Just some observations about the differences between NRL22 and PRS rimfire as it relates to air guns. I know we have some non-US people in this sub-forum, so know that this is very US-centric. Also, know that I am by no means an expert about anything, these are just things that I have observed and pondered on. There are smarter and/or more active competitors around here that hopefully can add their observations and opinions.
NRL22 is air rifle friendly. They have a dedicated Air Rifle division. The air rifle winner of each monthly match is eligible for the monthly prize drawing. Shooting in the air rifle division let's you accrue points towards a National Championship invitation.
From an equipment stand point, NRL22 is great for air rifles. They allow slugs up to .35 caliber and up to 85 grains. The standard props are suitable for most typical air rifles with a front tank, the main exception being the middle rungs on the pyramid and shooting through the back of the folding chair like the February COF.
And the 100 yard format for the monthly COF as well as the typical 10-12 round count per stage makes this shootable with a variety of air rifles. But for the NRL22 X matches, you would want to have some high BC slugs ready to go for 300+ yard stages.
PRS rimfire is not really air rifle friendly. While they do have an Air Gun division, they do not give any slots to the regional or national finales. (they also don't have slots for semi-auto division). The top 80 Open division shooters and the top 15 Production division shooters get slots to Regionals. The top 30 Open and top 3 Production get a slot to Nationals. So if you wanted to get a slot to Nationals in PRS, you would need to compete in Open division and win a bunch of matches.
For equipment, they are more restrictive. Slugs or pellets in .22 and .25, weight limit of 49 grains. .30 is pellets only, 50 grain limit.
The courses for PRS Rimfire have some difficulties for air rifles as well. First is the ranges, which are typically 350+ yards. Secondly, of the 5 PRS rimfire matches I've shot this year so far, 3 matches at 2 different locations had barricades on some stages that were not shootable if you have a gun with a front bottle. The issue typically is a culvert or PRS barricade with a 5 inch high slot that you have to shoot through. You could squeeze the gun into the slot but couldn't see through the scope.
I've also heard from a well respected air gun shooter (not me, obviously) that some match directors for PRS rimfire matches are opposed to air rifles at their matches. They seem to be under the mistaken impression that the air rifle slugs will destroy their targets.
If you want to compete at precision rifle shooting with an airgun, there are some things you will need, common to NRL22 and PRS-R. You will need a gun that is accurate to 100 yards, that has a balance point 3 to 4 inches forward of the action, that uses at least 10 round magazines (12 is better (exactly 20% better)), and can shoot at least 15 shots before needing to be filled.
If you want to compete in NRL22 X matches or the NRL22 National Championship, you will need to stretch out to 300+ yards. So now we are looking at slugs, make sure your magazines can handle slugs.
If you want to compete in PRS rimfire matches, you need everything listed for NRL22 X matches, but remember that the slugs can only be .22 or .25, and no more than 49 grains. You will also want a slim fore end to squeeze into some barricades. And your scope choice will be important, since you will be shooting lower velocities than the rimfire shooters so there will be more drop for the far targets. And if you want to be competitive at a high level, you will be competing against high end rimfire guns shot by very good shooters. No, production class isn't an option for air guns. The only gun that would meet the price requirement for Production class would be something like an Avenge-X. No offense, but an Avenge-X is not going to compete against a decent CZ-457 at 300 yards.
So why shoot an air rifle for precision rifle matches? Well, the main reason is because air rifles are fun. And they can be much more "neighbor friendly" for more practice options. But the biggest factor is probably the ammo. Some of the slugs coming out now have much better BCs than 22lr bullets. And the price is very good as well. ATP Kings are going for $25 for 110 slugs. That's the same price as lower-mid tier 22lr ammo. The good 22lr ammo is at least $47 per 100. And with 22lr, you have to ammo test, and then lot test once you find the ammo your gun likes. All of the power is in the ammo, so if you want to shoot faster or slower you have to change to a different ammo and go back to the whole lot testing thing. With air guns, you can tune the gun to the ammo instead of the other way around.
In conclusion, NRL22 is currently better suited for air rifle competitors. Unfortunately, it's quite a drive to find NRL22 matches in some parts of the US, so PRS Rimfire is the only viable option for some of us. Hopefully PRS will update their air rifle rules to more accurately reflect the realty of shooting air rifles versus rimfire rifles.
