Training prone rifle with an air rifle?

[vHoff]

I've been pistol shooting for a while and want to get into prone rifle as well.

The shooting club I want to join is a bit far away, though, and I don't have my own .22. I do have a SCATT from pistol shooting, though, and was wondering whether it would be worth it to train prone rifle with an air rifle.

How appropriate would an Air Arms S200 be for this purpose? I'm not looking for something with incredible accuracy since I will be ultimately saving up for a .22.

Many thanks!

[Andre]

The air arms s200 is a sporter class air rifle. It's a little chunky but since your just practicing for a bit (Not national competitions) it should be a good one to start with. Especially if you take a rasp to the stock and make it fit how you like it.

If you have a bigger budget, I'd go for a precision class airgun though.

[mtncwru]

If you have a bigger budget, I'd go for a precision class airgun.

OP is saving his pennies for a smallbore rifle, which is the right call, and which means he won't be affording a precision class airgun anytime soon. In the meanwhile, use what ya got. Strap the SCATT to the end, setup a pellet trap if you can't dry fire, and go to town. If you have access to a coach/instructor/experienced shooter who can walk you through initial setup, I would highly recommend using that resource. Even an hour or two of initial setup with a coach can save you weeks of headaches, backaches, etc.

In addition to the rifle, you're going to need sights, a coat, a sling, a mat, a spotting scope and stand, ammo, and a million other little things too numerous to list here. Just keep that in mind as you're budgeting.