Are there any good inexpensive benchrest rifles?
Benchrest rifle
- Thread starter Skip-in-WV
- Start date
The least expensive benchrest rifle will be something you build or cobble together - stopping when you realize enough money has been put into the project.
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Good is a relative term. For many years, I felt that a good air rifle was a 2 MOA rifle. I still do. Two MOA at 75 yards is 1.1/2 inches, and the 8 ring on the EBR target is 2 inches. If you shot all your shots into the 8 ring, you would have a good score.
Do I still shoot EBR with the Marauder I took to my first match? No, I shoot an FX, but it is a rifle I grew into.
Any benchrest match is a "gear heavy" sport. To let expense deny oneself the experience and the community of the competition is a bad call. At the basic level, benchrest with pellets is a marksman ship challenge. After my first EBR, I though, "This is the best no BS match I have ever been to". Air rifle benchrest is still that high on my list.
Ron
Do I still shoot EBR with the Marauder I took to my first match? No, I shoot an FX, but it is a rifle I grew into.
Any benchrest match is a "gear heavy" sport. To let expense deny oneself the experience and the community of the competition is a bad call. At the basic level, benchrest with pellets is a marksman ship challenge. After my first EBR, I though, "This is the best no BS match I have ever been to". Air rifle benchrest is still that high on my list.
Ron
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I've shot two 200s on the 30 yard challenge with inexpensive (under $500) SPA bullpups. Definitely not benchrest rifles in design but accurate enough to have fun with. Both are 22s. Probably not powerful enough for longer range but under 50 yards they will work. The Stoeger Scout and Ranger are similar in construction but are more conventional in design.
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RTI Prophet Performance gen 1 (used) can be had for around $1000. RAW HM1000x LRT used for $1200-1400 range. Both are very capable to win N50 matches If the guy behind the trigger is?
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Bench rest competition is something I’ve wondered about but have no knowledge, don’t know where to start. Any in the southeast? What are the requirements in terms of caliber, sights, distances? I’d like to take something I already have to start but don’t want to look like a complete idiot first time out. I’m about to start the 10 meter matches at CMP next month and looking forward to it but benchrest sounds interesting. Putting in the work is no problem but I want to avoid throwing money at it until I get it right.
Rick H.
Rick H.
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When you say "bench rest rifle" around here, people will rightly presume that you are referring to competition level PCPs which will cost many thousands of dollars to setup.
As a non-competitive airgunner my definition of a "bench rest" rifle may be a bit skewed.
In simplest view, I bench shoot all of my rifles - at least for tuning and sighting it anyway. Plinking, pesting and hunting rifles aside, leaves the heavier PCPs with the more powerful scopes that I shoot from my bench. Specifically for bench shooting are my Impact, (6-24x50) Panthera (5-25x56), HM1000x (6-24x50) and
Leopard (6-24x50).
I prefer .22 and accept the limits and challenges of that caliber. I shoot my 30ish fpe PCPs out to 50-60 yards and my 45-55 fpe rifles out to 128 yards (my longest shooting lane). This works for me.
It would help if you mentioned if you were into casual shooting or serious competition.
Cheers!
As a non-competitive airgunner my definition of a "bench rest" rifle may be a bit skewed.
In simplest view, I bench shoot all of my rifles - at least for tuning and sighting it anyway. Plinking, pesting and hunting rifles aside, leaves the heavier PCPs with the more powerful scopes that I shoot from my bench. Specifically for bench shooting are my Impact, (6-24x50) Panthera (5-25x56), HM1000x (6-24x50) and
Leopard (6-24x50).
I prefer .22 and accept the limits and challenges of that caliber. I shoot my 30ish fpe PCPs out to 50-60 yards and my 45-55 fpe rifles out to 128 yards (my longest shooting lane). This works for me.
It would help if you mentioned if you were into casual shooting or serious competition.
Cheers!
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I needed something funny to read this morning.
If you want to shoot bench-rest... take anything you have that shoots... plop your butt down and shoot. Slingshots and BB guns too.
Seriously though.
I’ve shot BR with everyone of my plinking airguns - why not? I’m not winning anything anyway; to me BR is about extracting the best possible score/group from a airgun or taking an airgun to "it's" highest level of performance while a mastering all the other variables in the equation: your body, your mind and the unforgiving environment or wind.
