Well, since you asked
Dave, I have a few comments regarding the air gun bench rest rules.
I was at the first competition in Berryville on Saturday. Don did a great job of putting on this match.
I was selected to be one of the three referies. What we saw was that as the rules are written the .22 cal has a big advantage over the .177.
The Sporter class is difficult. I shot that class with a RWS75S T01 which is a spring piston, 10 m, .177 rifle. That means you have to remove the rifle from the rest to cock and load it. I think the targets are too close together and too small and do not need the white in the center. Another ring of black without a scoring factor, only for visibility, would be nice. I finished second in this class. This is a work out. I would suggest that a little more time be added to this class as you need to use a spotting scope to tell where your next target is and to see your last shot.
Match class. To the best of my limited knowledge there never was a match air rifle made in .22 cal. They are all .177 and have been for years. A well built and shot .22 cal. precharged rifle has a huge advantage in this class, and it was a sporter style precharged .22 that won the class. It was well shot and prepared and complied with the rules as they now stand. I suggest that the match rifle class be shot by match rifles which means that they have an adjustable butt pad or cheek piece and were specifically built for 10 m match use, therefore being limited to .177 cal.
After plugging these targets in all classes it is clear that the .22 has a real advantage. If you are interested in getting the guys that shot BR-50 air gun classes to drag out those match guns they might have You will find that they are all .177 and have a distinct disadvantage.
I think that the old BR-50 air gun rules had finally got it right in providing a pretty level playing field. I think the ability to use .22 in the Match class for sure and possibly the sporter class as well may be a rule that does not attract shooters.
As far as unlimited class goes, the title says it all. If you want to build a .22 cal super rifle, fine. That gives the tinkerers and others a place to try out experimental guns and I think it deserves a class to do so.
As for spring piston rifles. As the rules stand now they have little to no chance to compete in .177 and a very good shooter with a lot of luck might compete in the unlimited class with a .22, but he is at a real disadvantage as he has to cock and load that rifle, which requires removing the rifle from the rest each shot. At the shoot there were four spring piston rifles shooting the unlimited class. Two HW-97s, a tuned HW-77, and my misbehaving TX-200.
We did not stand a chance. All of the spring piston rifles in the unlimitted class were shot by pretty good shooters and all were .177 cal.
Well there you have it. Hope I did not come off like a sore looser. I don't feel that way at all. Ya'll have created a great venue for .22 cal air rifles. I hope to be proven wrong. One reason is that the match rifles especially, in .177 cal. can be used to shoot 10 m matches and bench rest with no compromise to the rifle. Making it a .22 eliminates it's use in any 10 m competition.
I am done now. The above is just my opinion.
Respectfully,
Dan Hankins