Pistol testing rig

[rapidboy1]

The jaws are made from high-density polyethylene which will absorb a certain amount of vibration, i also have some neoprene rubber sheet to protect the air cylinder which will also absorb some vibration.

There are 8 black weight bags, each filled with 2.5kg of lead pellets to add weight and absorb vibration.
All told with a pistol it weighs 42kg so its not going to blow away !

It's a compromise it had to be portable enough to transport between different clubs, heavy enough to work without permanently attaching it to the bench and it had to accommodate as many different pistols as possible.
Im sure groups could be improved with a different design if absolute accuracy was the goal but this is for pellet comparison.

Im just home from rimfire ammunition testing, batch testing Lapua and SK in my old Anschutz benchrest rifle.
The test rig they use is bolted to the concrete floor.
The action is removed from the stock and fitted into an alloy block, barrel tuners are removed.
Testing is done in still air at 50m and shots recorded on electronic target.
They work through various batches of ammunition, if a 10 shot group falls below a standard they discard and move onto the next batch, any 10 shots group that shows potential is recorded and then another 10 shots fired to create a 20 shot group.







Examples of 10 shot groups that became 20 shot groups

SK Rifle Match





Lapua CenterX





Groups can be tighter in shoulder than in the vice but again the vice is much more consistent for a straight ammunition comparison.

SK Rifle Match, £160/1000, (was £100/1000 3 years ago)
Lapua CenterX, £270/1000, (was £160/1000 3 years ago)
£110 / 1000 to shrink a 20 shot groups by 5mm makes me appreciate my air pistol and £5 / tin for Excite Econ II ....