Definition of Air Rifle

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glen ring
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Definition of Air Rifle

Post by glen ring »

I have ordered my Grandson a Crosman 1701P PCP silhouette pistol. It advertises a velocity of 450fps. If I add a crosman shoulder stock and scope, it becomes a very light and very accurate carbine for the little fellow. If we show up for an Air Rifle silhouette match, is this crosman legal for him to compete with ? I can see no barrel or overall length restrictions in the rule book. The whole getup will weigh about three pounds when bolted together.
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atomicbrh
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by atomicbrh »

There is no match director out there who will not allow a youngster to shoot that combo in Open and maybe target. We have had lots of little kids shoot air rifle silhouette with us. Real small kids shoot a Baikal IZH 60 with a Bushnell AO Target model 3-9X. The IZH 60 with 7.9 CPL pellets has the same velocity as the Crosman you are asking about. For us the velocity is too slow to take down a chicken consistently unless it is hit just right much less the other animals. The kids become very frustrated with it when they have a pellet mark on the target but it did not even begin to fall. The rifle for the kids we have had success with is an unaltered, out of the box Beeman R7 with a 3-12X UTG scope in Sportsmatch rings. The Beeman R7 puts out the 7.9 grain CPL pellet at 600 fps on our chronograph. It will take down the Ram at 45 yards without any problems. You can shoot the Beeman R7 in Open and Sporter. My wife shoots this combination in Sporter because it is easy to cock. She has scored in the mid to upper 20's out of 40 with it. I think she hit 5 Rams in a row at the match last weekend.
glen ring
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by glen ring »

Thanks for the info on the beman air rifle. That may very well be his next air rifle. The crosman is very light and when he masters that we'll move on up to the beman. He's only 7, but shows a very strong interest in shooting silhouettes. I figure for a first "gun" the crosman will teach him safety and be a great air rifle to shoot when he visits Granpa and Granma. I researched the Beman and it looks like the perfect next step. Thanks again..Glen
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dustinflint
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by dustinflint »

Glen,

Of course he will be allowed to shoot that anywhere. I suggest that you have the match director move the targets in to the air-pistol silhouette distances to give him confidence and make sure he's having a good time. Shoot the chickens at 10 yards, pigs at 12.5 yards, turkeys at 15 yards and rams at 18 yards. Shooting an air rifle at these distances is great for the youngsters. All the kids I've seen shoot this have a blast.

Dustin
glen ring
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by glen ring »

That's a GREAT idea Dustin. Some of the guys we shoot lever action with have a monthly air gun match in their shop. The targets are only 20 yards max so That's where I'm going to take the Grand Monkey this winter to introduce him to competition. I'm starting him out with a very quiet air rifle/pistol and then move him up when he's ready to 22 and eventually center fire. I wish I would have had an air rifle to start with when I was a kid. I had a WW2 Mauser that was delivered by the mailman. We had no ear or eye protection. Things have changed a bunch since then.
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atomicbrh
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by atomicbrh »

Keep us posted with how the reduced distances work out with the 1701 and the shoulder stock. We have to get these very small kids interested in silhouette. I have a 19 month old grandchild. I call her "butterbean" because she loves butterbeans. The next one is 5 weeks old. The 5 week old does not have a nickname yet. Grand Monkey is one I have not heard. Our son was 6 or 7 when he became interested in match shooting and going to the range. We watched it all at those ages: USPSA, Highpower across the course, Smallbore Prone, Bullseye pistol, Action Pistol but Smallbore Silhouette was what really grabbed his attention. Of course, ammo was cheap back then and we plinked a lot.
glen ring
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by glen ring »

I have a set of 1/10th scale targets here and the Grand Monkey shoots at them with a Daisy 777. He has went with us to lever action silhouette matches for a couple of years and wants to shoot. I think the Crosman will be a great introduction. I will update here on what we find with the crosman after adding the carbine stock. I have a peep sight and/or a scope to mount on it ...whatever he prefers.
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glen ring
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by glen ring »

We put a peep sight on the crosman silhouette pistol and it was good on rams out to 25 yards. I couldn't use the peeps much past that. I think it will have sufficient power and accuracy for the 1st three animals in an air rifle silhouette match...if we can get the hold over consistent. These things are quiet, have a good trigger and are VERY accurate.
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glen ring
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Re: Definition of Air Rifle

Post by glen ring »

Oh my GOODNESS ! This thing is so much fun. I put the 10th scale rams at 50 yards on a stand and shot open sights. After MANY shots I hit a few. What fun !! The 8.4 grain pellet was about 70% in taking down the rams that I hit. I did ring a couple and one I rang twice but it was almost pushed off the stand by the pellets. I think with a scope this little rig will rock for my grand Monkey...if I let him have it now that I'm having so much fun. No more dreaming about custom rim fires or center fires. I'm saving for another air gun.
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