FT shooting rifle choice, opinions needed.

[bozzer]

Sadly I can see quite a few problems here ... but problems are there to be overcome.

I think there's going to be a problem with 'Having a go' with what you have, and that option giving you enough enjoyment to want to keep going back.

I'm not sure what clubs will have genuine access around the course, and access up to the pegs ( for safety reasons ), for a mobility scooter.

If your friend is shooting from the scooter unsupported then that's not a very stable position ( re her knocking many down ).

I know you are saying you just want to plink around a course and don't mind missing etc. It can get a tad tedious when you aren't knocking many down and you don't really know why.

You keep talking about 20 tins of .177. I don't know if they are all the same type and batch or various, or if they are a popular pellet. In any case you may only get 100 quid for those. That's not really buying you a rifle or FT scope ... but it may go towards something.

Does your friend shoot from the scooter at all at the moment ( without any external support ) or does she just shoot from the bench as you stated above?

Seems to me the first thing is to see what rifle/scope/weight package your friend can handle safely and enjoyably from the scooter. If that's an Ultra 0.22 with a small scope then there's your answer for her. You then find a club that she can get around on the scooter and have a go in 0.22.

An Ultra won't get you both around and I'm not sure about both your eyes but I'd imagine you'll need a set up each. So you just use whatever else you have in 0.22 + scope.

You'll soon get an idea of whether you can cope with shooting a FT course with those rigs in 0.22, or whether you need to move up regarding gear to get enough enjoyment from it. Your friend will be able to try other shooter's FT rigs and see if she can cope with the weight and hold from the scooter.

So don't sell anything.

Find a club with scooter access ... right up to pegs ... or where the marshalls will let you shoot safely from.

Set up a couple of 0.22 rifles with scopes. Let your friend check what she can handle from the scooter.

Give it a go. See if you enjoy just shooting what you have in 0.22 ( expect a LOT of misses ) and explore other shooter's kit and make decisions from there.

[Bellycrawler]

Thanks Bozzer. She bench rests her 22lr & sub 12ftb S410 .22 at the moment & hasn't shot from the scooter yet. I've found 4 local clubs but it would seem only one is suitable for a mobility scooter, that we will sort out on the first available day when we go for a look around them & size up what the course is like before we attempt any shooting. Common sense says take my Ultra & her S410 so she has the choice of a lightweight & a rifle she is used to shooting for our first shooting visit & go from there. To throw a spanner in the works it will be a October through to March season for us If we go more than once as we do other things April through to September hence rapid pondering of the brain frying type to "aim in the right direction" for cost effective rifle choice plus the possible sub 12ftb sell up or keep next year decision. If .177 is the choice for us I'd rather get one now rather than later so we can make the most of it through our season but don't want to get one now in case of it's something we don't do more than a couple of times. We may keep all of our sub 12's, we may only keep a .177 / .22 for targets & the Ultra for ratting or just the Ultra or sell up all sub 12's completely. Choices & decisions of epic brain frying dilemma that can so very easily go wrong either way.

[Bellycrawler]

Just to add if decided a .177 would be a cheap lightweight s/h rifle if that decision was made so if sold on it would be for roughly what we paid for it.

[bozzer]

Sensible to buy s/h so you don't lose it you sell on.

I've done mainly winter shooting around HFT and FT courses. Sometimes the weather can be quite pleasant, even in the darkest days of winter ... sometimes it can be cold and wet. I've seen clubs that turn from dry as a bone in the summer to mud baths in the winter. I'm not sure how your friend will manage in a scooter.

Anyway ... it's great that you are both going to pop along and check it out.

I wouldn't bomb your mind at the moment with what decisions you and your mate may be making in two weeks or two months or six months. Get that first step out of the way and go to the club that you think can accommodate your friend. That's one decision made and sorted. The next decisions can be dealt with as they come along.

All the very best of luck and let us know how you get on please.

Enjoy.

[Rich]

Good advice about scope before rifle. For fifteen years, or nearly, I went to every league shoot down here in the south west and only ever witnessed one clearance, and that was on a 30 shot course. The rifle was a slightly modified AA S400, a Classic but with the export length cylinder fitted.

[rockdrill]

I'm going to have a go at FT shooting with a friend, she is disabled & normally bench rests, she now has a rimfire & is thinking of selling her sub 12ftb .22 S410 Classic.
There is no intention of doing FT seriously more like have a go for a few months while I decide whether to sell up my .22 collection or keep them for a bit longer.

Given your explanations of what you wish to do, I would say find a suitable club, take the kit you have and have a go. Yes, .22 with lower mag scopes will have shortfalls for serious FT shooting, but for what you seem to be looking for I wouldn't let it get in the way of a bit of fun. If the bug does bite then you can take stock of how you may wish to proceed.

You don't want to talk about pellets at the moment so let's just stick with you are going to use whatever calibre pellet through that same calibre rifles that you have ( 0.22 ). FT shooters will be fainting at that sentence but you and your friend just want to give it a go.

I think there are a lot of FT shooters who forget that the sport originally started as a means for anyone with any air rifle to enjoy a form of target shooting in a safe and fun outdoor environment, a far cry from the high-tech seriously competitive element that dominates the sport now.

Good advice about scope before rifle. For fifteen years, or nearly, I went to every league shoot down here in the south west and only ever witnessed one clearance, and that was on a 30 shot course. The rifle was a slightly modified AA S400, a Classic but with the export length cylinder fitted.

Yes, I seem to recall that shoot.

[Rich]

Yes, I seem to recall that shoot.

I thought you might....

[bozzer]

I think there are a lot of FT shooters who forget that the sport originally started as a means for anyone with any air rifle to enjoy a form of target shooting in a safe and fun outdoor environment, a far cry from the high-tech seriously competitive element that dominates the sport now.

Way beyond this thread ... but I've laughed at that situation so many times.

I've posted about it many times too and always get a face full of red ants.

Always tickles me ... A sport set up so that anyone can come and have a go. Let's make the shooting positions quite easy to give most a chance of a score. Hmm ... Let's get some better kit to get an advantage. Hmm ... Let's make the targets harder to stop the people with better kit clearing the course. Hmm ... Let's get some better kit to make the harder targets easier.

How many FT shooters does it take to change a lightbulb?