FAC?

[otis1016]

Evening everyone,

Quick question, while watching some videos on YouTube from Andy’s Airgun Review he’s made several references to FAC guns. What does this refer to? Since he’s British I am guessing it’s a type of airgun common to that country but I haven’t heard anything more than a reference to it so I don’t know what he’s talking about. What does it mean? Thanks.

Rick H.

 

[madeintheuk]

In the uk, you need a firearms license to shoot anything over 12fpe. That’s considered FAC. Basically full power.

 

[MikeVV]

What...you didn't do a simple internet search ? Pretty easy with Google !

2. FAC air rifles. You can have any power level you want once you have added FAC air rifles to your firearms license. In reality, most are in the 30 to 50 ft/lb range. Although any of the above caliber's can theoretically be used, you can pretty well discount .177 and .20. This is because the limit to how much power can be generated is the speed of sound – as a pellet nears this it is said to go “transonic” and loses all accuracy. Unless you can get well clear of this figure you won’t be able to hit anything. The bottom line is that .22 works well up to about 30 ft/lb, while .25 can reach about 50 ft/lb. There are bigger caliber's but they are rather specialist and are little used in this country.

 

[Peskådot671]

C'mon Mike. Take it easy on the guy.

FAC means Firearms Certificate or Fire Arms Certificate.

In the UK, you'll need a FAC for anything above 12 foot pounds of energy (FPE).

 

[BackStop]

C'mon Mike. Take it easy on the guy.

FAC means Firearms Certificate or Fire Arms Certificate.

In the UK, you'll need a FAC for anything above 12 foot pounds of energy (FPE).

Yep, I can't imagine why anyone would ask that question on an AIRGUN forum! (chuckle)

However... I remember having to write down things I wanted to "research" so I would remember to look them up when I went to the Library!!!

Now, it is so easy so do a search on the internet. It takes what, 5 seconds? Although, you have to be wary of all search engines and the order in which they present results.

And, you have to be careful to double check any info you find on multiple sites to make sure it is correct.

Just look at how Wikipedia recently "changed" the definition of a "recession", for instance. Sorry, not starting anything, it was just the best example I had at the moment.

 

[delooper]

I like to make up my own FACs. FACs are the opposite of imagination. This is the FAC free zone.

 

[otis1016]

No Mike I didn’t Google, who knows where that could go? Instead I asked here thinking I would easily and quickly get correct information. It’s not a common reference in my area and I know very little about shooting issues in the UK.

Rick H.

 

[Bigragu]

What the FAC?!!

 

[Peashooter]

No one should google, i "DDG" / DuckDuckGo when i need to fine something, in this day and age no one should use google, that to me is like your country being dependant of Russian gas and oil or exotic minerals only found in North Korea,,,,,,, simply unsustainable.

BTW i just found out what FAC mean, as i have never been able to figure that out myself, i did know it meant full power, and thats good enough for me.

In Denmark you need FAC for everything but .177 where you just have to be 18 YO

Of course to make things more complicated we have 2 kinds, so you can get a weapon permit if you are a sports shooter and are willing to put in the work, CUZ it is of course not easy or fast to get. Surprisingly it is cheap,,,,,, not a concept Danes are familiar with, they think they are but really NO.

Or you can get a hunting licence, which allow you to buy any kind of rifle, even a 700 nitro express, even if there are no elephants in Denmark.
BUT ! if you have a hunting permit you can of course also buy the larger airguns,,,, but those just like powder burners must be locked in a safe,,,, even if several decades of that being proven are not really a thing unless protecting from toddlers / kids of your own getting into your firearms, it sure as hell do not work in regard to theft of firearms.

You can of course not buy a pistol here with a hunting license as hunting with pistols are not allowed, but having a hunting licence might facilitate you getting a weapon permit more easy / faster if say you want to do a little IPSC or something

 

[BackStop]

No one should google, i "DDG" / DuckDuckGo when i need to fine something, in this day and age no one should use google, that to me is like your country being dependant of Russian gas and oil or exotic minerals only found in North Korea,,,,,,, simply unsustainable.

BTW i just found out what FAC mean, as i have never been able to figure that out myself, i did know it meant full power, and thats good enough for me.

In Denmark you need FAC for everything but .177 where you just have to be 18 YO

Of course to make things more complicated we have 2 kinds, so you can get a weapon permit if you are a sports shooter and are willing to put in the work, CUZ it is of course not easy or fast to get. Surprisingly it is cheap,,,,,, not a concept Danes are familiar with, they think they are but really NO.

Or you can get a hunting licence, which allow you to buy any kind of rifle, even a 700 nitro express, even if there are no elephants in Denmark.
BUT ! if you have a hunting permit you can of course also buy the larger airguns,,,, but those just like powder burners must be locked in a safe,,,, even if several decades of that being proven are not really a thing unless protecting from toddlers / kids of your own getting into your firearms, it sure as hell do not work in regard to theft of firearms.

