Daughters starting in Sporter Class air rifle. Which gun?

[testdepth]

Not new to shooting but new to this sport. I have 10, 11 and 14 year old girls that all shoot very well and are interested in competing.

For the National Standard 3 position Sporter Class, the gun options for 10m listed are:
Airforce Air Guns edge
Daisy 853, 753, 953 or 853C
Daisy 877 and 888
Crosman 2000
Daisy XSV40
Crosman CH2009
Air Arms T200

Which gun would be best for this purpose?

All of these guns have max fps set for 10m or 33ft. What do people use in the silhouette match at 20yds, 30yds, 36yds and 45yds? None of the guns mentioned above can compete there.

r/

JD

[testdepth]

Nobody has any recommendations?

[RED RAIDER]

My top 2 choices as a 4H riifle coach are:

1. Crossman Challenger
2. Air Arms T200

You will need a Scuba Tank.

Stay away from all CO2 guns.

[jhmartin]

OK ... since Red recommended staying away from all CO2 guns, I'll venture in with that they are just fine. All 3 of my girls started out on 888's then moved to 887s and the two that continued shooting then progressed to precision air and smallbore.

CO2 is only a slightly bigger hassle than air, and only because it takes a look around to find where to get your bulk tank filled. The guns are every bit as accurate. In terms of initial acquisition, repair & replacement costs, the CO2 guns are hands down more affordable. It really is only a bit more of a hassle to fill those tanks, and once you get used to it, it's 6 of one 1/2dz of the other ... no biggie.

That said:
I like (and my club has a few) XSV40's that we use for the youngest shooters ... they are lightweight.
We use the T200s for our slightly more advanced shooters.
And our top sporter shooters use the 887's (CO2).
I DO NOT like any rifle that a shooter cannot get thru a full 3x20 match without refilling the cylinder.

We then transition them to smallbore and precision air.

Regarding silhouette & specifically 4-H silhouette ... for the next few years this event (out to 45 yards) ... will be shot indoors in Nebraska ... every single sporter gun you listed , firing less than 600fps, will EASILY knock over the ram at 45.

[testdepth]

I have a dive shop only 3 miles from my home.

APPROVED RIFLES Air rifles officially approved for Sporter Class air rifle competitions are the
AirForce Air Guns Edge, Daisy M853/753/953/853CM (pneumatic), Daisy
M888/877 (CO2), Crosman M2000 (CO2), Daisy XSV40 Valiant
(compressed air), Crosman CH2009 (CO2& compressed air) and the Air
Arms T200 (compressed air) that has a non-adjustable cheek-piece and
butt-plate.

When you state model 887 do you mean 877 as shown in the list of approved rifles?

Nice to know they won't need a second gun for the silhouette shooting.

[jhmartin]

When you state model 887 do you mean 877 as shown in the list of approved rifles?

Wherever you saw 877, that is a typo. There is no such rifle. It is the 887 which is exactly the same as the 888 with a "better" stock (for older shooters) and upgraded sights.

Yes, you can use the same gun, but there is a "beware" here. It would be awfully nice if you could show up to 4-H Nationals with a scope on your rifle and compete, first event, in silhouette as you really don't get much time to get the rifle sighted in the day before that particular competition. Your kids will shoot 3-P first, then standing and finally silhouette over the course of the 3 days in that order.

It may not be the best way, but with limited resources (i.e. number of rifles available to the program), we use the same sights on our guns across all 3 events (aperture) and teach the kids to hold off, above or below, when their rifle is sighted in zero at the 10m distance. If you have enough guns (two per competitor) you can put a scope on the one gun for silhouette and use another gun for the 10m events.

[testdepth]

This is the site for Florida 4H and it lists the incorrect rifle as you mentioned. http://florida4h.org/events/files/shoot ... glance.pdf

When the kids go to these events I assume they are using their own personal rifles to compete? Is this the case?

Thanks for all of the help.

[jhmartin]

Yes, that is a typo in the Florida document ... strange as it seems a copy & paste from the National 4-H doc which is correct.

In terms of personal rifles ... some yes, some no. Most use our club guns.

We have a few XSV-40 & T-200 rifles and the rest are 888/887 rifles. I put 888/887 this way as we have stocks we can swap out on the actions depending on the size and/or wishes of the shooter.

[SRichieR]

Any place that fills paintball co2 cylinders can fill the Daisy co2 cylinders. Get a spare and do two at at time.
If you are in a club and have several co2 guns then consider getting a bulk tank. Welding supply in our area carries the tanks, but, make sure it has a syphon (dip) tube or you'll have to turn it up side down to fill.
For any co2 gun, you will need a good postal scale. Due to the direct P-T relationship of saturated liquid/gas co2, the only way to measure content of the cylinder is by weight - not pressure. This P-T relationship is also why co2 guns don't need a pressure regulator like a precharged air gun.

[testdepth]

There are no paintball places locally that I am aware of but there is a dive shop close by.

Thanks for all of the good information!