Small and bold - rating of small air pistols

There have been quite a few attempts to create something new and unique in the traditionally conservative field of spring-piston pneumatics. These are also ingenious schemes designed to compensate for the multidirectional “recoil” characteristic of these weapons, developed by the German “Diana”. And Theoben adjustable gas springs, now further developed by other manufacturers.

However, ideas borrowed from firearms are relatively rare. He has been experimenting with one of them in recent years (more about it at the end of the article). This is a combination of several calibers in one rifle.

Types of repeating air rifles

A person who decides to purchase a multi-shot air rifle may find it difficult to choose such a model. Such weapons can be classified in several ways, but most often the type of trigger mechanism is distinguished:

1. Gas rifles. In such weapons, the main energy source is a gas cylinder with compressed carbon dioxide. At the moment of firing, air begins to flow into the filling chamber until pressure opens the release valve. After this, all the energy is applied to the bullet in the barrel.
2. Spring-piston rifles. The trigger mechanism of such a weapon consists of a gas spring and a piston. At the moment the hammer is cocked, the mechanism contracts and becomes ready to fire. As soon as the shooter presses the trigger, the cuff acts on the spring, which in turn pushes the piston forward. The metal part hits the cylinder, which pushes the bullet out.
3. Multicompression or PCP. The so-called pre-priming mechanism is present in many modern rifles. The trigger for such weapons is no different from gas-cylinder models, but for some reason most sellers classify PCP weapons as a separate group. The only difference is that the gas cylinder can be pumped up using a pump that comes with the kit or can even be integrated into the rifle itself.

Of course, rifles can also be classified by type of purpose: sporting, recreational and hunting, as well as cost: expensive, budget and professional. However, all this is already clear, so let’s better talk about how to choose the right weapon.

Gallery[edit]

• Women's 10 m Air Rifle competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
• Olympic gold medalist Nancy Johnson aims carefully as she competes in the women's 10 m Air Rifle competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
• Hattie Johnson aiming her air rifle. She competed in the women's 10 m Air Rifle competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece
• US Air Force Academy Cadet Peter Fiori using corrective shooting glasses as a visual aid
• Competitor resting between shots during an ISSF competition
• User adjustable stock of a PCP match rifle
• Electronic scoring system used at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

How to choose an air rifle

In order not to regret the purchase, when choosing a rifle, it is recommended to pay attention not only to its appearance, but also to certain design features, as well as technical characteristics. Here are some important points to keep in mind:

1. Requirement of a license. A model with a shot power of 7.5 J or higher requires a special license, which in turn is issued with the appropriate documents (hunter’s ticket, athlete’s passport, etc.).
2. The type of reloading is one of the most important points that affects both the ease of use of a weapon and its cost. It is customary to distinguish rifles with a biathlon lever, bolt cocking, “perelok”, as well as weapons with an automatic system for feeding cartridges into the barrel.
3. Possibility of modernization - when choosing a pneumatic, you should also take into account whether it is possible to put some kind of “body kit” on it. For a hunter or airsoft player, this nuance can be very important.

Of course, we should not forget about the ergonomic properties of the weapon. An air rifle should fit comfortably in the hand and also suit the shooter’s build. A teenage shooter or a representative of the fair sex should not choose a model whose weight exceeds 4 kilograms.

General recommendations for selection

When choosing an air rifle, it is important to be able to correctly match the technical characteristics with the needs. For a novice hunter or sports shooting enthusiast, this will not be so easy. However, if you follow general recommendations, the likelihood of purchasing an unsuitable sample will be minimized. Here are questions to ask yourself:

1. Why do I need an air gun? There is no point in purchasing even a powerful pneumatic if the owner wants to use it for hunting big game. Rather than bother with obtaining an air permit, it is better to think about buying a firearm, for example, a pump-action shotgun or a smoothbore rifle.
2. Will I be able to carry out maintenance on pneumatics? Unfortunately, many owners forget that air rifles, just like military weapons, need regular cleaning and lubrication. If you buy an “air machine” with an overly complex device, then doing this will be much more difficult.
3. Will I be modifying weapons in the future? Many people prefer pneumatics only to attach various gadgets to it (NVD, thermal imager, laser sight, and so on). However, if the gunsmith does not plan to upgrade, then it is not worth taking a rifle with a wide base for modification.
4. Is it comfortable for me to hold the rifle? Don’t be embarrassed to ask the store clerk to hold the pneumatic gun for a few minutes. If it is too heavy for the owner, this will affect accuracy in the future (especially at long distances). However, for recreational shooting, ergonomics may not be so important.
5. Do I need what the manufacturer offers? Many modern air rifles are equipped with telescopic stocks, additional magazines, an optical sight and other amenities that are in demand in some cases, but completely useless in others.

