I Experienced The Infamous POI Shift On FX Maverick VP

[N2 Shooter]

I have finally experienced the infamous POI shift with my FX Maverick VP.

What should have been a clean heart/lung bodyshot ended up being a shot to the mid section that required a follow up shot, and then a third shot just to make sure the deal was done completely. Does anyone know of a fix for this phenomenon, or is it just not safe shooting the Maverick VP without checking your zero every single time before you hunt? Is there a regulated airgun that pushes a similar amount of power in .30cal that does not have this issue?

I am really bummed that I could not have dropped this groundhog in its tracks on the first shot because my gun refused to hold a zero out to 35 yards. I just don't have the luxury to be able to zero before every shot, as it is already like finding a needle in a haystack to even be at my property when the groundhogs have decided to emerge from their burrows and give me a shot. Sometimes, I get a shot in a few minutes like today, but most of the time, it's hours on end of just waiting.

 

[Jerkeejoe]

Tag for responses. I’m on the fence about ordering a Maverick, so this has me curious.

 

[N2 Shooter]

Tag for responses. I’m on the fence about ordering a Maverick, so this has me curious.

I have had pretty good luck for over a year, but the variance on my last two kills has me confident that my POI moved. I have seen some carbon fiber barrel stabilizers but I don't know anyone that has installed one and could tell a difference. I already have the carbon fiber liner stiffener installed, which definitely tightened up my groups, but this recent POI shift is huge. Maybe I need to go through the airgun and tighten up all the screws just in case they have worked their way loose.

 

[Vetmx]

Yes, that is a big time POI shift. Paper shooters can live with a pre shooting session rezero. Us hunters can’t. I guess a pester can because he can zero before he goes on a killing spree. But in your situation, like many others, it just sucks. It can be addressed. Maybe cured, maybe not. Hopefully you’ll get to hear everyone’s theories. I only have one FX out of four still wearing a stock barrel. I believe I have the stock barrel figured out for the last year but some of what I did won’t work on a .30.

 

[Spartan]

I don't have a Maverick specifically, but several other FXs over the years and some have been plagued by the infamous POI shift. When I've seen it, it has always tended to be quite small for me. At a similar 35yds, the POI shifts would be about 0.25 to 0.5 inches at most. Just enough to be annoying. It looked to me like your POI shift was quite a bit more than that. At least about 1 inch, maybe even as high as 2 inches. Wondering if there may not be some other problem or even just a flier pellet.

 

[N2 Shooter]

I don't have a Maverick specifically, but several other FXs over the years and some have been plagued by the infamous POI shift. When I've seen it, it has always tended to be quite small for me. At a similar 35yds, the POI shifts would be about 0.25 to 0.5 inches at most. Just enough to be annoying. It looked to me like your POI shift was quite a bit more than that. At least about 1 inch, maybe even as high as 2 inches. Wondering if there may not be some other problem or even just a flier pellet.

It's possible that is was a flyer, as the follow up shot was not nearly off as much. I double checked my scope QD mount, and it is as tight as the day I mounted it.

 

[Spartan]

It's possible that is was a flyer, as the follow up shot was not nearly off as much. I double checked my scope QD mount, and it is as tight as the day I mounted it.

I'd recommend doing some bench testing with it to see what's going on. Different times of day, different temps, letting the gun sit outside for longer, etc. If it's the typical POI shift problem it will become apparent. The groups themselves will stay reasonably tight, but that group position relative to the POA will shift around a bit. First shot fliers are a different issue with the gun, at least in my opinion. And of course it could have just been an isolated flier if it was a bum pellet.

 

[AmosBurton]

It looks like the crosshair sweeps right to the POI on the trigger pull.
I had a terrible trigger habit that took some training to get rid of. It never showed itself until I started to shoot smaller game and paper targets.
A firearms instructor saw me shooting and offered a tip to improve my trigger pull - imagine a $100 bill between your fingertip and the blade of the trigger and you can't ever let it go.
It did two things - 1) it stopped me from dragging wood and 2) it improved my follow through - I used to release the trigger too soon.
Not really sure that's the issue but just something I noticed watching at 1/2 speed.
Either way, hope you get it sorted. Nothing ruins my day like not having confidence in my shot placement.

 

[karl_h]

It looks like the crosshair sweeps right to the POI on the trigger pull.

+1, I had to look at other threads you posted to find that is a 30cal around 90 FPE. For the extreme length of time the pellet is in the barrel, that explains some of the massive rise from recoil. The pellet is in the barrel for ages, the smallest shooter inconsistency can easily make over a one inch error at 30 yards, add in a bit of a flyer at the wrong time and perfect direction and it's easy to see the occasional misses by 2+ inches. Doesn't take much. Doubt you have a problem of POI change,

 

[Florida_Man]

I sold my Maverick because of it. It wasn’t a significant shift, would be a perfectly fine pesting/hunting rifle, but shooting the 30 yard challenge it was no good. I decided to sell and buy a solid rifle instead of dumping more money into a platform I lost confidence in.

 

[N2 Shooter]

I'd recommend doing some bench testing with it to see what's going on. Different times of day, different temps, letting the gun sit outside for longer, etc. If it's the typical POI shift problem it will become apparent. The groups themselves will stay reasonably tight, but that group position relative to the POA will shift around a bit. First shot fliers are a different issue with the gun, at least in my opinion. And of course it could have just been an isolated flier if it was a bum pellet.

The first two shots are with Hybrid Slugs. After the groundhog appeared down, I swapped over to my JSB Hades for the last shot, and it was off a similar amount to my first shot, but this shot was bench style with my bipod deployed, while the other two were from a seated position free handed.

 

[N2 Shooter]

+1, I had to look at other threads you posted to find that is a 30cal around 90 FPE. For the extreme length of time the pellet is in the barrel, that explains some of the massive rise from recoil. The pellet is in the barrel for ages, the smallest shooter inconsistency can easily make over a one inch error at 30 yards, add in a bit of a flyer at the wrong time and perfect direction and it's easy to see the occasional misses by 2+ inches. Doesn't take much. Doubt you have a problem of POI change,

I checked my zero on my ammo and things were off. I checked all of my screws and snugged everything down. I reset all my scope profiles and set zero for all my different ammo types. Everything is now dead on, so I will see how things change moving forward.