Most successful FT guns
- Thread starter cavedweller
- Start date
I was also quite surprised at the data supplied by Thane. I've seen some Dreamline's a couple times, and maybe a Royale? once or twice, but generally, FXs guns are not shot much in the regular field target matches here in AZ.
I think Thane shooting his M3 at the AZ State Match a few months ago might be the only time I've ever seen an Impact on the lines (sub 20fpe).
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Ya, crew of one. Still waiting for Barry to take me up on the Cali invitation, hit the beach and some local breweries...
Really enjoyed the AZ Flagstaff shoot, incredible site, great people a really fun time!
Really enjoyed the AZ Flagstaff shoot, incredible site, great people a really fun time!
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my lack of infinite knowledge makes me ask: is this because the barrel and anything that touches the barrel are all of the same material so that thermal expansion and contraction have the same rates on all materials? or is there some other thing involved besides the obvious factors?
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Not really. The constant poi is mostly due to a free floating barrel that has 3 1/2” of full contact with the action block. Most airgun barrels are held in by inserting the barrel into an oversized hole and pinching it with a grub screw.
The constant velocity over temp is a different matter. It’s done by a very careful and thoughtful balance of materials with dissimilar thermal expansion.
Mike
The constant velocity over temp is a different matter. It’s done by a very careful and thoughtful balance of materials with dissimilar thermal expansion.
Mike
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Given the (still) relatively few of them, Thomas are the most successful pistols in AAFTA field target. But the Crosman 1720T is the most popular and successful pistol in field target among everyone else (that can't justify a Thomas investment), for good reasons.
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I was surprised when I went to buy a 1720T for a customer yesterday, and I couldn't find any vendors selling them anymore..
Does anyone know a vendor selling them still... even the crosman site says out of stock... I'm thinking they may have been discontinued...
That seems really dumb with so much success with that product. We even put the simple plastic butt stock on it for small competitors and it's even competitive as a 12fpe 50 yard rifle... very accurate piece of equipment.
Wayne
AirGun Oregon
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Yes Wayne, been a conversation this summer that the 1701 & 1720 were going away. Or .. appeared to be ?
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The question might be better asked for each of Four price points:
Very few air rifles will shoot out of the box without minor barrel lapping and deburring, and a little tuning and trigger work.
Again, this is assuming that the gun fits the competitor equally in their most stable position... which is not a safe expectation. Adjustability is a key point in my opinion.
$3,000 to $4,000,
Mike, with his Thomas is the only manufacture I know of, that test proves every gun before it leaves his shop. He wins the highest price point category, in my opinion.. Daystate Red wolf probably a close second. I don't like the FX impacts.. they have way too many parts that can fail, don't hold a tune, and are super hard to tune for accuracy.... in my opinion. We have had three Impacts with those difficulties, one for sale now for $1,200 if you are interested. (over $3,000 invested)
$2,000 to $2,900,
In the second price point, USFT, and RAW would lead the list for me. I used a non regulated low pressure fill (1,300psi) USFT tube gun to win the AAFTA GP this year with two 100% highest scores for the match, one 99% of high score and one 97% of high score, besting some Daystate Redwolfs and Thomas's in the process. Wind reading is way more important than the accuracy of your equipment, although in my opinion a USFT or RAW can be as accurate as the Red Wolf or Thomas. The USFT has the largest and strongest barrel block of all, for a "free floated barrel", even larger than Mikes Thomas.
Styers are famous for reg issues at the worst time during a key match.... be careful there.
$1,200 to $1.900
A used USFT or Raw wins again here for me..
Jefferson State Air Rifles is making quality air rifles again as well just getting in under this price limit for a new gun.
and $1,000 and under.
With a little barrel polishing the Kral line wins here. We like the Pro 500 for under $700. Benjamin puts their name on a line of Krals and ups the price for the effort. They also make the Marauder that deserves to be here too.
The 25 cal Gunner is a great gun for the Extreme FT and Benchrest games for the money... just at the $1,000 price point, but it needs a replacement barrel from Kral, but that's easy to install and costs about $70. We have upgraded several now that preform as well as anything we have shot in the 50fpe range at 100 yards.
But, again, it's not wise to buy without trying for fit in YOUR most stable shooting position... and you probably don't even know what that is until you come play and watch others, then try what seems like the best class and position for you.
That's the service we provide here in Ashland, Or. airgunoregon.com
Wayne
AirGun Oregon
Very few air rifles will shoot out of the box without minor barrel lapping and deburring, and a little tuning and trigger work.
Again, this is assuming that the gun fits the competitor equally in their most stable position... which is not a safe expectation. Adjustability is a key point in my opinion.
