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FX Impact M3 ... POI change journey.

We had the same issues with our Impacts. I have a similar background to you and have found the air world to be a little challenging at times. There are many people here that will swear up and down that poi changes are not possible and there is nothing wrong with pcp designs. But having pretty extensive experience with PB builds and understanding, it is obvious to see short comings in design. We decided to use a barrel tension system to help eliminate poi shifts and they work great. I have the Huma kit on mine with an FX carbon fiber sleeve. If you drop your Impact on the ground you will still have shifts, but normal handling has held zero for several months of rough hunting.


Added: Looks like you already have a tensioner. Are you getting poi shifting during a session or from day to day? If its shifting during a single session you have other issues like leading or loose parts.
You are correct it is relative.

When I bench rest indoors, I train using an NRA A-17 target at 50' shooting 3 rounds per bull.

My JRL Verhagen 22lr tuned for SK Match ammo will place 3 rounds inside the 9 ring 10 out of 10 bulls.

My M3, off the same rest, wll start inside the 9 ring then slowly drift and cut the 9 ring.
 
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Temperature, wind shift, humidity and barometric pressure all probably have some effect. To truely show shift; has anyone shot their gun for several days in a row with out ever resighting in? What I mean by that is, does the gun continuosly shift each time in the same direction. For instance, an inch right and an inch high. Then the next day 2 inches right and 2 inches high...and so on and so on. I also wonder if some of the shifting is do to an inconsistent cheek weld and or parralax.
I took a 5 or so year hiatus from the Impact. The first one I had was when they were first introduced and I just couldn’t handle a problem child. When I returned to the platform, the MKll PP was just introduced. Since then I've owned five of them. Four of them strickly slug guns. I only had and still have one goal with them, consistency. They don't need BS hot rod parts and other crap that only opens doors to new problems. My testing, no matter what barrel I have on or what mods goes like this. The guns live on bipods in my spare room. Once I'm done with the BS slug testing, mod testing, tension testing and chamber depth testing, I clean the gun and sight it in. Every day I grab the gun and shoot one shot at 30 yards over the chronograph. When the gun passes that test for a week or two, I repeat at 50 yards. Then 75 yards and finally 100. If my guns go off the rails at any point during this process, it's back to the drawing board. I got so burned out at one point that while testing one of my most detailed builds, I stalled out at 75 yards. I had first shot consistency and ragged hole groups but I litterally dreaded going to 100. It took a member here, Bigragu to egg me on as we were having a text conversation one night.
Thats why for those that know me, they have seen me in every whacked Impact topic. I mean technically whacked issues. Not dumb stuff. Excluding my pellet shooter, out of 4 Impacts, 2 MKll's and 2 M3's, I only have one that is 90% PB solid. So much work and attention to detail that its crazy. My M3 .22 slugger will go on quite a nice run of being grab and go. But I know the clock is ticking for when it goes off its nut. But the interesting part is that gun off its nut still probably shoots better than 90% of the guys on the forums guns do. It boils down to standards. If you have PB standards, you better have a lot of free time, money and not live near any high bridges. If you are not all about precission and consistency and accept that this is as good as it gets, you probably don't have many complaints. Sorry I got long winded there but in my opinion, most POI issues that are unprevoked are caused by lead. The end.
 
Just briefly for others that have offered advice...

Yep ...have used as bore scope many a time to check internal fouling.

The old Nightforce Optic is my go to for testing..it is one of the few optics that hasn't failed on my 50BMG ...many other top tier optics have failed ( March, ZCO ) !! The Era Tac mount is also 100% dependable ...again used on my 50 BMG.

Mechanically nothing is "loose" .....

POI will change/drift over time throughout a single shooting session....groups will hold then they will "Drift" .

Its no good cheery picking a stunning group and claiming that's what is representative of your rifle... which i feel is what many do.
Load development is one thing so your not worried so much about group position at this point ...but once you fond a good load i, the rifle needs to be able to place the shots in a consistent manner in relation to your point of aim .
 
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Mechanically nothing is "loose" .....

POI will change/drift over time throughout a single shooting session....groups will hold then they will "Drift" .

Are you sure the liner assembly is torqued down still? All the air guns even pcp's have a lot of vibrations and have a habit of rattling things just loose enough to change groups. It has happened to us more than once. And I am assuming you havent seen any signs of clipping?
 
Just briefly for others that have offered advice...

Yep ...have used as bore scope many a time to check internal fouling.

The old Nightforce Optic is my go to for testing..it is one of the few optics that hasn't failed on my 50BMG ...many other top tier optics have failed ( March, ZCO ) !! The Era Tac mount is also 100% dependable ...again used on my 50 BMG.

Mechanically nothing is "loose" .....

POI will change/drift over time throughout a single shooting session....groups will hold then they will "Drift" .

Its no good cheery picking a stunning group and claiming that's what is representative of your rifle... which i feel is what many do.
Load development is one thing so your not worried so much about group position at this point ...but once you fond a good load i, the rifle needs to be able to place the shots in a consistent manner in relation to your point of aim .
It’s simply the process of your barrel taking on lead. Guys forget that we are trying to shoot goofy little bullets out of pellet guns. We also base what we want off terribly unreliable cherry picked BS. We don’t have fire and brutal pressures with air tight seals on our projectiles. It is a completely different game. Everything, including lock time is in extreme slow motion. We are lucky to be where we are. Slug pellet guns are getting pretty good. Not pellet or powder burner good but when you learn how to nurse, sweet talk and coddle your gun along, a good one is better than trying to send pellets past 100 yards. I have learned so many things testing that my brains hard drive is full. In your case, and I hate to say it because this is what the industry wants, try another liner. See if your current one and the way it takes on lead is different from another liner. Learning isn’t cheap. I have boxes of stuff I’ve tested so I know the truth about it. What it does, doesn’t and what new issues it causes.
 
Yeah this is all very relative. I think POI shift should be defined. I mean everyone is different. Is it shifting an 1/4” or 3”. It’s obviously a big difference some may be bothered by either while others wouldn’t notice a 1/4-1/2 “ or maybe can’t shoot well enough to notice it. I think this is why you get so many varying reviews. Some say no poi shift while others experience exactly the opposite. Truth is they probably all shift a bit. I mean we are talking very light and slow projectiles. The slightest wind shift can

I took a 5 or so year hiatus from the Impact. The first one I had was when they were first introduced and I just couldn’t handle a problem child. When I returned to the platform, the MKll PP was just introduced. Since then I've owned five of them. Four of them strickly slug guns. I only had and still have one goal with them, consistency. They don't need BS hot rod parts and other crap that only opens doors to new problems. My testing, no matter what barrel I have on or what mods goes like this. The guns live on bipods in my spare room. Once I'm done with the BS slug testing, mod testing, tension testing and chamber depth testing, I clean the gun and sight it in. Every day I grab the gun and shoot one shot at 30 yards over the chronograph. When the gun passes that test for a week or two, I repeat at 50 yards. Then 75 yards and finally 100. If my guns go off the rails at any point during this process, it's back to the drawing board. I got so burned out at one point that while testing one of my most detailed builds, I stalled out at 75 yards. I had first shot consistency and ragged hole groups but I litterally dreaded going to 100. It took a member here, Bigragu to egg me on as we were having a text conversation one night.
Thats why for those that know me, they have seen me in every whacked Impact topic. I mean technically whacked issues. Not dumb stuff. Excluding my pellet shooter, out of 4 Impacts, 2 MKll's and 2 M3's, I only have one that is 90% PB solid. So much work and attention to detail that its crazy. My M3 .22 slugger will go on quite a nice run of being grab and go. But I know the clock is ticking for when it goes off its nut. But the interesting part is that gun off its nut still probably shoots better than 90% of the guys on the forums guns do. It boils down to standards. If you have PB standards, you better have a lot of free time, money and not live near any high bridges. If you are not all about precission and consistency and accept that this is as good as it gets, you probably don't have many complaints. Sorry I got long winded there but in my opinion, most POI issues that are unprevoked are caused by lead. The end.
Nice write up. Other things that may cause issues is with the Impact's design. The fact is that it is made of aluminum and has a ton of small screws holding it together. The hot and cold, as well as the vibrations from transportation and even shooting it can cause things to shift a little over time.

I find my Impact plenty accurate for my needs, but I can also understand someone's frustration if they are trying to make it competition worthy. It isn't a cheap gun after all.
 
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It’s simply the process of your barrel taking on lead. Guys forget that we are trying to shoot goofy little bullets out of pellet guns. We also base what we want off terribly unreliable cherry picked BS. We don’t have fire and brutal pressures with air tight seals on our projectiles. It is a completely different game. Everything, including lock time is in extreme slow motion. We are lucky to be where we are. Slug pellet guns are getting pretty good. Not pellet or powder burner good but when you learn how to nurse, sweet talk and coddle your gun along, a good one is better than trying to send pellets past 100 yards. I have learned so many things testing that my brains hard drive is full. In your case, and I hate to say it because this is what the industry wants, try another liner. See if your current one and the way it takes on lead is different from another liner. Learning isn’t cheap. I have boxes of stuff I’ve tested so I know the truth about it. What it does, doesn’t and what new issues it causes.
Thanks again for your input..
 
Get an airmarksman top rail and throw that saber tactile out the air marksman rail seemed to cure most of my m3 problems
Fitted..

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I put an air marksman backbone rail and a Bullet central CF shroud barrel tensioning unit and a FX CF liner on my .25 700mm and love it, I put it up against my RedWolf’s or my larger cal. RAW’s any day!
Maybe I got lucky? But it’s extremely accurate and consistent with no issues at all and I have put a 6-8 tins of pellets through the gun since these upgrades and been extremely pleased , Internally it’s all stock ad basically a factory delivered tune. POI issues are not any different than any airgun I’ve owned.
 
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