300 yards on steel with .25 M3

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Swish

Swish

Member
Mar 9, 2017
312
185
Oregon, United States
We had a great time at the range this weekend. As many know, there is something very gratifying about the sound of smacking steel at long range.

I was shooting some .25 prototype slugs out of my 700mm M3 with a Coldshot adjustable base and the Absolute MOA Digital Readout. Conditions were breezy and cold but we still had a lot of fun.
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The wind tricked me a few times which made for some close misses but overall there was some decent shooting considering the conditions.

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so I understand that you are using the fx m3 in 25 caliber.. do you know if it's the same size as the airforce texan 257.. seems like I have asked others about the airforce guns and they are a larger bore than our regular PCP caliber..
also I thought Benjamin bulldog was coming out with a 257 but I haven't seen anything more about them.. plus I'd assume a lot lower quality gun than the Texan or m3..
can you also shoot pellets in your M3?
another thing I was wondering about is say that you have your gun tuned for the heavy slugs.. going maybe around 900+/- and then say you put in a standard weight pellets.. how fast would they go then..
I've wanted to get into long distance with air rifle.. I only have 22 caliber currently and it does something funny.. jsb 18 I can hit a 3" target with all shots at 160 yards and then at 170 yards it's like a scatter gun.. absolutely no group and everything missing a 24" backstop..
so I have wondered if I should go to 30 caliber or others said 308 airforce texan..
do you have any recommendations?
I don't know ballistics well, I just shoot.. so I am wondering if there's caliber that are better for long distance than others..
yes I really like hitting steel at a long distance.. it is fun to shoot and wait for the tink..
I've really considered the airforce texan 457 but I can't handle recoil anymore so without trying someone else's, I don't want to buy a $1000+ gun and shoot it once.. I guess getting old and all did something because I used to shoot 20 and 410 shotgun and 357 lever action.. and well 7mm too although the 7mm always hurt.. but now I can't shoulder the 357 with light 38 loads anymore..
so I am trying to figure out what caliber is best for me to stretch out my airgunning.. I have always liked watching the Quigly bucket challenge with the texan airforce..
any information will be appreciated
Mark
 
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Lewis said:
What was the average group size?

How do you like the ColdShot? I would love to try one but $$$$$$!
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I wasn't really shooting for group size. I will typically only shoot for groups on very calm days. That way I know for sure what the setup is capable of. If a can't shoot consistent sub MOA groups at this yardage on a calm day then I know I still have work to do. I feel that I'm getting close but waiting for a calm day to verify.

The Coldshot base is pretty good but I still like the Ravin Jack Plate better. Keep in mind that you'll NEED the Absolute MOA Digital Readout Kit for the Ravin and you'll WANT the Absolute MOA kit for the Coldshot. Plus it helps that the Ravin is also half the price of the Coldshot.
 
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wow that's awesome pictures.. so it's basically a thumb wheel and a digital dial indicator.. I use dial indicator on my lathe and mill a lot..
since it must have a hinge joint in the front and the back is the adjustment wheel, do you notice any play? like a lot of things there's play in joints.. but if it is high quality it probably has adjustable tension in the hinge joint, just like the slides on a mill..
also I wasn't sure from the picture, does it clamp to your gun rail and then are the rings part of it or does it have a upper rail and then separate rings..
it's definitely what you have to get for long distance shooting with a scope 👍
 
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markhooper said:
wow that's awesome pictures.. so it's basically a thumb wheel and a digital dial indicator.. I use dial indicator on my lathe and mill a lot..
since it must have a hinge joint in the front and the back is the adjustment wheel, do you notice any play? like a lot of things there's play in joints.. but if it is high quality it probably has adjustable tension in the hinge joint, just like the slides on a mill..
also I wasn't sure from the picture, does it clamp to your gun rail and then are the rings part of it or does it have a upper rail and then separate rings..
it's definitely what you have to get for long distance shooting with a scope 👍
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oh I was able to enlarge the picture so I can see you have a upper rail and separate rings..
 