Well, don’t forget about another important nuance – price. The point is not even that you should choose a rifle that will not cost three monthly salaries. It’s just that servicing expensive models is quite expensive. In addition, imported weapons may require branded ammunition, which costs 3 or even 5 times more than Russian ones.

A good air rifle is a great option for learning to shoot or hunt. However, when choosing a weapon, it is important to remember that not all models are sold without a license. If the rifle’s power is enough to kill a medium-sized animal, then most likely it will require a certain list of documents. Nevertheless, pneumatics have their advantages over firearms: low cost of ammunition, quiet shots, ease of use, and availability. So it’s definitely worth considering this type of weapon for purchase. Well, the technical specifications and photographs presented in our article will help you make your choice.

Popular models and their characteristics

Modern gun stores have a very wide range of air rifles. It will be very difficult for a novice shooter to choose a rifle that would suit him not only in cost, but also in other parameters. In this regard, we recommend that you first pay attention to those weapons that are most popular. An overview of some of these models can be found in the following sections. We also bring to your attention a small block that indicates the cost and rating of each of the rifles:

The rating and places are distributed according to user opinion, value for money, build quality, and technical characteristics. If a rifle is in 5th place, this does not mean that it is much worse than the one in the leading position. The fact that a weapon made it to the top already indicates that it is one of the best.

IZH-61 - 1st place

Hatsan AT44PA PCP - 2nd place

Crosman Classic 2100B - 3rd place

MP-512M - 4th place

Crosman 1077 - 5th place

Equipment[edit]

For the 10 meter air rifle and air pistol disciplines, match diabolo pellets are used. These pellets have wadcutter heads, meaning the front is (nearly) flat, that leave clean round holes in paper targets for easy scoring. Match pellets are offered in tins and more elaborate packagings that avoid deformation and other damage that could impair their uniformity.

Match air rifle shooters are encouraged to perform shooting group tests with their gun clamped in a machine rest to establish which particular match pellet type performs best for their particular air gun.[3] To maximum facilitate performance out of various air guns the leading match pellet manufacturers produce pellets with graduated “head sizes”, which means the pellets are offered with front diameters from 4.48 mm (0.176 in) up to 4.52 mm (0.178 in).

However at higher and top competitive levels, even these variations are thought too coarse-grained and match pellets are batch tested

;
that is, the specific gun is mounted in a machine rest test rig and pellets from a specific production run on a specific machine with the same ingredients fed into the process (a batch
) are test-fired through the gun.[4]
Many different batches will be tested in this manner, and the pellets which give the smallest consistent
group size without fliers (shots which fall outside of the main group) will be selected (small but inconsistent group sizes are not useful to a top competitor);
and the shooter will then purchase several tens of thousands of pellets from that batch. Group sizes of 4.5 mm (0.177 in) diameter are theoretically possible, but practically shot groups of 5.0 mm (0.197 in) are considered highly competitive.[5] Unbatched ammunition, especially if the air gun is not regularly cleaned, is generally thought to be capable of only 8.0 mm (0.315 in) diameter group sizes. Batch-testing match pellets for a particular gun is not generally thought to be worthwhile until the shooter reaches a high proficiency level (around the 95% level i.e
570 for the qualification round).

The occurrence of high scores is mainly due to the continuous development of the employed match air rifles from spring-piston type designs into single-stroke pneumatic and pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) designs. Modern PCP match rifles from the leading manufacturers all feature regulated PCP actions to minimize shot-to-shot operating pressure variation and hence muzzle velocity inconsistency, mechanical or electronic match triggers offering low shot development time (at low lock times factors like the dwell time of the pellet in the barrel become influential), shoot practically recoilless and vibration free, exhibit minimal movement and balance shifts and can be tailored by an adjustable aluminum stock and other user interfaces like the non-magnifying target shooting diopter and globe sighting line and various accessories to the individual shooters personal preferences to promote comfortable and accurate shooting from a standing position. Combined with appropriate match pellets these rifles produce a consistent 10-ring performance, so a sub-10.0 average result can be attributed to the participant and at 2022 top competition level a 10.5 average result can be regarded as excellent.

