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Shooting FT is like anything in life, you can just show up and participate, you can lightly prep for the event or you can take it to a higher level altogether. Its really whats right for you and what you want out of it. FT is something which takes time and commitment to get good at. For some it may be a fast journey others not so fast but no matter where you end up its a great and immensely satisfying when you turn in that score card and you've done your personal best.
This article deals with performing some sort of mild preparation for the event and provides a rough framework for improvements. I don't believe you should jump directly into the deep end of the pool but rather wade in first and take it 1 step at a time.
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“Despair is most often the offspring of ill-preparedness”
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 Don Williams, Jr
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Setting up your gun
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Start with a decent gun, scope and ammo. You will be as bad as your equipment is, if you're shooting a $50 Chinese Springer, your score will reflect that. If you're not sure what you want come on by and shoot with us so you can try before you buy. A few guys have some strong opinions on guns etc so don't be surprised if you get lots of "extra" information. An earlier article dealt with suggestions for equipment you might start there. I like springers but they are hard to shoot well and it will require a certain level of commitment, you'll start out slower but will develop into a real good shooter quickly. PCP guns on the other hand shoot themselves but take longer to truly master.
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A good scope will have an "Adjustable Objective" (called AO for short), be bright, clear and is not fatiguing to your eyes. It must focus down to 10 yards and should be at least x12 power, preferred x20 or greater. Your chosen scope should have target turrents or have a Mil-dot reticle (more later on this). Springers are very hard on scopes because they have a double recoil, first forward then back. This snapping behavior will destroy most scopes in short order, Look for an airgun rated scope if possible.
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When you first get your "new" gun clean the barrel before you start shooting. Airgun barrels have shallow rifling that can be scarred. Often the barrels are filthy and shooting without cleaning could mess up the barrel depending on whats in it. When cleaning use a "Crown saver" type pull through and avoid the multi-piece cleaning rods.
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Make sure you give your gun a good breaking in. Your gun needs a chance to burn off all the extra lube from the factory and time to settle in and loosen up. Try to shoot 200-500rds through the gun, clean it again, then start to set up your trajectory/ballistic charts.
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Adjust your trigger properly. You shouldn't be struggling to pull your trigger. You will be stunned at the amount of points you are giving up with a bad trigger. Here are a few links for adjusting the more popular trigger types - HW Rekord trigger, AA CD trigger
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Shoot only the right pellet. Try different pellets until you find the one that groups the best. The Domed heads are generally regarded as the best for FT. Pellets do matter and the best ones are typically JSB, Crosman Premier, Kodiak or Field Target Specials. When you find a particular lot that shoots well, buy a "sleeve" of them or more. All pellet batches vary greatly from time to time and what your gun used to shoot may be absolutely the worst with a different batch. 7.9 - 8.6grn pellets tend to work well in spring guns while the heavier ammo at +10grn work well in pcp's.
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Understand your pellets trajectory and create a trajectory/hold-over chart. In point 2, i suggested that you get a scope with target turrents or a mil-dot reticle, here's why. You will be expected to determine the yardage of the targets and then estimate the drop of your projectile. If you know the distance of the target, You can compensate for the drop by either holding over/under your target which mil-dots work real well for or you will move your cross-hairs up/down by turning the elevation turrent; Referred to as clicking.
To determine the range of a target your scopes AO ring is marked with yardages. When you focus in your sight picture with your AO it will be sharpest at one spot on the AO ring. Now look at the AO ring, -Presto- what yardage does it say?
The more powerful the scope the more detail you'll be able to see at the farther yardages and consequently be more consistent range finding.
For more info on setting up your scope heres a great guide as this is a very in depth topic. bfta_setup_manual.pdf (831.37 kb)
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Typical Mil-dot Chart
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Click Chart Sample
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Learning to shoot: 0 - 2 years
So you've caught the FT bug and now your ultimate plan is to challenging your brothers in the covenant. Then defeat our interstate rivals, the guys in the South, the East coast and eventually take over the world.
You have a good idea about what to expect in the game. You have probably found a suitable FT position and now we need to fine tune a few items to get you competitive. Thats right i said it - when you first start out you're not going to be competitive. But you will be in a very very short time.
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"I have yet to be in a game where luck was involved. Well-prepared players make plays. I have yet to be in a game where the most prepared team didn't win.”
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Urban Meyer
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- Practice, Practice and Practice: It may seem obvious but to get really good you need to practice, there's really no shortcut. Practice from the FT position as much as possible. This will do 2 things - make your chosen FT position comfortable and get you familiar with your gun.
- Read the article on shooting positions, and modify your position to become a stable platform. Work on your technique till you find a stable yet comfortable position.
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Learn and ask questions of others. Even the most ultra-competitive shooters will cheerfully answer your general questions and offer advice. The real FT guys don't seem to say much on the www, talk to em in private if you can. Be aware that more specific questions about PCP valve setups, barrel twist rates and the like may be a bit clandestine.
- Are you still struggling with a position? Use the shooting harness. It will make it more comfortable for you and keep you steady. You of course will need to learn how to shoot in it. A harness will add points to your score, it will make a non-competitive old geezer, like me, a shooting machine - period. Long respect goes to the "au natural" shooter and they have their own class in which to compete. The harnesses can be bought at Mac1airguns in Gardenia, Ca.
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Control your breathing. Shoot while holding your breath or while exhaling.
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Create a routine. Do everything the same when you shoot a lane, this will help minimize the rookie mistakes. Ask one of the vets how many points they've lost due to forgetting to check the strings, watching for the wind, forgetting to click, bad pellet, dry fire etc etc etc.
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