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Break barrels, inaccurate by design??

Technically yes. However at the distances they shoot its not bad. My theoben will hang with any pcp inside 40 yards no problem. Quality/tolerances go a long way too. A sloppy 100$ break barrel more than likely will not shoot pellet on pellet USUALLY, but theres always the exception. Also, a barrel held on a reciever with a set screw isnt the best either.
 
When I went looking for a "new" springer, I shied away from break barrel ones. That's why I bought a Diana 48 (side-lever), Diana 460 Magnum (under-lever) and Air Arms TX 200 (under-lever). I wanted a continuous barrel. My new D48 arrived today and I used an Artillery hold and enjoyed it. Later I put it on a Caldwell DeadShot FieldPod and was hitting the little red spheres on a Splatterburst Target with consistency - from about 20 yards. Gonna back off to 30 and 40 yards tomorrow.
 
After dabbling in PCPs (and filling up the house) I have gone back to break barrels, at least temporarily. There is something in breaking, cocking and closing the barrel with a decisive click that's appealingly real. So is the recoil. And tuning the trigger and removing the sideways slop of cheapo Chinese guns with otherwise quality components is gratifying.

They require superior shooting skills as well, as has already been pointed out. The only maddening thing about powerful gas rams especially is their serial scope killing habit. I often mistake it for inaccuracy. So gimme the open sights, red dots, and bullseye mounts.

🐦
 
A well made and maintained break barrel should have no issue with accuracy and will easily and consistently out perform its shooter.

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Oh yeah, those old break-barrel springers are all crap. I don't know why anyone bothers with them!

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Target shot by semi-blind old guy - me - with iron sights. The rifle was a Walther LGV Olympia made in the early 70's, a recoiling barrel-cocker with receiver-mounted match aperture sight.

You aren't exactly the first person to have this thought. But the 125+ years of good engineering which has preceded you has reduced this "paper problem" to utter insignificance. Any quality break-barrel combines excellent barrel rifling, efficient sealing, stout well-hardened latch components giving a microscopically and precisely repeatable lock-up, and a massive pivot allowing adjusting the tension in the breech. 

Break-barrels have other significant advantages: a simpler and lighter mechanism, an easy and natural cocking motion, loading the pellet directly into the rifling. My advice would be: shoot more - worry less - buy quality - have a little respect for the designers and manufacturers out there - and just enjoy your airguns, LOL...!
 
I asked the same question about thirty years ago. I devised an experiment to answer the question. If one could mount a scope first on the dovetail of a break barrel and then on the breach block and compare results you would have an answer. I contacted Redfield, which at that time were still in business making rifle sights for help. They liked the idea and agreed to provide the necessary gunsmithing.. Their machine shop modified my BSF S60 break barrel to accept a mount on the breach block..

bsf3.1609692708.JPG
Holes drilled in the breach block to accept a one piece scope mount.

A 4X scope sight and a 2 1/2 X long eye relief pistol scope were modified to focus at 20 yards. The proprietor of an indoor range set up an alley placing targets at 20 yards. I fired 25 shots with the 4X scope mounted on the dovetail and then 25 with the 2 1/2 x mounted on the breach block. No difference. I published an article describing this process in an early airgun monthly.
 
Potential accuracy issue with break barrel design? Possibly. Actual shooting accuracy issue with break barrel design? Possibly (probably?) not. I had one Hatsan 125 that needed work. A moderate bump would allow the barrel to shift just visibly downward. I removed the "locking chisel", modified the slot to allow slightly more protrusion, and shimmed the spring beneath that part. No more movement and required a noticeable slap to break open. If lockup is a question then it can probably be improved.
 
If you have your scope mounted on the receiver, and the barrel is pivoting, is this a recipe for inaccuracy disaster??

Thoughts solicited.

Will


Not here......... Gamo Whisper Fusion 22 cal...........5 shots.....15 yards :)
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My response got deleted somehow....I'll try again.



Great shooting there. If that were my target, this would have been me....



Thinking to self, "4 shots one hole! I should stop right there and call it a five shot group.....nah, I have to try that 5th shot." 

Pulls 5th shot 1 inch away...."Crap...should have stopped at 4!"





