New to hunting

mcnickle72

Hi, new to shooting/hunting, really want to get involved! I am a member of the RDF which sparked my interest, I live in the letterkenny area, any help on how to get involved would be greatly appreciated! Cheers

homerhop

What type pf shooting do you want to take up, game, target, clay?

mcnickle72

Game is appealing to me most at the minute

DJandDeid

A local gun club would be the way forward. Company and lots of experienced shooters for advice. Some of your RDF mates may even be members, ask around.

homerhop

Right ya need to put a deposit on a gun, depending if you want to join a club or get 3 farmers signatures, fill in the app and apply for the licence.

mcnickle72

cheers! is it hard to get a license? i dont even know what kind of gun im looking for?

homerhop

Even of you tick all the right boxes it comes down to the local super. Shotguns, well there is a whole new thread lol. I started off with a single barrel baikal, and went on to get an u/o. some lads prefer a semi and more pumps. What I would advise instead of going out buying the first one you see is get talking to a few lads you know who shoot and ask can you get a shot or two out of their guns. See what you like and go from there.

mcnickle72

Ive heard that alright. Not really interested in shotguns to be honest, looking more at the rifle end of things!

garv123

if you are new to shooting you could probably start off with a rim fire rifle like a .22lr,.22wmr or .17 hmr

these would be mainly for shooting rabbits.

birds such as pheasant duck and wood cock etc cant be shot using a rifle.

the .22lr would be the cheapest gun to run. about 7 euro for 50 bullets i think where as the other two would be double the price but they have a much further range and could be used on foxes out to 100ish yards.*
*saying 100 yards ish and not trying to start another debate on another thread about should it be done or not

with a rifle safety is number 1. you have to be sure the shot is safe and the bullet has a safe back drop, unlike a shotgun which you can fire up in the air at birds.

cavan shooter

Take a trip up to John Diver in Milford he will put you straight on local clubs etc. I know you say you have no interest in shotguns/shooting clays but its a start, you will find he knows alot of lads in the area