Eliminating the Human

[Bill_in_TR]

I didn't find anything with a search but maybe I just didn't get the search terms right.

Has anyone ever built the equivalent of a Ransom Rest for a spring piston air rifle? I would expect that providing for the need to break the barrel to cock the gun would introduce a certain amount of variability shot to shot. But it would seem that if the rest of the gun were adequately secured and the rifle locked up fairly consistently then it should be possible to evaluate the precision of the rifle without any human interaction.

If this has already been done or tried I would appreciate links to the information. If there are reasons that it won't work with a spring piston I'd like to hear that too. It doesn't seem like it should be unreasonable to me but I never read about it being done.

 

[Michigander]

Well there are the FWB 300s and RWS 54. If I were to make something that would be my model. Some sort of sled with a bedding block for the receiver.

 

[Yo]

Shoot that break barrel upside down. Yo!

 

[Eamon]

So I'm saying this just to say it out loud is all. It means nothing more then "free advise..." As it is true that you are going to find out your rifles true potential, it is not a diet you would want to keep up, Ransom Rest are used for "test" guns in product development or maybe proof of accuracy. The energy dump from a open recoil are expected in the design of riles, pistols ect. When you clamp it all the way down that energy ends up in the test gun. Things will and are going to break.

This is not what I came up with, but what was said to me by some well respected fireman engineers. There I said it, and it means nothing more than that. I'm thinking you just want a little tes,t and so did I, and that's the answer I was given.

Have fun!

Eamon

 

[Exitpupil]

1- You still have to use human interaction in the end when you shoot it so you may as well find the one that you can shoot best for best results. The practice does not hurt either.

2- IME clamping down a gun introduces unnatural harmonics vs human shooting so the results may not be valid. I have had guns that sucked clamped down then shot like a house afire off the shoulder.

 

[AirNGasman]

I will paraphrase an opinion I've voiced in more than one book. "Any attempts to harness non-recoilless spring-piston beasts are counter-productive." 

 

[stoti]

I will paraphrase an opinion I've voiced in more than one book. "Any attempts to harness non-recoilless spring-piston beasts are counter-productive." 

I'm glad you chimed in! I've been thinking about this since I saw the post yesterday. I can't imagine clamping down tightly on a springer would turn out very well at all. I've never done it myself so I wasn not 100% sure and didn't post. Thanks AirNGas!

P.S. check your PM please.

Stoti

 

[tjmac]

To me, it is like eliminating the fun. I think the potential accuracy of my spring guns is what I can do with them while shooting from my preferred positions. I am usually able to call my shots based on the moment the trigger releases. I know if it is going to be up, down , left or right. It does not always end up a show group that people post, but as long as I know it was shooter error and not the gun, I'm fine with that.

Tim

 

[Bill_in_TR]

I am not looking for something to take over my shooting for me. I fully appreciate the fun, the satisfaction and everything else about shooting precisely and accurately by my own hand, eyes and reflexes.

Just looking for a possible test mechanism evaluating and analysing. I read a suggestion elsewhere that some sort of sled mechanism that will absorb recoil but still hold the rifle in the same exact position and be able to return it to that same exact position repeatedly might be workable.

I definitely get my joy from my own shooting. I am not trying to take that away from myself or anybody else.

 

[bandg]

What you are asking about seems perfectly logical and intelligent to ask. Getting it done physically is a different matter. I don't see anything "breaking" with a springer tested a bit in this matter, but I suppose it could. I've often thought it would be a good experiment to compare a magnum springer shot while secured firmly to one just suspended from a couple of lines and a bit of contact on the butt of the stock. Difficult to do but might be interesting.

 

[Michigander]

If you are serious about trying to make your own sled, visit a local machine builder and ask them to save an old ball bearing slide for you, something with around 3/4" rails. Remove any cylinder and seals and it will move freely. Come up with a way to attach the rifle's receiver in a way that will still allow the gun to be cocked and you will have created the equivalent of an RWS 54 with its built-in sled.

From what I understand, even a finely tuned RWS 54 cannot quite equal the accuracy of a PCP, so that is what I would expect as an outcome for best quality springers. The results for inexpensive and rough shooting springers might be more interesting. I would guess that all the vibration that starts even before the pellet begins moving must take a toll on accuracy.

If you think this would be fun to do, and have the time, by all means go for it. It's just a hobby and having fun is the only objective!