My two cents.
Any, properly-tuned, regulated airgun with an LW (or similar quality) barrel and the correct ammo, will hold 1/2 inch, 100 yards groups, at an indoor range, using a machine rest. Anything else is less! That leaves three issues: The trigger, the scope, and the shooter.
All too often, airgun triggers are about as good as a Sears, Stevens-made, .22 automatic, rim-fire rifle! In other words, darn lousy! There are a few out there, like the W.A.R. series with, thankfully, Timney triggers. FX's seem to be okay, as do several other exceptions.
Most FT shooters don't mess around with cheap scopes. Neither do I, as I typically spend at least as much for the scope as I do for the airgun! Sometimes, a LOT more! Cheap is NOT the way to go. If nothing else matters, accurate repeatability of the turrets is an absolute must! I like Hawkes, but I like Leopolds better!
Ah the shooter! In my opinion, if you shoot less than 500 rounds per month, you're not going to win very many FT shootouts. Frequent hunting is important too, as it teaches you to shoot quickly. When you're in a firefight, so to speak, you need to learn to make almost instantaneous decisions of when to pull the trigger! In fact, the last FT I attended, the wind was gusty, from 5 to 15 MPH. That kind of shootout, quickly separates the men from the boys!
