Airgun
3rd Saturday of each month 8:30 AM at the Black Powder Range
Shoot fee:
Members: $6.00
Non Members: $ 10.00 + $ 10.00 guest fee (valid all day)
Caliber must be .177, 5mm or .22-cal only. Other calibers at the discretion of the Shoot Chair.
10 meters is generally considered the minimum safe distance.
Eye and ear protection are required for everyone on the firing line and in the designated ready/spectator area during live fire (Range Rules: Section 13.1).
Some Background:
The most common air gun calibers:
.177 inch (4.5 mm): the most common caliber. Mandated by the ISSF for use in international target shooting competition at 10m, up to Olympic level in both rifle and pistol events. It has also been adopted by most National Governing Bodies for domestic use in similar target shooting events. It has the flattest trajectory of all the calibers for a given energy level, making accuracy simpler. At suitable energy levels it can be used effectively for hunting.
.22 inch (5.5 mm & 5.6 mm): for hunting and general use. In recent years air rifles and pistols in .22 (and some other calibers) have been allowed for use in both domestic and international target shooting in events not controlled by the ISSF. Most notably in FT/HFT and Smallbore Benchrest competitions. These events often allow the use of any caliber air gun, up to a maximum which is often .22, rather than a fixed caliber.
ISSF 10-meter Air Rifle
10 meter air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot over a distance of 10 meters (10.94 yards) from a standing position with a 4.5 mm (0.177 in) caliber air rifle with a maximum weight of 5.5 kg (12.13 lb). The use of specialized clothing is allowed to improve the stability of the shooting position and prevent chronic back injury which can be caused by the asymmetric offset load on the spine when the rifle is held in position. It is one of the ISSF-governed shooting events included in the Olympic games.
Shots are fired from the standing position only, as opposed to some other airgun shooting disciplines such as for three positions (popular in the United States) or in disabled sports.
The major competitions are the Olympic Games every four years and the ISSF World Shooting Championships every four years (the Games and the Championships are held two years apart). In addition, the event is included in the ISSF World Cup series, the ISSF World Cup Final, in continental championships, and in many other international and national competitions. It is an indoor sport. In many clubs and ranges, electronic targets are now being used instead of the traditional paper targets.
Scores in 10-meter air rifle have improved rapidly during the last few decades. During the 1970s technical advances in the employed match air rifles made the international shooting union, known as the UIT back then, but today the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), decide to reduce the size of the 10 meter air rifle target to its current dimensions.
ISSF 10-meter Air Pistol
The 10-meter air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). It is similar to 10 meter air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm (or .177) caliber air guns at a distance of 10 meters (11 yards), and the program consists of 60 shots within 60 minutes for men, and 60 shots within 75 minutes for women. If Electronic Scoring System (EST) is not available, additionally 15 minutes for men and 10 minutes for women are added to the time limit. Preparation and sighting time of 15 minutes is the same for both men and women. It is also similar to 50-meter pistol despite the shorter distance and the use of air guns, and most top-level male shooters compete in both events.
There are some restrictions on the pistol, and it must be operated by one hand only from a standing, unsupported position. The shooter decides his or her own tempo as long as the maximum time is not exceeded, but in the final round for the top shooters, separate commands are given for each shot so that the audience may follow the progress of the standings.
The major competitions are the Olympic Games every four years and the ISSF World Shooting Championships every four years. In addition, the event is included in the ISSF World Cup and in continental championships, as well as in many other international and national competitions. It is an indoor sport, and on the highest-level electronic targets are used instead of the traditional paper targets.
The air pistol target is 17x17 cm with concentric score zones, the innermost (worth ten points) having a diameter of 11.5 mm.
Field Target
Field target is an outdoor field shooting sport shot with air guns. Competitions are usually fired at self-indicating steel targets placed between 9 to 50 m (9.8 to 54.7 yd). There are two classes; Piston for piston fired rifle, and PCP for Pre-Charged Pneumatic rifles. In sanctioned competitions, the same competition ruleset is used around most of the world. A small match can consist of 40 to 60 rounds, while the world championship consists of 150 rounds. It is common to use scope sights with high magnification and a short depth of field such that an adjustable parallax knob can be used to precisely determine the target distance. The target kill zones have three standardized sizes, which are 15 mm (placed between 12-23 m), 25 mm (placed between 7-37 m) or 40 mm (placed between 7-42 m).
In the United States, the American Airgun Field Target Association (AAFTA) rules set a maximum rifle power of 20 ft·lbf (27 J) primarily to limit damage to targets — there are no laws limiting airgun power in the United States. Individual competition rules may impose limits on power and/or other criteria at the discretion of the local match director. The increased velocity of the pellets from these higher power rifles primarily reduces the effects of distance (pellet drop) and windage (time of flight determines wind effects) but the game is, otherwise, quite similar to that of Britain and other countries.
In the US, kill zone diameters vary from a minimum of 0.375 inches (9.525 mm), to a typical kill zone diameter at distance of 1- 1/2 inches (3.81 cm). Occasionally, kill zones to the maximum allowed 2 inches (5.08 cm) are used. The ranges of the targets must be between 10 yards (9.1 m) and 55 yards (50.3 m), and they are arranged in lanes of 1 to 3 targets. Kneeling and standing shots are also the norm at every match but not as large a percentage of the match as in the UK. Hunter class has also started with a very strong following.
Precision shooting at such small targets lends itself to dialing in elevation adjustments and for the most part when shooting at high power 20 ft⋅lbf (27 J) Kentucky windage a bit less of a factor than with 12 ft⋅lbf (16 J) although time-of-flight is the primary factor for windage and, while the power of guns used may be lower, lighter pellets are also used in such guns and the speed of a pellet at the muzzle is only a bit slower (7.2 grains at 825 ft/s (251 m/s) versus 10.2 grains (0.66 g) 890 ft/s (270 m/s), for example). Hence, windage is a similar problem for those shooting at either power in most instances.
In recent years, a pistol version of Field Target has taken hold in the U.S. Limited to 12 ft·lbf (16 J), this game uses the same targets as the rifle game. A pistol game is shot at shorter ranges, from 10 yards (9.1 m) and 35 yards (32.004 m), at target kill zones from .5 inch (12.7 mm) to 2 inches (5.08 cm) in diameter.
International Shooting Sport Federation
American Airgun Field Target Association (AAFTA) rules