Air Gun Silhouette

Last night I went and shot an air gun match at the club.  One thing I’ve discovered: I suck at air gun.  You remember the last e-postal match?   Those chickens are 1/10th scale animals, the same size used for NRA air gun competition.  I hit about 21 out of 60.  When I shoot IHMSA small bore, which are 3/8th scale, 21 is about what I typically get out of 40.

Air gun I think is harder because for one, I’m shooting with iron sights instead of a red dot.  For two, the Crossman 2300S is CO2; powered, and I’m not quite so good at compensating for more pellet drop as the match goes on.  Hopefully I’ll get my score up to something respectable eventually.  Air gun is a great way to sharpen your skills without paying a lot of money.  The guns are cheap, pellets are cheap, and air is free (though CO2 costs some money). It’s a great way to stay sharp through these days of high ammo prices, and you can even practice at home.

Speaking of competitive shooting, I will be releasing some details about the Gun Blog Rifle Leauge shortly.  Stay tuned.

Related posts (automatically generated):

  1. Pennsylvania State NRA Airgun Silhouette Championships
  2. E-Postal Results
  3. Do Some Shooting This Weekend

17 thoughts on “Air Gun Silhouette”

  1. Get yourself a Crosman 1377 multi pump pellet gun. I have one and it is one accurate mo-fo. It’s got a 10-inch barrel; can be pumped up to 10X and shoots best with pointed pellets. It loves the Beeman Silver Arrow pellets. At 5 yds, I was putting pellets into the same hole, using the open sights. The only thing I did to modify my gun is grooving the top of the front blade sight and gluing in a Truglo optical fiber so I can see it in low light and against a black target face. At 10 yds, I was picking off pieces of a pear from the stem down. Power will always be consistent and you’ll never have to waste money on CO2 cartridges again.

  2. I haven’t shot the 1377, though they have a good rep. I have shot the Sheridan H Series pistols and the Blue Streak rifle. Absotively love them! Unlike the 1377 the Sheridan’s are entirely metal and wood except for the grips on the pistols. The modern 1377 has too much plastic for my tastes. My hole punch of a rifle is about as old as I am: A nearly pristine Crossman 162 in the Sears Ted Williams livery with the S331 peep sight. The Sheridan’s are multi-pump pneumatics in .20 cal. while the Crossman is a CO2 .22 cal. rifle. The 1377 is a .177 cal. so pellet availability is never an issue as it can sometimes be for the Sheridan’s.

    While the 1377 can be pumped up to 10 times (and fewer will work as well while giving you the ability to reduce the power when that’s appropriate) the Sheridan’s should only be pumped 8. Another thing about multi-pump air guns is the upper body workout! After an afternoon with a Sheridan you will know what I mean…

    BTW: Don’t tell the Algorians about the CO2… ;-)

  4. Oooow purdy! I wouldn’t mind having something like that one of these days. Haven’t shot one, though, so I’m not qualified to comment on it’s ‘user friendliness’ or handling.

  5. One of my big complaints about the Crossmas 2300S is that the trigger is total crap. It might be adjustable, but the travel is from here to Calcutta no matter what you do. This was a big problem for me last night.

    One of our top shooters has the same gun I do though, and shoots pretty well with it, and with an unmodified trigger. If I had a better trigger, I’d probably do a bit better, but it goes back to a top shooter with crappy equipment can outshoot a novice with top equipment any day of the week.

  6. I was looking at that very same air pistol the other day. I think it’s a little too pricey for my taste. The one I recommend (Crosman 1377) only costs around $60.00 (I paid $55 at my local gun shop). As for pumping it? It’s definitely given a lot more definition to my biceps (something Bitter might enjoy on you, Sebastian :) ).

    I was also looking at the RWS 5G Magnum pistol: http://www.pyramydair.com/p/rws-model-5g-magnum-air-pistol.shtml which Cabela’s sells for $219.95 (not the $265.95 PyramydAir is asking). http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0043407228476a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=rws+5g+magnum&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=rws+5g+magnum&noImage=0

    The RWS would probably be my next purchase AFTER I pay down my Kimber 1911 in 10mm in a few more weeks.

    Now if you want a very cheap multi-pump rifle in .22 that’s a tack-driver, get the Daisy 22 SG: http://www.pyramydair.com/p/daisy-22sg-air-rifle.shtml I have the previous version called the Model 822 with fiber optic open sights. I’ll be adding a scope to it some time next week when it arrives from PyramydAir.

    For under $100, you could drive tacks with this thing out to 50 yards or more. It has an all-wood stock; is easy to pump and will put pellets through the same hole time after time.

    As for my other .22 air rifle, it’s a Diana RWS 350 Magnum with break barrel action. I bought it about 7 years ago and I still have not fired a single pellet out of it.

    I have many other air guns and rifles too, but the ones I mentioned here are my favorites.

    My advice is to use a whole different bunch of pellets in your gun to see which one groups the best (and keep notes).

    Hope this helps.

  7. The main concern I would have with multi-pumps is the fact that we’re dealing with a timed event. How fast does the pellet head out on a single pump?

  9. You know, I thought that page looked familiar! Anywho, I was handling one of these at a local gun shop and without having the chance to try it on the range I was sorely tempted to buy it. Reading the reviews it sounds like you would want to find one at a shop that you can handle and perhaps even try before you buy rather than purchasing by mail order.

  10. The 1377 is 600 fps at 10 pumps, so figure it’s heading out at 200 fps at 3 pumps (the recommended minimum number of pumps).
    The RWS heads out at 500 fps with a single pump.

  11. are there any air gun competitions or shoots in NJ? I have a Benjamin sheridan blue streak and it is by far the best thing out there for accuracy and power- it might be only 800fps but it hits like a brick.

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