TargetTalk

hi, I was wondering if any of you know a good time to start precision air rifle from sporter. I am going to start after i shoot a 270 with a sporter, which is coming very soon. Is this a wise decision?

I don't see why score should matter, I would suggest you change when you feel ready and comfortable shooting the guns in question. In my mind, within reason, the sooner the better if you aspire to shoot internationally.

Rob.

Rob has a great point .... what are your desires? Where do you want to go with shooting?

International Competition, College, just EIC points towards your distinguished, or just that those guns look sooooo cool!

If you are gunning for a JR distingushed badge ... do your homework, once you gain points with a P-Gun you can never get more with a sporter.

I would also look at your "build" ..... age, height, and weight, the P-Guns are a bit heavier, if your 5'0" and weigh 85 lbs this could be a challenge ... if you're a senior in HS, no problem.

Are you shooting with a club, JROTC, or by yourself (coming up on 270 I doubt by yourself)

jhmartin wrote:Rob has a great point .... what are your desires? Where do you want to go with shooting?

International Competition, College, just EIC points towards your distinguished, or just that those guns look sooooo cool!

If you are gunning for a JR distingushed badge ... do your homework, once you gain points with a P-Gun you can never get more with a sporter.

I would also look at your "build" ..... age, height, and weight, the P-Guns are a bit heavier, if your 5'0" and weigh 85 lbs this could be a challenge ... if you're a senior in HS, no problem.

Are you shooting with a club, JROTC, or by yourself (coming up on 270 I doubt by yourself)

I have several shooters less than 5'0" and/or under 85 lbs. They have no trouble whatsoever shooting precision. The Walther LG300 Jr and the P70 Jr work just fine for them. Most of them shoot much better with precision because the rifles are easier to adjust for them and the trigger pulls are so much nicer.

If you have aspirations of Olympic or collegiate shooting I say start precision as soon as possible.

McElroy wrote:hi, I was wondering if any of you know a good time to start precision air rifle from sporter. I am going to start after i shoot a 270 with a sporter, which is coming very soon. Is this a wise decision?

Hi

A good time to start shooting precision is when your parents (or you) feel comfortable with that your willingness to continue in shooting matches the amount of money it costs to buy a precision gun, leathers, etc. It's expensive enough to shoot sporter air rifle with the stands, kneeling rolls, mats, scopes, offhand stand etc, now add a $1500.00 gun on top of that....

If you're comfortable, then the time is as soon as you can hold the gun up.

Mike
Wichita KS

in answer to jhmartins question i shoot with the rayville rifle team. ive been shooting a total of 1 and 1/2 years but ive had alot help yes.

Erik ... 6's hurt.... Good targets overall in the Army Postal though..... What was the deal in kneeling? Were you running out of gas & cranking the sights?

It appears you are a Sophomore.
Is your coach willing to slip you into a spot on the P-Gun team .... i.e. is it your desire to move to P-gun or your coach's? Does you school have a P-gun team? He may feel needs you on the sporter team?

If you are willing to put in the effort and have the equipment available (or are able to get the equipment), then sure, go for it. Realize though, it is kinda difficult to pop back and forth between sporter & precision.

My daughter (appears to be a year younger than you) shot precision from April to just before Christmas this year, and is now back to sporter preparing for the 4-H events which are only sporter. It's taken her about 3-1/2 weeks to get her scores back to where she was at the end of March and it was frustrating for her .... it comes back, but it is not immediate.

So a lot depends on your view of your shooting .... if you are looking at a college or service academy shooting "career", yup, the sooner the better. Look around your area for a club where you can also shoot smallbore on the side. Check out 4-H for that as well.

Good shooting and keep us all here up to date with what you decide and how you are doing.