Air Pistol and Air Rifle Competitions
Air Rifle
Shot at 6 yards and 10 metres, standing.
The gun is surprisingly heavy and very accurate and fires, usually, a .177 inch flat-nose-pellet. Flat-nose-pellets cut the target very precisely enabling accurate scoring. It is very difficult to hold the rifle still and many air rifle shooters wear special clothing designed to support the body, and the arms and the weight of the rifle so that the trigger can be pulled without disturbance to the aim. The idea is to put the pellet into the centre of a bull's-eye no larger than the size of the pellet.
Air rifles must have a power rating lower than 12 ft/lbs otherwise they are considered firearms and require special licensing.
Air Pistols
Again, pellets are usually .177 inch and most target-quality pistols are single shot. Competitions are normally at 10 metres or 6 yards. Shooting is with one hand only, the other must be tucked away. Air pistols must have a power rating lower than 6ft/lbs otherwise they are considered firearms as well.
At 10 metres the aiming mark is two inches across, and the bull is about a quarter of an inch across.
Hollywood cowboys can of course hit a two inch target every time - the rest of us must settle for less.
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