MPL shooting with scopes?

[XDRIVER]

Thanks bob, hoping you would say that. Will let you know but will probably be next week.

[zooma]

Thanks bob, hoping you would say that. Will let you know but will probably be next week.

No problem Mark.

Paul and Ray have both bought themselves an HW97K to shoot with in this series and we should be making a start on our competition cards next week following some pellet testing and setting-up this evening. (..just playing with the springers to be honest!!)

This is looking like a good fun competition, and if you decide to enter you can collect your targets when you are in the club next week !

[zooma]

Bob,

Yup - a lens cover would work very well indeed

The smaller the hole, the greater the effect, but the dingier the image.

I would start at ca. 5 mm and work upwards till you get a good compromise between effect and brightness of image.

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

Hi Russ,

I managed to find some solid black lens caps "online" and they have just been delivered today. The original ones were the type with a tinted cover and I didn't think they would work as well - so I splashed-out and spent three quid on one of these!

They are the hinged type (I bought one for the rear scope lens too!) and although very inexpensive they look to be well made and if the idea works it will make a "cheap fix" ( a LOT less expensive than buying a new scope!)

Once I have marked the centre of the cap I will start by drilling a 5mm hole and test it on my HAWKE Eclipse 3-10 x 44 scope on the club range at 10 metres tomorrow to see how I get on.

[PhatMan]

Bob,

Drum roll.....

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

[zooma]

A quick change of plan on the hole boring front !

I have used a very sharp hand held "taper hole boring tool" so I have provisionally opened out the centrally placed hole in the new front lens cap to 5mm and I can take the taper boring tool to the club range with me tomorrow so I can progressively open-out the hole until I get a focus at 10 meters whilst letting in the most amount of light.

The taper boring tool was bought from Rossendale Models some time ago - it has a very long taper and has a very sharp point so it is possible to make really small holes from less than 1mm up to just over 20mm, but its main advantage is that it can make holes bigger in "step-less" increments so it should be "ideal" for this application

[zooma]

Three of us (hopefully soon to become four of us Xdriver!) have just started shooting "shoulder to shoulder" with our HW97K air rifles - great fun - but I think we put each other off

Our HW97K rifles are running close to the 12 ft/lbs limit and have not been "tuned" but they have been stripped and lubed so they no longer ignite the "over generous" coating of factory grease they are usually blessed with, or smell like they are "dieseling" after every shot - and we have become a "smoke-free zone" in the process!

MPL shooting is mostly done from home, and often alone, but if you do get the chance to meet up with a friend or neighbour so you can shoot together it is a very enjoyable experience - but probably not great for your scoring as the inevitable "chatting" and "ribbing" (or is that just us?) may add to the fun factor at the expense of your scores!

Anyone that is considering shooting in this MPL 10 meter Scoped Air Rifle series may like know that we at the RMTC are considering hosting a "live" (shoulder to shoulder) MPL competition at the end of the season so that we can get to meet each other and enjoy shooting together for a small trophy that can be held until the next "live" MPL shoot at the end of the next MPL season when we could host another event?

This could be great fun if we can get a few more entries for the postal series as most MPL shooters will never get the opportunity to meet each other, and this could be good fun and the chance to see the "top shots" in action to see if they can achieve their postal average when shooting "live" as it is a very different experience that most of us find much harder - but others may well shine and rise to the occasion!


Whether anyone fancies taking part in this proposed "live" event on the 10 meter range supplied at the "home of the MPL" will have to be seen - but hopefully we can arrange a weekend date that will suit as many as possible !

[zooma]

I have been asked if anyone can have a second entry to the 10 meter MPL Scoped Air Rifle competition with a different air rifle!

This sounds OK to me - and it could give me the chance to see how well I can score with my TX200 against my regular HW97K !

Anybody else fancy being able to have a second entry with a different springer?

[Drew451]

I shot 3 cards tonight with my old time favourite plinking outfit: Diana Mod. 24 and a 4x32. I was once pretty good with a very similar set up but I'm low 40's now. I've just put this particular combo together and not had a lot of practice with it so Im actually quite happy with that.
If I can get to mid to high 40s consistantly I'll be pretty chuffed.