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markhooper said:
so I understand that you are using the fx m3 in 25 caliber.. do you know if it's the same size as the airforce texan 257.. seems like I have asked others about the airforce guns and they are a larger bore than our regular PCP caliber..
also I thought Benjamin bulldog was coming out with a 257 but I haven't seen anything more about them.. plus I'd assume a lot lower quality gun than the Texan or m3..
can you also shoot pellets in your M3?
another thing I was wondering about is say that you have your gun tuned for the heavy slugs.. going maybe around 900+/- and then say you put in a standard weight pellets.. how fast would they go then..
I've wanted to get into long distance with air rifle.. I only have 22 caliber currently and it does something funny.. jsb 18 I can hit a 3" target with all shots at 160 yards and then at 170 yards it's like a scatter gun.. absolutely no group and everything missing a 24" backstop..
so I have wondered if I should go to 30 caliber or others said 308 airforce texan..
do you have any recommendations?
I don't know ballistics well, I just shoot.. so I am wondering if there's caliber that are better for long distance than others..
yes I really like hitting steel at a long distance.. it is fun to shoot and wait for the tink..
I've really considered the airforce texan 457 but I can't handle recoil anymore so without trying someone else's, I don't want to buy a $1000+ gun and shoot it once.. I guess getting old and all did something because I used to shoot 20 and 410 shotgun and 357 lever action.. and well 7mm too although the 7mm always hurt.. but now I can't shoulder the 357 with light 38 loads anymore..
so I am trying to figure out what caliber is best for me to stretch out my airgunning.. I have always liked watching the Quigly bucket challenge with the texan airforce..
any information will be appreciated
Mark
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That's a lot to unpack but I'll do my best.
I really don't shoot pellets anymore but If I do I use a totally different gun setup for pellets. It takes a fair amount of time and effort to make a slug shooter come together. If I did shoot pellets out of my M3 they would certainly break the sound barrier and sound like a .22lr going off without turning the power way down.
Sounds like you found the limit of your your 18grn JSBs but that's still pretty darn good shooting for a pellet. You're definitely going to need to switch over to slugs if you want push things out farther. I personally would take a .22 slug over any .30 pellet for long range.

Yes, a .257 is going to require different/larger diameter slugs than most of the standard PCP's to shoot accurately. And I would assume the same about the quality between the Bulldog and Texan but I'm sure they both fill different niches.

As far as calibers go, I'm sure if you ask 5 different people, you'll get 6 different answers. I personally am a big fan of .22 cal. I enjoy the versatility, shot count, and safety factor of a relatively lighter projectile. I have a MK2 .22 that I have hit 12oz soda cans at over 650 yards with. But I have really been enjoying this M3 in .25 too.

The big bore stuff doesn't really do anything for me right now for the opposite reasons that I enjoy .22/.25.
Low shot count, heavy recoil, and I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting and pesting in most of the areas I enjoy. That's just my preference and there are some guys doing amazing things with big bores.
 
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Swish said:
That's a lot to unpack but I'll do my best.
I really don't shoot pellets anymore but If I do I use a totally different gun setup for pellets. It takes a fair amount of time and effort to make a slug shooter come together. If I did shoot pellets out of my M3 they would certainly break the sound barrier and sound like a .22lr going off without turning the power way down.
Sounds like you found the limit of your your 18grn JSBs but that's still pretty darn good shooting for a pellet. You're definitely going to need to switch over to slugs if you want push things out farther. I personally would take a .22 slug over any .30 pellet for long range.

Yes, a .257 is going to require different/larger diameter slugs than most of the standard PCP's to shoot accurately. And I would assume the same about the quality between the Bulldog and Texan but I'm sure they both fill different niches.

As far as calibers go, I'm sure if you ask 5 different people, you'll get 6 different answers. I personally am a big fan of .22 cal. I enjoy the versatility, shot count, and safety factor of a relatively lighter projectile. I have a MK2 .22 that I have hit 12oz soda cans at over 650 yards with. But I have really been enjoying this M3 in .25 too.

