rob g wrote:
A few questions:
- is .22 an appropriate caliber given I have to likely turn down any air rifle to meet the 20 ft-lb limit?
- with my limited experience in FT are the 2 rifles I am considering appropriate?
- is there a better rifle option without breaking the bank?
- would a .177 caliber PCP give me the option of competing under the 12 ft-lb rules or is that likely to be a separate rifle requirement to get that low in PCP?
- There are a few guys who use .22 - the only issue is that when shooting sub 20fpe, the .22 JSB Express will only be going about 800fps, which is fine, but in .177 @ 20fpe they're in the low to mid 900s. So you'll have to be better at range estimation (if you're shooting Hunter FT - if you're shooting Open, they you can just range with your scope, or a laser range finder)
- AA are great, so are FX. It really boils down to what fits your best. The really high $$ rifles are very ergonomic and adjustable. My .22 Benjamin Discovery shoots as accurately as my full blown Steyr FT rig.
- I can't think of anything off the top of my head, there's a bunch of great rifles out there. Sounds like you want a multi-shot (makes sense for hunting) The HW100 is also a great rifle. Nothing wrong with a Marauder either, as long as you're willing to tune it up!
- Based on that email from AA, it sounds like that AA Ultimate Sporter shoots below 12fpe on it's lowest setting, so if you get that in .177 it should work? I'd not recommend using .22 in sub 12fpe, the trajectory would be very severe, still doable, but you'd have to have a scope that's very good at range finding in order to have any chance of hitting things.
The 1st match of the season at Port Colborne is next weekend, May 25th. If you pm me your email address, I'll add you to the mailing list.
Good luck, and welcome to the sport!