Parabuteo
29-12-2008, 10:32 AM
Well, I got the old girl back a few weeks ago and have actually managed to get out and shoot the beast.
I have to admit to a bit of a cock up here....
I usually mark ranges out using a 10y piece of cord. I also have a 10m piece of cord for pistol shooting.
I set the range out at 5y intervals and started shooting. Oddly the trajectory was loopier than it was before she went away:eek:
I was quite disturbed by this....so I went out and shot the practice again on the normal range....it was here I noticed I was using the 10m pice of cord and not the 10y:o
Cord re-calibrated.....superb!! (I was actually shooting nearer to 60yds and wondering why I could not hit the target quite as accurately...muppet:rolleyes:).
Anyway, enough muppetry!! Back to the BTAS100. Why have I not put this in with Charlts's review? Simple.
It turns out that my particular rifle caused a bit of an issue.
I have (had) a 100TK in .177. It was the newer front filling version, and as such, it appears they are alltogether shorter than earlier versions (Ben quoted a 13" barrel IIRC).
Having had all the parts made, it all went a bit Pete Tong when he got hold of Mine and realised the whole lot would need sorting (Adam from OI engineering has apparently been down the same road)
Still, ben put about 14 Hours of tinkeing into getting it right, and I think he did a brilliant job.
Initially, the rifle was probably only producing about 20 decently regulated shots, with about 4 mags being top whack (on a good day). Most of the shots had 20-30fps variation. This was most obvious at the longer ranges where flyers were quite regular (particularly noticeable with lighter ammo).
Add to this that the power was slowly creeping up, and you also had the barrel band connecting to the stock issue, and you have the potential for it being a bit of a problem child.
The rifle has allready had quite a good first squirrel season, so I was impressed, but I felt that the problems above were not to be ignored, and you dont normally try to polish a turd do you:rolleyes:
I have not put great long lists of velocity strings on here. There is no point. The consistency of BTAS regs is well known. All I will say is that using the HW magnums, the rifle is now spitting them out quite nicely, and groupng under an index fingernail at 45-50yds off a bipod. It could not shoot this consistently before the mods. It now also hold zero after filling and changes in temp (It was about 2 degrees yesterday) and will produce 5 consistent mags worth of shots.
Another spin off is that the meter on the end of the cylinder has gone, and the front end is about a pound lighter. This is due to the fitting of an FX Cyliner.
One of the possible options with the BTAS 100 is the have it supplied with a GINB stock, which, being sick to death of the original, I decided to go for.
This was one of the originals Ben had made and the later ones will, I believe, be slightly different, in that they will be cut to take the new cylinder bands.
Although not strictly a BTAS100 feature alone, the difference the stock (allied with the lighter cylinder) has made to this rifle is phenomenal.
I use both an NVRS NV scope (Occasionally:o) and, more typically, a Connect 01 prismatic from MTC (superb squirelling scope, huge FOV with a 10x mag and great in low light). Both of these require quite a high comb on the stock to get a decent cheek contact.
With the old 100 this was neigh on impossible. But with the fully adjustable GinB, it is like the rifle is part of the shooter. You cannot miss...well...I can, but for the rest of you;)
The double fixing point for the barrel also means the barrel is free floating. I have to admit I had allready bunged mine in the bits box and realised the advantages of the POI not shifting due to changes in the weather, filling etc, but now it is official, and works a treat.
From a personal point of view, there are 2 naggy, tiny, nit picking points which I am only mentioning because I hope Ben will take notice of the first point:D
The meastro makes no attempt to mark his masterpieces:eek: I know you dont like bling Ben, and I understand that, but a little disk, or inset badge somewhere discrete (although this will change with the cylinder band option which, apparently, are a nice shade of Blue with BTAS on them) would be the dogs.
I know the tree rats dont care that they have been shot by a BTAS....but we do matey. The work really is worth putting your name to:D
Secondly, as it stands, the cylinders dont come with a blanking plug for the filler port. Ben tells me that Steve Pope at V-MACH makes these, as does Richard at Best Fittings.
Actually, Richard has been kind enough to make me a one off with a bit more meat on the end so it can be pulled out more easilly and a hole for a cord.
The reason for this is that rather than cut bits out of said stock (which was born before Ben was aware of the new length issues) Ben rotated the cylinder a touch to expose the filling port. The port is now well placed between the timber of the stock and the barrel. Easy to fill, but sadly open to all sorts of coniferous debris and leaf litter;)
One small bit of advice. If you are going to use bipod on one of these, consider a Caldwell. They are significanlty lighter than a Harris (my usual pod) by about a 3rd so do not upset the ballance much. Moreover, when closed in a hurry, due to its closer proximity to the stock, the harris may cause damage to the lip at the fore end of the stock.
Sooooo, sorry if this is not a well written review, but what more can I say??
A real difference to an allready nice little rifle. Cycles as well as it did, but shoots much more consistantly and more precisely.
Well worth doing if you are going to hang onto your HW, and the stock option is also well worth the extra if it falls into the budget.
