competition air guns

Air Gun Target Shooting

Shooting Competitively using Air Guns

Air guns, traditionally regarded as guns used by beginners, have now made the transition to guns for everyone. Some types of air guns, such as the familiar BB-gun, are excellent as a "first gun;" but other types of air guns are designed to be used by seasoned international competitors.

Whether they are used for recreation or sport, for field use or as an inexpensive training tool, air rifles and air pistols are an excellent way to enjoy the shooting sports. In recent years, air guns have undergone dramatic improvements in reliability, durability and accuracy. Air guns offer a lot of flexibility - with proper supervision, they can be safely fired by shooters of all ages and experience levels.

The NRA has developed and sponsored a variety of coaches' schools, training clinics and qualification courses utilizing air guns, and offers various levels of competitive events which include air rifle and air pistol matches. They are available to junior, collegiate and adult air gun shooters. This paper provides general information for tournament competition for the following events: air rifle, air pistol, air silhouette, 10 meter running game target and BB gun. It will also discuss construction of air gun ranges from the very basic home range to setting up a portable range for schools, to designing and constructing a permanent air gun range. Air guns can be found in nearly every shooting program, and air gun programs have been adopted by many national organizations, including the National Wheelchair Athletic Association, National Association of Sports for Cerebral Palsy, U.S. Jaycees, Boy Scouts of America, Explorer Scouts, 4-H, and Police Athletic League.

'Safety First' with Air Guns

Gun safety is vital for owners or users of BB guns or pellet guns. Young shooters must be supervised by a knowledgeable adult whenever using an air gun. Adults and children should carefully read and understand all instructions that come with their air guns, and understand the proper safe use of such air guns.

AIR GUNS ARE MOST DEFINITELY NOT TOYS! Improper handling of air guns due to carelessness or ignorance can cause injury or even death. Young air gun owners can have years of enjoyment with air guns if they are supervised and the air guns are used properly and safely.

The NRA gun safety rules must be read and understood by all children and adults who will be using or supervising the use of BB guns and pellet guns. Although all the NRA safety rules are important, the most important are the first three rules. If these three rules are applied in every situation, there would be no more avoidable injuries involving air guns, or any guns for that matter.

Match Pellets for Air Guns

There are two basic types of air gun ammunition - pellets and B-Bs. Pellets weigh much less than firearm projectiles, which makes their striking energy much less. They are molded from soft lead and most are hour-glass shaped which gives them increased stability in flight. There are pellets designed for every type of air gun and they come in a variety of head shapes and weights. Airgun Pellets may be fired in either smoothbore or rifled barrels, unlike BBs which must be used with smoothbore barrels only. Pellet quality is second in importance only to the overall quality of the air gun itself. In competition, the .177 caliber is considered the standard caliber. This is true in all types of competition, from BBguns through the Olympic level air rifles and pistols.

There are four basic types of pellets: wadcutter, used for paper target competition; pointed, designed for field use, producing more kinetic energy for penetration; hollow point, used for silhouette competition and field use; and round nose, considered for any use needing knock down power. The spherical BB is the most familiar air gun ammunition and is made from either steel or lead.

Types of Match Air Guns

Many brands of air guns are available - made in the USA and imported. There are three major types of air guns in widespread use today: Spring-piston, Pneumatic and CO2 powered. All three powering systems are used in both air rifles and air pistols.

Spring-piston air guns are powered by the compression of a mainspring (either a conventional steel spring or an 'air spring') when the gun is manually cocked. The compression of the spring is released when the trigger is pulled, driving the piston forward, thus building up air pressure that pushes the pellet out of the barrel. Spring-piston guns are cocked three different ways: Break-barrel, Underlever and Sidelever. Most BB guns are also in this category.

Pneumatic pump guns are among the most popular and best known air guns. They are also the most affordable of the three types. Pneumatic guns use a multiple-pump system, with compressed air stored in the gun's reservoir. Pneumatic air guns are either multipump or single stroke guns.

CO2 guns operate with carbon dioxide gas (CO2) contained in a cylinder. This air gun is the easiest to operate; it only needs to be cocked and the trigger pulled to release a regulated amount of gas which propels the pellet. Most cylinders have enough gas for 30-60 shots, and the larger cylinders have enough gas for 300-400 shots.

