air rifle classes

deadeyeky · Post by **deadeyeky** » Sun May 18, 2008 10:29 pm

? sporter, open, target, what do they all mean?
how many different types of airguns are their?

just recently i got to shoot a walther lg300, first airgun i ever shot and i was drooling as soon as i held it, i regularly shoot smallbore and highpower, and now im interested in airifle, so ya whats the low dowon on this variation of silos

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:32 am

There are many types of air rifles out there. As for silhouette shooting it breaks down into 3 classes. Open- Which means any of the more powerful PCP type rifles. This class is scored the same as Standard SB for classification 34/40 being master.

Then comes the Sporter class which is limited to spring piston style guns that must be cocked before each shot and have a totally different mechanical means of propelling the pellet. For this class Master starts @ 29/40.

Target class uses both PCP, Spring and SSP (Single Stroke Pneumatic) 10m air rifles that shoot around 550-600 fps max. The classification for this rifle is the same as Hunter SB 32/40 being master.

Some people use their target rifle for the open class as well to prevent needing 2 different rifles.

We just started airgun matches at the club and it is a lot of fun. When you have a variable wind and gusts that little 7.9g .177 cal pellet has lots of windage travel @36 & 45 yards if its really gusty even the 30 yard pigs require the right POA to make the shot.

Anything else you want to know I may have overlooked feel free to ask. All I can really say is the air rifles cost as much if not more than some of SB rifles out there. Likewise you can get something cheaper to start out like a CZ for SB but the Walthers, Annies, FWB and Steyrs will be predominate overall. I did have to finish the open class last match for 3 animals with a loaner after my AA S400 blew a breach seal on the rams. The loaner was a simple QB78 imported rifle that had been modified by a guy locally to accept HPA to use like a PCP. It shot pretty good for a $300 air rifle so you can get into it cheap to start but like all things you will drool over the high dollar rigs until you break down and get one or two.

Where the cost is a consideration when looking to buy a high end air rifle just remember the cost to shoot it is much less than rimfire. The practice is great as airgun demand good follow through and you can usually shoot them anyplace. so if your paying a lot for ammo, gas to go to the range and a range fee the costs of airgunning look better and better.

At the house I can shoot anything I want and still I would say 1/2 of my shooting or more is using my airguns at 1/10th scale AG swingers. The other half I shoot the 1/5th scale SB sils off rails. All at the official distances.

Dee

deadeyeky · Post by **deadeyeky** » Mon May 19, 2008 5:14 pm

sounds like plenty of fun, and even if i only shoot in my backyard i bet my smallbore and highpower scores will improve greatly also, im giving this a serious thought,
maybe if i have enough pennys saved up in my piggy bank i might b able to afford a good quality airifle, not sure though because i just got a brand new 1416 pharr .22 that neal stepp put together in texas, and i also just had a savage 110 .243 rebarrelled to a 7mm br.
so if i do get into this sport, whats the concensus on a good quality airifle, scope, pellets, and where to i get target?

Innocent · Post by **Innocent** » Tue May 20, 2008 4:47 am

whats the concensus

Concensus???? With this group?

Innocent Mary

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Tue May 20, 2008 6:16 pm

So a .177 PCP is the most versatile because it can compete in Target & Open while it sounds like a Springer can compete in Target & Sporter, although it would be at a major disadvantage in Target because of the recoil and need to re-cock? If Target has a maximum velocity of 550-600 fps, is there a limit in Sporter or Open? I hate that evil Kitty for getting me into this...

deadeyeky · Post by **deadeyeky** » Tue May 20, 2008 9:16 pm

consencus???? with this group?

lol i thought u guys banded together and huddled for warmth

anyways, lemme refrapsh that, what would be a good quality starter airifle

Bob259 · Post by **Bob259** » Wed May 21, 2008 3:26 am

Springer - Air Arms TX200

psteiger · Post by **psteiger** » Wed May 21, 2008 2:32 pm

I second the nomination. All in favor say boingggggggg

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Wed May 21, 2008 2:59 pm

The TX200 or ProSport are both on the radar for my next airgun purchase. I am leaning towards the ProSport as I like the regular lines of a rifle it has and the way it holds for me. I have been using another club members ProSport for the past 2 matches and for classification in Sporter Class. I classified AAA one point under Master with it and shot another AAA score at the next match so I know it wasn't a fluke

Either one would be fine as Air Arms has a long established reputation with both rifles. I have a couple Open class PCP's and a 10m SSP but I lack the Springer. Guess the wife will just have to tolerate me getting one here soon

PCP Target rifles may be used for Open but not the other way around. I am not sure if could shoot Target class with a Springer as they are much faster shooting rifles.

AFAIK the energy limit is dependant on target damage though I have never got an official word from anyone when I inquired about using my .22 Daystate PCP @25 ft lbs for Winnie. Several people said they used .22s up to a tad over 30 ft lbs so I think thats probably the upper end on power. We use resetables at the club that are seriously stout so even 30 ft lbs would not damage them. The Stimson (?) resestables are prone to damage but I heard they have changed the metal out to something thicker in their latest targets.

A set of resetables will probably cost you $500 or more these days. Or you could get a set of swingers like I have for $50 and also so stout I could probably shoot them with a rimfire without damage. The target rifle barely even moves the Chicken when hit

but it does leave a nice little lead dot for spotting.

Be advised you will need to make sure any scope you put on a Springer is rated for spring air rifles as the reverse recoil can turn a really nice $$$$$ rifle scope into a marracca in no time flat. Bushnell Elites are one of the scope of choice for springers.

Dee

deadeyeky · Post by **deadeyeky** » Wed May 21, 2008 4:19 pm

ok, went on air arms website, and aparently the proshot is an upgraded tx 200? at least thats what i could gather, what do one of these cost?

edgerat · Post by **edgerat** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:03 pm

www.champchoice.com

Air Arms dealers and the greatest customer service in the biz....

deadeyeky · Post by **deadeyeky** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:03 pm

ok, went on champ and the pro sport is the only air arms springer listed, for 885, i also went on airguns of arizona.com, and the beeman r1, and the r11 caught my eye, still a little outta my price range, i would prolly only shoot the rifle in my backyard at 20metres, would one of those less costly (didnt wanna say cheaper) RWS, gamo, or even the beeman ss1000 work for me, once i really get into the game ill take a dive and get an lg 300, beeman hw100, or one of those other scuba guns

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Wed May 21, 2008 8:38 pm

Rookie question - how much pressure do the PCP (did I get that right?) rifles need? Could I fill one from my shop compressor?

richard · Post by **richard** » Thu May 22, 2008 8:07 am

I have had a lot of air rifles and rather than bad mouth any I would simply say that if you want to shoot air rifles for practice or for air rifle silhouette itself buy only the best air rifles. In PCP and 10 meter target guns you have a range of guns, none are inexpensive. In spring guns anything but an Air Arms or Weihwrauch(imported by Beeman) is a waste of your time and money. Velocity is the least important specification with spring guns. Faster is NOT better. This is just my opinion but I have been shooting spring guns in field target and silhouette for just under twenty years.

Pressure in pcp guns is generally between 2000 and 3000 psi. No you can't use your shop compressor. Scuba and air pack compressors are generally used or if you are stubborn like me you can use a high pressure hand pump and yes it takes a lot of pumping, about 175-200 pumps to charge my pcp target gun cylinders.

Bob259 · Post by **Bob259** » Thu May 22, 2008 8:57 am

Also look at for different air rifles at thses sites:

http://www.straightshooters.com/
http://www.airhog.com/
http://www.pyramydair.com/

Resetable and swingers
http://www.stimsonenterprises.com/