Thoughts for a beginning air gunner

[shii...@gmail.com]

MSC added indoor 10 meter air gunning, during the winter season, several seasons ago. MSC purchased 4 indoor competition back stops and 5 avanti rifles for general use. These 10 meter rifles are single pump, .177 cal single shot, bolt action guns which can be used by participants if they need a rifle. Thus from Dec thru March interested shooters can shoot during the cold months. In 2016 MSC air gunners added a 15 meter indoor Field Target line and an outdoor 10 to 55 meter FT course. Now air gunning can be year round. In 2017 air gunners joined the American Air Rifle Field Target Assoc (AAFTA).
As mentioned above MSC has10 meter Avanti air rifles. These rifles have max pellet velocity of 500 fps. Very accurate at this short distance but not much knock down power past 10 meters. A FT rifle needs a minimum velocity of 800 fps to trip targets at 50 meters. AAFTA sets a maximum of 20 fpe for FT riffles. This translates into an air rifle shooting a .177 pellet weighting 8.3 gr at 1000 fps or a .22 pellet weighting 14.3 gr at 800 fps. The average big box store rifle advertised at 1000 fps would easily meet these standards. I am not going to make suggestions as to what rifle to purchase, the price ranges from least at $110 to an average at $300 for entry level to as much as $2500 for the high end. As a general rule rifle in the $500 to $1500 range are considered the norm for the mid level FT gunner.
The entry level FT shooter has a choice between spring (piston) rifles and PCP rifles. Piston rifles are prevalent in the big box outlets and reasonably priced. Piston rifles however have a learning curve be shoot accurately and with the double recoil can be hard on scopes. PCP rifles are usually an order out from a airr rifle specific dealer i.e.:Pyramid Air, Air Gun DepIn 2017 MSC air gunners joined the American Air Rifle Field Target Assoc (AAFT) ot, as examples. PCP's have no recoil so are cscope friendly. PCP rifle have an average of 40 to 60 shots per charge. A disadvantage to PCP rifles is the need to have reliable source of high pressure air to refill with. Refilling can be done by hand pump and to get to 2900psi is often a chore. Then the SCUBA system is available and offers multiple recharges but the initial equipment cost is high, between $400 - $900.
In any case the rifle one uses requires a good scope. In FT the scope is also used to range find so a scope with AO capabilities is needed. The parallax adjustment could be on the bell or as aside wheel. The side wheel is the norm in FT. In FT the scope's magnification is Set by the class you shoot in. In hunter class the magnification is limited to max of 12x. In all other classes the magnification is unlimited but most shooters max at 50x. Thus scope price is highly variable, from as little as $150 to more than $2000.
As you can see from the discussion above, you can get into entry level FT with as little as
$300 and get entry level; competative at about $600.
One thing I must mention you I spend a ton of $ on equipment chasing accuracy but trigger time and practice is what makes a superior shooter.
MSC

[David Blake***]

Additional thoughts for the beginning air gunner, Pellets and pellet selection, the choices from the big box stores will be rather limited with to regards brands and style, Usually Daisy, Crosman, or Benjamin The major online retailers, carrry several dozen brands and equally as many styles, You will have to shoot several brands and styles to determine what your particular rifle likes, Generally you will select the pellet weight and diameter which shoots the tightest grouping at 30 yards, Your goal should be to find the pellet combination that will group 10 consecutive shots in a inch circle at 25-30 yards, This shooting does not means the shots are hitting where the scope is centered, Once you find the best pellet combination then you can zero the scope to that pellet, Once you find that magic pellet go back to where you p[urchased and buy a large supply of that pellet with the same lot number,
Point of impact will change with pellets from a different lot,

[maribelsc....@gmail.com]

More thoughts and new information:

MSC/MASA that's Maribel Airgun Shooters Association, will have an outdoor Field Target event this Saturday Aug 5th. Gate opens at 9 for sight in, 10:15 safety meeting , 10:30 match. Likewise come Oct 7th that will be our second match. Any airgun as long as it can shoot a pellet at least 750 fps. That's to be able to knock the targets at plus 45 yards. We pretty much stick to .177 or .22 calibers, but that's not a rule. Questions email the rifle range, see web site.

Thoughts: in prior discussion I talked about equipment and the costs. Don't get intimidated by those $ figures. Any affordably priced gun will do the job. Piston guns are common in the retail stores. Benjamin, Beeman are known performers. PCP guns from Benjamin and Gamo have low cost model that can easily be hand pumped. The real issue become range finding the targets in the field. Thus you need a scope that is AO adjustable on the bell or has a side wheel adjuster. With these devises you can dial in the target range to calculate pellet impact. As a rule you will need a scope that ranges down to 10 yards because that's the closest target on most courses. If you will shoot hunter class you need only a scope that goes to 12X. You can have more power but you can not use more in hunter. In the other classes power unto 50X are common. A good cross over scope would be in the 8x32-50mm range with side wheel. Common scope brands are Crosspoint, Utg, Leaper, Vortex (when on sale) in the under $200 range. Go to the online airgun retailer for best selection. (Pyramid Air, Airgun depot, Arizona Airgun etc.)

If cost is the biggest factor get a piston rifle. I would suggest the Benjamin Trial NP with leapers 4x12-44 side wheel scope. That should cost around $300. If you like the PCP concept I suggest the Benjamin Discovery with the same Leapers scope for about $450. What ever you decide to get, choose .177 caliber. Reason (example) you have .25 cal rifle (1/4 in) and must shoot thru a (3/8 in) target hole (common) not much room for error. One note if you decide on the piston gun you will need to learn the artillery hold (google) to get it to shoot consistently at all distances.

Come out and shoot with us, we don't bite.