30-Yard Challenge
- Thread starter tcarlson777
- Start date
A couple weeks ago I created a custom spring for my .177 RTI Prophet Performance V1 that I love - smoother cocking and wider adjustability as its a softer spring than the stock RTI spring.
Today I made a custom spring for my .22 RTI Prophet LR. I used the same spring stock. Its very slightly longer than the one I made for .177. Both springs that I made are extremely close to the stock spring length. I took out the Delrin spring guide in each rifle to further “soften” the hammer spring rate.
I stuffed the new spring in the .22, quickly adjusted velocity to about 845fps with JSB Hades 15.89g and then shot my only card today. 191 9x was solid - and I liked the mild tune - seems more reasonable than shooting targets at 950fps and higher with the stock spring.
I think the rifle will be more accurate in this 30 yard challenge with this spring - I’ll play with it this week.
Today I made a custom spring for my .22 RTI Prophet LR. I used the same spring stock. Its very slightly longer than the one I made for .177. Both springs that I made are extremely close to the stock spring length. I took out the Delrin spring guide in each rifle to further “soften” the hammer spring rate.
I stuffed the new spring in the .22, quickly adjusted velocity to about 845fps with JSB Hades 15.89g and then shot my only card today. 191 9x was solid - and I liked the mild tune - seems more reasonable than shooting targets at 950fps and higher with the stock spring.
I think the rifle will be more accurate in this 30 yard challenge with this spring - I’ll play with it this week.
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I’m pretty excited, this spring I created yesterday is allowing for “milder” tunes on my .22 RTI PP V1 LR. Today I shot it at 860fps with Air Arms 15.89g pellets.
I worked in the city today, so no shooting at lunch, but I had enough light to get in two cards.
Actually, I feel really good. My 5 practice shots went in one hole on the paper plate and my two practice shots between cards both hit my tiny white dot sighter spot. So basically, all 55 shots I took tonight hit their targets - GO PROPHET, lol.
I also got a new sticky sunglass mat for my precision lift that I got to be my rear rest - it’s working awesome!
Now I know you guys will laugh at how crooked and rickety my plastic table tripod setup is (see picture), but its all I know - and I shot a 197 and 193 with it tonight both were 11x.
It was a much stiller night than I’ve had in ages - very little breeze, so that helped a lot. But I actually got bit my mosquitoes - they are out on the 1st day of 60+ degrees here in Connecticut!
It seems 860fps is a more reasonable velocity to shoot the 30 Yard Challenge vs. the 960fps that the Prophet was shooting the 16 grain pellets with the stock RTI hammer spring. The lighter spring also cocks so much smoother now - close to as smooth as my FX Dreamline!
I’m having a blast making my rifles better and shooting this target challenge - as you can probably tell. Its a cool hobby - lots of fun.
I’ve got two new moderators from Neil Clague. Can’t wait to try them tomorrow with my Daystate Wolverine. That thing is a beast and I haven’t figured how to tune it down (yet), so I haven’t used in the 30 Yard Challenge because its a bit loud. The new mods will solve that.
Oh, I submit the 197 11x to replace the 191 that I currently had on the leaderboard with the .22 RTI.
-Ed
I worked in the city today, so no shooting at lunch, but I had enough light to get in two cards.
Actually, I feel really good. My 5 practice shots went in one hole on the paper plate and my two practice shots between cards both hit my tiny white dot sighter spot. So basically, all 55 shots I took tonight hit their targets - GO PROPHET, lol.
I also got a new sticky sunglass mat for my precision lift that I got to be my rear rest - it’s working awesome!
Now I know you guys will laugh at how crooked and rickety my plastic table tripod setup is (see picture), but its all I know - and I shot a 197 and 193 with it tonight both were 11x.
It was a much stiller night than I’ve had in ages - very little breeze, so that helped a lot. But I actually got bit my mosquitoes - they are out on the 1st day of 60+ degrees here in Connecticut!
It seems 860fps is a more reasonable velocity to shoot the 30 Yard Challenge vs. the 960fps that the Prophet was shooting the 16 grain pellets with the stock RTI hammer spring. The lighter spring also cocks so much smoother now - close to as smooth as my FX Dreamline!
I’m having a blast making my rifles better and shooting this target challenge - as you can probably tell. Its a cool hobby - lots of fun.