You can of course not buy a pistol here with a hunting license as hunting with pistols are not allowed, but having a hunting licence might facilitate you getting a weapon permit more easy / faster if say you want to do a little IPSC or something

DDG is not really better than google. DDG *may or may not* track you, but it does hide results based on what they want you to see, just like google, Bing, etc, for whatever reason they decide and whatever end they want.

There is no search engine that doesn't. (heavy sigh)

If you want to find the truth, you have to be diligent and persistent.

 

[BurntDog]

In the uk, you need a firearms license to shoot anything over 12fpe. That’s considered FAC. Basically full power.

So very happy to be born in the US of A..... But, we must stand our ground too much misinformation being pushed out by haters.

 

[markT]

What...you didn't do a simple internet search ? Pretty easy with Google !

2. FAC air rifles. You can have any power level you want once you have added FAC air rifles to your firearms license. In reality, most are in the 30 to 50 ft/lb range. Although any of the above caliber's can theoretically be used, you can pretty well discount .177 and .20. This is because the limit to how much power can be generated is the speed of sound – as a pellet nears this it is said to go “transonic” and loses all accuracy. Unless you can get well clear of this figure you won’t be able to hit anything. The bottom line is that .22 works well up to about 30 ft/lb, while .25 can reach about 50 ft/lb. There are bigger caliber's but they are rather specialist and are little used in this country.

The man came to AGN to find out information. Yes he could have "googled" it but he came here.. Why excoriate a fellow air gunner for asking a question?

 

[BurntDog]

No one should google, i "DDG" / DuckDuckGo when i need to fine something, in this day and age no one should use google, that to me is like your country being dependant of Russian gas and oil or exotic minerals only found in North Korea,,,,,,, simply unsustainable.

BTW i just found out what FAC mean, as i have never been able to figure that out myself, i did know it meant full power, and thats good enough for me.

In Denmark you need FAC for everything but .177 where you just have to be 18 YO

Of course to make things more complicated we have 2 kinds, so you can get a weapon permit if you are a sports shooter and are willing to put in the work, CUZ it is of course not easy or fast to get. Surprisingly it is cheap,,,,,, not a concept Danes are familiar with, they think they are but really NO.

Or you can get a hunting licence, which allow you to buy any kind of rifle, even a 700 nitro express, even if there are no elephants in Denmark.
BUT ! if you have a hunting permit you can of course also buy the larger airguns,,,, but those just like powder burners must be locked in a safe,,,, even if several decades of that being proven are not really a thing unless protecting from toddlers / kids of your own getting into your firearms, it sure as hell do not work in regard to theft of firearms.

You can of course not buy a pistol here with a hunting license as hunting with pistols are not allowed, but having a hunting licence might facilitate you getting a weapon permit more easy / faster if say you want to do a little IPSC or something

I use https://freespoke.com/ myself. DDG has been proven to slip (not as secure as one would think).

 

[RM100GUY]

I asked that exact question 19 years ago, and a lot more, answered by a dealer...and serious air gun guy...I didn't have a "google" at the time...I had to ask how to remove a "bottle" from a bottle gun...once I learned what a bottle gun was...learning curve...true masters at their craft have paitents with beginners...or just basic questions.
Have a "heart of a teacher" pass it on!
I am leasing some of our property to an ex-marine who served 8 years...for three horses...asked this person "do you like to target shoot"...well an hour later and after explaining the difference between spring and PCP, break barrel and underlever, PCP bottle or tube, rifle carbine and bullpup...showed pixs of my guns and some choicer groups...this ex-marine was dumbfounded at these things....never knew they existed...and just can't wait to shoot and learn more about this "exciting new discovery". This ex-marine was an elk guide in Montana now a neighbor of ours in Florida...experienced hunting guide hand loader ex-marine is a "babe in the woods" concerning air gunning...but found the right person to teach the "basic stuff", this person happens to be a women, says she's a good shot, she saw my targets while tending to her horses and was curious, can't wait to put my Huntsman .177 in her hands...my training gun...first chance we can get...

 

[BurntDog]

I asked that exact question 19 years ago, and a lot more, answered by a dealer...and serious air gun guy...I didn't have a "google" at the time...I had to ask how to remove a "bottle" from a bottle gun...once I learned what a bottle gun was...learning curve...true masters at their craft have paitents with beginners...or just basic questions.
Have a "heart of a teacher" pass it on!
I am leasing some of our property to an ex-marine who served 8 years...for three horses...asked this person "do you like to target shoot"...well an hour later and after explaining the difference between spring and PCP, break barrel and underlever, PCP bottle or tube, rifle carbine and bullpup...showed pixs of my guns and some choicer groups...this ex-marine was dumbfounded at these things....never knew they existed...and just can't wait to shoot and learn more about this "exciting new discovery". This ex-marine was an elk guide in Montana now a neighbor of ours in Florida...experienced hunting guide hand loader ex-marine is a "babe in the woods" concerning air gunning...but found the right person to teach the "basic stuff", this person happens to be a women, says she's a good shot, she saw my targets while tending to her horses and was curious, can't wait to put my Huntsman .177 in her hands...my training gun...first chance we can get...

