Bench rest air rifle power - 8 or 16 Joule

[Discocom]

Would welcome some advice on .177 target air rifle power as follows...

First question...

What is the maximum range an 8 Joule 10m target air rifle (such as a Walther LG400) can be used accurately at?

The reason I ask, is that I want to shoot either indoor 25 yard (NSRA 2510BR15-18 target) or 20 yard bench rest (NSRA 2010 BR17)

Will a modern 10m pcp 10m target rifle be accurate at the above ranges. As I can then use it for 10m, put a scope on and then shoot the above too.

Second question...

Am I right to assume that I would need a 16 Joule air rifle to shoot out to 50m?

look forward to responses.

cheers

[wellhouse0]

realistically you need a 12ft/lb 16 joule rifle for 25-50yd benchrest.

[robthedog]

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

[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.

[XDRIVER]

I shoot 25yd benchrest using .22 lr anschutz rifle. Several club members also use air rifles. When it comes to scoring the cards, they use a .22 gauge so sometimes a card shot with an air rifle in .177 looks like a 100 but when gauged it is not. I can’t see the advantage in using a low powered air rifle at 6 ftlbs. There are many very good regulated super accurate field target rifles available but you still come up against the scoring using the .22 gauge. I tried a steyr lg110 but it could not compete with the rim fire in consitent accuracy.

[silversurfer]

I agree, there is no advantage in using a 6ft lbs rifle but if you shoot 10m air rifle and have invested a fair amount in your kit, you may not be able to afford a .22 rimfire, plus the expense of a FAC.
If you want to also shoot benchrest, it is doable with a 6ft lbs rifle.

Scoring and gauging isn’t really an issue, the NSRA can supply the correct gauge, it’s a .22A “Used to score.177 holes to .22 when using air rifles on .22 targets.”

[RobinC]

This is going over similar ground to posts a week or so back, look up:-

"FWB 800 Junior" started by Davyboy30 on the 17 - 4 - 19, it should answer most of your queries.

Have Fun
Robin

[gordon]

Most top end pcp 10m rifles are capable of achieving high scores ,but when it comes to trying to shoot 250 x 250 with high X counts which a lot of comps are now decided on ,then I don't see the point of putting yourself at a disadvantage by using a lower powered rifle . Really it depends on how competitive you want to be.

If you look at the Winter league Div 1 UKBR22 25yd (AIR)results in both Light and Heavy Varmint you have to be scoring 249/250 and towards 15x on each card of which there are 5 to be in with any chance of a gong .
These scores are for indoor cards , the out door scores are usually a bit lower ,but not by a lot and some comps have been very close, the level of shooting in BR now is extremely high .

[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