Springer shooting at 70 yards

[Davey K]

since you where determined to hit that black spot how did you compensate for drop? dialed in or hold over? with holding over its harder to group well, the aiming point is covered by the usually thicker reticle. when i zero for a particular distance i only place a dot, i dont bother about Drop or drift, i just want to see group capability.

Next i measure the drop and record the drift after having checked the wind with my wind meter. (if i dont have a wind meter with me i will right down surrounding conditions, leaves, trees swaying etc..). I then see what the drop translates to in MOA and i dial it in.

when i want to practice hitting a mark like you did, i will draw the Dot, dial in the Elevation and wind according to current conditions. i will try to come as close with that first shot. if i miss i will record by how much. This has worked out to 170 yards with my 0.25 FAC unless a strong gust blows it off target in the last 50 yards.

If you do try further distances you might have to correct windage prior to 1st shot as the wind maybe blowing it off target completely as happend in the last picture with Shot 1&2. i like to use 2ft cardboard or a 12x16" metal plate washed in white.

good shooting and keep it coming. it is difficult to find people interested in forming such a discipline for long range requires alot of dedication and many are not interested in all that. i have been trying to get more people into it but not much luck yet.

heres a record i kept this weekend while having a play with Fullmetaljacket's daystate. Not dialing in the shot was the limiting factor. im sure if i could dial it in and use of fine reticle, dat rig can do better.
http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL888.../290266276.jpg
the target
http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL888.../290268205.jpg

heres another one of my rifle in summer. i would never remember all that if i wouldnt write it.
http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL888.../290266275.jpg

Nice to hear from you Films - I've been following your shooting progress on this section - very impressive! I've also been very intersted in the detailed analysis and preparation that you put into your shooting. I have to say that you are very much further down the road of long range shooting than I have yet travelled but I think your methodology and approach do hold the key to understanding long range air rifle shooting as a discipline.

To date, I've used mildots to 'aim-off', this has been fine as, with a 35yrd zero, I've got enough mildots to shoot out to 80yrds. With a 10X mag scope, 70 yards has been about as far as my eyes work to shoot accurately at small targets, hence this being the distance I've shot to so far.

If I'm going to improve on my results thus far and get better groups at 70 yards and beyond, I know I need more magnification and I also need to update my methodology. I totally agree with you that measuring the wind effect and then dialing that into your scope is the best way to achieve top quality results.

I'm going to be getting a bit of new kit soon and hopefully I'll be able to let you know if the changes I make produce some good results. Keep posting yours - they make great reading for any other enthusiasts out there - hopefully this section will become more popular as the idea catches on a bit.

The great thing about long distance air rifle shooting is that it does not matter what kit you have - good groups at 60 yards with a .22 12 ft lb HW80 and a 3-9x40 scope are equally as impressive as good groups at 90 yards with a .177 Steyr and an FT mega scope - it's skill that is being demonstrated not kit quality.

All the best fella!

[flims]

hello there, thanks for your reply, its very encouraging. i have to mount my old scope on the rifle again as it was in for some servicing. i guess that turret going up and down 7 revolutions in a couple of seconds did take its toll on it after some years.
on the subject of magnification, i think 14x is good enough, i never use more than that not even to shoot at cigarette packet sized targets beyond 140yards. here where temperatures are usually soaring above 30deg Celcius mirage is a killer and high Mag is useless!

Remember with pellets unlike bullets you dont have a trail so spotting a shot is harder especially when they have relatively little energy. a wider field of you will offer you the possibility to catch the pellet arching its way to the target and more importantly till it gets to the target you can wait to see the puff which will help you correct for shot 2.
one thing i found realy neat especially here where limestone is plentiful is that on a hit limestone will send a puff of dust in the air. If you are careful enough you will see it blown/drift by the wind and you can tell how strong the wind is at target. It truly fascinates me at times to see that at target the wind might be 3x stronger. no wonder a Miss!!
i dont want to go in too much detail but watch the surrounding conditions, its amazing how much they can tell you especially the mirage on a sandy/dry soil field!

as a tracker can tell you things from the land and surroundings, a lng range shooter must keep an eye on surroundings. when you dont you will know because you miss!
keep it coming!