$3,000 to $4,000,
Mike, with his Thomas is the only manufacture I know of, that test proves every gun before it leaves his shop. He wins the highest price point category, in my opinion.. Daystate Red wolf probably a close second. I don't like the FX impacts.. they have way too many parts that can fail, don't hold a tune, and are super hard to tune for accuracy.... in my opinion. We have had three Impacts with those difficulties, one for sale now for $1,200 if you are interested. (over $3,000 invested)
$2,000 to $2,900,
In the second price point, USFT, and RAW would lead the list for me. I used a non regulated low pressure fill (1,300psi) USFT tube gun to win the AAFTA GP this year with two 100% highest scores for the match, one 99% of high score and one 97% of high score, besting some Daystate Redwolfs and Thomas's in the process. Wind reading is way more important than the accuracy of your equipment, although in my opinion a USFT or RAW can be as accurate as the Red Wolf or Thomas. The USFT has the largest and strongest barrel block of all, for a "free floated barrel", even larger than Mikes Thomas.
Styers are famous for reg issues at the worst time during a key match.... be careful there.
$1,200 to $1.900
A used USFT or Raw wins again here for me..
Jefferson State Air Rifles is making quality air rifles again as well just getting in under this price limit for a new gun.
and $1,000 and under.
With a little barrel polishing the Kral line wins here. We like the Pro 500 for under $700. Benjamin puts their name on a line of Krals and ups the price for the effort. They also make the Marauder that deserves to be here too.
The 25 cal Gunner is a great gun for the Extreme FT and Benchrest games for the money... just at the $1,000 price point, but it needs a replacement barrel from Kral, but that's easy to install and costs about $70. We have upgraded several now that preform as well as anything we have shot in the 50fpe range at 100 yards.
But, again, it's not wise to buy without trying for fit in YOUR most stable shooting position... and you probably don't even know what that is until you come play and watch others, then try what seems like the best class and position for you.
That's the service we provide here in Ashland, Or. airgunoregon.com
Wayne
AirGun Oregon
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Weight and how distributed plays a huge part in forced lane positions ( Off Hand or Kneeling )
Pending "CLASS" the ERGONOMICS of the rifles shape and places your body contacts it ( Butt, Hands ... being grip or fore stock, amount of drop, length of pull, adjustable Comb or having an accessory rail etc .. ) all matter .. to a point
With "Hunter" class being this Nations largest by far FT class category, most of the really exotic guns are just not required to play a very good game !!
While a lot ( self included ) Play Hunter PCP with top shelf equipment, it is a spoil in being able too .. BUT NOT A REQUIREMENT !!!
As to brands ... Good lord what a debate that becomes !!!!
Get a good barrel from factory, decent trigger and a CLUB with folks to show you the way of FT
you will learn to shoot the game and then view what others are using, try some of them and make a re-invest jump to more suited equipment once feet are wet and neck deep into the game !! before investing deeply on what read on the web
Pending "CLASS" the ERGONOMICS of the rifles shape and places your body contacts it ( Butt, Hands ... being grip or fore stock, amount of drop, length of pull, adjustable Comb or having an accessory rail etc .. ) all matter .. to a point
With "Hunter" class being this Nations largest by far FT class category, most of the really exotic guns are just not required to play a very good game !!
While a lot ( self included ) Play Hunter PCP with top shelf equipment, it is a spoil in being able too .. BUT NOT A REQUIREMENT !!!
As to brands ... Good lord what a debate that becomes !!!!
Get a good barrel from factory, decent trigger and a CLUB with folks to show you the way of FT
you will learn to shoot the game and then view what others are using, try some of them and make a re-invest jump to more suited equipment once feet are wet and neck deep into the game !! before investing deeply on what read on the web Upvote 0
Now that “the cat is out of the bag” I do need to point out that mine right “out of the box” didn’t shoot at all until I put a butt stock on it…….
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PCP Results – WFTF World Championships 2019
wftc2019.com 
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Doh! I meant to type butt stock or the shoulder piece, damn autocorrect on the phone!
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Glad you posted - I was about to "holler out" the same message - looking for condensed factual info on winning guns - i don't care about the people or scopes or weather or courses (i do care about peeps) point is when we look at accuracy FT, because of the shear number of rounds fired again and again has a lot of compiled info about how a particular pellet gun performs across the board. The rest of the nuances we mostly understand or take for granted. i have never seen a historical long term detailed spread sheet that put all the top contenders as a list strictly by the GUN type. That would make one hell of an advertisement!
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Hi Rich, back then a friend of mine named Dave Shames shot one exclusively for years and was in the top three in the offhand division at every match including regional and national championships. The gun in my opinion is the gold standard for underlevers. His was stock also.
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