Time for a PCP Rifle
- Thread starter bsekf
- Start date
dgeesaman
Gold $$ Contributor
Jeff, several years ago I weight and head sorted pellets as a trial and didn't see it was really worth the effort for the shooting I do. I also tried washing and lube but didn't notice any difference. However since buying the TX200 I revisited it. What I've found is that lubed (different lube than before) pellets group more consistently at both 30 and 50 yards. I confirmed my results three times over several days.
The best thing about lubed pellets is that it eliminated cold bore flyers. With unlubed pellets my rifle would start out cold shooting low and right. It would take five shots for it to move up to the poa. With lubed pellets it will shoot poa on the first shot. This has been confirmed through testing also.
I too, did a lot of testing to figure out what would make this rifle shoot up to it's reputation. Fortunately, I already had a large pellet stash to test with but did have to buy pellets to find what this rifle liked best.
Shoot straight, Justin
The best thing about lubed pellets is that it eliminated cold bore flyers. With unlubed pellets my rifle would start out cold shooting low and right. It would take five shots for it to move up to the poa. With lubed pellets it will shoot poa on the first shot. This has been confirmed through testing also.
I too, did a lot of testing to figure out what would make this rifle shoot up to it's reputation. Fortunately, I already had a large pellet stash to test with but did have to buy pellets to find what this rifle liked best.
Shoot straight, Justin
JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
Justin, thanks for the advice and information. When I can move outside to 50 yds I am sure I will have another learning curve. I have not noticed any POI change after the first few shots but I have read that some do notice that. It might well show up at increased yardage.
RegionRat
Gold $$ Contributor
Did you know that the inside of an older clear Bic pen tube is cast with a draft angle and that diameter and that angle makes a perfect pellet gage sorting tool in 0.177?
Talk about serendipity. You would then mark the tube along the length and your barrel will most certainly respond to the diameter differences. And you can bet that we washed and lubed our pellets too.
The better pellets have very specific gage sizes marked on the package. Like their powder burning counterparts, group precision and overall accuracy are affected by the diameter of the pellet. It is one thing to buy a box of pellets at Wall Mart, and another to chase down a specific gage size or die number lot.
Yes, once upon a time, we even chased the specific die that a produced a pellet. The CPH (Crossman Premiere Heavy) #2 Die was coveted for accuracy work in the Field Target game as an example. Who would have thought that the specific die at the pellet factory would have been so magical? Well, they were magic and you would find yourself chasing down the pellets based on the codes printed on their package that indicated which dies were used to make the pellets. Dies wear out and when the supply was gone, you were back in the hunt for the ones that are magic in your gun again.
Lately, there is a trend into "slugs". A slug is shaped like a typical bullet with an ogive rather than a diablo or wasp waisted pellet. The trade-offs between pellets and slugs is one where certain barrel liners will shoot one or the other better, but The Holy Grail is to find a barrel and twist rate that lets you shoot both. More sophisticated rigs and match guns make it easy to change and experiment with barrels and liners compared to basic ones where that is a lifetime affair. The new slug designs can be nearly as accurate as pellets but are showing better performance in wind when the distances are out at 50 yards and beyond.
ETA: Here is an example of an airgun slug brand.
https://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/
Adult airguns can be an addiction and there is as much to chasing high performance in that world as there is in firearms.
Talk about serendipity. You would then mark the tube along the length and your barrel will most certainly respond to the diameter differences. And you can bet that we washed and lubed our pellets too.
The better pellets have very specific gage sizes marked on the package. Like their powder burning counterparts, group precision and overall accuracy are affected by the diameter of the pellet. It is one thing to buy a box of pellets at Wall Mart, and another to chase down a specific gage size or die number lot.
Yes, once upon a time, we even chased the specific die that a produced a pellet. The CPH (Crossman Premiere Heavy) #2 Die was coveted for accuracy work in the Field Target game as an example. Who would have thought that the specific die at the pellet factory would have been so magical? Well, they were magic and you would find yourself chasing down the pellets based on the codes printed on their package that indicated which dies were used to make the pellets. Dies wear out and when the supply was gone, you were back in the hunt for the ones that are magic in your gun again.
Lately, there is a trend into "slugs". A slug is shaped like a typical bullet with an ogive rather than a diablo or wasp waisted pellet. The trade-offs between pellets and slugs is one where certain barrel liners will shoot one or the other better, but The Holy Grail is to find a barrel and twist rate that lets you shoot both. More sophisticated rigs and match guns make it easy to change and experiment with barrels and liners compared to basic ones where that is a lifetime affair. The new slug designs can be nearly as accurate as pellets but are showing better performance in wind when the distances are out at 50 yards and beyond.
ETA: Here is an example of an airgun slug brand.
https://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/
Adult airguns can be an addiction and there is as much to chasing high performance in that world as there is in firearms.
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Bare rifle, yes. Benjamin Marauder is popular and accurate, and tuning and aftermarket support are good. I have a Hatsan Bullboss .22, which was on special for $499 with a hand pump. I don't shoot much high volume, so I stick with hand pumping. I use mine primarily for rabbits and pigeons. I have less than $700 in my setup. It's stupid quiet, and critters inside 70 yards are not safe.
fatelvis
Silver $$ Contributor
Thank you
I shoot an RWS Diana which is actually heavier than my Rem 700 hunting rifle. Out to 25 yards it’s incredibly accurate. We generally shot at 20 yards and it’s not uncommon to shoot 5 shot groups under .250”
Fast14riot
Gold $$ Contributor
I've enjoyed springers in the past, but the first time I had one diesel ignite on a hot summer day sure startled me! Sounded like a 22lr going off! It was over 100° that day, so I just packed it in before I destroyed the piston seals.
JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
They are amazingly accurate. I shot all winter indoors at 25 yards. Groups are just like shooting a good bench rifle at 100 yards. A few zero groups, lots in the ones and twos., and some you screwed up on that are in the threes or fours. .04 cents a shot, no reloading, no cleaning, and no ammo shortage.I will say this, they are much more dependent on good bench manners than a centerfire.
FWIW this is my Weirauch HW100
I have it in an AERON chassis, Sports Match adjustable scope rings which are needed to get a nice close scope zero and room for elevation. The scope is just a Vortex Diamondback Tactical, only because its the only ~decent~ scope with parallax for inside 10 yards or meters. It goes as close as 7.5 yards, so for where I practice, that's key.
You might notice I have ranger bands on the air cylinder, There is actually a couple under and over, so it is trapped between competing forces. This was done to control vibration. I think it helps.
This is typical 10 yard accuracy, but someone with better eyes could probably shoot better.
With these pellets it shoots best for me.
This is a ten shot group from 10 yards with JSB Exact.
A pellet will not fall through the hole.
I have it in an AERON chassis, Sports Match adjustable scope rings which are needed to get a nice close scope zero and room for elevation. The scope is just a Vortex Diamondback Tactical, only because its the only ~decent~ scope with parallax for inside 10 yards or meters. It goes as close as 7.5 yards, so for where I practice, that's key.
You might notice I have ranger bands on the air cylinder, There is actually a couple under and over, so it is trapped between competing forces. This was done to control vibration. I think it helps.
This is typical 10 yard accuracy, but someone with better eyes could probably shoot better.
With these pellets it shoots best for me.
This is a ten shot group from 10 yards with JSB Exact.
A pellet will not fall through the hole.
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MikeT49
Gold $$ Contributor
I'm just finishing a .177 build. Got a little over $500 in it. It's Benjamin Discovery/Maximus/Marauder pistol hybrid. Has Disco main tube, fill assy & trigger, a Maximus 26" barrel, M-rod pistol wide bore gage port & 3000psi gage. Has a Magnum Air Power (MAP) valve, w/high strength valve screws, a MAP power adjuster & springs and a MAP hammer. Has a TKO-22 moderator. Has extended bolt probe and barrel handle from AlchemyAirWerks. It's also got a Altaros pressure regulator. Trigger work is done. Baker metal adjustable trigger kit installed, all contact points on sear, transfer bar & trigger polished. Trigger breaks clean at 1# 6oz, zero takeup & a smidge of overtravel. Without the regulator installed, it will shoot heavy 16.2 grain JSB monsters at 1045 fps with decent accuracy. Regulator is currently installed. I've currently have it tuned to to shoot the 16.2s at a lower node of about 820 fps. With the regulator, ES runs about 5.
Airgun barrels have nodes. Same principles as firearms apply. A projectile is pushed down a rifled tube by expanding gas. By using different valves, port sizes, hammer springs and spring preload, you can tune a airgun barrel to a specific pellet.
I can sell you this one (gun only in tupperware stock) for $520, including shipping. I send it to you, you check it out. If you like it, then you pay me. Here's a pic in a tupperware and a pic in a Boyd"s Spike Camp in Sky laminate.
PM
PM me if interested. MikeMikeT49
Gold $$ Contributor
Oops! Fat finger post. Edit:. Depends on the tune. For my backyard quiet coyote thumper (22 cal) I get 5 shots with 33.89 grainers at 870 fps (57 fpe). That's with a 3100 psi fill unregulated. For this .177, I'm still tweaking the tune. I'm going to guess about 20 on the flat spot of the bathtub curve. About 30 shots total. This is with a 2500 psi fill and the regulator set at ~ 1300 psi. My "range" is right behind my couch. Portable shooting bench, chronograph, with a bullet trap 10 meters down the hall. I will get off my butt and walk around the couch and finish tweaking. I will then run a string to get a no chit number.
Mike
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ronemus
Gold $$ Contributor
The Crosman Challenger used to be the entry-level target rifle, but it seems to be discontinued. The new offering is the Beeman 1380 competition. These are target designs with adjustable stocks for 3-position use, and list for ~$900. If you're not a position/competition shooter there are many options at lower price points.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Im a daystate guy. Once you try an electronic trigger and regulator youll see where your extra money is going. Brocock is my favorite of the better lower budget guns. FX is always a crowd favorite too. You cant go wrong with any of these 3 brands and like everything in shooting buy once cry once
I have a challenger pcp 2009 and it's a great 10m rifle.
MikeT49
Gold $$ Contributor
My SCUBA tank is down to 2400 psi. Need to take it downstairs and refill. In the meantime, I ran a string starting with a 2400 psi fill. There are probably 5 more shots on the curve with a 2500 psi start.
Here ya go: 785, 786,790, 789, 785, 790, 784, 784, 784,791, 784, 783, 784, 789, 788, 782, 782, 785, 790, 783, 784, 773, 768. This with .177 cal, 16.2 grain JSB.Exact Beasts. So, about 25 shots on the flat spot with this tune.
Here ya go: 785, 786,790, 789, 785, 790, 784, 784, 784,791, 784, 783, 784, 789, 788, 782, 782, 785, 790, 783, 784, 773, 768. This with .177 cal, 16.2 grain JSB.Exact Beasts. So, about 25 shots on the flat spot with this tune.
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