picking gun and caliber

Yep, .177 would be better than a .22 for field target. Of course, you shoot a .22 in field target, as long as it's sub 20fpe. If it is, it's going to have a very loopy trajectory. See it as an excuse to buy a new rifle!!

Chas

Great reason to purchase a new rifle! I love the .177 cal rifles!

I shot my first season with a Air Arms S510 in.22, very accurate with jsb 18s. Didn’t realize.177 was the norm. Splurged the next season on a Daystate Air Wolf, shoots like a laser. Then you get the addiction. Lol

Everyone was to tell me I needed a 177 as opposed to 22 for hft. I got the marauder field and target in 177.its very accurate after some members helped me learn how to deburr the barrel. Anyway its a very good field target gun. Anyway I feel like the 20 cal would have been a viable option its slower moving than 177 but does better in the wind so it's a trade off. I'm going to get a hw97k in 20 and try it out. Most dudes just want the smallest diameter because some times it's all thats between you and victory so if your really competitive maybe 177 is best. I haven't tested any of that yet but I'm sure the 20 will be fine for me. 

Some people just want to give it a try and shoot their rifle which is just fine.

Others have the intent from the start to eventually win matches against very talented shooters. If that's the case with you then yes get a 17 cal.

My most common problem with HFT is ranging past 40Y accurately. I'm not sure if I'll compete in HFT anymore because I find this very frustrating but I won't go into that right now.

I too tried my 22 cal FX Royale set at 19ftlbs with 16's in HFT. It was too challenging IMO. ON one windy day I missed the whole darn target twice, lol, something that I've rarely done in 24 years of shooting FT!

It's a Catch22 thing using 17 cal, light or medium pellets (haven't tried the 13.4's). I probably wouldn't try the Monsters in HFT because of the loopier trajectory if I shot HFT again. I'm still not sure which I like the best of the light or medium weights because my current rifle won't shoot the 8.4's as well as the other one did and I sold that other rifle??? That latter rifle I used back when I shot HFT the most often was very accurate with 8.4's at almost 1000 fps. The flatter trajectory did help with ranging errors but at the longer distances they blew in the wind more.

Well first and foremost is finding the most accurate pellet for your rifle. Next is a matter of practicing and getting to know wind and all the intricacies of the class. I guess my point is that when seriously competing every little legal advantage can gain you a point here or there and it only takes one point to put you in 2nd place.

If you use a scope height of 3" or more it has the effect of flattening your long range holdovers. 

Run what ya brung. As long as you can get under 20fpe shoot a rig you know, if not go anyway and find a loaner to use.

Mainly shot .117 in FT, did use .22 for 1 year, scored well using 15.9g JSB. "too hard" nah it's all about fun and a .22 @20fpe is close to the same drop as "12fpe" and somehow people have managed to figure such drop with great result around the world for some time.

OR, You really do need a .177 airgun around, friend.



oh on the "picking the gun" part, get to a couple fo shoot's and buy the used one someone has you like the best



John

 "too hard" nah it's all about fun and a .22 @20fpe is close to the same drop as "12fpe.

I meant "too hard" in that I personally would have to practice my butt off to have any chance of winning against the 20ftlb 17's. I wish I could say that I had as much fun in the match I used my 22 cal in as I normally would with my 19.5lb 17 cal.

Heck in our club there is a former world champion that shoots WFTF/12ftlb, even this individual rarely wins the match, yes, does often win that class. Also we have another very talented WFTF shooter that also scores very high but rarely wins the match. 

Why, it's because the extra wind drift, and the extra drop, makes the whole experience more difficult. A debate will probably ensue....

Fun? Sure it's fun shooting in a match and it's even more rewarding when we win, right?! I tell my friends, Hey and to think I could of been home picking weeds right now, lol, instead I'm here enjoying life doing one of my favorite things.Tough choice I had to make right there, don't you think??!!.

Agree Steve. The relationship between wind drift and reducing fpe seems like an exponential and not linear curve. Meaning, (just as an atexample) that pellets at 6fpe get pushed 8x what a 12fpe pellet would and the 12fpe gets pushed 2x what a 18fpe would, even though the difference between 6 and 12 is 6fpe and the difference between 12 and 18 is also 6fpe. 

It reminds me of when I thought using a FWB 300s would be a brilliant idea for shooting springer class FT. That 6fpe recoiling springer is VERY easy to shoot accurately, and usually has enough oomph to knock down targets, but gets pushed so much in even the slightest wind that it every shot becomes a hope and a prayer vs reading the wind. 

Practice shooting in the wind. That will overcome the lower power disadvantage. I actually shot a Grand Prix match at 8.5 foot pounds (down from 11.3 FPE) when my spring broke at the top hat section. Recalibrated my click marks on my elevation knob and continued to shoot both days. I won my class and got 2nd highest two day score. More power or speed does not always translate to more accuracy.

Other notable shooters have done well with lower power sometimes getting match high score. Paul Cray. Jack Harris shot perfect one day at this year’s FT pyramid air cup and match high score. Greg Sauve has gotten match high score at Crosman. John Farbrother with his 10 FPE TX200 shot better than some open PCP shooters at the PAC FT. Brad Troyer and Steve English (2019 AAFTA National Champion) both WFTF Springer shooters have scored better than some Open PCP shooters. 

"Practice shooting in the wind" Well said Leo. I need to do that more. 

Chas

Practice shooting in the wind. That will overcome the lower power disadvantage. I actually shot a Grand Prix match at 8.5 foot pounds (down from 11.3 FPE) when my spring broke at the top hat section. Recalibrated my click marks on my elevation knob and continued to shoot both days. I won my class and got 2nd highest two day score. More power or speed does not always translate to more accuracy.

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Congrats Leo, that is amazing shooting, especially in adversity ! 

Though, wouldn't your example here be an exceptional shooting day rather than the norm, as far as competing against the better 20ftlb PCP shooters??? 

Also I think the wind conditions at a match and the level of competition present factors into the winning equation. IMO a low wind day sure helps lessening the difference between power levels. 

On very rare occasions things seem to come together, it just happens, and you gotta love it when it does. The opposite happens as well....

But yes, practice can make all the difference. World champions got where they are at for a reason. I talked to a world champion Olympic pistol shooter at the ShotShow a couple years ago. He practiced 5-6 hours a day..........

Rob Leatham, another world champion pistol shooter, had put 1 million rounds downrange in his life, and that was around 10 years ago when I read about it. Maybe 1.5 million by now??? Ha, when I shot a lot of pistol I put 5000-7000 rounds a year in practice which got me B stock world champion at the American Handgunner World Shootoff. HUGE difference between B stock and a Grand Master like Rob!!!!! If I were to shoot against him he'd be done with the plate rack by the time I hit the first steel!