Wait until you teach her about the big bore hunting pcps available.

 

[ToddGeddes63]

No Mike I didn’t Google, who knows where that could go? Instead I asked here thinking I would easily and quickly get correct information. It’s not a common reference in my area and I know very little about shooting issues in the UK.

Rick H

The man came to AGN to find out information. Yes he could have "googled" it but he came here.. Why excoriate a fellow air gunner for asking a question?

Seems to be the "new" normal on the forum. Rather than berate a question from a new person, try and help them understand what they are asking and how to navigate the forum to gain answers. Be a positive rather than negative.

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

I asked that exact question 19 years ago, and a lot more, answered by a dealer...and serious air gun guy...I didn't have a "google" at the time...I had to ask how to remove a "bottle" from a bottle gun...once I learned what a bottle gun was...learning curve...true masters at their craft have paitents with beginners...or just basic questions.
Have a "heart of a teacher" pass it on!
I am leasing some of our property to an ex-marine who served 8 years...for three horses...asked this person "do you like to target shoot"...well an hour later and after explaining the difference between spring and PCP, break barrel and underlever, PCP bottle or tube, rifle carbine and bullpup...showed pixs of my guns and some choicer groups...this ex-marine was dumbfounded at these things....never knew they existed...and just can't wait to shoot and learn more about this "exciting new discovery". This ex-marine was an elk guide in Montana now a neighbor of ours in Florida...experienced hunting guide hand loader ex-marine is a "babe in the woods" concerning air gunning...but found the right person to teach the "basic stuff", this person happens to be a women, says she's a good shot, she saw my targets while tending to her horses and was curious, can't wait to put my Huntsman .177 in her hands...my training gun...first chance we can get...

I have shot against Lady Gyrenes in the NRA Service Rifle Nationals, and they represent the Corps marksmanship tradition in fantastic fashion.

 

[MikeVV]

Just me I guess.
If I have a general, nonspecific question that DOESN'T...need an experienced opinion or knowledge, I hit up a few places within the net.

To me...it save the forum members from answering mundane questions, so they...YOU ALL, free to answer the more specific, deeper questions.
The more simple questions can very simply answered by...the masses within the general public.

I guess it's just me...to leave all of you experts free to comment on the deeper questions, than to comment on the simple stuff.

Mike

 

[JohnTaylor]

I asked that exact question 19 years ago, and a lot more, answered by a dealer...and serious air gun guy...I didn't have a "google" at the time...I had to ask how to remove a "bottle" from a bottle gun...once I learned what a bottle gun was...learning curve...true masters at their craft have paitents with beginners...or just basic questions.
Have a "heart of a teacher" pass it on!
I am leasing some of our property to an ex-marine who served 8 years...for three horses...asked this person "do you like to target shoot"...well an hour later and after explaining the difference between spring and PCP, break barrel and underlever, PCP bottle or tube, rifle carbine and bullpup...showed pixs of my guns and some choicer groups...this ex-marine was dumbfounded at these things....never knew they existed...and just can't wait to shoot and learn more about this "exciting new discovery". This ex-marine was an elk guide in Montana now a neighbor of ours in Florida...experienced hunting guide hand loader ex-marine is a "babe in the woods" concerning air gunning...but found the right person to teach the "basic stuff", this person happens to be a women, says she's a good shot, she saw my targets while tending to her horses and was curious, can't wait to put my Huntsman .177 in her hands...my training gun...first chance we can get...

I had the honor of teaching cadets at West Point, basic and advanced marksmanship. I never had an issue with any female cadets …they follow any guidance to the letter, and get outstanding results. Most of the male cadets already knew how to shoot….so when I would have them back for remedial training, I would quietly remind them their fellow female cadets already qualified, because they listen….

 

[superchikn]

Just me I guess.
If I have a general, nonspecific question that DOESN'T...need an experienced opinion or knowledge, I hit up a few places within the net.

To me...it save the forum members from answering mundane questions, so they...YOU ALL, free to answer the more specific, deeper questions.
The more simple questions can very simply answered by...the masses within the general public.

I guess it's just me...to leave all of you experts free to comment on the deeper questions, than to comment on the simple stuff.

Mike

Mike,
I agree that the simple questions are easy enough to look up but I don't know that members are necessarily mired down with answering basic questions. I would guess there are many happy to answer basic questions and to be easily able to help someone out.

That aside, the benefit of answering or discussing basic questions, is that everyone who reads this post now knows what FAC means. This might include those who have never heard the term, remembered to search it out or maybe even not cared enough to bother searching.

Also, this thread may likely now pop up in a search for the meaning of FAC, adding to the to the well of information available.

My 2 cents.