Springer accuracy

[Muskett]

Certainly a change of clothing type/thickness can change the cheek weld and hold position. With springers so sensitive with so much mechanical goings on then clothes changes from session to session can't help.

On temperature then metal is going to expand and contract. That goes for the scope and mounts. Heck, woodwork can behave differently.
Every small change with a rifle will soon mount up to show at the other end. However, I suspect large errors are more about the bod behind the rifle. Now I am older I have to spend a lot more effort in sorting my life out when shooting for raw accuracy than when I was younger.
With springers then I watch for the follow through picture, and where it is pointing after the recoil. Sometimes I can see that the rifle shoots to where it ends up pointing, rather than where I think I aimed. Those pellets sure do take an age to get out of those barrels. It really is the case of finding a first shot repeatable hold and let off. Sure it can be found three shots down the line but thats a bit late when hunting. Not switching rifles all the time helps.

All the above are reason I only shoot springers now to farmyard ranges and not beyond. When I was younger I generally had one gun, and then got good with it, and did shoot a good bit further.

Fault finding is part of the fun of springers. A completely "sorted" combo can be a bit dull without taking it to a competition.

[TonyL]

And another excellent post there, sir.

[TonyL]

It was summer time, so I went from indoors to outdoor leaving it in the sun, as I remember I had 4 fps change over ten shots, when cold , and 6/8 when 40 degrees pellets straight from the tin , not very scientific but I decided that was "temperature stable "

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tweUNbhy59uZSSsf9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jmEAfSLgCknZ5pf98
https://photos.app.goo.gl/74B7R8ubBLZY8d9d8
Found these.

Cheers Nick.

[TonyL]

I know this might provoke some people, but can low temperature 'intial fliers' be down to additional layers of clothing?

If it be chilly then everyone will be putting on jumpers and fleeces and stuff under their sporting coats, and as you fire a few rounds off this material will naturally compress, given that you won't be holding a springer hard into your shoulder like you might do with a .303, 12-bore or PIAT.

Any thoughts on the 'textile' variable? The 'artillery hold' basically uses the human as it's recoil sledge, what if the sledge has less resistance? It will throw shots.

I think the more "seasoned" springer shooters "feel" their way around this, Al? What I often tend to do is pull the rifle in quite firmly and then relax the hold into the human cradle / sledge. Different garments certainly won't help, especially loads of layers under a bulky coat in really cold conditions. As well as having an effect on the recoil pattern, that extra thickness will also slightly alter the length of pull and balance, to a degree, especially when shooting from different positions. I suppose modern "technical" fabrics will help in this regard, reducing bulk? I don't hunt these days or shoot FT or HFT, so don't tend to shoot in these more extreme conditions. I'm sure those that do could chip in with very valuable input.

[Frog]

You'd be surprised at how much a seal expands in small temp changes. I've had my zero shift while on FT courses. The most stark example was with my LGU before it was tuned. I was on a practice course and the morning had started quite cool. At first I was hitting everthing but it had got warmer, sun came out and I started missing targets. Suspecting seal expansion I left the rifle in the shade for ten minutes, fired a shot, bang on. Then I cocked the rifle and worked the lever back and forth vigorously a few times to warm the seal up. The next few shots went high. I can't remember exactly how much but enough to miss a 40mm kill zone at 45 yards. Left it again and it settled back, only to shift again after several targets with no shade around.

I've had this too on an HFT course on a hot day - I put it down more to the scope getting hot than the rifle itself but who knows in my case?

[P13 shooter]

I always fire off 8-10 pellets before I start looking at targets gets internals warmed up then to the zero plate then targets