New guy taking a leap.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
E

esromvre

Member
Jan 21, 2022
12
0
South Dakota, United States
Here I go. Want to get into the pcp bench rest fun. And the field target.and to be honest the long range would be something that I would fall head over heals for.

Starting with a FX M3 .30 cal from Utah Air, and going to set either a NF comp or Vortex Golden Eagle on top.

The slugs that I purchased with it will be my starting point. But by no means are a final choice. 

This being said where do I look for information and wisdom for tuning, pellets, tanks, rests, pumps, barrels, any other accessories that may be out there. 

I have been watching all of the videos that I can to learn what I can but let's face it. Talking to someone who has been doing it is the best way to get started. 

I am trying to get this all taken care of while I am still working so it can be a pass the time thing when I retire. In a few years. 

If I set a pcp for BR will I need to get another for field target? 

Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated 

Also have been thinking about big boar pcp this just looks like a rabbit hole that is worth going down. 

Hoping to meet some new friends and have a good time 
 
My crystal ball SAYS - in a few years shooting that FX M3 will be like shooting a Red Ryder now. Of course one in unused mint condition should bring a nice price. You could use that money to purchase one of the new ray-airguns!

If you intend to shoot the M3 in a "few years" better stock up on lead ammo. Who knows what pellets/slugs will be made of then. Maybe some sort of self guiding polymer.
 
Upvote 0
Upvote 0
Unfortunately there is not one tool to do multiple tasks here. An EBR gun needs a good BC bullet probably 25 or 30 cal. Field target requires a 177 to 22 but if your being serious 177 is the only caliber. The rules say you can have a 177 to 22 but because the size of the holes you have to shoot through 177 is a significant advantage..... I still like using a 20 cal but I'm not a expert ft guy. I just play to have fun. Anyway things get pretty intense with the extreme bench rest you want maximum power and BC possible. Pretty much impossible with the 20 foot pound energy limitations on field target. You should pick the sport you want to get good at and go into that with all cards on the table. You should think about getting a decent 177 and then the best ebr rifle you can find. I competed with a Gamo urban 22 for field target and did fairly well at a local match but ebr takes a more advanced gun. Your probably not going to do well with a gun that doesn't have a free floated barrel and powerful 25 or 30 cal. Your also going to need a scuba tank or compressor if your going to do ebr and have a gun with a regulator. Hand pumping a 30 cal gets old quickly. It's alot of work and while a 177 gun is totally doable a 30 cal is really not. Your going to need to shoot thousands of times to get good and unless your crossfit champion of the universe a hand pump is not a good plan. I'd get one really good ebr gun and a compressor and then a second dedicated field target gun if you absolutely had to get into both sports. Good luck to you. My way isn't the only way but I've been around awhile now and learned some hard lessons. No cheap way to get I to both sports I'm afraid. 
 
Upvote 0
Welcome to a great forum and an excellent sport. I agree that it’s a lot of money to get all the way in ( rifles, compressor, bottle, scope, Chrony and so on ) but it’s so completely worth it if you love shooting. The best advice I have is to buy once and cry once lol. 
If you buy the best and stay in the sport you already have good equipment and won’t need to replace stuff, ( you will always need more guns though )! 
And if you end up not liking it it will be easy to recover most of the investment when you sell.

Have fun and be sure to post pictures of your rifle and groups too.
 
Upvote 0
I shoot FT and have other guns for different functions which is ideal but saying that, curiosity has had me wandering about the FX dreamline with field target stock. There would be a lot of tuning involved switching calibers and I am thinking the Dream Line is not really a hard shooter but maybe you could have a 177 tune for FT and a tune for 22. Maybe someone has seen one at a match or shoots one and can give you some information.
11122BFA-9D88-4DEB-AB61-E3F47BC931DF.1642946262.png



 
Upvote 0
Upvote 0
Its all about the usual tradeoffs - willingness & ability to invest, for a certain level of quality, and the time you are willing to spend to reach an objective(s). 

I am in a similar lane, long time shooter moving back into airguns some time ago. Interested in FT and pest control. Settled on the FX Impact in .177 setup for hunter field target, recently picked up a 700mm .25 barrel for long range. Very pleased with the .177, but it took some time to get it sorted. Waiting for warm weather to work on the .25; goal is to get it to 1 MOA at 100 yards. If that works it will be a versatile setup. Overall the FX Impact strikes a nice balance on my tradeoffs. If it doesn't work, I know I can easily sell for decent money. 

I got lucky a few months ago on an Air Arms HFT 500 listed on the classifieds and started down a parallel worm hole. Local club SMGC has informal bench rest matches in the winter, so I set it up for that. I am very pleased with the gun - much simpler and more accurate than the FX. Hard to beat a dedicated FT gun if you are serious about that sport.

Good luck!


 
Upvote 0
Where are most of the matches held at. All I see is the big ones on the net but there must be some type of club matches to tune up and practice.
Click to expand...

Some here:

http://www.aafta.org/member-clubs.html

and likely more notices in the Field Target & Bench Rest section for the forum.

If a person can shoot very well a dedicated rifle is the only way to go. I also personally prefer Tuning (as opposed to turning knobs) to perfection and never touching anything again for years. 

Get to any match and meet people.

John
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu