It’s time to check out the American Airgunner Challenge

By Nicolas Gregoris

If guns, explosions, and world-class shooters duking it out for some serious prize money sounds like your idea of a good time, check out the American Airgunner Challenge.

The American Airgunner Challenge is a reality-style shooting competition that pits 8 contestants against each other in a series of 10 intense challenges. One by one, shooters are eliminated until a champion is crowned.

Competitor Justin Welch takes aim…upside down?!

This is season 3 of the Airgunner Challenge, and new episodes air on the Outdoor Channel Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. EST. The season finale airs next Wednesday, but after you inevitably fall in love with the show and want more, you can watch all of seasons 1 and 2 here.

The FX Impact M3 sporting some aftermarket furniture like a DonnyFL FatBoy sound moderator.

The American Airgunner Challenge will fill the Top-Shot-shaped-hole in your heart. The shooting industry has been craving a televised shooting competition and the American Airgunner Challenge stepped up and delivered.

The English-built Air Arms TX200 in .22 in all its walnut-and-blued-steel glory.

If the “Airgunner” part is making you hesitate, don’t worry. The airguns on this show aren’t your granddad’s old BB-gun.

A lineup of LCS SK-19’s – select fire airguns chambered up to .30 caliber

Modern airguns have come a long way – we’re talking 388gr .50 caliber slugs that deliver over 700 foot-pounds of energy. That’s twice the energy of a 9mm. Some airguns fire arrows instead of pellets or slugs, and they do so at speeds that rival or exceed that of even the most powerful crossbows. As a matter of fact, it is legal to hunt big game – like elk, bear, and deer – with an airgun in 25 states. 

Host and Producer Rossi Morreale showing off the Seneca Dragon Claw. A .50 caliber airgun that fires slugs or “air bolts”.

Not only are modern airguns powerful, they are also incredibly precise. Competitors routinely make shots past 100 yards and in season 2, a contestant was so dialed in he actually lit a match. Check the scores for big NRL22 or rimfire benchrest matches and you’ll see that airguns are routinely outperforming firearms in these competitions.

Competitors Sarah Salmond and Natalie Radzwilla goin’ head-to-head in Episode 7, “Ultimate Duel of Death”

Best of all, you won’t have to take a second mortgage out on your home to pay for trips to the range. Airgun ammunition (like slugs and pellets) is a fraction of the cost of even the most modest centerfire and rimfire ammunition. It also isn’t subject to many of the laws that restrict ammunition purchases in places like New York and California.

Matt Busbice firing the Sig Sauer MCX Virtus air rifle, which is a faithful copy of the centerfire version.

If you’re still on the fence about how awesome airguns can be and how much fun they can add to your shooting experience, tune in to the American Airgunner Challenge this Wednesday at 7:30 EST on the Outdoor Channel or FrndlyTV. You won’t regret it.