TargetTalk

There's a lot of clubs in Wisconsin, as one of the first posters said, look at the Wis State R & P website for match listings, clubs, etc. Probably one of the closest to you is Black Earth - just a guess that there's a few air rifle shooters over there.

MJ ...

I emailed my sister who is a "social butterfly" in the Madison area ... she is still researching for me, but here is her current reply:

Well, this is Madison, and some things haven't changed since the '60s. What I did find out (from John Gangloff, head of JROTC at Beloit Memorial (608-361-3042) is that the closest JROTC program is in Beloit, Wisconsin (about an hour or so away). They do have a marksmanship team, but you need to be enrolled in the high school. There are also JROTC programs in Milwaukee, Kenosha (a suburb of Milwaukee) and St. John's Military Academy (near Milwaukee). There is a private club in Beloit, but he didn't know much about them. We just aren't the gun-slinging west here in the heartland. I do know that there are 4-H groups in the area--perhaps they have something.

I'll ask my neighbor, the former DNR warden, if he knows of any private clubs in the area if you'd like.

Hope this helps--

love ya,
sis

You gotta admit she's right there .... Madison ain't the right wing capitol of the US.... Try contacting Gangloff maybe he can help steer you

Joel in NM

mjgericke wrote:What exactly is a "precision" air rifle. Are we talking rifles like the Anschutz and Feinwerkbau? I'm embarrassed to admit that I thought the Avanti 753 was a precision air rifle. Seems to be quite a learning curve in this sport. :)

~ Matt

Hi Matt

Precision is DEFINED in the NRA Rules, USA Shooting rules etc. You were using YOUR definition of precision, and compared to the air rifles and BB-guns you see at Wal Mart, the Avanti 753 IS a preision air gun. It's not a precision gun under the rules of shooting, but since you can hit the head of a pin at 10 meters with one say 90% of the time, that's precise in my book too.

I used to own a 753 and broke the stock in half. Sent it back to Daisy and traded up to an 888. The primary problem with the 753/853/953 series of air rifles is that you have to get out of posiiton to load/cock them.

By the way, always hold the 753 above the rear sight and the cocking lever when you cock them. If you put the butt of the gun against your foot and cock it, you will break the stock at the trigger guard. I know, my son's friend was loading mine and broke it that way.

Later

Mike

mjgericke wrote:I have a nasty habit of trying to run before I can walk. Patience isn't one of my better qualities.

My favorite prayer.... "Lord, please give me patience. RIGHT NOW !!"

As far as clubs and training, an option that is FREE in the USA is to join up with one of the local 4H Clubs (see your county extension agent) that uses "Precision Air". You can help the coach who is usually an expert shooter and terribly understaffed. Listen to what he tells the boys and learn by helping others.

Before and after the team meets there is plenty of time to get in good shooting. You'll have an excellent opportunty to pick up barely used gear from boys who drop out of the program. Not to mention lots of free targets and ammo. And most of all, 4H teams are usually aligned with the CMP and the coach can buy you a deeply discounted Anschutz air rifle through the CMP (see their web site) by being a member of a qualified "youth shooting team".

You can also do the same thing with local Boy Scout troops, but obviously they are not concentrating solely on shooting. I mean by this that you'd have to put up with eating some fruit coblers made in a dutch oven over a campfire, which could be counter-productive as far as getting into your tight-fitting shooting jacket. lol

Hope this helps!

I'm 36 years old, so enrolling in high school to join a target shooting club might not be the best route. :) Then again, I always said.... If I could do it all over again I'd do many things differently! :D

I've found that Madison doesn't seem as friendly toward shooting sports just based on how various retailers in the area stock their shelves. Go way outside Madison and options become a little more plentiful.

It would seem more people in the area are more interested in hunting than competitive target shooting.

Thanks for everyone's help!

The search continues...

~ Matt

not to hijack this thread.. but what's the difference in format between 'precision' and 10 meter? - I'd thought that these were synonymous.

I don't know everything but any air rifle shooting I have done has been at ten meters. I believe that BB gun shooting is done at five meters and I don't know anything about air rifle running target distances. Precision is a class of 10 meter air rifle shooting. I want to use a metaphor here but can't think of a good one. Here's the first that comes to mind though it doesn't accurately depict the situation. Precision and Sporter of 10 meter air rifle shooting are the NASCAR and Formula 1 of racing. There both forms of racing but many rules are different. The same is true for Sporter and Precision. Both classes of 10 meter air rifle but some different rules. So not exactly synonymous but you're on the right track

Hi, Matt:

There are competitive shooters in/near Madison, Wis! Go visit the Wisconsin Rifle & Pistol Association's website (www.wrpa.com) and click on the shooting discipline coordinators tab. Contact the smallbore coordinator for more information.