The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Hi to all,
So I’ve been an SGC holder for a few years and in that time I’ve got 4 shotguns in the cabinet, to be honest I only tend to shoot one regularly, however they didn’t cost the earth.
Now I’m a member of a rifle club with the view to submitting an FAC application when I can.
Chatting to a few people the impression I’m getting is to put down as much as you can on the slots in the application.
I’m trying to get some honest and helpful feedback on how many guns you really need, I’m interested in target shooting so do I need everything from .22lr , .223 etc. or would a .308 be the best choice as surely owning multiple calibers the smaller ones would be left in the cabinet?
I realised they all have their uses but what would be the best all rounder, just trying to avoid an expensive learning curve.

Thanks

"Target shooting" is a broad church so an idea of what discipline/type of shooting you want to do would be a good start.There are those of us that shoot competitively, those that favour milsurp rifles, those that shoot smallbore rifles etc etc.......all for target shooting.

You can apply for as many firearms as you like but be prepared to justify your choices and if you put too many expect to have to reduce/compromise on an initial grant.How many you really need is a question only you can really answer in my opinion, some people only need one whereas as someone else made "need" many more particularly if they are a collector of a particular make/type (Think Lee Enfields/Mausers/Mosin Nagants etc etc).

And with a user name like Makarova I hope you're considering a Russian calibre or two

To start, for centrefire, a 308............fits most disciplines, (TR, F/TR, MR etc.), plenty of factory ammo around, and good for a 1000yds+ if you get a long barrel.
For smallbore prone, it has to be an Anschutz Match 54. They often come up at very good prices, and last for ever.

Pete

If you can assign roles to each firearm you wish to have then it makes it easier to justify your desire to own them. For example, you could have a few 22lr rifles purely for different disciplines (scoped bench rest, open sight shooting, under lever shooting). Also think about the cost side of things, could you really afford to buy all those rifles within the five years until your renewal or would it be best to add slots after your first renewal?

There may be more suitable responses coming up but I started out at a smallbore club, so I went with the obligitary 2 x 22lr, 357/38 under lever and a 44 muzzle loader. They were granted without debate. Around 2 years later I joined a fullbore club and applied for a 223, 303, 8x57 and 308. Received them all without question as I stated the types of target shooting and competition I could do with them at the local club.

As mentioned above, target shooting is a very wide description. From memory my first FAC was:

.22LR bolt action;
.22LR self loading x2;
.22LR moderator x 3;
.38/.357 underlever;
.223/5.56 straight-pull;
.223/.5.56 moderator;
s1 shotgun.

I had all the above on my first FAC, however, you will probably do a 1-1 variation on at least two of the .22LR moderators (I did :)). Also, as you finally decide what you like to shoot, you will change what's on your FAC, maybe an old military rifle .303? However, now for my first FAC I would have:

.22LR bolt action;
.22LR self loading;
.22LR moderator;
.308 bolt action;
Centre fire moderator;
.38/.357 or .44 underlever;
.303 bolt action (or similar)
s1 shotgun;
Black powder pistol (to allow a 1-1 variation for something else).

Pete wrote:To start, for centrefire, a 308............fits most disciplines, (TR, F/TR, MR etc.), plenty of factory ammo around, and good for a 1000yds+ if you get a long barrel.
For smallbore prone, it has to be an Anschutz Match 54. They often come up at very good prices, and last for ever.

Pete

You won't go far wrong with this for starters

LL

I finished up with 6.5x47 to replace the 308, added a 6BR, a 6x47, and a 223.............I dropped smallbore completely.

Pete

6.5 x 47? I assume you mean 6.5 x 47mm Lapua? Interesting choice. Most people go for 6.5 Creedmoor, which is pretty much becoming mainstream. I can buy ammo for that anywhere now, whereas I can honestly say I have never seen a single box of 6.5 x 47 on the shelf of any gun shop in which I have ever been. Is it that popular in the UK, or are you planning to load them yourself?

I started with a .303 and a .308

DaveB, I have always felt the 6.5CM to be inferior to the 6,5 Lapua and at the end of the day, what is the difference between any of the 6.5s when it comes to external ballistics? A 139 grain bullet at 2800 fps is a 139 grain bullet at 2800 fps regardless of where it comes from. I chose my rifle in 6,5 Lapua based on many factors including the testing of Zak Smith (Is he still around?)

Good point on the factory ammunition though, about all I have seen over here was some 139 Lapua many years ago and I still have the box to this day!

This comes up so often it should be a sticky.
You'll get a different opinion from everyone who answers, remember it's possible we don't know you or the ranges and clubs available to you or what you like.

The simple answer is; ask for what you want. Don't ask for what the internet experts say is the best or the most common, etc. Their opinions are valid for them, possibly not you.
You will need to justify what you ask for and if you don't have a reason then do you really need it? When asked why or where, or even "What's that involve?", by the FEO and you don't know it won't look good for the rest of the application either. Only you know what you like to shoot (disciplines and firearms) and what facilities you'll have available to you.
Think about what type(s) of shooting you want to do then think of what firearm(s) can do that well

Finally ask for enough 'slots', no more than you can safely store, and you can always change the calibres/types later in the life of the FAC as your interests develop or a need arises.