The big bore stuff doesn't really do anything for me right now for the opposite reasons that I enjoy .22/.25.
Low shot count, heavy recoil, and I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting and pesting in most of the areas I enjoy. That's just my preference and there are some guys doing amazing things with big bores.
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very good and complete answer.. I only have 22 PCP guns so far..
do you know of any budget guns like possibly the avenger X 22 that would have enough power for heavy slugs.. or for that matter any brand hopefully under $1000
I also prefer tank vs tube for more shots.. I assume pushing 30+ grain slugs you go through the air..
I've always wondered why we shoot hollow in the back pellets as I would think it would cause air turbulence..
the other thing is that well say that you are low on one kind of ammo, if it is 22 you can at least get pellets..
I really like the jack plate, I couldn't find anything about windage..do either the cold shot or ravin have any windage adjustments? because I have been known to shoot in side winds just for practice to get used to how much windage or lead you need..
I was doing about 20 years ago with a bolt action Marlin using the Williams peep sight.. 1/4 mile shots across a canyon in back of my place.. I won't shoot unless I know where the lead stops even if I miss.. but I got so that I could put whole magazine in a gallon can.. until you do it, you have no idea how long it takes to hear the hit.. and then well the canyon was probably 100 ft deep and open so you had a good view of everything.. but it might be still where you stand but half way out a stiff breeze and it could put the shot off by 30 ft..
good old times.. so I appreciate anything you can point me in the right direction so that I can do this type of shooting with PCP guns..
I also prefer 22 vs 25, or 30 since it's so much easier to find ammo
 
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markhooper said:
oh another thing.. I had a friend who owned a gun shop in Newport Oregon and well I wish I would have asked him a lot more.. but he was making his own bullets from empty 22 cases and I think they had a lead wire inside.. some type of press, not cast.. do they have such things to make our own slugs without casting?
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@markhooper Yes. A swaging press with properly sized dies. Here’s a little info and some pricing info from one of a prominent machinist whose company is making these setups. http://www.swage.com/ftp/airgun-quote.pdf

There’s a decent amount on these setups in the forums.
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@markhooper Yes. A swaging press with properly sized dies. Here’s a little info and some pricing info from one of a prominent machinist whose company is making these setups. http://www.swage.com/ftp/airgun-quote.pdf

There’s a decent amount on these setups in the forums
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you said that there's a decent amount of these on the forum? are they for sale or write up about them??
I'm thinking it might be nice to find a used one for 22 caliber
 
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markhooper said:
you said that there's a decent amount of these on the forum? are they for sale or write up about them??
I'm thinking it might be nice to find a used one for 22 caliber
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@markhooper In my experience it’s very rare to see used swaging presses up for sale on AGN. I meant there’s a decent amount of information about them on the forums.
 
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markhooper said:
very good and complete answer.. I only have 22 PCP guns so far..
do you know of any budget guns like possibly the avenger X 22 that would have enough power for heavy slugs.. or for that matter any brand hopefully under $1000
I also prefer tank vs tube for more shots.. I assume pushing 30+ grain slugs you go through the air..
I've always wondered why we shoot hollow in the back pellets as I would think it would cause air turbulence..
the other thing is that well say that you are low on one kind of ammo, if it is 22 you can at least get pellets..
I really like the jack plate, I couldn't find anything about windage..do either the cold shot or ravin have any windage adjustments? because I have been known to shoot in side winds just for practice to get used to how much windage or lead you need..
I was doing about 20 years ago with a bolt action Marlin using the Williams peep sight.. 1/4 mile shots across a canyon in back of my place.. I won't shoot unless I know where the lead stops even if I miss.. but I got so that I could put whole magazine in a gallon can.. until you do it, you have no idea how long it takes to hear the hit.. and then well the canyon was probably 100 ft deep and open so you had a good view of everything.. but it might be still where you stand but half way out a stiff breeze and it could put the shot off by 30 ft..
good old times.. so I appreciate anything you can point me in the right direction so that I can do this type of shooting with PCP guns..
I also prefer 22 vs 25, or 30 since it's so much easier to find ammo
Click to expand...
For a budget gun, the Avenger X is probably a good place to start. I'm sure others will have some good recommendations too. I've only played with and tuned one of the original Avengers for a friend. There has been a lot of good reports on them and they are very adjustable externally. Also a lot of aftermarket products for them. You could also watch the classified section for some more refined options.
I prefer the FX Impacts because they are so interchangeable and everything is adjustable. If there is a weak link, I can swap it out with something else until it works the way I want. But the cost of admission is up there.
As far as swagging goes, as Ezana4CE mentioned, Corbin would be my first choice. If $1000.00 is your budget on the gun, Corbin equipment might be a hard pill to swallow price wise. I say all the time that " Accuracy is a sickness." and once you catch it, it's deep and expensive rabbit hole. Lol.
There is usually never any windage adjustment on any of the adjustable scope bases. That, you can adjust on your scope or use the windage marks on your reticle.
 
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