I’ve got two new moderators from Neil Clague. Can’t wait to try them tomorrow with my Daystate Wolverine. That thing is a beast and I haven’t figured how to tune it down (yet), so I haven’t used in the 30 Yard Challenge because its a bit loud. The new mods will solve that.
Oh, I submit the 197 11x to replace the 191 that I currently had on the leaderboard with the .22 RTI.
-Ed
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Hey Hey TommyB,
Yeah - you know how it is when you have a good shooting day… everything seems more “in focus and on target”, lol.
-Ed
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Still shooting a target or two a day but no better results to report. But I did shoot two targets over 190 in a row. I shot the 191 yesterday with my P35-177 which has a Athlon Talos 6-24 on it. I was using H&N Baracuda Power pellets and have never shot them this well. Today it was the P35-22 which has a Vector 8-32 on it. 194 is almost as good as I have done with it. Nice to see more consistent scores. If I can keep this up, I will surpass my previous bests. I don't think the Vector helps despite the higher magnification. The glass is not as clear as the Athlon. But it works well enough it isn't an issue, either.
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I got in 5 cards today - all .177.
I shot 4 cards with RTI Prophet Performance. 1st card was a 192 with 9g pellets. Next 3 cards were all 185s using FX 10.3g pellets at different velocities.
Then I picked up the FX Dreamline - had not shot her in a few days. She hit a 195 11x on her only card. I used my rear lift platform with sticky mat, instead of a rear bag… maybe this is a good combination!
I don’t know why I couldn’t get out of the 185s with the Prophet, it may be due for a barrel cleaning…
-Ed
I shot 4 cards with RTI Prophet Performance. 1st card was a 192 with 9g pellets. Next 3 cards were all 185s using FX 10.3g pellets at different velocities.
Then I picked up the FX Dreamline - had not shot her in a few days. She hit a 195 11x on her only card. I used my rear lift platform with sticky mat, instead of a rear bag… maybe this is a good combination!
I don’t know why I couldn’t get out of the 185s with the Prophet, it may be due for a barrel cleaning…
-Ed
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Damn good cards !
Nice shooting!
Why do the air gun gods give us targets like your 13 and 15? Where do they come from!! It drives me a bit crazy!!!
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I can't blame my guns for the 13 and 15, it was me. My worst point loosing habit is I don't reposition my monopod and, instead, push a little on the gun. When it is a horizontal miss, that is normally the cause for me. Vertical is usually jerked the trigger a little - especially if it is high. Knowing the most probable cause is only part of the issue, however. I have to eliminate these mistakes.
I shot my third sheet in a row >190 this morning, another 195 with my P35-22 but this one has one more X, A 195 10X - baby step better. Interestingly it has nothing worse than a 8 for a single shot and nothing worse than an 18. So at least no wild misses. No wind this morning but it's supposed to start raining soon so I wanted to get a target in. I tried late yesterday but it was getting dark and my inexpensive Vector wasn't giving me a clear view of the target so I quit at my practice stage (I shoot an old target before one for score). I was happy to have the first block of the target be a 20 this time, I had been messing up at the start.
I shot my third sheet in a row >190 this morning, another 195 with my P35-22 but this one has one more X, A 195 10X - baby step better. Interestingly it has nothing worse than a 8 for a single shot and nothing worse than an 18. So at least no wild misses. No wind this morning but it's supposed to start raining soon so I wanted to get a target in. I tried late yesterday but it was getting dark and my inexpensive Vector wasn't giving me a clear view of the target so I quit at my practice stage (I shoot an old target before one for score). I was happy to have the first block of the target be a 20 this time, I had been messing up at the start.
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That is a sweet looking target Jim.
Yep, I’m definitely guilty of pushing on the gun rather than repositioning, and it results in those 8s and 7s. Occasionally, the wind or a strange pellet gets me, but usually its me.
ThomasT says that I need to build a solid shooting bench. I tend to agree as I so lazy shooting with my current flexible bench top, I often use my left hand to pull or push the bench top to bring my crosshair onto target. The whole thing is like a coiled springboard at times, lol.
Bottom line, I need to take more time between shots to set up properly…. and if a shot doesn’t feel “right” before you pull the trigger, back off the rifle and begin your setup all over again. I’m always time challenged to get in target cards, so I rush.
Ed
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Today I shot the Benjamin Cayden for the 1st time in a couple weeks.
I added my own “challenge” to the 30 Yard Challenge…. I had 75 pellets left in my only JSB 14.35g tin. So my challenge was to shoot 3 cards with my remaining pellets, lol.