Edit...I'm a fool. That was another thread I was thinking about......
 
I asked the same question about thirty years ago. I devised an experiment to answer the question. If one could mount a scope first on the dovetail of a break barrel and then on the breach block and compare results you would have an answer. I contacted Redfield, which at that time were still in business making rifle sights for help. They liked the idea and agreed to provide the necessary gunsmithing.. Their machine shop modified my BSF S60 break barrel to accept a mount on the breach block..

Holes drilled in the breach block to accept a one piece scope mount.

A 4X scope sight and a 2 1/2 X long eye relief pistol scope were modified to focus at 20 yards. The proprietor of an indoor range set up an alley placing targets at 20 yards. I fired 25 shots with the 4X scope mounted on the dovetail and then 25 with the 2 1/2 x mounted on the breach block. No difference. I published an article describing this process in an early airgun monthly.

This is brilliant! The ultimate answer to this never-ending question, LOL. 

I'd love to read your original article. Is it available online somewhere, or can it be scanned and posted?
 
I asked the same question about thirty years ago. I devised an experiment to answer the question. If one could mount a scope first on the dovetail of a break barrel and then on the breach block and compare results you would have an answer. I contacted Redfield, which at that time were still in business making rifle sights for help. They liked the idea and agreed to provide the necessary gunsmithing.. Their machine shop modified my BSF S60 break barrel to accept a mount on the breach block..

Holes drilled in the breach block to accept a one piece scope mount.

A 4X scope sight and a 2 1/2 X long eye relief pistol scope were modified to focus at 20 yards. The proprietor of an indoor range set up an alley placing targets at 20 yards. I fired 25 shots with the 4X scope mounted on the dovetail and then 25 with the 2 1/2 x mounted on the breach block. No difference. I published an article describing this process in an early airgun monthly.

This is brilliant! The ultimate answer to this never-ending question, LOL. 

I'd love to read your original article. Is it available online somewhere, or can it be scanned and posted?

Your note made me redouble the search for the article which I tried to find before writing my post.. I see that the experiment was run 41 years ago, so excuse any errors I made in my posting. I cannot seem to insert the file in this post. Send me your email address and I will forward the article to you.




 
RE: inaccurate break barrel rifles.

Like many things these days, that is a large container of bovine excreta. My new, out of the box, HW30 easily shoots sub-dime size groups at 15 yards from a not so solid sand bag rest. I am 79 and have seen some really poor shooting over the years. Much, if not most, can be blamed on the shooter rather then the gun. I have seen people with $$$$ rifle and scope combinations who had difficulty getting 3" groups at 100 yards from the bench. I watched them flinch and jerk the trigger. With great difficulty, I kept my mouth shut. 

I suspect that if you THINK an air rifle will perform poorly, it will. 
 
If you have your scope mounted on the receiver, and the barrel is pivoting, is this a recipe for inaccuracy disaster??

Thoughts solicited.

Will


Not here......... Gamo Whisper Fusion 22 cal...........5 shots.....15 yards :)
002.1609697358.JPG

I asked the same question about thirty years ago. I devised an experiment to answer the question. If one could mount a scope first on the dovetail of a break barrel and then on the breach block and compare results you would have an answer. I contacted Redfield, which at that time were still in business making rifle sights for help. They liked the idea and agreed to provide the necessary gunsmithing.. Their machine shop modified my BSF S60 break barrel to accept a mount on the breach block..

Holes drilled in the breach block to accept a one piece scope mount.

A 4X scope sight and a 2 1/2 X long eye relief pistol scope were modified to focus at 20 yards. The proprietor of an indoor range set up an alley placing targets at 20 yards. I fired 25 shots with the 4X scope mounted on the dovetail and then 25 with the 2 1/2 x mounted on the breach block. No difference. I published an article describing this process in an early airgun monthly.

This is brilliant! The ultimate answer to this never-ending question, LOL. 

I'd love to read your original article. Is it available online somewhere, or can it be scanned and posted?

Sorry to disagree but all that single experiment showed was that THAT PARTICULAR RIFLE produced the same groups with the scope mounted on the breech block as it did mounted on the receiver. If THAT PARTICULAR RIFLE had excellent lockup to begin with, what else would one expect to see?