Pellets used in field target competition

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Pelletgage

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Jan 31, 2017
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Saw a reference to a webpage for the WFTF Field Target Championship 2017 held in Wales last fall. A page linked below shows what equipment and pellets were used by each shooter. I tabulated this, and found that for 342 shooters, 242 reported using JSB pellets, 86 reported Air Arms, and 14 reported something else (some of those may have been JSB). H&N had four. Wow.

https://wftc2017.wales/guns-scopes-and-pellets-used-at-wftc-2017/

MOD EDIT: FIXED LINK
 
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EDgun pellets...that's who I was thinking of when I asked about other brands being made by JSB. That one is confirmed but it seems like there were a couple more but I can't remember the names. 

EDIT: and I just learned that Air Arms pellets are made by JSB but using AA's own dies. Man, I love learning all this stuff...not sure why it interests me so much but it does. 
 
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Since the smallest apertures are only 0.375" diameter, even the 0.022 inch difference in the radii of 0.22 and 0.177 pellets can affect your percentage of dropped targets. There are a few shooters who go with 0.20 cal, and occasionally someone brings a .22 to a match, but it's a disadvantage. You are limited to 20 FPE in the USFTA matches, and the higher velocity you can reach at that energy limit also gives you a flatter trajectory, with less chance to miss due to ranging errors. In FT, the ability to accurately range and make the necessary adjustment in holdover is a big part of competing well - so the flatter your trajectory, the less critical any ranging error would be.
 
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Field target IS great fun. But it's a challenge, too. You (like me) may think you are already great shot, and your gun is really accurate. You've shot all those paper targets in the yard, and gotten great patterns almost every time.

But get out there on the course with some competition, and you find just how much gap there is between you and someone with experience. Any little fault in the gun, scope, pellets, etc. will show up immediately, and your own ability to concentrate for a couple of hours and get shots downrange from different positions and ranges is difficult. But seeing the other shooters do it well is your motivation. And for the most part, field target shooters are more than willing to help you learn and provide advice about all the aspects of shooting.

You will likely find yourself getting a better rifle/scope, developing your ability to range, and searching for the best pellets. Not all the elements you need are expensive. For me, I wanted to do well with a "common" setup. Of course, my inexpensive gun has a new barrel, a custom stock, and about the third scope - the old argument of going ahead to get quality equipment from the start may apply.

The first time you clean a lane, beating a few of the people in a match, and finally getting on par with the better shooters is rewarding. I have met some great people and had a lot of enjoyment with this element of the airgun hobby. Highly recommended.
 
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"Pelletgage"Field target IS great fun. But it's a challenge, too. You (like me) may think you are already great shot, and your gun is really accurate. You've shot all those paper targets in the yard, and gotten great patterns almost every time.
But get out there on the course with some competition, and you find just how much gap there is between you and someone with experience. Any little fault in the gun, scope, pellets, etc. will show up immediately, and your own ability to concentrate for a couple of hours and get shots downrange from different positions and ranges is difficult. But seeing the other shooters do it well is your motivation. And for the most part, field target shooters are more than willing to help you learn and provide advice about all the aspects of shooting.
You will likely find yourself getting a better rifle/scope, developing your ability to range, and searching for the best pellets. Not all the elements you need are expensive. For me, I wanted to do well with a "common" setup. Of course, my inexpensive gun has a new barrel, a custom stock, and about the third scope - the old argument of going ahead to get quality equipment from the start may apply.
The first time you clean a lane, beating a few of the people in a match, and finally getting on par with the better shooters is rewarding. I have met some great people and had a lot of enjoyment with this element of the airgun hobby. Highly recommended.
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Great post 
 
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At first, I thought Field Target was something that was just way too over my head. All those guys with those weird looking rifles and ranging and clicking and what not. But, once I started doing some field target shooting and went to my first match, it all seemed doable and not it's a lot of fun. 
So, if anyone is in the camp of, "this is just too hard or over my head", I'm here to say, no it's not. 
 
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In one of the first FT matches I attended, I shot my little CZ634 springer. Did not do very well, but later in the match one of the guys in the squad asked me to try it. He hit the target with it, and told me that a new shooter had once come to a match with the same rifle, and had done exceptionally well with it in his first match. It's a $150 (or less) rifle, very simple.

I also know that Joe Peacock shot his first match at the Yegua Club, and won the match with a Marauder. He had prepared extensively, but we all nearly fell over when he did this. So maybe I was just a slow learner. Joe is a smart guy and has mastered things like RC helicopters, though.

As you say, Chas, it's not a necessity to have the $3,000 euro rifle and 50X scope to compete in field target. For anyone considering it, please give it a shot (pun intended). 
 
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