NRL22 is air rifle friendly. They have a dedicated Air Rifle division. The air rifle winner of each monthly match is eligible for the monthly prize drawing. Shooting in the air rifle division let's you accrue points towards a National Championship invitation.
From an equipment stand point, NRL22 is great for air rifles. They allow slugs up to .35 caliber and up to 85 grains. The standard props are suitable for most typical air rifles with a front tank, the main exception being the middle rungs on the pyramid and shooting through the back of the folding chair like the February COF.
And the 100 yard format for the monthly COF as well as the typical 10-12 round count per stage makes this shootable with a variety of air rifles. But for the NRL22 X matches, you would want to have some high BC slugs ready to go for 300+ yard stages.
PRS rimfire is not really air rifle friendly. While they do have an Air Gun division, they do not give any slots to the regional or national finales. (they also don't have slots for semi-auto division). The top 80 Open division shooters and the top 15 Production division shooters get slots to Regionals. The top 30 Open and top 3 Production get a slot to Nationals. So if you wanted to get a slot to Nationals in PRS, you would need to compete in Open division and win a bunch of matches.
For equipment, they are more restrictive. Slugs or pellets in .22 and .25, weight limit of 49 grains. .30 is pellets only, 50 grain limit.
The courses for PRS Rimfire have some difficulties for air rifles as well. First is the ranges, which are typically 350+ yards. Secondly, of the 5 PRS rimfire matches I've shot this year so far, 3 matches at 2 different locations had barricades on some stages that were not shootable if you have a gun with a front bottle. The issue typically is a culvert or PRS barricade with a 5 inch high slot that you have to shoot through. You could squeeze the gun into the slot but couldn't see through the scope.
I've also heard from a well respected air gun shooter (not me, obviously) that some match directors for PRS rimfire matches are opposed to air rifles at their matches. They seem to be under the mistaken impression that the air rifle slugs will destroy their targets.
If you want to compete at precision rifle shooting with an airgun, there are some things you will need, common to NRL22 and PRS-R. You will need a gun that is accurate to 100 yards, that has a balance point 3 to 4 inches forward of the action, that uses at least 10 round magazines (12 is better (exactly 20% better)), and can shoot at least 15 shots before needing to be filled.
If you want to compete in NRL22 X matches or the NRL22 National Championship, you will need to stretch out to 300+ yards. So now we are looking at slugs, make sure your magazines can handle slugs.
If you want to compete in PRS rimfire matches, you need everything listed for NRL22 X matches, but remember that the slugs can only be .22 or .25, and no more than 49 grains. You will also want a slim fore end to squeeze into some barricades. And your scope choice will be important, since you will be shooting lower velocities than the rimfire shooters so there will be more drop for the far targets. And if you want to be competitive at a high level, you will be competing against high end rimfire guns shot by very good shooters. No, production class isn't an option for air guns. The only gun that would meet the price requirement for Production class would be something like an Avenge-X. No offense, but an Avenge-X is not going to compete against a decent CZ-457 at 300 yards.
So why shoot an air rifle for precision rifle matches? Well, the main reason is because air rifles are fun. And they can be much more "neighbor friendly" for more practice options. But the biggest factor is probably the ammo. Some of the slugs coming out now have much better BCs than 22lr bullets. And the price is very good as well. ATP Kings are going for $25 for 110 slugs. That's the same price as lower-mid tier 22lr ammo. The good 22lr ammo is at least $47 per 100. And with 22lr, you have to ammo test, and then lot test once you find the ammo your gun likes. All of the power is in the ammo, so if you want to shoot faster or slower you have to change to a different ammo and go back to the whole lot testing thing. With air guns, you can tune the gun to the ammo instead of the other way around.
In conclusion, NRL22 is currently better suited for air rifle competitors. Unfortunately, it's quite a drive to find NRL22 matches in some parts of the US, so PRS Rimfire is the only viable option for some of us. Hopefully PRS will update their air rifle rules to more accurately reflect the realty of shooting air rifles versus rimfire rifles.
