Newby/Wants to be an Airgunner needs help with Equipment selection.

D

don carter

Guest
Thanks for any help. Need help picking equipment. Went to a field shoot at Ben Avery last Sat. Bunch of friendly people. I will not be able to shoot prone or sitting on a pad due to physical problems. Could shoot off a stool or Benchrest. Want to varmint hunt for sage rats and prairedogs also. Will you offer some advice about equipment selection. Gun (brand/caliber) Scope (brand and power) Air supply and equipment plus any thing else you can think of that might help me. Thanks in advance, anxious to get started. Don Carter
 
don carter said:
Thanks for any help. Need help picking equipment. Went to a field shoot at Ben Avery last Sat. Bunch of friendly people. I will not be able to shoot prone or sitting on a pad due to physical problems. Could shoot off a stool or Benchrest. Want to varmint hunt for sage rats and prairedogs also. Will you offer some advice about equipment selection. Gun (brand/caliber) Scope (brand and power) Air supply and equipment plus any thing else you can think of that might help me. Thanks in advance, anxious to get started. Don Carter
Click to expand...

I was a newb in the early 90s when airgunning with a expensive air gun was not popular. Your budget will determine which rifle and scope. Most anyone would say max or go over your budget because it is more expensive to sell your mistake than to spend the bucks up front. The three international classes are 12 ft lb, around 16 I think and 20 ft lbs. The first and the last are the most popular with the 20 ft lb most common in the US. The Fienwerkbau if you could find one will win in the middle class and shoot with the higher power guns. Look for a while at the match results and see what is winning. If you have an active club shooting air rifle bench, Field Target or NRA sihouette you can attend and touch and feel what is out there.

There is some sort of a basic class for US shooting for basic rifles many of which are not regulated. The limit in dollars for scope and rifle will be I would guess 600.00 to 800.00. Look and listen and do not rush to buy. At most matches someone will offer to let you shoot one of their rifles.

Where are you located so some club members can contact you.

Welcome and good luck. If you come from rimfire competition bear in mind that shooting a couple of hundred shots a week end saving .17 cents per shot will buy you an 1700.00 rifle every year.

I have purchased a Theoben MFR for the US high power class and I am in love. I think that many are shooting the 20ft lb and would recommend it if your budget will allow.


Welcome and good shootN wish you were near Houston.

BobZ
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks BobZ I shoot centerfire Benchrest now 100-1000 yds. Looking for more shooting opportunities. I spend the winters in Mesa,Az. The Benchrest airgun is the same weekend as the Benchrest centerfire, can't do both?? Mostly I will varmint shoot with some competition shooting. You mentioned two rifles, How about scopes, my centerfire scopes cost 1,000-1,500 what do most Airgunners use? Thanks for your help. Don
 
Again it is your budget on a scope. You do want it to be able to focus down to 10 meters ( 33 ft) so that puts some limitations on whose to look at for hunting purposes. On pcp units same as your high power except you need to be able to focus to 25 meters. That means you need to look at the extended range models. For match work I use weavers and sightrons 36x best bang for the buck.
 
Equipment

Don,
The only LV gun at the Worlds that shot a 250 was a stock AA EV-2 . 8 of the top 10 guns in LV were AA-EV-2's. I was happy with my AA S-300 MPR-FT and was shooting almost as well for 1/2 the $$. If you find a CZ-200 they are less than $500.00 and will shoot 250's with a little work.

The Northwest has Several FWB P-70 FT shooting great and Doug and Viper Miller did well at the Worlds with theirs.

I do have a couple of Rapids in Benchrest stocks that shoot great at 30 + fpe but didn't shoot as well tuned down to 20 fpe. Also a USFT that shot great 30+ fpe but not well at 20 fpe. All my airguns like to be held. The AA and Steyr have a 2 1/2 inch bench rest plate in a front rail so no BR stock is needed.

I have Weaver T-36 on three of my BR guns. I was changing over my 45 power to an Air Gun from my RF durning the Winter. I have not done that in 4 years as I put a 6-24 on it instead.

Hope to see you posting some scores soon.

Paul
 
Don,

I agree any scope that you think is clear enough and has reliable 1/8 min clicks and 32 minimum probably. There are quite a few 8x32 power scopes if you want to lower the power for hunting. Check out the Theoben MFR on TheobenUSA.com The Bushnell 8x32 seems to be a choice for a lot of FT shooters Though many prefer the side wheel models. Should you decide to try Field Target (bloodless Hunt in the woods.) You can shoot off a bucket with cross sticks in the Hunter class. Be sure to get a scope that has a marked 12 power setting. If it does not have that marked then I think you must turn down to the next lower power setting. A mil-dot would work for bench, Varmit and Field Target. You must hold with mil dot as you can not click for elevation. I believe that you can find a FT match near you. I would suggest a regulated rifle. Check out the thread on the Crossman Maruader if an entry gun is ok. It is not regulated but one can be added.

Bob
 
For the hunting part, you will be much happier with a 30fpe .22 cal. than 20, or lower powered gun f you hunt in large fields or in the desert. There are now several benchrest clubs shooting the "open" or "unlimited" class than allows this level of power or even a bit more.

One issue though, is for bench shooting, MOST clubs require you shoot the entire card of 25 record shots or so without recharging the gun, therefore you need to make sure you will have enough air capacity to do that, plus any sighters you will need. Though most regulated 30fpe guns will give you enough shots, many unregulated models won't, so look r gun with an air capacity of about 300cc or more if its not regulated and you want to hunt longrange and shoot unlimited benchrest too.

There are models from FX, Theoben, Daystate, and USFT that can do the job.
 
Bob Z, when you talk about 12-20 ft/lbs., what caliber, and velocity does it take to reach these figures?
 
Thanks guys That is the kind of info I am looking for. Don't want to waste lots of money buying something that isn't what I need. Already did that getting into Benchrest centerfire. Please keep ideas coming. Tell me what you use and why of possible. I understand some is personal opinion, that's fine. We all have opions. Thanks Don
 
B.Johnson said:
Bob Z, when you talk about 12-20 ft/lbs., what caliber, and velocity does it take to reach these figures?
Click to expand...

You can get more info than I can post by downloading ChairGun. This program lets you select the cal. and then the pellet and you can choose the desired ft lbs or the velocity. Everything will be calculated and then you get a table of holdover and or clicks to be dead on from a pre selected zero yardage. You then can select the power of your scope and get a graphic of the trajectory with where the mildots will impact. You will get a point of impact spread say 17 to t 35 yards with a 25 yard zero. This gives you a choice of the target size and where you will hit

More info than you want. www.hawkeoptics.com It is a free program. Choose the scope reticule (standard mil dot). Select from a list the pellet (brand and weight) select the desired ft. lbs. enter the zero range and then the height of the scope center of barrel to center of scope. Fill in all the blanks you know the program will do the rest.

Simple answer. 7.9 JSB Pellet under 800 fps is under 12 ft lb. 10.3 JSB Heavy under 930 fps would be a 20 ft lb rifle.



Bob
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top