Almost sounds like a proper clickbait title right?Ā 
I've read it more than once in the past weeks/months/years that airguns are suffering from the first shots being offĀ and what I mostly see is that the regulators are blamed. I thought it might be convenient to clarify some possible causes that can be fixed quite easily too (sort of troubleshooting guide):
A regulator is not failing miserably when it creeps only a couple of bars in a day. For most people it is really hard to stop this slight settling behavior of the regulator, there are enough machinists and tuners who can accomplish this but they know what they're doing and know what their looking for. If you don't feel comfortable modifying you regulator please don't! The risk of ruining the regulator is quite significant and in my opinion is not worth the risk over taking two dry firing shots before you go.
By the way, if you actually test it, a slightly creeping regulator (and I mean slightly, less than 5 bar) will most likely give you a higher muzzle velocity while in pretty much allĀ cases I read that the first pellet hits lower than usual. Quite the opposite of what you would expect right?! The BC is not changing that rapidly that only a couple of m/s faster will end up drastically lower because the BC deteriorates dramatically. Also the miniature pressure gauges aren't sacred, their needles will stick too and will barely respond to minimal changes.
So just some things to think about when you notice weird behavior on your first shots. First check the easy things like the greasy barrel and the greasy hammer if the regulator creep is minimal, then proceed to the other steps (and don't forget to doubt your own abilitiesĀ
, had to accept this myself too at some point). Hope this helps. If I missed something please add it below and I can add it into this post if preferred.
I've read it more than once in the past weeks/months/years that airguns are suffering from the first shots being offĀ and what I mostly see is that the regulators are blamed. I thought it might be convenient to clarify some possible causes that can be fixed quite easily too (sort of troubleshooting guide):
- A greasy hammer:Ā hammers will strike the most consistent when they run absolutely dry. Dry lubes are possible if you want to experiment with it but make sure the carrier fluid is evaporatedĀ before reinserting the hammer. Most hammers run in a pretty tight channel and oils and grease can act as a sealer which can cause pressure buildup in front of the hammer or vacuum at the rear of the hammer. They will also give pretty inconsistent results during shot strings and will behave differently every time the gun is stored and also depends on the way the gun is stored. So the rule this out cleanĀ the hammer channelĀ
- Oily/greasy barrel:Ā When improper oils are used to clean the barrel it might leave a greasy substance inside the barrel, or just residue of the cleaning oil, which will slow down the first (few) shot(s) but this will be removed by the pellets you shoot. This will probably end up in a couple of pellets at lower velocities for the first few shots. One product I know that does this is ballistol, there is some type of resin in there which will solidify when left to dry so if you use it for cleaning make sure you remove it before use. Nothing wrong with ballistol by the way andĀ this isn't the only product that does this!
- Sticky valve: If the airgun is stored for a longer time the valve might start to seat slightly different compared to right after the shot. Polymers will start to deform to the exact valve seating shape and oring valve seatsĀ might start to sort of stick to the seating area. Cleaning the seating area will help for oring seals and using proper materials for the polymer seating facesĀ (this is mostly influenced by the manufacturer since very little people make their own valves). This issue will be gone after the first or second shot generally but will re-occur each time the gun is stored if not taken care of.
- Shooter needs to warm up:Ā This is oneĀ some people won't like, it might just be you who will miss the first shot
Hold is something really important when shooting and is mostly underrated by many. Building up the exact same hold every time you shoot is vitally important for accuracy. If you don't turn this into a routine there is a chance your hold might be inconsistent which can cause a wandering POI every time you mount the gun. This can even lead to re-sighting each time you pick up the gun to shoot. - Improper lubrication of the regulator:Ā During changing temperatures the lubricity of greases and oils changes and will influences the speed and accuracy of the regulator. Ask the manufacturer of the regulator for advice on the lubrication since I assume they've done tests to find the optimal grease or oil for their regulators. Also during use the oil or grease is redistributed to regain it's full function which might take a couple of shots.Ā This will probably be visible during the changing of the seasons or big fluctuations in temperatures.
- Regulated chamber pressure increase due to temperature deviation:Ā This one is already mentioned by a few (including me) over here on the forum, when moving from a cold to a warm environment the plenum pressure will increase pretty much according to the gas law. This is easily cleared by one or two shots to get the regulator going again. So it is important to first let the gun sit in the conditions you're going to shoot in for a while, dry fire once or twice before use and get going.
- Leaking regulator:Ā This is already kind of known for most. If the sealing surface of the piston is damaged there is a high chance the regulator pressure will rise quite an amount over time. But there is also another way it can leak, if the adjustment screw sealed the piston but the oring around the screw is dirty (a hair or something on the oring) there is a chance it will leak past this oring and fill up the regulated chamber, most probably, up to the fill pressure or slightly below.
A regulator is not failing miserably when it creeps only a couple of bars in a day. For most people it is really hard to stop this slight settling behavior of the regulator, there are enough machinists and tuners who can accomplish this but they know what they're doing and know what their looking for. If you don't feel comfortable modifying you regulator please don't! The risk of ruining the regulator is quite significant and in my opinion is not worth the risk over taking two dry firing shots before you go.
By the way, if you actually test it, a slightly creeping regulator (and I mean slightly, less than 5 bar) will most likely give you a higher muzzle velocity while in pretty much allĀ cases I read that the first pellet hits lower than usual. Quite the opposite of what you would expect right?! The BC is not changing that rapidly that only a couple of m/s faster will end up drastically lower because the BC deteriorates dramatically. Also the miniature pressure gauges aren't sacred, their needles will stick too and will barely respond to minimal changes.
So just some things to think about when you notice weird behavior on your first shots. First check the easy things like the greasy barrel and the greasy hammer if the regulator creep is minimal, then proceed to the other steps (and don't forget to doubt your own abilitiesĀ
, had to accept this myself too at some point). Hope this helps. If I missed something please add it below and I can add it into this post if preferred.
Ā such a fascinating hobby