need help

[raghava70]

hi friends i am new to this group and sport..i am very much intrested in rifle shooting so i joined in gachibowli hyderabad..they told they will coach only for 10m pistol as there is no stock of rifle there and told that to learn 50m we need to have arms licence.now my question is
1)is coaching really needed for rifle shooting?
2)if i learn pistol will i be able to shoot with rifle?
3)how to get arms licence?
4)they told there pistol cost is around rs.85000.can i get for a lesser price with is good for learning for competitions?
5)i have mastershot 0.177 cal,4.5mm pellets.they told to buy from them which is costly.does my pellets suit there imported pistol as the size and cal is same?

waiting for your suggestions.
Thanks in regards
raghava

[essdee1972]

Hi Raghava,

Firstly, welcome to this great forum!

Secondly, I believe many of your queries can be answered by a search of this site. Just to simplify, I'll give my understanding below:

1. Coaching is needed if you want to shoot competitively. I have never been within 100 m of a shooting academy / coach, but then, I shoot for fun, not competitively. Like in any sport, coaching is required to go beyond a certain level. To have someone observe your mistakes and correct the same is invaluable, which even the Great Google Guru or even greater YouTube Maharaj cannot supply! Even though I am not a competitive shooter, I have benefited from IFG pals giving tips when we shoot together - improves the comfort, and after all, accuracy is important, even if your targets are empty Coke cans!

2. Not necessary. Or at least not to the same level. You need to practice with both, esp. if you are shooting in competitions. Everything is different, unless you can shoot a rifle one-handed pistol fashion, like Bollywood movie heroes! Ask if the club can teach you if you get your own rifle.

3. Ahhh.... the question which is top-of-the-mind for so many!!! Go through the forum initially. The overall procedure "should" be the same (as per the Constitution and so on!), but there are variations across states / cities. In this forum you just might find someone from your city who has obtained the license recently and might be able to help / advise. Also, being a "renowned shot" even in air weapons helps, if the experiences the guys here have put down are an indication. Join a club, compete, compete, compete..........

4. There are pistols available for less (in fact some el cheapo pistols are available for a few hundred, but then, you can't use them for anything except hanging on the wall). You can start with a second hand good imported pistol if you contact some experienced shooters.
Have you decided that competitive shooting is your forte? If so, go ahead and spend the cash. If not, get a lower priced, maybe a basic version, air pistol / rifle and practice until you are clear whether you want to shoot competitively or not. In my humble opinion, buying a highly expensive gun at the very beginning is like "Hey, car racing is cool. Lemme buy a Ferrari". Of course, if you got the cash to spare, by the Ferrari, and an Aston Martin to keep it company!!

5. As advised in many posts here (as well as in Pyramidair kind of sites) every airgun (every individual piece - not only every make of airgun) has a favorite pellet. Once you obtain the gun, zero it in, break it in, get a lot of small packs (as small as you can get, 50-100 pellet packs, if possible) of different brands / makes of pellets, shoot 50-100 of all. You'll know which is the favourite pellet of your own gun. Then go and buy a year's supply! For real competitions, you might want to go with imported (and quite costly) pellets.

[bennedose]

1)is coaching really needed for rifle shooting?

Having some proof that you were coached would be an advantage to get an arms licence.