I enjoy shooting BR with all my guns as that’s how I learn about their idiosyncrasies. It also teaches me about my limitations as compared to my Airguns limitations.
Maybe you will get lucky and find a low priced exceptionally well made and "accurate" unicorn for Bench Rest, but I think it’s important to realize what constitutes “good” and or accurate, in your mind may be completely subjective to the harsh reality of what actually shows up on a paper target 25/50/75/100 yards away when in a competitive environment.
It’s not just the gun either…. The rests and other support stuff can be pretty expensive as well.
That said = set a budget for us, and we’ll be of more assistance.
I only have one true BR rig; a RAW TM1000 with a cut barrel in .22. I also have a one piece PDQ rest and a couple of joystick type rests….
just locking your plinking machine into a one piece rest will teach you a lot about you V the gun.
Then there are:
wind flags
rear rests
a high quality SOLID bench - for home that doesn’t jitter
an adjustable stool - or throne
legit targets
you can spend a bundle or almost nothing on any of these above mentioned items.
add in some therapy expenses as well as I’ve witnessed a serious BR shooter is likely to become obsessed.
below pictures are a journey in picture form
the first picture is my TM1000 cut barrel in .22
the three targets represent three different types of BR guns.
A dedicated Bench Rest USFT Mac1 shot at my second official event just sitting on bags
a Redwolf HFT rig shot at my first ever event - just plopped down on top of my gun case and shot
A proof target shot from my Thomas HFT rig = shot by the builder @thomasair - congratulations on your worlds performance this week!
second to last picture is the type of Bench you will find at a lot of ranges... easy to build at home if you want.
last picture is my indoor shooting to outdoor set up - it jitters too much.
Shoot what ya have, shoot what you can afford... create the best scores possible while learning to control (ha) the person pulling the trigger who has to understand a gazillion nuances.
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This is the place to start ... https://www.national50.net/
It has all the rules, list of clubs and "Match Results" pages will show you scores from shooters from all across America ranked in order of the score results.
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You all have pretty short memories. Recently, Ana Rose Spanagel, using an Avenge-X .25, with a factory barrel, beat all comers in a 3 card 100y benchrest match.
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I think it is the Goal you are trying to achive which going to dictate what you choose.If a pellet rifle or pistol of any kind can not shoot less than 1/2" at 30 yards in not good enough,yes springers do count in that group. Going farther out and keeping 1/2" groups is going to take more money and better equipment.
Take into count the shooters ability to be able to use the equiment he has before is the number one goal.
Take into count the shooters ability to be able to use the equiment he has before is the number one goal.
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Avengers are certainly good shooters and one of the best bargains at the entry level ... AND ... Congrats to Anna Rose too!
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TM1000 is one of the most competitive. A little less expensive, but maybe just as competitive in the light varmint class (12 fpe) is the Air Arms HFT500. That's not to say there are others, because I'm sure there are.
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I shoot my HW97 tuned to 11.6 FPE .177 R-10 8.2 GR and score in the 170's very little breeze (2 to 5 mph . ) Home range not competition's , big difference . hard to do better with a springer. My Daystate Pulsar can do better but right now i am working on at least scoring 200 plus with a springer.
EDIT you might start out with the 30 yard challenge for a while .
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A local competition with 13 participants doesn’t equate to “all comers”. She evidently has a nice shooting air rifle and is very skilled with it, but that doesn’t put the Avenger-X on the same level as the better guns. My Avenge-X is collecting dust after chasing POI shifts for months, and after adding barrel bands and harmonic stabilizers. I finally bought a better gun, gave my Notos to my grandson and took the scope from the Avenge-X to use on an air rifle with repeatability of shot placement.
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Cavedweller, what are your thoughts on using the one piece rest versus a front joystick? The one piece looks like a lot to wrangle around to and from the range.
Mike
Mike
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All comers at the event, yes it does. Sorry for you, but hers worked great, and if you saw the list of the other guns you would have even less to say. I don't remember exactly but it was mostly FX, a few Daystates, and two Thomas I believe. Her gun was at the same level for the two day event, it wasn't a fluke. Maybe yours not performing was the fluke. Either way, a lot of people seem to love the accuracy they are getting with theirs and a lot of tier one owners complain around here about problems with their guns too, and I'm not going to throw them under the bus for losing to an Avenge-X either.
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