Some sports take a little while to get used to. You cannot simply go to a hockey rink and be a professional without ever learning to skate. The same goes for golf, where you can do more damage to yourself with a bad swing, than to anybody else.
Air rifle shooting can also be a great activity to do in your spare time. But, it is not something that you should take lightly, without any preparation. Here is how you can start air rifle shooting safely.
Find a Shooting Range or Club
Owning an air rifle without ever shooting one is not recommended for beginners.
If you are new to marksmanship, you should go to a shooting club and learn the very basics. One of the first rules is to know where your muzzle is pointed and to never point it at another person.Once you find a good shooting club, sign up for a course, or you might even get a basic course if you are a complete beginner. Shooting clubs will not allow a complete rookie to handle any weapon, even an air gun.
Purchasing an Air Rifle
Once you understand the basics of handling a rifle, cleaning it and zeroing a scope, everything one needs to take care of their weapon, you can go ahead and purchase your own air rifle. Start off slowly, do not go for the dearest model, because that might not be worth it to you in the long run. A good enough rifle will be a great starting point, or something that is in the mid-range. Those tend to offer the best price to performance ratio. You should know that some countries require you to have a permit for an air rifle. You should obtain that information prior to purchasing a rifle.
Practicing at Home – In the Backyard
Air rifles can be used at home, but unless you have a very long corridor, up to 30 meters, you should probably use it outdoors. A backyard will do great for a make-shift shooting range. Make sure that when you set your targets up, that they do not end up being your neighbors. You would not want to injure anybody with a high-pressure pellet.
Hunting with an Air Rifle
This is a very old and proud tradition. Smaller animals can be hunted with air rifles. You do need to get pretty close, which makes it a very difficult way of hunting game. Most people use air rifles at home, to control pests. Rats, squirrels and rabbits can all be killed or deterred with an air rifle.
If you want to learn how to shoot an air rifle, learning at a club from a professional is the safest way. Afterwards, a whole world of air rifle shooting is available for exploration.