I took 2 practice shots to “zero” (I made no adjustments) and started shooting. I had 1 pellet left when I finished - so 72 straight shots across 3 cards - no “sighters”.
I shot 193 10x, 194 11x and 188 9x. The 188 was the last card and it got so windy during that card that I would not have shot in those conditions if I hadn’t already started the “3 card challenge”.
Temperature was 49 degrees. Starting pressure was 2,700 and ending fill pressure was 1,700psi. Tuned to shoot the 14.35s at 870fps. Hammer spring cut down to 2.8” - no other modifications other than extensive polishing of trigger and bolt. Did not yet polish the hammer like I did with my Akela. It has a $25 Buck Rail moderator. I have never removed the barrel or polished the barrel.
It’s interesting to note that this is an unregulated rifle that I bought new for $450 delivered from Crosman on a Fathers Day sale.
It achieves a high level of precision at a modest cost - and doesn’t have PoI shifts.
You will note that it finally started to show slight PoI drop after about 67 unregulated shots (counting my 2 practice shots). This may also have been wind related.
Its an amazing rifle once you cut down the ridiculous stock hammer spring.
This was the 1st time shooting the Cayden with the adjustable rear platform. It worked really nicely with the cutout in the Cayden’s stock.
-Ed
I added my own “challenge” to the 30 Yard Challenge…. I had 75 pellets left in my only JSB 14.35g tin. So my challenge was to shoot 3 cards with my remaining pellets, lol.
I took 2 practice shots to “zero” (I made no adjustments) and started shooting. I had 1 pellet left when I finished - so 72 straight shots across 3 cards - no “sighters”.
I shot 193 10x, 194 11x and 188 9x. The 188 was the last card and it got so windy during that card that I would not have shot in those conditions if I hadn’t already started the “3 card challenge”.
Temperature was 49 degrees. Starting pressure was 2,700 and ending fill pressure was 1,700psi. Tuned to shoot the 14.35s at 870fps. Hammer spring cut down to 2.8” - no other modifications other than extensive polishing of trigger and bolt. Did not yet polish the hammer like I did with my Akela. It has a $25 Buck Rail moderator. I have never removed the barrel or polished the barrel.
It’s interesting to note that this is an unregulated rifle that I bought new for $450 delivered from Crosman on a Fathers Day sale.
It achieves a high level of precision at a modest cost - and doesn’t have PoI shifts.
You will note that it finally started to show slight PoI drop after about 67 unregulated shots (counting my 2 practice shots). This may also have been wind related.
Its an amazing rifle once you cut down the ridiculous stock hammer spring.
This was the 1st time shooting the Cayden with the adjustable rear platform. It worked really nicely with the cutout in the Cayden’s stock.
-Ed
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Thanks ThomasT.
I’m struggling a bit with my Prophet .177. I tried 2 different pellets today and the rifle shot tiny groups with both pellets - I’m talking sub 1/4” inch. Yet when I switched to the 30 Yard Challenge Target, pellets were spraying around. The rifle has a 45x Sightron scope, not sure if its my eye placement or something.
The Cayden stock didn’t look like that when I got it. The factory finish was dull and dark. I stripped it and rubbed in many coats of Tru-Oil and it came to life.
-Ed
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Ed,
I especially like your Cayden scores. Nice to see someone with a similar priced gun shooting some really good scores. I've looked at those little laboratory lifts but not purchased one yet. This is what I use on my P35s. I have Uncle Mike's type flush sling swivel stud bases on my guns because I like to hunt with them. My monopod is just 3 couplers for 1/4 all thread welded together with the top ground to fit into the sling base and a carriage bolt in it. I put a brass knurled nut on the carriage bolt with a few drops of thread lock on it so I can easily adjust the length and thus the elevation of my shots.
Jim
I especially like your Cayden scores. Nice to see someone with a similar priced gun shooting some really good scores. I've looked at those little laboratory lifts but not purchased one yet. This is what I use on my P35s. I have Uncle Mike's type flush sling swivel stud bases on my guns because I like to hunt with them. My monopod is just 3 couplers for 1/4 all thread welded together with the top ground to fit into the sling base and a carriage bolt in it. I put a brass knurled nut on the carriage bolt with a few drops of thread lock on it so I can easily adjust the length and thus the elevation of my shots.
Jim
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