Post Match Report on the Vulcan 3 If you haven't seen it yet, I supplied a link to the Xtreme Field Target match report two comments ago.
Summary: .22 V3 shooting 34 grain 0.218 dish based Varmint Knocker slugs at 995-1005fps, for 75fpe and a BC of 0.120. Scope used was a cheap SWFA 20x in MIL and a 30 yard zero. Targets from 20-100 yards. Needed 8 clicks (0.8mil) of elevation for 20 yards, and only 20 clicks (2 mils) for the 100 yard shots. Lemme tell ya, only needing 2 mils of holdover for 100 yards, while using a 30 yard zero, is an EXTREMELY flat shooting airgun.
The cliffnotes version is that the V3 set a new record for slugs at these matches, with a 44/48. The next highest score was a 38/48, shot by both the winning pellet shooter, and the only other slug shooter.
Here is how it broke down when compared to the other competitors. (also available in the link a few posts ago).
View attachment 350981 Those 3 columns to the far right were the theoretically hardest shots (highest Extreme Troyer Factor) of the course, on which the Vulcan 3 went 6/6. The gun also shot well from offhand, being the only one to put in a 4/4 offhand performance.
My
4 misses and how the match generally went for me.....
- I knocked down the first 4 targets
- First miss was 5th overall shot, a 3 inch kill zone at 80 yards (wind simply got me here, switched right as I broke the trigger)
- I hit the next 28 shots in a row, putting me up to 33/34. At this point I was envisioning a final score of 47/48 and downright giddy at that prospect.
- Then I missed a 2.5inch kill zone at 73 yards.
- And also missed my very next shot, still on the same lane, a 3 inch target at 86 yards.
- Both of these misses really frustrated me. I had felt zero wind at the shooting mat, so just held dead center. Only after both misses did I realize the desert scrub brush was simply going crazy in the shallow drainage ("wash" for us Westerners) between me and the targets. This wash is often a frustrating feature for these XFT matches, with the wind and thermals moving up and down the wash, almost flowing like a river, and often in very different directions than the otherwise prevailing winds. So, brain farts on my part, to not have been paying attention to downrange wind.
- I got it together and went 12/12 after that.
- I missed my last shot of the match, a 3 inch kill zone at 88 yards. (another one where the wind simply got me, switching at the last minute).
So my four misses were all relatively long range (80, 73, 86, and 88 yards). Two of them I think would have been misses regardless of my attention levels. But I'd really like to have those two back where I didn't catch that the wind was behaving differently downrange than it was at the rubber mat I was shooting from.
I used the magazines during the match, and didn't experience any issues with dry fires or double feeds or anything of the like. I typically prefer single shot but it worked well with the V3 mags holding 12 shots and each lane being 4 shots, 3 lanes per magazine). Cocking lever won't return after the 12th shot has been sent so you know when it's time for a new mag. The magazine slot on the V3 is too narrow to allow single feeding by hand (perhaps with a single shot tray or magazine?).
Trigger on this V3 is as good as anything I've shot. I didn't ever measure the pull but it's got to be in the 4-6ounce range. Just a minimal first stage take-up, then you're at the wall, and then it breaks with another 1/32" of travel. No gritty nor gronchy nor wondering if/when it's going to go off. The "break" is very predictable. (Remember this is not an OEM gun, Derrick likely did some work on that trigger to get it so good).
I mentioned being concerned with hold sensitivity from the greater fpe, but ultimately I think it was actually LESS hold sensitive than other guns with slower moving projectiles. Things seem "fast" with the V3 in this configuration. "Things" being the lock time/shot cycle, and how quick the slug gets to the target. My shooting partner for the day commented on how short and crisp the sound of the gun is, and I agree. It "sounds" and feels efficient. As I stated in a comment in the match report, overall it reminded me of shooting a rimfire. So I think whatever hold sensitivity may come from the higher fpe with this gun in this configuration, is absorbed by the faster lock time/shot cycle. This was also felt/noticed in the offhand lane. I was able to be more "snappy" there, getting away with less determined efforts at follow through like what is usually needed with slower airguns.
As for efficiency, I filled the gun one time during the match, at about the halfway point.
For a bit more detail on Steve's wondering about point of impact shifts....I zeroed the scope on this gun on March 9th (just checked me texts with Derrick) and haven't moved it since then. I shot the match this past Saturday with the same zero and well...the results speak for themselves about whether or not it can hold zero. It made the trip to PHX in a soft case, in the back of my family vehicles cargo area, in with and amongst all our bags (we all went down for the weekend). It was also in the soft case from lane to lane. In short, it wasn't being babied.
As for negative findings (just my opinion here)
- The gun isn't small. The OAL isn't too bad, but generally it just feels like a large gun.
- I never put a magnet on it, but I think the trigger blade might be plastic.
- I generally don't like wind up magazines. These were pretty good as far as wind-up mags go though. They had some heft to them (metal case), allowed for long-for-caliber slugs, and performed without incident.
- There are some thin metal yokes within the components of the trigger linkage that visually give the impression of less-than-robust. Again, performed flawlessly, they just don't seem over-engineered, from a visual standpoint.
- As is common to PCPs coming out of old Soviet-Union block remnant countries, only one manometer.
I texted with the maker of the 34 grain Varmint Knocker slugs a bit earlier today, and he commented that this slug does really well. I got the impression that this isn't the first time he's heard reports of it performing at a high level.
The gun will be mailed back to Derrick in the next few days. I'm a little sad to see it go, since it's the best slugger I've personally seen/experienced, and that's not by a small margin. As I already stated, if I was in the market for a slugger, this would be the one. No other airgun (that I've personally shot) has come close to doing what it can do at long range.
Thank you!!!
@zx10wall (Derrick @ Tenacious Airguns).
www.airgunnation.com
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