A Forgotten Training Aid
by John Tate
Regardless of the splendid benefits of dry fire training, eventually a shooter needs to shoot – to send lead down range. However, there a many valid factors that constrain those opportunities, such as access to a shooting range; inclement weather*, and lately, inability to find .22 ammunition.
Friends, there is a cure: The Air Gun..
Whether air rifle or air pistol, air gun practice is good practice! Some of the benefits:
- There are some entirely adequate air guns on the market for a pittance of what firearms cost.
- The propellant for pump actions is free.
- .177 or .22 pellets are not hard to find … and with a good bullet trip, some can even be re-used.†
- You can shoot airgun in your own home: in the basement; down the hall; even across a room.
- Follow through is dramatically reinforced, because, especially with an air rifle, you can begin dropping the arm before the pellet gets out of the barrel.
* On the other hand, warriors will do well to take advantage of opportunities to shoot in foul weather. Wars don’t stop for storms. And for competition, there are a lot of folks who won’t train in the rain. If you know how and thus don’t care, you’ll have a definite advantage!
† I’m told this is not recommended. Not sure why. When not materially deformed, used pellets work fine for me.
Firearm User Network 
Sep 05, 2014 @ 10:28:10
Good points! On the same token, archery dramatically increased my marksmanship skills with a pistol. Besides “follow through”, one has to be very articulate with every aspect in shooting a compound bow accurately. The equipment has to be of high quality and each component has to be balanced and identical. Then, learning how to successfully hunt with a bow increases “woods awareness”…also good for tactical training. Learning to be patient and almost motionless for long periods of time are key traits for a Precision Rifleman (sniper). Ted A Sames II, SISSTRAINING.COM
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Sep 05, 2014 @ 16:34:47
good bullet TRAP
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Sep 06, 2014 @ 12:23:42
I use a Daisy M853 and M888 for training. At 10 meters, using RWS Meisterkugeln pellets, both will put one pellet on top of the other. If you don’t have tiny bugholes on the target, you know immediately something is wrong with your form. I only wish I would have discovered air rifle practice before I started shooting service rifle competition many years ago. My scores would have increased much faster with a lot less expense in ammunition.
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Sep 06, 2014 @ 12:30:36
If airgun use is legal where you live:
Here’s a link to an easy to make (and cheap) BB trap for use with airsoft guns:
http://www.pointshooting.com/1airsoft.htm
Here’s a link to how to make a “gas up” station employing small butane tanks:
http://www.pointshooting.com/1afillup.htm
There is an adapter that you can get on the web:
http://airsoft-innovations.com/en/gungas-propane-adaptor-kit
that screws onto the tank. It along with a small bottle of silicone oil is about $15.
Use a small eye dropper which makes it easy to add a drop or two of oil on the inlet valve of magazines.
Curently have a butane bottle duck tapped to one of the metal uprights of a shelving unit – works good.
I don’t re use BB’s
I have not used a Stark-arms pistol, but they have gotten good reviews and the prices are attractive. Spring powered guns are cheap, but they work 2.
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