Atten: Gunner and anyone else with info need suggestions for a match grade air rifle

Thanks. I forwarded the link to him. Karl

Very active forum for high-end airguns. Classifieds is very active Link on the page to a precision shooting forum also

These are not match grade air rifles. They are high quality plinking & pest control rifles.

Real match grade air rifles will come with good micrometer adjustable aperture sights. Nowadays, they come in three flavors:

1) Spring air: These compress a spring on cocking, and release it when fired. Done right, the entire action floats & slides so that the motion of the piston & spring don't apply any recoil to the shooter until the pellet is gone. The old Feinwerkbau (FWB) 150 & 300 were like this. I was raised on a 150 imported by Daisy in the mid-60's. I wish I still had it. 2) Pneumatic: The cocking process (typically one pull on a lever) compresses air, which is released on firing. This is OK, and I have an Anschutz 2001 that works this way. A number of the "break action" folding barrel rifles work this way, but nobody uses them much for match shooting because you can't rely on the joint locking up to the level of precision required. 3) Compressed gas: CO2 used to be popular, but at the Olympic level, they are pretty much all "pre-compressed air" filled from a SCUBA tank. The big advantage is that you don't wear yourself out shooting 60 shots (plus a final 10 shots if you are good).

If he is really serious about shooting in matches, a high end used air rifle will run > $500 easily. The latest FWB lists for ~$3K new.

The Crossman Challenger is an entry level match rifle (~$500 new). It's OK, but not nearly as accurate as one of the Europen rifles, which will basically put pellet after pellet through the same hole at 10 meters. I started my daughter on one.

There are some less expensive European rifles that are probably better than the Crossman, but they will be hard to find used. The Daisy Avanti line is inexpensive, and probably as good or better than the Crossman.

Doug White

Thanks. That will give him something to look at tonight. Karl