#ofc add on anything else that’s important for noobs to know!!

[totallynotsilversora]

hello! I watched the air pistol medals match today and remembered your post on vash’s marksmanship!! It’s so cool to see those little details and I was wondering if you had any tips for trying air rifle shooting for the first time? I think I want to give it a go:)

Ayyy glad I inspired you!! This is gonna be a long post and will focus heavily on Rifles specifically, so hang tight (everything below the cut):

I personally got lucky because there was an air riflery club that started at my highschool, so I never started on my own. That said it would be good to find a local club/ shooting range that could give you more solid advice about handling firearms and getting equipment! Handling any weapon on your own is pretty scary, so the first thing I’d do is to find places where they’d let you handle one safely!

As far as actually getting started I do wanna point out that the only reason air riflery is considered one of the safest sports is because it takes safety regulations VERY seriously! So before even getting a rifle you should at least know most of the rules, which are:

1) Always have a Clear Barrel Indicator (CBI) inside your rifle at all times. That way it can be seen from far away that your rifle is unloaded and safe. Usually a CBI is an orange lawnmower string that you shove into the barrel of your rifle. As long as it’s bright and long enough for you to see it stick out from one end to the other, you’re good!

2) Always point the tip of the rifle up and away from your head. All this means is that whenever you carry a rifle outside of its case/carrying bag you have the tip pointed above your head so it’s clear that you won��t fire at anyone. This is not the military, this is all for sport, so there’s no need to have the rifle pointed down.

3) NEVER put your finger on the trigger until ready to fire. Yes guns do have safety locks, but they don’t always work! Having your shooting finger resting on the side of your rifle makes it clear that, again, you’re not gonna accidentally fire at anyone. Also makes you look respectful imo!

4) Do NOT fire until you’re told “the line is HOT” (meaning it’s ok to shoot) and never shoot if “the line is COLD” (means it’s NOT safe to shoot). The “line” is where the shooters line up in front of their targets at the range, and line is HOT means that there are now shots being fired over the line (I love puns if you can’t tell).

If at any point you hear “COLD / Line is COLD”, immediately take your finger off the trigger and either lay your rifle down away from you (if you’re lying down to shoot) OR point your rifle up and away from your head. Once it’s hot again you may continue shooting.

Now that you know the rules, here’s a brief list of the equipment I used when I was shooting + extras that could help:

1) Rifle (ofc!). There’s a few options but when I started I was offered either a Daisy or a Challenger Pop. Both are simple and sturdy, but the Challenger is designed to be adjustable while Daisys are basic wood stock rifles.

Daisy’s also requires you to manually change out the air canister that’s inside of them, but Challengers need to refill their air from a bigger air tank on a regular basis. This is partly why I recommend finding a local range/club first that could help provide the air necessary to refill your rifle, since otherwise that’s something you’d need to get on your own!

2) Pellets! These will usually be lead pellets that have a cap on them (not the lil balls/beads!!). They come in either a little box or a metal can! I personally don’t have a preference for which ones to use but R-10s are considered top notch!

3) Shooting glove! They’re actually gonna look more bulky than you think, but that’s GREAT bc you kinda wanna be as stiff as possible. Most of them will have the finger tips exposed and wrap around your wrist like a boxing glove. Make sure to find one that fits snug but comfortably on your hand. If it makes it almost impossible to make a fist, you’re set!

4) Shooting sling + attachment! This is the thing you’ll need if you wanna shoot lying down or kneeling properly (unless you wanna wobble around all the time at the start of your journey to beating John Wick) There’s two options:

A) Leather slings! Super stiff and sturdy which is AWESOME! But also a huge pain to tighten around your bicep and adjust! 😭

B) Nylon slings! I had one and bc I was short and skinny af I NEEDED something that actually was adjustable for me! Unfortunately they would loosen up easier than the leather slings so I had to constantly readjust when I was shooting, but if that doesn’t bother you then I’d go for it!

5) Shooting glasses! Unless you already wear glasses, in which case no worries! Just having any sort of outer eye protection wear is a must!

6) Shooting mats! This can literally be the jigsaw puzzle play mats you’d see kids use, but as long as you’re not lying/ sitting on the floor you’re good!

7) Shooting stand! It’s essentially a tripod for you to rest your rifle on when shooting while standing. Some also come with a little platform to rest your pellets on, but it’s possible to just make and attach your own!

8) SCOPE! Your sights don’t zoom in on air rifles so you’re probably gonna need your own scope assuming the range doesn’t provide one. Some are small to wear around your neck, some are big that they need to be attached to a pole, and sometimes all you need is a good set of binoculars! So long as you can see the target and where your shots land from where you’re shooting, that way you can adjust your position and sights easily!

9) Cleaning kit! Normally just having a rag and some spray that can help prevent the rust on your barrel works wonders! I’ll be honest I was Not responsible with my gun but my coach always helped us wipe down our gun barrels every once in a while to prevent rust from building up!

10) Rifle bag! Just a neat thing to carry your rifle in! Like a canvas suit case for your fire arm! You can go all in and get an actual box but personally the bag worked well for me!

11) Target frame + targets! There are def tutorials on how to make your own target frames but most of them are gonna be wooden stands with some metal on the back and a pan on the bottom to catch the pellets. You could also buy some simple ones at Walmart!

As for targets… you could buy the target paper sheets as you’re supposed to!

… Orrrr you could hot glue Smarties and playing cards on cardboard and fire away XD

Extras:

- Ear plugs! It can get LOUD shooting at a range and I am easy to startle! Just regular orange foam ones work fine!

- Blind! This can easily be a foam cut to attach to the back sight where you place your eye. Normally you want to keep both eyes open, but if you have a hard time focusing down the sight then a blind will alleviate that!

- Pellet box holder! This lets you stick in however many pellets you wanna shoot without having to fish around a can or a box for a pellet. Great for keeping track of your shots as well!

Sorry this is a lot longer than I intended, but like I said it’s a safe sport only because of how much safety goes into it! As I’ve said, it’ll be great to find a local group that could get you started, and I honestly wouldn’t have stuck with shooting had I not have several good friends to be around! It can be a very daunting sport, but I hope this helped give you more clarity and direction on how to get started!!! Good luck and have fun!!! 🤞