Took my air rifle to the rimfire rifle match last weekend

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I took my 25 cricket to the deer lease, I had told my two brothers I had a pellet gun that can out shoot there 1022 rimfires, , I talked them into buying springers many years ago as I shot my 177 FWB a few times on the land, Charles bought a Gamo 177 Bob bought a Ruger 177 break barrel guns , No really super tight groups,,,
At the challenge I aired up the cricket with the great white set a target out at 30 yards , (I got the pictures somewhere) Mine were a little tighter than either brothers,
So I set the target up at 100 yards , Both put there guns up and got busy doing other stuff on the cabin, We shot skeet with out shot guns , and did a lot of work on the cabin but every time I brought up the challenge , Something else came up, They just did not want little brother to out shoot them with his pellet gun, Good fun.
Mike
 
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"azuaro""Pretty cool I must say….
I always wondered how an airgun would do against a rimfire in a contest"

If we are talking about DEDICATED high end .22 RF Benchrest rifles shooting the creme of ammo (Eley Tenex, Match or Lapua) vs. any kind of air gun in any caliber shooting the best pellets and shooting at 50 yards, the .22 BR RF rifle will beat the air gun all the time (indoors or outdoors) assuming there is no shooter error or let's say using a press for clamping the rifles...

I shoot both disciplines at very high level and while I have shot groups with my Steyr that are similar to the groups I shoot with the .22 RF Benchrest gun, a competition shooting at 25 little targets (BR 50/50) is a very different story than shooting 5 shot group...At the end of the day the .22 RF BR gun will beat the air rifle every time...

Keep in mind that .22 RF Benchrest rifles shoot 40 grain bullets that are very high in technology for aerodynamics, the velocity is usually at around 1035 to 1070 fps. and the wind is less intrusive than a 10.34 gr. pellet shot at 925 fps (.177)...Then you have the barrels, nothing beats US made .22 RF barrels for accuracy, then the triggers set at 2 oz. or less and lastly the tuners used to control vibrations and many other little things and ornaments used in BR shooting...

The one and only drawback of the .22 RF is the crimp of the bullet to the case that generates different velocities assuming that you already have ignition under control, but nevertheless, good ammo such as Eley Tenex , Eley Match or Lapua have spreads of 5-10 fps. which are excellent. Another issue with .22 RF cartridges is that there is no possibility of Boat Tail bullets and their ballistic coefficients are not that great.

With PCP or any kind of Air Guns we don't have pellets that are comparable in technology and consistency to the creme of the crop .22 RF ammo, we don't shoot at those 1040 fps. average velocities using 40 gr. pellets that fight the wind (conditions), we don't use under 2 oz. triggers and very few air gun shooters go thru the protocol of bedding, torquing, lapping, tuning, etc. their guns.

Don't get me wrong, I am an Airgun person... I shoot a FWB 700 Red Aluminum for ISSF 10 Meter, I have a new Feinwertbau 800 for the same discipline but I like the 700 better (fits me better), I also shoot a Steyr LG-110 very highly tuned with an extraordinary custom barrel for Field Target and BR shooting, at 25 and 50 yards...I also shoot rapid fire pistol with a FWB Rapid Fire model 56 and 10 M with another FWB model 44 pistol.... Either the FWB 700 aluminum or the Steyr rifles are much more expensive than any of my .22 RF BR rifles (have 2) and lets make clear that these 2 guns have the best of the best in components (Turbo action, Carbon Fiber Straight McMillan Stock, Shilen Ratchet Barrel, Harrel Tuner, Jewell trigger, etc.)...Sophisticated air guns are as expensive or more than comparable Rim and Centerfire firearms.

I recently acquired a Daystate Regal XL in .177 caliber that shoots excellent at 50 yards and it is a very nice looking gun...Actually it is a very good value for what you pay...But again, NO Air Gun is going to beat a top dedicated BR rifle at 50 yards...And if any doubt, just review the scores that are shot at the nationals in both disciplines: Air and RF BR competitions.

No air rifle has ever been close to shooting a perfect 750 (75 straight 10's) and in Rimfire BR nationals there are frequently 1-3 shooters tied with this perfect score and the tie break goes to the higher number of X's...

So yes, we all wish our pellet guns could beat time and again those .22 RF rifles at those big competitions, but so far this has proven not to be feasible, by the same token, winning a shoot at our local clubs competing against RF and CF guns and winning once in a while is rewarding and gives us a great deal of bragging rights. 

Regards,

AZUARO

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A
greed 100%. I have a highly modified 10/22 that will shoot 1/2" MOA (or better) at 100 yards all day long with good quality ammo as described (1" MOA or less with bulk ammo). It of course depends on the rifles, the shooters etc and I don't dispute the story at all. I just know that if I want to shoot the eye out of a pigeon at 100 yards and I have the option of using my Ruger 10-22, it will do it 10/10 times (unless I do something wrong). I do have 10,000+ rounds of experience with that gun as well. I have only about 1,000 through my Bobcat .25 so far....so that is a factor also! I am still learning how that thing shoots. LOL

I don't mean to take away from the story at all. It had to be a GREAT feeling to out shoot those powder burners! 8) Nice work!
 
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Yea, good story's But my Cricket cost 5x as much as there 10-22 rifles , And I am sure my scope cost 5 x as much as there cheap Walmart scopes,
But there was no way in hell I was going to tell them the cost of my hobby and toys,
Nope, They would be trying to put me in a nut house, LOL.
I know you can buy a green mountain barrel and spend a bunch of money on a Ruger 10-22 , but not my brothers.
They live in what I call mansions , But have just regular guns, (lots of them) Its Texas.
Mike 
 
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As a side note, I just noticed that the American Airgunner TV show recently had a show comparing .22 cal RF and .22 cal airguns. It aired the end of July 2015. They shot at 25 yards and 50 yards. Walther LGU versus stock Ruger 10/22. Their Ruger shot like complete crap and at 25 yards, the airgun might have done better. Same at 50.....stock Ruger vs. Walther made the Walther look really good IMO. Thinking about my Bobcat, it would easily outshoot the Walther they were using and that would have really made the Ruger 10/22 look horrible.

If my Ruger shot like that, I would use it for a pry bar LOL! Again.....depends on the rifles and the shooters! :)


 
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