AIRGUN ANSWERS
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Airgun Shooter, Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA
INDOOR OUTDOOR?
Q
I am considering buying a 10 metre match air rifle for indoor shooting in the winter months. Would it also be suitable for outdoor target shooting?
YOUR EXPERT
RAY GARNER
A
MOST OF THE high-end Europeanmade rifles intended for the various match disciplines shoot at a maximum muzzle energy of 7.5 joules, or 5.5 foot pounds. This equates to a muzzle velocity of about 550 feet per second, depending on pellet type and weight, and is well suited for shooting at the intended 10 metre target distance.
With certain reservations, I would consider this level of energy to be quite adequate for outdoor target shooting at moderate ranges, and in relatively still air conditions.
Indeed, the Federation of German Marksmen – the Bund Deutscher Sportschutzen (BDS) – did have, and may still have, what it calls Class 3 Field Target competition for compressed air and CO2 rifles with a maximum energy of 7.5J.
Years ago I had a Feinwerkbau Model 601 single-stroke pneumatic rifle, shooting at about 7J. Fitted with a scope and using light, domehead pellets, it would shoot accurately out to 30 metres, provided the wind wasn’t blowing too hard.
The remaining energy at 30 metres is not high, but is enough to knock down American-style metallic silhouette targets or break small clay disc targets. Air rifle metallic silhouette targets are one tenth of the actual representative animal size, so 30-metre shots with an air rifle equate to 300-metre shots at an actual full-size animal target, as might be made with
