Precision air rifle selection

[shootnluva]

Good day everyone, I am in need of advice on selecting a precision air rifle for my 13 y.o. son. He is just getting into precision shooting. As I look at the different rifles/brands, there are different levels of pricing. From what I see it is for the different levels of adjustability that the rifle offers. My question is, Does one actually use all of the adjustments that the higher dollar guns offer? I know everyone is different, just trying to get a broad spectrum of thoughts. Does he need a stock that moves side to side or adjusting the butt pad/plate side to side would suffice? It's those little adjustments that I am speaking of. What are the most vital adjustments should we be concerned about? He wishes to shoot collegiate one day. Thanks for any input you have to offer.

[Rednook368]

The short answer is yes, the adjustments become important as your son improves/grows and you know he's going to stick with the sport. As you've probably gathered by now, the sport is a little expensive when you throw in all the gear (inclusive of a smallbore and air rifle if he plans to shoot collegiately), so if you are on a budget, be sure to think about how to spread that cost out by borrowing club gear when appropriate. Certain things will need to be replaced as he grows (ie suits, boots etc), so maybe not go whole hog on those kinds of things right away. Having to replace a club stock Anschutz 9015 a year after we got into this because of the lack of adjustments is my only regret. The gun shot extremely well, but as my son grew it became harder for him to maintain the shooting positions he needed to improve his results, so we had to upgrade. We didn't make the same mistake with the smallbore rifle, but we borrowed from our club until his competency grew enough to use the adjustments on a modern competition rifle.