Velocity is important to air gun accuracy and pellet velocities can vary, depending on the type of air gun used. Single-pump precision match grade air guns deliver the most consistent muzzle velocity. The muzzle velocity of CO2 guns will vary with the pressure of the gas on the container. Consistent velocity is important when aiming at a 10-ring the size of a pin head (1mm), and precision air rifles and air pistols can produce very consistent velocities. In shopping for an air gun, you should first decide upon its intended use, because prices and models vary widely, from Olympic-grade, precision air guns to lightweight target models, sporters down to air guns intended only for informal plinking. There are air guns of all prices and air guns for all ages. That's what is so great about this sport! Everyone can shoot an air gun and have a good time!

Air Gun Competition Equipment

The type of air gun competition a shooter is interested in will determine how much equipment is required. According to NRA rules, a BB gun shooter only needs a BB gun and BBs. In formal 10-meter air rifle and air pistol matches, accessories can be a major part of the shooter's equipment list, and could include a cloth or leather shooting jacket, kneeling roll, padded glove, sling, shooting mat, shooting shoes, shooting glasses, and the list goes on. All these things aren't completely necessary to be a competitive shooter, but they can help as the shooter improves their performance.

Air Gun Competition Targets

The National Rifle Association has licensed a number of companies to print official NRA targets for air guns. Air gun targets may be purchased from these companies for use in matches and qualification. Of the different targets available, the ones most commonly seen in competition are the air rifle, 10 meter (AR-5) target; air pistol, 10 meter (B40) target; BB gun, 5 meter (AR-4) target and; running target, 10 meter (AR-6) target. The AR-5 and B 40 targets replace the old air rifle (AR-1) and air pistol (B-32) targets. The RB-10 running target will remain in print and will be used for national competition events and novelty shooting activities. Many qualification targets are available for distances of 15 feet, 5 meters, 25 feet, 10 meters - both for air rifles and air pistols, including BB rifles and BB pistols. Of course many air gun shooters only shoot informally, and therefore 'official' targets are not required.

Another exciting target is the ever-popular metal silhouette sized for air guns and fired at reduced distances. Air silhouette has brought many "big bore" shooters to practice and even compete on these small targets.

Home Shooting Ranges for Air Guns

Possibly the best reason for shooting air guns is the very convenience and ease of setting up a target range in your house. Ranges for air guns can be constructed for easy set-up and take-down, or they can be built as a permanent structure. Most air gun instructional classes are conducted in school rooms or at club houses and use cardboard boxes tightly packed with newspaper for a back stop. No matter how limited your funds, most anyone with a fair amount of open space can set up an air gun range right at home or school. A simple and inexpensive pellet trap can be constructed from a cardboard box stuffed with newspapers or old phone books. The simplest and fastest way to set up an air gun range is to use inexpensive, portable metal pellet traps. These are safe and will stop pellets and collect them in the trap.

A more complex way to build an airgun range is to use target carriers. These can be mounted for permanent use or as a temporary range set up, and can be easily taken down and stored until the next class or practice. Any airgun range, regardless of location and construction, is only as safe as the manner in which it is used. Range safety must always be stressed, regardless of whether the range is to be used for air guns or firearms. Eye protection should always be used by anyone in the vicinity of a shooting range. Ear protection may be worn but is not a safety requisite for air gun shooting.

Getting Started in Airgun Competition

Anyone interested in airgun competition, from intra-club matches through the Olympics, should find some matches near home and just observe the competitors. This will allow you the chance to see how a tournament is operated and see the equipment each shooter uses. Most matches are conducted at the local level, which means NRA affiliated clubs are the sponsors and conduct the match themselves. After the match may be the best time to ask questions to the shooters and the match sponsors about air gun competition and possibly even joining the club. Most clubs are pleased to see newcomers to shooting air guns and will help get them started in the right direction.

The NRA can send you a list of tournaments scheduled from around the country. These are available to all competitors upon request. There are so many types of matches that there should be no trouble getting started. NRA sanctions all kinds of air gun tournaments from the local club level to state championships, sectional and regional championships and National Air Gun Championships.

Courtesy of National Rifle Association OnLine at nrahq.org