Does FPS of an Air Rifle matter for competition shooting

[GVS]

Dear All,

If one is to participate in an Air Rifle Competition under Open Sight category and has a Nitro Piston Air Rifle with Higher FPS (~950) , will there be problems in accuracy?

Does the higher FPS affect the flight of the pellet and cause a "pellet tumble".

Has anyone here used a nitro piston air rifle (~ 900-950 FPS) for open sight competition ?

regards
GVS

[dev]

Have you shot it at an air rifle target at ten meters? Shooting a few pellets would answer your question. For a serious ten-meter competition you would be handicapping yourself as everyone else will be using a match-grade pcp rifle. Any way begin and you can always decide what level you want to take it to.

[GVS]

Have you shot it at an air rifle target at ten meters? Shooting a few pellets would answer your question. For a serious ten-meter competition you would be handicapping yourself as everyone else will be using a match-grade pcp rifle. Any way begin and you can always decide what level you want to take it to.

Hello Dev,

Yes, I have used it at 10M and have got very good grouping. I need to see if co-competitors will be using springers/nitro pistons / PCPs. It will be my first competition. Just wanted to understand from experiences of others who might have competed in open sight and with a nitro piston Air rifle with higher FPS.
I have read on this forum, before posting this queston, that one member used a NX100 Club Elite with great success. SInce it has a velocity of 600fps, it might cause lesser recoil that will help when 50-60 shots need to be fired with consistency.

regards
GVS

[hornet22]

Most match rifles will have a velocity between 500 to 600 fps I checked information on Walther LG 400 match rifle and it says it has a max velocity of 570 fps

[4X4]

I would suggest to participate in a couple of matches first with your Air Rifle. Once you have observed other competitors and are uses to the way competitions are held , you can then decide if you wish to continue with competing further.

On higher levels of competing , it involves travel , stay , giving time as per the dates of competition and place. If your time schedule permits you for all this , then you can invest and buy Match grade Air Rifle and the accessories required.

[willyson]

Why don't you try out some matches with Air rifle? This way you will get a better picture

[Bishop]

Dear All,

If one is to participate in an Air Rifle Competition under Open Sight category and has a Nitro Piston Air Rifle with Higher FPS (~950) , will there be problems in accuracy?

Does the higher FPS affect the flight of the pellet and cause a "pellet tumble".

Has anyone here used a nitro piston air rifle (~ 900-950 FPS) for open sight competition ?

regards
GVS

Yes sir,you can.Most people use Precihole NX100 club series air rifle in this category.They'll have slight edge over your high power air rifle because of less recoil and fps best matched for shooting match pellets.
Note that you have to use wadcutters not field pellets in these competitions.

[mundaire]

Have you shot it at an air rifle target at ten meters? Shooting a few pellets would answer your question. For a serious ten-meter competition you would be handicapping yourself as everyone else will be using a match-grade pcp rifle. Any way begin and you can always decide what level you want to take it to.

Hello Dev,

Yes, I have used it at 10M and have got very good grouping. I need to see if co-competitors will be using springers/nitro pistons / PCPs. It will be my first competition. Just wanted to understand from experiences of others who might have competed in open sight and with a nitro piston Air rifle with higher FPS.
I have read on this forum, before posting this queston, that one member used a NX100 Club Elite with great success. SInce it has a velocity of 600fps, it might cause lesser recoil that will help when 50-60 shots need to be fired with consistency.

regards
GVS

Grouping? For 10m air rifle, the goal is to hit a pin point at 10m/ 32.81 feet, not just once but 40 (nr)/ 60(issf) times in a row... go for a state level match, see the scores kids are shooting at state level these days.... the answer to your question would be self evident.

The days when one could consider competing with anything less than match grade equipment, are long past.

Unless, its just about putting in your match entry and checking the box (of having participated).

Cheers!

[to_saptarshi]

Dear All,

If one is to participate in an Air Rifle Competition under Open Sight category and has a Nitro Piston Air Rifle with Higher FPS (~950) , will there be problems in accuracy?

Does the higher FPS affect the flight of the pellet and cause a "pellet tumble".

Has anyone here used a nitro piston air rifle (~ 900-950 FPS) for open sight competition ?

regards
GVS

Since you mentioned open sight , I presume people will be using break barrel / springer and not PCP with peep sights , in that case you still have a chance , but certainly not with a 950 Fps rifle. To keep it short to your answer , yes High velocity does impact accuracy to the extent that it makes significant difference in match. Preferred Velocity is to keep it somewhere 550+ fps to minimize recoil and getting optimum results. In case of springer people used to cut few coil to reduce its velocity and thus recoil at the same time , however that's not an option in nitro piston. Long back I used to participate in Open Sight Matches and won few medals, my personal best was 358/400 using a FWB 124. It normally shoots ~850 fps with JM tune kit , however I switched to a low power spring to reduce its velocity during match preparation.

[partheus]

I keep popping up in (pistol) competitions every now and then so I might be of some service. Yes, fps very much matters as it directly affects recoil which affects weapon control and hence accuracy. Generally speaking, higher fps = more recoil, given the same pellet weight. Since the distance you're shooting at is set, you want to be firing the heaviest pellet at the lowest fps possible to get the projectile across in as straight a line as possible. In such case, by having a rifle with a higher fps, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage against your competitors with lower fps guns who will have an easier time being more accurate. I've even seen peeps lowering their weapon velocity below 500 fps both for want of better weapon control and because slower pellets make rougher, larger holes that have a better chance of overlapping the target rings, meaning an automatic higher score This rationale however, assumes you're trying to compete which needn't be the case. If you just want to become proficient with your rifle, then by all means use it as is.