Bench rest air rifle power - 8 or 16 Joule

[wellhouse0]

I have a couple of hw 99's & they are reduced in power to about 7.5ftlb, i only shoot them at 6yds & 10m. But out of interest i tried one at 25m, using the standard open sights, & from a rest i got a sub 5p size 5 shot group.
This has made me re think as to what power i need to make holes in paper, so don't be put off by low power rifles

realistically if he wants to be competitive a 5p size group is not going to cut it, the bull size is only slightly bigger than the pellet, take into account windage on a low power rifle and the scores will be well down. At 50 - well good luck! Stick with a 16joule for 25-50 if you want to be competitive. If you only do 25 then the lower power will do the job but bear in mind some comps/clubs are outdoors and you will definitely be at a disadvantage. I'm struggling to think of anyone i've seen using a 10m rifle at 50m competitively against 12joule and FAC .22 which generally shoot in the same class as each other. Someone i dare say will prove me wrong!

[silversurfer]

I shoot 20 yards pistol (PL15 Target) with a Steyr LP5, the power is approximately 4 ft lbs 480 - 500 FPS with a 7 grain pellet.
The pistol is capable of maximum scores at this range, but unfortunately my ability isn’t!

A 6ft lbs rifle like the LG400 should be equally capable at 25 yards on an indoor range.

[wellhouse0]

I shoot 20 yards pistol (PL15 Target) with a Steyr LP5, the power is approximately 4 ft lbs 480 - 500 FPS with a 7 grain pellet.
The pistol is capable of maximum scores at this range, but unfortunately my ability isn’t!

A 6ft lbs rifle like the LG400 should be equally capable at 25 yards on an indoor range.

pistol targets are much bigger

[silversurfer]

pistol targets are much bigger

Yes they are, but the discipline is MUCH more difficult

[Discocom]

Interesting comments.

I’ve also shot 20 yard air pistol (Hendon league) on PL14’s.

One big difference is benchrest is outward scoring whereas pistol is inward.

So simplistically a pistol score of 100 would only be 90 on benchrest assuming the same target size.

Our club .22 LR Anschutz will put every shot literally through the same hole at 20 yards, as per comments above an air rifle needs to do the same to be competitive.

Ive tried my Walther LGM-2 at 20 yards and I can’t group as tightly as I can with the .22 Anschutz.

[silversurfer]

I have shot 25 yards benchrest with an air rifle and achieved a score of 100.
There are many shooters regularly scoring tons in 25 yard benchrest league competitions, but, there are very few pistol shooters at club level who achieve 100 ex 100 regularly, especially at 20 yards.

The reason why pistol targets are inward scoring and rifle outward is because of the difference in the degree of difficulty.

I do agree with you though, it is much more difficult to score 100 on the 25 yards benchrest target with an air rifle than with a .22 rimfire. With an air rifle your technique must be spot on, probably due to the lock time (the time the pellet/bullet is in the barrel).

[Powderfinger]

10metre rifles have been used for benchrest at 20yards with no problem getting high scores. You could even leave the diopter sights on it. Not sure what a 10 metre rifle would do at 50 metres.

[schony]

Interesting comments.

I’ve also shot 20 yard air pistol (Hendon league) on PL14’s.

One big difference is benchrest is outward scoring whereas pistol is inward.

So simplistically a pistol score of 100 would only be 90 on benchrest assuming the same target size.

Our club .22 LR Anschutz will put every shot literally through the same hole at 20 yards, as per comments above an air rifle needs to do the same to be competitive.

Ive tried my Walther LGM-2 at 20 yards and I can’t group as tightly as I can with the .22 Anschutz.

Lock time counts with firearms like 22lr That is where air rifles are at a disadvantage

[gordon]

Lock time counts with firearms like 22lr That is where air rifles are at a disadvantage

In practice today I've shot 250 x 250 and 18x that's a PB for me ,that's with an Anschutz 54 Match in a BR stock . I'll guarantee when I put the comp sticker on my next cards I won't be near that !! BUT it won't be for lack of trying