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Thread: Air Rifle for 25yard Prone Shooting.

  1. #1
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    Air Rifle for 25yard Prone Shooting.

    I fancy trying the above and giving my FAC up when it next comes up for renewal. Has anyone else tried using an Air Rifle insted of an Rimfire for this discipline, and if so, how successful was it. Also, can anyone recommend a make and model of Air Rifle suitable for this (I presume it would preferrably need to be closer to 12ftlb rather than 6ftlb ) ?

    Thanks, Vic Thompson.

  2. #2
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    .22

    Don't think you can use an air rifle in .22 prone

  3. #3
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    LR only

    You have to use .22 lr. Ammo
    The hole punched wouldn't be crisp enough to use the scoring die.

  4. #4
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    I'm only talking about "practice" sessions and as my Club Rules allow use of 0.177/0.22 Air Rifle on the 25 yard Range I thought that I might give it a go because as I said, I'm thinking of giving up my FAC.

    Vic Thompson.

  5. #5
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    Some clubs run 25 yard sporting rifle comps with air rifles and .22LR being used. Scopes are usually used but rules would depend on the individual club. Use the rifle you shoot best.

  6. #6
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    Cambridge run some good air comps 10m& 25m bench rest.
    If using prone I would lol at hw100 , air arms EV series on any of the dedicated match air rifles .
    ATB
    James

  7. #7
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    It'll obviously need to be PCP because break-barrel/side-levers obviously aren't going to work well when prone.

    Your bigger issue is going to be finding an airgun stock with a T-Rail for the handstop and sling. It may require some custom work - and will be significantly easier to just carry on shooting .22!

    Obviously if you were to transition to bench-rest or LWSR, then any sporter or match air rifle will do for practice/non-competitive shooting.
    "A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
    Shooting is my meditation

  8. #8
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    RobinC is offline Awesome Shooting Coach and Author.
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    air for 25yds

    A few years back the NSRA proposed the idea of using Air for 25yd and proposed a trial which I don't think ever happened, my wife tried it with her at the time Walther LG300 with no mods just adjusted for length and butt plate position and a sling, on a windless day, and said it was easy, and shot her .22 lr average. She shot several cards with a best of 99.

    Some years later I informally asked the NSRA, can't remember who, if they had any interest, as I think it would suit youngsters (no FAC hassle), and the answer was no.
    Walther KK500 Alutec expert special - Barnard .223 "wilde" in a Walther KK500 Alutec stock, mmm...tasty!! - Keppeler 6 mmBR with Walther grip and wood! I may be a Walther-phile?

  9. #9
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    Dont think any match AR will have issues with 25 yrds. They plink with 6Ftp AR upto 50m indoors
    But you can ofcourse try a 12Ftp AR like the Walther LG300 Dominator or Hammerlis
    ATB,
    yana

  10. #10
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    When the NSRA announced that air rifles could be used for the prone competitions, I gave some thought as to what might be suitable kit. Presumably the rules on sights would be the same as for .22rimfire prone. So the air rifle would need diopter sights fitted. A sling and handstop would be almost essential to be competitive. That would mean a stock deep enough to have the necessary fittings needed. An adjustable buttpad would be very useful. Operating from the prone position would be awkward with many types of airguns. PCP with a sidelever or bolt should be operable fairly easily but I have also used springer sidelevers successfully from prone and some of the older sidelver target springers might be worth trying and many would already have diopter sights plus sling rails. Magazine use would not be allowed under NSRA prone rules, I think. The use of air rifles for prone could really revitalise prone shooting so if the NSRA have abandoned the experiment that is a short-sighted move. I have recently met some positive forward looking people at NSRA meetings and it is essential for the future of the NSRA that they open up alll the dsiciplines to airgun shooting. I quoite understand why new shooters do not want the hassle of an FAC and why some existing FAC holders no longer want the hassle.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Powderfinger View Post
    When the NSRA announced that air rifles could be used for the prone competitions, I gave some thought as to what might be suitable kit. Presumably the rules on sights would be the same as for .22rimfire prone. So the air rifle would need diopter sights fitted. A sling and handstop would be almost essential to be competitive. That would mean a stock deep enough to have the necessary fittings needed. An adjustable buttpad would be very useful. Operating from the prone position would be awkward with many types of airguns. PCP with a sidelever or bolt should be operable fairly easily but I have also used springer sidelevers successfully from prone and some of the older sidelver target springers might be worth trying and many would already have diopter sights plus sling rails. Magazine use would not be allowed under NSRA prone rules, I think. The use of air rifles for prone could really revitalise prone shooting so if the NSRA have abandoned the experiment that is a short-sighted move. I have recently met some positive forward looking people at NSRA meetings and it is essential for the future of the NSRA that they open up alll the dsiciplines to airgun shooting. I quoite understand why new shooters do not want the hassle of an FAC and why some existing FAC holders no longer want the hassle.
    Absolutely right!

    The older type PCP match rifles could also be ideal for this discipline and really nice examples can be found at very realistic prices too.

    I have a really nice FWB P70 that may be a little heavy compared to the current crop of PCP match rifles but it would be ideal for prone shooting and the loading action should work well when prone as well.

    I bought a new P700 butt plate from Germany to "improve" the one that comes with the P70, but I made a mistake and ordered the type that is suppled for "rested" shooting so it has not been used - but it would probably be "just the job" for prone shooting and if this discipline were to get going it may persuade me not to part with my P70 after all.

    I gave up my FAC many years ago and would never want to go through the hassle of getting it renewed again, but adding prone shooting to the air rifle discipline would be good and could even be extended in time to include the full 3 position routine !

    Now that could be a really interesting and challenging discipline to take on with an air rifle.
    Rossendale Target Shooting Club. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening 7 - 10pm.

  12. #12
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    Well, I tried it today to see what it was like, and it seemed to go ok. I made a foresight adaptor up for my Steyr Hunting 5, fitted a set of Anschutz Sights to it, and made the fore-end deeper, fitted an accessory rail then mounted a Bi Pod and FWB Handstop. It was all a bit rushed but I managed to get maybe 100 shots off today, but a few small changes need making to it (a job for next week). My next step will be shooting prone with a scope and sorting out best performance pellets and establishing a scoring baseline for comparing my Diopter Sights scores with (I would post piccies of the modified Steyr, but don't know how to do so).

    Then, at some point in the future if I carry on with Prone Air I'll look at buying a Match Air Rifle, the saving on rimfire ammo costs would pay for it in a couple of years.

    Vic Thompson.

  13. #13
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    Prone air rifle

    Quote Originally Posted by Vic Thompson View Post
    Well, I tried it today to see what it was like, and it seemed to go ok. I made a foresight adaptor up for my Steyr Hunting 5, fitted a set of Anschutz Sights to it, and made the fore-end deeper, fitted an accessory rail then mounted a Bi Pod and FWB Handstop. It was all a bit rushed but I managed to get maybe 100 shots off today, but a few small changes need making to it (a job for next week). My next step will be shooting prone with a scope and sorting out best performance pellets and establishing a scoring baseline for comparing my Diopter Sights scores with (I would post piccies of the modified Steyr, but don't know how to do so).

    Then, at some point in the future if I carry on with Prone Air I'll look at buying a Match Air Rifle, the saving on rimfire ammo costs would pay for it in a couple of years.

    Vic Thompson.
    As far as I know you can shoot Benchrest competition targets from the prone position.
    The ukBR22 allow this for their postal comps. John F.

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