Quiet in here, init?

[BTDT]

So let's try and breathe some life back into it with my long(ish) range efforts!

The rifle is my 1985 HW77 in .177", recently fitted with Steve Pope's V-Mach kit and still bedding-in. The scope is a Nikko Stirling Diamond 6X42mm acquired from Baz. Pellets are Superdome, unsorted and carried in a pocket in my shorts until needed.

The range is circa 90 yards. I don't have a laser range finder and I'm sure as hell not going to measure it with my fifteen foot tape. I estimate the range because I know that 42-3 of my paces cerry me a measured 45 yards, and the target was 85 of my paces away from the firing point - a pile of cushions on the bonnet of my motor.

The range is on the side of a hill and the wind is therefore capricious - it is typically from behind the firing point, yet at anything up to ninety degrees to that halfway down the range. Stands of trees either side of the range create all sorts of interesting vortices, eddies and sideways gusts.

Conditions were light wind from the firing line in the general direction of the target, doing it's own thing as per usual for the latter part of the trajectory.

Crw_4957.jpg

My first group was 1.44" edge to edge 1.26" (32mm) c-t-c, with one flier (high), and I was pretty pleased with myself and not a little smug. By the time I'd walked the 180 yard round trip to the target and back, the wind had picked up a little and my subsequent group sizes opened up to 3"-6"

That set the pattern for the next week of attempts. I and another BBS member shot many groups using a number of HW77s and two PCPs but none came close to my first.

Until this morning.

Very light wind in the usual direction, just after 9:00am.

Crw_4999.jpg

Again, one high flier, which I put down to velocity as the rifle is, at around 500 pellets since fitting the V-Mach kit, still running-in. The remaining four shots are .26mm c-t-c - a fraction over 1".

In both groups, the pattern is an inverted crescent, suggesting that rifle cant was the reason the pellets did not fall closer together. I didn't measure the vertical spread of pellets in the first group but, in the second, it is 8.5mm c-t-c (about 5/16"), which is staggeringly good IMO from a very well used hunting outfit.

I think that, with a higher power scope, more concentration on keeping the rifle upright () and light wind, I could improve on these groups.

Hope someone finds this of some minor interest.

[Gnhouse]

Excellent groups, especially with a springer. It would be good to see what it would produce after bedding in.

Garrick

[BTDT]

Very kind of you to say so, Garrick. Your group rather put my best effort in the shade...

...especially considering the number of, err, 'slightly larger' groups I achieved when the wind picked up.

For the record, the '77 is currently pushing the Superdomes out at around 770-780 fps and, because I didn't want to alter my zero, the group was around 18" below and 8" to the left of the aiming mark.

[Gnhouse]

The thing with my group was that it was made with a rifle that should really be classed as a clinical intrument. I have a hell of a lot of respect for a man or woman who can shoot a springer well at any range, I'd like to think I used to be able to do it but these days? I've become too lazy with these new fangled precharged rifles.

Coincidentally I didn't zero at that range. We marked a tree behind the backstop with some tape and used it as an aiming guide, I found that a small lump sticking out the side of the tree was an ideal aim point at the time taking into account the wind that was present that day.

Garrick

[davy jones]

Challenge accepted Mr T

[dbc-65]

Some good shooting there Jim!!
The night round here have been far better than early mornings.

Had some good groups out to 75yards with the airwolf. Will start moving the goal posts abit when these come second nature.

ATB
Dave

[Davey K]

Very, very nice springer shooting - I'd be a bit smug too!

[jax13]

i really need to get a target at the bottom end of one of my fields and have an afternoon on this with the s10 and the rapid!

[BTDT]

Thanks for your kind comments, chaps, but I don't class myself as a particularly good shot these days and credit is more due to Messrs. Weihrauch, RWS and Lady Luck.

If some of the top springer shooters like Herx77 and The Pie Man got involved then I think we'd see groups like the ones photographed above on a regular basis.

Anyway, I had another attempt yesterday evening because the wind had died down, and went for ten shots rather than five. The group was 40mm c-t-c. The light was fading but I then put another ten shots onto the same target and only three fell within the first group, the rest being in a 130mm vertical string (30mm wide), which I put down to not being able to see the aiming mark and putting the cross hairs in the wrong place.

Crw_5000.jpg

The coin is a 2p.

[dbc-65]

Never mind lady luck, that some good shooting with some sorted kit.
Would be nice to see Herx77 and pie man shoot a few groups.

ATB
Dave

[Gnhouse]

Just been going through my springer collection and I reckon there are only two guns I've got that would be any use at long range. One is a Fenman which is currently at Theoben so is not much use and the other is my .22 MkII TX200 which is needing a service, so again not much use. I'll try and get one of them sorted and give it a go as it would be interesting so see what I could get with something that liked to move around, just need some time to sort out things.

Jim looking at the second group I'd say that was mostly down to the magnification being too low, as I think for long range shooting you really need somewhere between 10x and 20x. With more than 20x you can get loss of light and a potential over amplification of your shakes, mind you when I shot FT I never changed my mag from 40x or 32x (depending on the scope I was using either Tasco or Burris) so higher mag might work for you but you will contend with more problems caused by it, less than 10x and you are contending with potentially thick crosshairs and pinhead sized aiming marks.

Garrick

[davy jones]

Just been going through my springer collection and I reckon there are only two guns I've got that would be any use at long range. One is a Fenman which is currently at Theoben so is not much use and the other is my .22 MkII TX200 which is needing a service, so again not much use. I'll try and get one of them sorted and give it a go as it would be interesting so see what I could get with something that liked to move around, just need some time to sort out things.

Jim looking at the second group I'd say that was mostly down to the magnification being too low, as I think for long range shooting you really need somewhere between 10x and 20x. With more than 20x you can get loss of light and a potential over amplification of your shakes, mind you when I shot FT I never changed my mag from 40x or 32x (depending on the scope I was using either Tasco or Burris) so higher mag might work for you but you will contend with more problems caused by it, less than 10x and you are contending with potentially thick crosshairs and pinhead sized aiming marks.

Garrick

I'll bring my 24x over on sunday for him to borrow

[BTDT]

Well, I've accounted for some of the inaccuracy - parallax error. It's not an AO scope and I'd focused the objective at twenty seven yards...

Can't believe it's taken me until now to work that out.

[dbc-65]

Well, I've accounted for some of the inaccuracy - parallax error. It's not an AO scope and I'd focused the objective at twenty seven yards...

Can't believe it's taken me until now to work that out.

Yer getting OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

going into hiding now

[BTDT]

Yer getting OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

going into hiding now

You can go off people, you know.

I've sorted the parallax problem by refocusing the objective, but the wind has been too strong for any serious long range attempts.

Davy Jones was shooting here yesterday and witnessed me printing a 3" (approx. - didn't bother measuring it) group into a fairly strong headwind, and this morning I managed a 2" group c-t-c with a strong tailwind. Both groups were the only ones I shot on those occasions, and the fliers seem to have been cured by the parallax correction.

I'm slowly finding out how to get the best out of the old HW77 for this long range lark, and I'll post details when I'm sure I've found the best techniques.