn down to was 30ftlbs.
Having owned the Impact for 2 years and then selling it and replacing it with a £175 CZ 22lr (which is far better on the rabbits) my advice would be buy a sub 12 for barns and stick with 22lr.

 

[norcan]

They are not mutually exclusive.
If it where allowed to hunt with air rifles in my country I would have:
.177
.22
22lr
..
...
....
etc

They all have their use..

.

 

[Boosh]

Hey Sharps 25, the slugs carry crazy energy at distance dont they! I noticed this bigtime when I started shooting even the 23 grn h&n out at 100 mtrs.
Even with the pellets at shallow angles 10-15 degrees, its maintaining enough speed when it hits ground level to do damage to somebody. I suppose on when its in freefall is it less of a problem.
( just this year have been getting fallout whilst beating under high pheasant, still un-nerving with no 6 shot!)

 

[Dickturpin]

Fac air all the way....I use mine to shoot Maggie's and crows outta trees...sold my LR years ago...never see me wanting another

 

[Loler UK]

fac air and .22lr both have their place, variable fac air rifle is ideal especially if shooting indoors. .22lr however is lighter, you can carry ample ammo without needing to re-fill the reservoir. I'd say get both

 

[hammo]

That was a bit of a shocker, wasn't it? I think the video was taken down pretty quickly. I was quite surprised!

I could not believe my eyes; any young inexperienced viewers would have taken such shooting to be acceptable, after all if one of the 'experts' is doing it, must be ok! Perhaps just as bad that it was taken down and not mentioned again, or was an explanation offered?
I very rarely watch the show, seems to be aimed at more highbrow shooters than me.

 

[hammo]

fac air and .22lr both have their place, variable fac air rifle is ideal especially if shooting indoors. .22lr however is lighter, you can carry ample ammo without needing to re-fill the reservoir. I'd say get both

I sold my .22lr and replaced with .17hmr; accurate enough to headshoot rabbits with nv at night, no holdover to judge out to 100m ish. Noisy, but thats the trade off.

 

[aled24]

I will be selling my 22LR Jan, it’s not being used since I’ve bought an FAC Air rifle, the Air Rifle is far more versatile and dare I say safer to shoot than the 22LR, you can buy pellets and slugs over the counter or posted which is bonus when your nearest gun shop is 30 miles away and only stock certain makes of 22 LR ammo.
Enjoy your FAC Air Rifle.