pretty good scores with Air Rifle, Small Bore not so much

[Ltdave]

my daughter just turned 15...

she started the NRA Winchester qualification program in fall of 2012. she went through the Distinguished Expert (we know it doesnt mean much) in about a year and half...

she started shooting competition late 2014...

both Small Bore and Air Rifle scores were typical of a junior starting out but towards the end of last year and in january her Air Rifle scores reached around 560-570 3P (integer scores) and she just shot a couple of high 570s (578 & 575) international (decimal scores).

her Small Bore scores for 3P (50 foot on a USAS 50 meter target) are hovering in the low 5s, at the Zippy Open she barely managed a 502 small bore score. granted she slept for crap the night before and only managed a 517 Air Rifle the same day but she had 577 Air Rifle 3P the day before at Camp Perry (Gary Anderson Invitational)...

weve looked at several different things trying to figure this out but to no avail. shes shooting an anschutz 1907 precise and i thought maybe it was too heavy. i had her shoot her 1903 for a couple of weeks and in one match. her match score duplicated the one previous at 517. again, this is on the USAS 50 target not the big ol bucket A-17...


has anyone got any ideas? i think the rifle is still a bit heavy for her but none of her other coaches seem to say anything...

[jhmartin]

my daughter just turned 15...

... i think the rifle is still a bit heavy for her but none of her other coaches seem to say anything...

A 1907 Precise is probably way too heavy. What does it weight in the heaviest config.
How tall is the gal?

You probably want that in a 1907 or 1912-14 stock.

[Scott J]

my daughter just turned 15...

both Small Bore and Air Rifle scores were typical of a junior starting out but towards the end of last year and in january her Air Rifle scores reached around 560-570 3P (integer scores) and she just shot a couple of high 570s (578 & 575) international (decimal scores).

has anyone got any ideas? i think the rifle is still a bit heavy for her but none of her other coaches seem to say anything...

Give her some time to get used to the smallbore rifle , the Precise stock is kinda complicated. Make sure it is adjusted correctly. Might need to look at how it fits her.
As jhmartin said it's probably too heavy for her. She will get used to the weight. One of the jrs. (5' 2" and 100-110 lbs soaking wet) around here is shooting a short barreled 2013 and it took her some time to get everything worked out.
Other things to check , is she getting good sight alignment and sight picture?
Are her positions solid?
Does she have good follow thru?


Hope this helps,
Scott

[Ltdave]

i couldnt tell you her weight (probably heavier than she should be) but shes about 5'5"...

the rifle is about 12.25 lbs...

the 1903 is about 10 lbs...

[redschietti]

My 5'2" 13 yr old shoots a 12.2lb sb..

Two thoughts..
Its not the weight that makes it heavy.. Its the Ballance. Id bet its way to long and front heavy.

You cant compare 3p air to 3p sb scores.. 3p air is sooo much easier. You can hand a sb shooter an air rifle and expect great scores but the opposite isnt true!!

[Andre]

5'8" 16, M. Shooting for nearly 5 years air, 4 smallbore. I shoot low 590's 3p air and mid 570's smallbore 3p. Do not try comparing the two. Yes, .22 bullets are bigger but the ten ring is harder to hit and the target is further away. Even the black is smaller, making it harder to focus on. Imagine the difference between a storybook and phonebook sized print.

Smallbore took me much longer to figure out. Heavy rifle weight sometimes masks apparent flaws in position and technique.

[rowdy]

We shoot nothing but small bore 3P in our 4H program here. I have a FWB 800 for my kids to practice at home. I’ve coached my 17 year old daughter for 9 years now. She always been scrawny, around 5’6” 100 lbs. soaking wet, but she’s been able to shoot her Anschutz 1907 (10 lbs.) since she was 13 with no problems from the weight. Last year she was averaging in the 530’s small bore and in the 570s with the air rifle. I agree with what redschietti said about balance. Up until last year I never thought about the balance of the rifles. She always said that even though she didn’t like the lighter weight FWB, (8.8 lbs. I think) it felt better. I figured out that the FWB was balanced way better than the 1907, which was much more front heavy. I spoke with JMartin about weight rules and added over 3 lbs. to the rear portion of her 1907 and balanced it out quite a bit. Even though it weighs over 13 lbs. now, she feels a lot better with it and has raised her small bore average up to the 550s.

[mobarron]

Don't be discouraged. It's very typical for a junior to be a year or two behind air rifle with his or her smallbore scores. But if you had access to a 1503, it probably would be better for her. Mike Barron