[robthedog]

Having trouble with the trigger on my 77, so i sent it off to be fiddled with by Blackmax, whisper is he grinds up real pixies then sprinkles them on it. Anyway i put the unit from another rifle in the 77, & at 10m put 5 exactly through the same hole, then tried it with my 97 but wasn't quite as accurate

[zooma]

I shot 3 cards tonight with my old time favourite plinking outfit: Diana Mod. 24 and a 4x32. I was once pretty good with a very similar set up but I'm low 40's now. I've just put this particular combo together and not had a lot of practice with it so Im actually quite happy with that.
If I can get to mid to high 40s consistantly I'll be pretty chuffed.

Well done Drew!

That is a good way to look at the scores you have achieved with your chosen combo, and the scores are not too shabby either!

I have always believed that the only person's scores that need to concern you in any MPL competition are your own - if you can improve month on month it will be very rewarding - and the "bad months" when there is no improvement or even a deterioration can be a bit disappointing. Thats all part of the game !

One of the reasons why I am considering a second entry with a different rifle and scope is not only because I just fancy the excuse to shoot another springer now and again (probably the main reason!!!), but because I think it would be interesting to see what difference a different combo would make.

Squeezing a good score out of a some combinations will be more of a challenge than it is with others - and this can vary from shooter to shooter as individual preferences will work better for some than others too.

It is nice to see a Diana Mod 24 being entered in our 10 meter scoped springer competition and I am sure you will enjoy charting your progress to see if your score changes over the 6 months competition period.

Bob.

[PhatMan]

Rob,

Blackmax does a superb job on the trigger - mine is crisper than a very crisp thing

For the ultimate Rekord trigger job, Mr. Luke Jolly is the chappie - a super crispy, safe 6 oz pull.

He amends the geometry by moving the trigger forward to inprove leaveage, and puts very sharp sear edges so the break is ultra-snappy

( My HW99S & HW95 SuperMatch have Jolly tweaked triggers, and my HW30S has a Blackmax tweaked trigger )

IIRC, Blackmax will also soon be offering amended geometry in the Rekord trigger.

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

[robthedog]

Blackmax has just messaged me saying the sear spring was broken, looks like i'm out of excuses now....

[PhatMan]

Rob,

Excuses - bah

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

[Drew451]

I'm enjoying the 10m scoped comp although I'm well off the pace so far. I've tweaked the trigger and have experimented with palm and knuckle holds. It's getting serious and addictive. I can't see me shooting the 6yd rifle cards until I have shot all my 10m scoped.

[zooma]

I'm enjoying the 10m scoped comp although I'm well off the pace so far. I've tweaked the trigger and have experimented with palm and knuckle holds. It's getting serious and addictive. I can't see me shooting the 6yd rifle cards until I have shot all my 10m scoped.

Funny you should say that Drew, we have also found this to be quite an addictive discipline and it is providing more enjoyment than anything else (target shooting wise!) to date.

Trying to match a standard (non tuned or balanced) spring powered sporting air rifle with suitable pellets to reduce the number of "strays" and find one that can make a tight group is a real challenge and we are learning more all the time.

We also think that we need to put a lot more pellets through the rifles to get them bedded-in, and this may not be possible during this first season (not enough hours), but perhaps our HW97K's will be a little more "settled" and better able to group by the time the next series starts?

I have asked some well respected spring powered air rifle tuners what they do to balance and smooth-out the action, and it would appear to be quite an extensive job to do it properly (and expensive too) but apparently the results can make the rifle more like a PCP to shoot!

I am, not too sure if this is what we want and would prefer to use them as they come but (in the case of the HW97K) keeping an eye on the power at all times to ensure they stay under the legal 12 ft/lb limit and re-lubricate them from time to time if necessary to keep them functioning as well as possible.

Getting a good trigger would be a huge advantage and maybe something that will come with use (wear and tear) although I would assume that lower power would definitely help with this! and a 12 ft/lbs rifle is not likely to give as smooth and light a trigger pull as a rifle that runs at a lower power?