Canadian Airgun Forum

Is there a recommened pellet speed for FT ?

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Come and visit ..Doctor Frankenguns Airgun Forum..

Yes, the speed that will hit the center of the killzone .... lol....

Not really. There is a recommended maximum power and that is 20 fpe, no matter what calibre you are using. If you want a couple of realistic numbers taken from our rifles. 875 fps - H&N Baracuda, 910 fps -Crosman Premier Heavy, 880 fps JSB Heavy, all of these are at the top end of the scale and .177cal. 750 fps - JSB Exact 8.4gr .177cal which is a nice power level for a 12 fpe rifle and what canshooter's rifle is putting the pellets out at. And for your entertainment, 750 fps JSB Exact Jumbo .22 cal which is 19.9 fpe and my Elmira toy this year.

I have been in and around 17 fpe for the past 4 years with my Steyr and it really loves that power level. I have to say that I have yet to chronograph the rifle with the JSB Exact, but it will be less than 18 fpe. With the accuracy that I am getting, I will not change it, even if it is slightly lower than 860, but I think I did do one string and it was equal to the Baracuda, but WAY more accurate. Take care.

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Keyrigger
CAFTA Governor

When you are long winded, is that a sign of Wisdom or Old Age?

I owe you one Dan

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Come and visit ..Doctor Frankenguns Airgun Forum..

PS: If the trip to put on a display match in the Sunridge area comes off, you won't have near the trip down, lol. See you soon.

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Keyrigger
CAFTA Governor

When you are long winded, is that a sign of Wisdom or Old Age?

Can't wait for that Hopefully it will become a regular event in that area.

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Come and visit ..Doctor Frankenguns Airgun Forum..

We kind of have an unwritten rule in Canadian FT to keep guns under 20 ft/lb of energy to prevent damage to the targets. This does not mean to set all guns at 19.8 ft/lb and that will be best.

Some guns do shoot very well at the 20 ft/lb mark, others will not shoot well at all with that kind of power. PCP guns tend to shoot well at higher power, but there is variation there as well. Many that have the capability of changing the power of their guns will experiment to find the perfect pellet and velocity combination that gives the best accuracy for their gun. I have an adjustable power S400-SL in .177 that I will be putting through it paces to find that combination of pellet and velocity to optimize accuracy, which is what it is mostly about.

Spring guns can shoot high velocity, but the faster they shoot, the harsher the shot cycle becomes. For the TX200 and HW97 spring guns, many have found the maximum power to get a smooth cycle and flat shooting trajectory is 15-16 ft/lb and many tune their guns to 11.5 to about 14 ft/lb because it gets the best accuracy there.

Depending how you look at it, the down side or up side is that every gun is unique and the only sure way to tell is to get a variety of pellets and get out and shoot your gun with as many combinations of pellet and power as you can. One or two combinations usually stand out from the rest and that is what you go with. I like this process, so it is an up side for me.

My ld/SS, which was one of the prototype guns for the USFT likes CP heavies at about 910 fps. I have tried different pellets and different velocities, but nothing has challenged this setup, especially at the 50-55 yard range. When I miss, I know that my error or errors was the reason.

Shoot lots and have fun.

Tim

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Tim
CAFTA Governor and lifetime learner

I was somewhat surprised to hear that you are deliberately setting your Air Arms at 19.9 when PCP's output is so easy to adjust.

For safe measure, almost all of the International Class shooters wanted their guns down at least 15-30 fps from the maximum limit (JSB Exacts= 800fps/8.44g), producing energy results ranging from 11.11-11.55fpe.

19.9fpe will certainly have you over on some Chrony's, while under on others. Even your shot string variation will put you over unless 19.9 is recorded from the very fastest shot in the string. Even if such is the case, the Chrony variation is still an issue.

You better watch out...George might be a stickler this year and enforce the 20fpe match director course limit. Two shots over max energy level, and your "outta here".

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Canadian Airgun Field Target Association (CAFTA)

My rifle is really no different than some other ones in use. This is not the UK where they have taken the route of power limitation the dictatorship way, checking up to three times a match. I hope that never happens here.

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Keyrigger
CAFTA Governor

When you are long winded, is that a sign of Wisdom or Old Age?

Key and MAC answered your question well.

I would like to just add a couple of items.

Traditionally Field Target was shot with airguns producing velocities under 12 foot pounds of energy (8.4 grain pellet traveling out of the muzzle at 800 feet per second or slower).

As 12fpe was the cap, enforced because of government laws regulating airgun levels on a national level, such as in the UK (England is the birth place of Field Target), most shooters want their air rifles to be as close to the limit of 12fpe without going over. That means at a match most all of the airguns there would be producing between 11-12fpe.

The largest percentage of the world population of Field Target shooters still participate/live in clubs/countries that enforce the sub 12fpe rule.

In the USA they do not have to register airguns as Firearms as we do here, and they also do not have any across the board government laws that dictate that air rifles must produce 12fpe or under. So naturally Americans desired more powerful airguns. In America there is an understood cap of 20 fpe (8.4 grain pellet traveling out of the muzzle at 1035 feet per second for example) at the Field Target matches.

Canada has followed many of the American ideals for Field Target, including the cap of 20fpe, rather than following the English rules (the country of origin). We are unique, and differ from them in some respects as well, but a good number of the fundamentals are the same.

So at the Field Target matches you will see a wide range of power levels at North American matches. Typically from 11-19fpe ( say 765-900 feet per second). There will be a few rare cases of some rifle shooting below 11fpe, and a few shooting over 19fpe.

But with the establishment of the new Hunter class, and a new system of scoring, I assume we will see more low powered airguns in the future. Knowing this, those who set up the shooting courses are trying to make sure targets will fall with energy down to 5fpe. This is not being done only for the new, low powered shooters, but some of the targets were clearly not falling when paddle hit with sub 12fpe air rifles in the past. For those who are shooting non PAL airguns, there will be no guarantee that the targets will fall at longer ranges, as energy levels decrease. But with the scoring system for Hunter that we have set in place (1 point for hitting the target/2 points for knocking the target over), points will be be added for the low power shooters score.

If you have a PAL air rifle shooting at 750 or more feet per second, great. That would be preferred. If you don't, bring what you have, and you will still hit targets (and get points).

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Canadian Airgun Field Target Association (CAFTA)

My above comment was written with a level of humour.

I'm sure Canada won't go to that extend (UK checking three times per match)...but George did mention he was considering checks.

Plus, what glory is there in victory if it was achieved with a gun known to be over the limit? Just not worth it in my opinion.

I think we all agree that the level (20fpe) should be respected, or the rule changed.

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Canadian Airgun Field Target Association (CAFTA)

There really is not a 20 ft/lb rule. We try to keep guns at or below that because of the damage to targets that can occur at higher power. The match director can enforce a strict under 20 ft/lb rule if he chooses to and lets people know he/she will be checking to be sure.

Tim

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Tim
CAFTA Governor and lifetime learner

Some of us might welcome the testing as we don't (yet) own our own chronys
Will checking velocity be an option at some of the matches?
Thanks.

Let me know and I'll bring mine to Elmira...it's the easiest venue to do it as you can back your car up to the covered shooting benches and outlets are handy.

CJN, I know you were pulling my leg about it. I have not run it over the chronograph since last fall, and I think the velocity might even be lower than that, as my clicks were a bit different to what I had on my click chart. Hey, something to do tomorrow........

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Keyrigger
CAFTA Governor

When you are long winded, is that a sign of Wisdom or Old Age?