Thanks Ben, keep up the good work:D:D:D
I have to admit to a bit of a cock up here....
I usually mark ranges out using a 10y piece of cord. I also have a 10m piece of cord for pistol shooting.
I set the range out at 5y intervals and started shooting. Oddly the trajectory was loopier than it was before she went away:eek:
I was quite disturbed by this....so I went out and shot the practice again on the normal range....it was here I noticed I was using the 10m pice of cord and not the 10y:o
Cord re-calibrated.....superb!! (I was actually shooting nearer to 60yds and wondering why I could not hit the target quite as accurately...muppet:rolleyes:).
Anyway, enough muppetry!! Back to the BTAS100. Why have I not put this in with Charlts's review? Simple.
It turns out that my particular rifle caused a bit of an issue.
I have (had) a 100TK in .177. It was the newer front filling version, and as such, it appears they are alltogether shorter than earlier versions (Ben quoted a 13" barrel IIRC).
Having had all the parts made, it all went a bit Pete Tong when he got hold of Mine and realised the whole lot would need sorting (Adam from OI engineering has apparently been down the same road)
Still, ben put about 14 Hours of tinkeing into getting it right, and I think he did a brilliant job.
Initially, the rifle was probably only producing about 20 decently regulated shots, with about 4 mags being top whack (on a good day). Most of the shots had 20-30fps variation. This was most obvious at the longer ranges where flyers were quite regular (particularly noticeable with lighter ammo).
Add to this that the power was slowly creeping up, and you also had the barrel band connecting to the stock issue, and you have the potential for it being a bit of a problem child.
The rifle has allready had quite a good first squirrel season, so I was impressed, but I felt that the problems above were not to be ignored, and you dont normally try to polish a turd do you:rolleyes:
I have not put great long lists of velocity strings on here. There is no point. The consistency of BTAS regs is well known. All I will say is that using the HW magnums, the rifle is now spitting them out quite nicely, and groupng under an index fingernail at 45-50yds off a bipod. It could not shoot this consistently before the mods. It now also hold zero after filling and changes in temp (It was about 2 degrees yesterday) and will produce 5 consistent mags worth of shots.
Another spin off is that the meter on the end of the cylinder has gone, and the front end is about a pound lighter. This is due to the fitting of an FX Cyliner.
One of the possible options with the BTAS 100 is the have it supplied with a GINB stock, which, being sick to death of the original, I decided to go for.
This was one of the originals Ben had made and the later ones will, I believe, be slightly different, in that they will be cut to take the new cylinder bands.
Although not strictly a BTAS100 feature alone, the difference the stock (allied with the lighter cylinder) has made to this rifle is phenomenal.
I use both an NVRS NV scope (Occasionally:o) and, more typically, a Connect 01 prismatic from MTC (superb squirelling scope, huge FOV with a 10x mag and great in low light). Both of these require quite a high comb on the stock to get a decent cheek contact.
With the old 100 this was neigh on impossible. But with the fully adjustable GinB, it is like the rifle is part of the shooter. You cannot miss...well...I can, but for the rest of you;)
The double fixing point for the barrel also means the barrel is free floating. I have to admit I had allready bunged mine in the bits box and realised the advantages of the POI not shifting due to changes in the weather, filling etc, but now it is official, and works a treat.
From a personal point of view, there are 2 naggy, tiny, nit picking points which I am only mentioning because I hope Ben will take notice of the first point:D
The meastro makes no attempt to mark his masterpieces:eek: I know you dont like bling Ben, and I understand that, but a little disk, or inset badge somewhere discrete (although this will change with the cylinder band option which, apparently, are a nice shade of Blue with BTAS on them) would be the dogs.
I know the tree rats dont care that they have been shot by a BTAS....but we do matey. The work really is worth putting your name to:D
Secondly, as it stands, the cylinders dont come with a blanking plug for the filler port. Ben tells me that Steve Pope at V-MACH makes these, as does Richard at Best Fittings.
Actually, Richard has been kind enough to make me a one off with a bit more meat on the end so it can be pulled out more easilly and a hole for a cord.
The reason for this is that rather than cut bits out of said stock (which was born before Ben was aware of the new length issues) Ben rotated the cylinder a touch to expose the filling port. The port is now well placed between the timber of the stock and the barrel. Easy to fill, but sadly open to all sorts of coniferous debris and leaf litter;)
One small bit of advice. If you are going to use bipod on one of these, consider a Caldwell. They are significanlty lighter than a Harris (my usual pod) by about a 3rd so do not upset the ballance much. Moreover, when closed in a hurry, due to its closer proximity to the stock, the harris may cause damage to the lip at the fore end of the stock.
Sooooo, sorry if this is not a well written review, but what more can I say??
A real difference to an allready nice little rifle. Cycles as well as it did, but shoots much more consistantly and more precisely.
Well worth doing if you are going to hang onto your HW, and the stock option is also well worth the extra if it falls into the budget.
Thanks Ben, keep up the good work:D:D:D