A typical PCP match air rifle.

The target: total Ø = 45.5 mm. 4 ring Ø = 30.5 mm. 9 ring Ø = 5.5 mm. 10 ring Ø = 0.5 mm, height 1.4 m above the floor

A typical 4.5 mm (.177 in) 10 m air rifle match pellet

Which rifle is the most powerful?

To determine the power of a rifle, it is enough to compare two indicators indicated in the passport with technical characteristics: the speed of the bullet at the moment of the shot, as well as the muzzle energy indicator. It is important to understand that the latter must be 7.5 J maximum if you want to purchase a rifle without a license. However, most of the reviewed models have exactly these characteristics (MP-512 immediately disappears). Thus, it remains to compare rifles according to the remaining indicator - bullet speed. In this regard, the Turkish AT44PA is far superior to its competitors.

When choosing a powerful air rifle, you should also consider its caliber. Which weapon will hit harder: the one that pushes a 4.5mm bullet up to 380 m/s or the one that pushes a 6.35 caliber ballistic projectile at 350 m/s? Of course, the second option. And, despite the fact that all the reviewed models use bullets or lead balls, this nuance should not be forgotten, especially if you have to choose a weapon for hunting medium and large game.

World Championships, Men[edit]

World Championships, Women[edit]

World Championships, Women Team[edit]

Current world records[edit]

See also: List of Olympic records in shooting and List of national shooting records surpassing the world records

Post 1 January 2013 World and Olympic Records[edit]

Post 1 January 2022 World and Olympic Records[edit]

World Championships, Men Team[edit]

Test procedure

Target: No. 8 Distance: 10 meters. Exercise: Shooting from air or electronic weapons

Shooting is done from an air rifle or electronic weapon. Shots - 3 test, 5 test. Time to shoot - 10 minutes. Preparation time: 3 minutes.

Shooting from an air rifle (VP, type IZH-38, IZH-60, MP-512, IZH-32, MP-532, MLG, DIANA) is carried out from a sitting or standing position with elbows resting on a table or counter at a distance of 10 m ( 5 m for participants of the III stage of the complex) on target No. 8. The organizer provides weapons for performing the test.

Shooting from electronic weapons is carried out from a sitting or standing position with elbows resting on a table or stand at a distance of 10 m (5 m for participants of the III stage of the complex) at target No. 8.

The result is not counted:

• a shot was fired without the command of the sports judge;
• the weapon is loaded without the command of the sports judge.

Features of Russian pneumatics

The classic version of pneumatic guns is the “break”, when the spring is charged by breaking the barrel. This pneumatic gun does not require gas cylinders, and you can shoot from it anywhere and at any time. In the Soviet Union, the most popular gun was the IZH22, which was mass-produced until 1980. This particular rifle was in all shooting ranges in the parks.

Since the 90s, the championship was captured by IZH38, after MP512, which is now manufactured under the Baikal brand in various variations. The reliable and simple MP512 rifle is still the best choice for novice shooters.

A variation of the “breakdown” is the MP60 shotgun with a side or under-barrel cocking system. Due to the fact that the barrel in these rifles does not need to be “broken”, they are made multi-shot - the bullets are installed in a clip, and loading is done automatically simultaneously with cocking the lever. The main advantage of “perelomok”, unlike other pneumatics, is its affordable price - you can buy a Russian-made rifle of this type for 3,500 rubles. Considering that, in addition to a gun, to gain shooting skills you do not need anything other than a paper target (or any other object in size corresponding to the shooter’s abilities), this type of shooting is the most accessible.

Since the times of the Soviet Union, traditions in the field of pneumatics have not changed in our country. In particular, the products of the large domestic weapons manufacturer Izhmekha are now represented by a large model range of pneumatic guns, which are adapted to various needs.

Modern pneumatic models have come a long way from their ancestors, and their scope of use is wide and varied: from hunting to sports shooting, from war games to a shooting range in the park. This opportunity arose due to the Izhmekha training rifles, where complete safety was observed and Russian legislation was taken into account.