TargetTalk

Hey,
I have been looking at colleges and i have noticed that the shooting sports teams are mostly smallbore teams. I was wondering, how hard is it to transition from 3-position air rifle to 3-position smallbore?
Thank you so much!

The fundamentals are the same. The thing that will drive you a touch crazy is the recoil. When I got to college, I was introduced to air while two of my teammates started smallbore. I thought air was great since due to no recoil, I could call my shot down to the mm it seemed. My teammates struggled a bit more, but that makes it sound worse than it was. Not sure how much time you have before college, but the more practice you can get the better. Is there someone you could borrow a smallbore rifle from, even if it's just for one match every month or two.

I have 1.5 more years until college, and no, there isn't anybody that has a competition smallbore rifle (even though i do shoot .22's). Also, I don't know of any smallbore competition near Nashville.

Just found this:

tennesseeshootingsportsassociation.com

Click on junior shooting and there's a director contact at the bottom of the page. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

You might also try to make it to a TN Martin Or Murray State home rifle match. There you can talk with some of the shooters on the team who are from TN or nearby to see what they know.

For most shooters there is a transition period and college coaches put their money on shooters who have demonstrated excellence in both smallbore and air rifle. If you're interested in college shooting, get yourself a smallbore taget rifle ASAP. Mike Barron

silentfury214 wrote:I have 1.5 more years until college, and no, there isn't anybody that has a competition smallbore rifle (even though i do shoot .22's). Also, I don't know of any smallbore competition near Nashville.

This team is out of Knoxville, but Mary would be able to direct you to any TN 3p events.

bluedragonrifleteam.com

The problem for me is that I have virtually no money and will barely be able to afford precision air rifle equipment let alone smallbore equipment. Also, the nearest range is probably 25-30 minutes away and I can't always get there. I would absolutely LOVE to be able to shoot both, but money is just so tight that there is almost no way to afford both. :.(

Well Fury, then concentrate on what the collegiate coaches want to see in Air. Shoot & practice >>>A LOT<<< (i.e. almost all) standing .... practice a lot of 60 shot standing and keep your journal and shooting resume up to date with scores and your average score month by month .... show them you are serious about what you are doing.

I've found collegiate coaches are a mixed bag ... when I chat with them about this Air-->SBR transition, some (maybe 60%) would really like to see some smallbore experience, but I was surprised that about 40% kinda wave that off and feel that they can get a good 3-P Air shooter up to speed quickly in SBR.

Keep you hand in 3-P, but start doing a lot of what they do in the collegiate world in air, and that's 60 shot standing

Fury,

Listen to jhmartin, but also start to work on changing your mental set. I had a shooter who drove 110 miles one way to shoot in our club, and can count on one hand the number of times he missed in three years.

Rewrite your remarks as: "I can afford precision air rifle equipment; the range is only 25-30 minutes away. I would LOVE to shoot both, but haven't figured out the financing YET."

Be positive, continue to do what you can do now, and look for ways to add equipment as you can.

Best of luck.

silentfury214 wrote:... Also, the nearest range is probably 25-30 minutes away and I can't always get there. ...(

wish I was that lucky!

Yes, I know it is not that far away, but my family only has one car and that car is occupied pretty much all of the time. Also, I know I am going to be able to afford my precision equipment because I would just about sell my computer for it. I am absolutely determined to get it and nothing will stand in my way. Now how is that for a more positive attitude? :P

Also before I forget, When I said that I wouldn't really be able to get there all the time, I meant that I MIGHT be able to get there once a week and my parents won't warrant me spending that kind of money on something I can shoot so little. Now this will probably all change when the car stops breaking down and we get a car that actually works, but until then it isn't exactly easy to get places. I am sorry if I sound like I am throwing a pity party, I would never do that, but I am just telling you my situation. You guys have been great to answer my questions and I thank you deeply for that.

My advice would be to purchase the precision air equipment, make sure your grades are the best they can be for your last year and a half, and use what time you have left after that practicing. Do concentrate on standing, spending about 80% of your practice shooting standing, but don't forget your kneeling (15%), and prone (5%).

The majority of collegiate programs do their best to get serious shooters on their roster if they get into the school on their own. Having gear of your own is a bonus in this respect as well. Most programs won't have a problem supplying a smallbore rifle for you.

If you are looking to get recruited, ideally coaches like to see international air scores with 3P smallbore scores beside it. But coaches understand that's not always possible. So 3P air scores are the next best thing. Shoot as many matches as you can to build up a shooting resume so send to coaches.

That is what I am trying to do. I currently practice everyday (weather allowing) and mainly on standing. It is really hard to get a job over the summer mainly because I am gone for so long trying to get to as many competitions as I can. Grade wise I think I am set, I currently have a 4.0 and a 25 on the ACT (yes it is pretty low, but this was my first time taking it and I didn't yet have all of the math).

It pains me to say this but maybe if money is a problem for your family maybe you need to rethink shooting as a sport. The problem is in shooting

EVERYTHING is expensive. Sad but true.

Pat McCoy wrote:Fury,

Listen to jhmartin, but also start to work on changing your mental set. I had a shooter who drove 110 miles one way to shoot in our club, and can count on one hand the number of times he missed in three years.

Rewrite your remarks as: "I can afford precision air rifle equipment; the range is only 25-30 minutes away. I would LOVE to shoot both, but haven't figured out the financing YET."

Be positive, continue to do what you can do now, and look for ways to add equipment as you can.

Best of luck.

Pat is right. Using the word can't means you are defeated before you even get started. I had a 12 year old kids who managed to pay for a new air rifle in a year.with paper route money. He got his parents to pay for the rifle and he payed them off within a year. The point is if you make an assessment of what you are spending your money on and decide what you can do without and then prioritize how you save your money I think you'll find the money. If you want it bad enough you'll find away to do it in other words you are going to have make sacrifices. If a 12 year old boy can make sacrifices anybody can. I see many people who are in financial trouble going through the same thing and they just haven't made any sacrifices.

I had a parent come and shot with his kids and after words I asked him what he thought about getting his kids involved. His answer astounded me when he told me that it was to expensive when he had four ($15,000 each) 4 wheelers sitting on a $6000 trailer. However, that was his priority in life and his attitude is to have fun know and not even worry about his kids future.

Here in the Northwest we have kids that are driving an hour and a half each way three times a week. Although range time is great thing you can always dry fire if you don't or can't drive all the time to a range. I was just talking to the Nevada coach and since they don't have a place to shoot smallbore anymore they are dry firing on Scatt machines.