TargetTalk

Hopefully will receive a Anchutz SuperAir 2001 SSP in a few weeks.

Question....
I will be shooting 3 position eventually and was wondering about the different techniques of cocking the rifle when shooting:

standing position with a stand,
kneeling,
and shooting prone????

Any secret techniques, videos or hints???

Thanks Ya'll

I'm sorry, but an SSP is NOT suitable for position shooting, only for standing.

You have to break position badly every time you cock the rifle.

I recently bought an Anschutz 2002 Superair SSP, but I mainly shoot silhouette, with a little 10M down the hall. These are both shot standing.

Only PCPs or CO2 (just a PCP with a different gas) are suitable for prone, kneeling or sitting, since cocking and loading is VERY similar to smallbore. Just a small motion of the trigger hand to cock and open the breech, drop in a pellet, and close the breech. You don't have to roll over, unsling, or do any other contortions; position AR didn't gain any traction until the advent of CO2 and HP PCP guns.

Since there are FWB (M-750?) and Walther (LG30) available for $1250, and the Walther made Hammerli AR20 @ under $900, with an advertised 350 shots/ 200BAR charge (ought to be about a gazillion with a 300BAR charge), give this some thought. I gave just under $1000 for my SSP, a model I've wanted for years. I've been reflecting on whether I might have been better served with the Walther or Hammerli since both use the same 300BAR cylinders as my LG 300 Hunter Open Class Silhouette rig. With the number of shots per charge, I wouldn't even need to take my tank to matches.

When shooting standing (and I've read that these SSP's were used in the Olympics at one time prior to PCPs),
where did they place the stand and how did they cock the SSPs without breaking the standing position??

(I guess I'll have to use some Southern Engineering for devising a technique for kneeling and prone)

Thanks again!!

For a right handed shooter the stand is usually just behind the firing line, and about a foot to the right (or a little less, depends on your height and reach). The rifle is usually cocked with the right hand while the left hand steadies it on the rest (resy height should be about armpit level0.

Kneeling is easy to cock by dropping the butt to the floor between your left foot and right knee. Not too disruptive.

Prone is a matter of rolling onto the left side, bringing the rifle back to you and cocking with the right hand, then rolling back to the right and reestablishing a good position. This will make you find NPA every time, but that is good training for every position. It also has the benefit of making you establish a correct position every time if you want success.

Don't be deterred from giving it a try. CA does make it easier, but I'm not sure you learn as much.

I would agree with Pat except that the OP appears not to have purchased yet (" hope to be getting").

Unless it's free or at greatly reduced price (Anschutz SSPs are running very close to $1000 on GB), a PCP can be gotten for $875-1250.

The cocking stroke of these SSPs requires a big movement of the right arm. No problem at all in standing, not much problem in kneeling. In prone, it's like doing the Gator. You'll be rolling over onto your back, trying to figure out how to brace the butt, or doing a clumsy one armed push-up. You will certainly get a lot of practice finding your NPI...EVERY SHOT. If you're left handed, I can't imagine how the task will be accomplished. I've always tried to avoid calisthenics during a match.

Back in the dark ages, match guns were all spring piston, with various systems of recoil suppression. The FWB 150/300, RWS 75, and last-gasp Anschutz 380 work great, but all have a side lever and hidden breech that's hard to get a pellet into blindly.

There weren't any competitions except standing.

Around 1980, Walther developed their SSP rifles and pistols. After a few years, so did FWB, Steyr, Walther, Anschutz, Hammerli, Gamo, and the last-gasp RWS 100.

Only standing competitions.

Almost concurrently, Crosman, Walther, FWB, and others began to develop CO2, which has much to recommend it as long as you're shooting in a controlled environment. This was the mid-late '80s.

High pressure air began to take over in the early '90s, and with the development of reliable regulators, took over completely.

Only after the development of CO2 and HPA SSPs have allowed the development of position shooting, really only the last 20 years.

So unless it's free, do yourself a favor, get an SSP.