How to   Shoot   Airguns

Marksmanship Basics for Air Guns

Basic marksmanship can be boiled down to one easy to remember idea. Take the time to get comfortable with your gun. As you shoot more, you become more acquainted with your new air gun. As you become more acquainted, you begin to relax and your shooting starts to improve. Relax and get to know your new pistol and get comfortable with it - which means go out and shoot it a lot. When you take the time to become comfortable with your air gun, you can really get down to mastering the basics of air gun marksmanship. These are: shooting position, trigger control, sight picture and hold or gripping style. All of this information boils down to a few basic principles and things to watch for when you begin shooting a new air rifle or air pistol.

Break-In Your Air Guns

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Many air gun shooters think that because they have shot 200 or so pellets through a new air rifle that it's now broken in. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ten times that number of pellets would be more like it. Normal break-in of a modern spring-piston air gun takes about 2500 pellets.

The break-in period serves to do two important things. First, the trigger mechanism starts to hone itself and smooth out. That initial wear is good for a trigger. The parts start to mate together, small imperfections on the sear and trigger face begin to fade and the entire trigger pull experience can be greatly improved for those who are attuned to it's nuances. Focus on all aspects of the air gun trigger. Where does it let off? Is it longer in the first stage or the second stage? Does it break cleanly or does it creep? As you begin to recognize the individual aspects of the trigger on your new airgun, you will also learn to recognize how it changes during the break-in period.

Second, the cylinder, spring and piston parts really smooth out and begin to mate together. The entire firing sequence begins to smooth out and vibration is greatly reduced. Learn to recognize the vibration that can be felt in your face as it rests on the stock when firing - it is important. Vibration is evident in all new spring piston air guns manufactured. As the power plant parts begin to mate, vibration begins to lessen. This is a good indication that your new airgun is starting to "break-in." Also, the air gun will become noticeably easier to cock. This is because the mainspring is no longer dragging against the wall of the piston air chamber. All of this break-in period must be accompanied by proper cleaning and lubrication. Refer to your owner's manual for this information and be sure to pay attention to any unusual sounds coming from your airgun like squeaks or high pitched squeals. These sounds usually mean that a good cleaning and re-lubrication are in order. However, it it vital to avoid over lubricating today's modern spring piston air guns. Use LITERALLY only one or two drops of lubricant. For most people, over lubrication is far more of a danger than under lubrication.

Beeman Goldfinger Combo .20 cal   For ready-to-shoot right out of the box, no other setup comes close to the Beeman Goldfinger Combo. This air rifle offers high power in a medium caliber and comes already assembled and sighted-in by Beeman! The R-9 Goldfinger is not the highest energy air rifle available, but it gets the job done - with accuracy and class. The combo comes with a tough 4-12x 40mm variable power air gun scope with adjustable objective, and their Deluxe 2-piece ring mounts with built-in scope stop.

Sheridan Silver Streak Pneumatic   Aaah.. to be young again. The great Sheridan C-9 Silver Streak is a really classic air rifle. .20 caliber (5mm) in the tried and true multi-stroke pneumatic design. Unlike the modern spring-piston air guns, this one stores a bit more air with each pump.The multi-stroke pneumatic design allows the shooter to vary the power for each shot. Sure it doesn't have the magnum power of the new German designs, but it's a great little airgun, and it sure does bring back a lot of memories.

Importance of Follow Through for Air Guns

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Notwithstanding the discussion below on how your hold affects air guns, the most important air gun shooting technique to master is follow-through. Because the total time between releasing the sear and when the pellet exits the barrel is extremely long when compared to regular firearms, the need for maintaining follow-through is magnified greatly. There is simply a lot more time before the pellet exits the muzzle for the shooter to wiggle the gun off target. As you gently squeeze the trigger and the piston is released, THINK the pellet down the barrel, all the way to the target and beyond. Maintain holding your breath and your sight picture for as long as you can - that's the easiest way to obtain the habit of good follow-through when shooting air guns. It is absolutely essential for good results with any spring-piston air gun.

Every air gun is an individual and needs to be gripped differently because each air gun recoils differently. The proper way to grip each air gun can only be achieved by experimenting. If you are shooting a brand new air gun and the accuracy is not what you think it should be, try changing the way you grip the gun. BEFORE trying a myriad of different pellets, try loosening up on your forend grip just a little. In fact, try simply supporting the forend with your fingertips and holding the pistol grip of the stock a little lighter. Air rifles can be very susceptible to even a small change in the forend pressure. If you hold the air rifle in a death grip, shoved tightly into your shoulder with a firm grasp on the forend and pistol grip, then you are exerting a tremendous amount of pressure and creating an artificial "pressure point" that is difficult to duplicate from shot to shot. Most air gun shooters do this because of recoil or more accurately, fear of recoil. If you find yourself using a very strong grip, your groups will start to open up in an evenly-spaced circular pattern. When you recognise what's going on, then lighten up on the air rifle and learn to deal with the recoil by working with it instead of against it. Try a 'limp' hold, breathe slowly, deeply and relax. Squeeze through the trigger pull and forget about the recoil. The recoil won't hurt you.

Shooting Air Guns

The National Rifle Association states that there are four basic shooting positions: prone, sitting, kneeling and standing (also known as offhand). Most people would rather stand and fire than sit and relax. Most "action" events are shot from the standing position. Most ranges do not have facilities for bench shooting. Informal shooting is only considered "informal" if it is done in the standing position. For almost all people, the offhand position is by far the most difficult to master. The offhand position is the very last one that is taught and scored because it is the most difficult. That is why, for beginning shooters, it is best to start shooting at a bench, off a suitable rest. Or if a shooting bench is not available, do your shooting exclusively in the prone position. When shooting at a bench or prone position, you can relax enough to concentrate on breathing properly, as well as, the trigger pull, sight picture and follow through without having to worry about properly supporting the air gun.

Regardless of your shooting experience or ability, if you are trying to improve accuracy and proficiency, start your shooting from a rest at a bench. In fact, you can shoot your entire 2500 shot break-in period from a bench. However, DO NOT rest the air gun barrel directly on any hard surface. That is a surest way to ruin your accuracy.

As you start to become accustomed to each air guns individual characteristics like trigger take up, trigger let off, trigger overtravel, sight picture, spring and piston vibration and recoil, you are able deal with each and really learn how your airgun works with your body. How it feels. You are an integral part of the entire shooting mechanism. How you react and how the air gun 'feels' and how to best control your breathing. You can take the time you need to become comfortable with your air guns, and that is the key to achieving consistent accuracy.

Sighting Air Guns

The so-called 'sight picture' is simply a proper alignment of the front and rear sights in a line with your intended target. Most target shooters prefer what's called a six o'clock hold - where the black circle on the target sits on top of the front blade. Others may like a straight hold that places the top of the front blade in the center of the target, effectively splitting the black circle on the target in half. Either way can work fine. It's a matter of personal preference. Pick a method and then use a consistent sight picture and try to place your cheek on the stock in same way for each shot. Learn to judge this and try to focus on placing your cheek on the stock in a repeatable manner.

A good quality airgun scope is a lot easier to shoot with accurately than standard open sights. A airgun scope places the crosshairs in the same focal plane as the target, so your eyes do not have to try and focus at two different distances. Much easier and potentially much more accurate.