I have a Mossberg 802 Varmint Plinkster 22 bolt action rifle, 37095 which has a 21" bull barrel. http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg ... /37095.jpg
I'm afraid this $199 4.9lbs rifle might have to compete with some pretty serious equipment out there. Do people with modest rifles such as this have to face off with people using rifles 5-10x the price because of the bull barrel? I use a 3-12x40mm Barska "Hot Magnum" scope that set me back about $100, also not top notch, but suitable for plinking.
I'd like to get into this sport next year, but don't want to get humiliated by people who not only have lots more experience, but way better equipment than I do. I am in the Hudson Valley/Catskills region of NY. Thanks.

It's not the equipment that does the work.

Are you sure it's only 5 lbs?

If you wait until you have a$2000 rifle you'll miss a lot of fun. Anything with a decent trigger, barrel , and optic will work.

Jump in, the water's fine. Surely there are more matches this year. Most matches are pretty low key. In local matches that gun would probably go in Hunter, the light "bull" barrel notwithstanding.
As a practical matter, even with an Anschutz and Leupold, you're unlike to be winning matches without CONSIDERABLE experience.

Have at it! At our club's monthly matches we encourage all novices to shoot what they have.

Plinkster, The photos I have seen of a Mossberg plinkster do not fit the tapered barrel requirement of the hunter class rules, it would however fit into the standard class rules. THis being said, as stated earlier, nearly all local match directors will have you shoot what you bring (often there is an ammo requirement of standard velocity-less than 1080fps), due to the damage that is done to the cast targets with high velocity ammo.

Basically Hunter class requires: total weight (all equipment scope/magazine etc) less than 8.5 pounds, at least 2 pound trigger pull, and a tapered barrel, no thumbhole stocks, and working safety.
Standard class: total weight less than 10 lbs 2 oz, any safe trigger (not electronic), thumbhole stocks allowed, there are some requirements of no offsets on the scope, scope height, centerline of the bore /stock height, and forearm drop height, and length, which a lot of commonly manufactured stocks meet.

frog5215 said it best, jump in, the water is fine, and the fun is there. Do not fear being humiliated by anything or anyone other than the targets themselves, and as a master shooter, I can honestly say the targets still do their business on me. I shot for years with a winchester model 67 with iron sights in the hunter class, made AAA class with it.

Come out and have fun.

Innocent Mary

Re:barrel. Not to put too rine a point on it, and having not put an eye on this gun in the flesh., I'm not sure it really requires classification as a Standard Rifle. The taper part of the rule was added for stuff like 541Ts, so Cooper and others added heavy tapered barrels, really varmint tapers, which out to go in heavy gun. When I got my Krico, it was set up as a Light Rifle, under the 7.5 lb weight limit. Rules were changed to "hunter", to encourage newcomers, old salts wanted to do mods, so we're off to the races again.

Things like Remington 581s have untapered barrels, but nobody would argue that they belong in Standard. The photos look like the OP's gun has a heavier barrel than the ones with that ridiculous Barrett muzzle brake, but at 5 lb, it's philosophically difficult to say it belongs in Standard.

As a practical matter, in local matches, it will shoot in Hunter, if classes are split out at all.

Now that I re-read the rules, surely there's a mistake regarding tuners. Standard says nothing about tuners, Hunter allows non-brake tuners? WHAT!? How the devil does that fit with a tapered, non varmint, non bull, hunting .22 philosophy?

Frog, surely you expected illogical rules?! Plinkster, go shoot and have a good time! Save for a different rifle, or borrow one, just remember practice, compete, and have fun. Ignore those of us with a rifle worth more than the car we drove to the range - we just like to tinker, so with practice we're easy to beat.

Shoot what you have. Learn to work with it and know it and your limitations. When the rifle starts holding you back it may be time for some kind of a change. Either scope, rifle , ammo or other. If you were to go out and shoot a match today with your rifle then pick up one of the fancy rifles you might see an one or two animal differance in your scores. And that difference may be either one way or the other. The rifle does not make the shooter. Compete and be happy that you are able. Have a good time.
Yankee

Go Green......Recycle Congress in 2010

I've been shooting at Hendrik Hudson Fish & Game (Poestenkill, NY just east of Albany) this year. All types of rifles are used. Some shoot with lever 22s, some with Anschutz and everything in between. If you're closer to NY City. We run matches on Staten Island as well

Bring what you have and have fun. Matches are 2nd Sat of month and the guys/gals are very helpful to all shooter's. You can get info on the web
http://www.hhfishandgame.com/index.htm

Welcome, Plinkster. One of the wonderful aspects of silhouette shooting is that it's all about the shooter, not the equipment. A top shooter with a Wal-mart special autoloader would easily beat a less skilled shooter with the highest of the high-end custom rifle. Just get out to some matches, shoot them, and have fun. There's no way to get humiliated by someone with a higher-end gun, as the gun doesn't matter as much in this game as it does in something like benchrest. If someone else happens to score higher than you do, so what? Even the master shooters in this sport get beaten. Go into the matches with the mindset to do the best that you can and don't worry about others' scores.

There are 5 classes in silhouette: B,A,AA,AAA & Master. Your 1st match you will be unclassified until the match is complete, so there is no way you will be humiliated in your 1st match. Until you get to AAA or Master Class you should be competing against yourself, the last match you shot, not the other shooters. The only way to humiliate yourself is to fire a round before the "Fire" command or after the "Cease Fire" command. If you aren't a total jerk your biggest problem will be all the advice you'll be given. Everyone wants to help the new guy. This game is more a test of the shooter than the rifle.