Pitbull AKC at 100 yards and 50 yards at the range

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bd2021

bd2021

Member
Nov 18, 2021
379
16
MN, United States
You might recall I bought a Pitbull Texas Edition (a pitbull AKC with accessories) and that I was having trouble from day one. Eventually Pitbull took the gun back for repairs, and they told me everything they did, which was a lot both in terms of work, ammo, and parts they had to replace, most notably the huma regulator.

Gun: Pitbull AKC which is advertised as being Huma regulated to 2700 psi, pitbull power spring, barrel crowning, barrel lapping, barrel supports, shooting from a bench with a bipod:

The range has two long high berms on either side, and I was shooting into the wind so the berms did not help much I suppose. I suppose it was turbulent at times, but then again, I was shooting 135, 145, and 147 grain ammo at 900+ fps.

At 100 yards with full charges I am getting:

Griffin 135 Grain BT HP LDC, 8 turns back on hammer spring cap 909, 912, 921, 932, 919 fps (average of about 250 ft. lbs) and a couple of unregistered chronograph shots, 8 shots, 8" center to center at 100 yards. 

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Another shot string of using Benjamin eXTREME by Nossler I got about the same spread, from a bench, using a bipod.

At 50 yards I was getting:

Switching to Griffin 135 boat tail hollow point low density core 5 shots 2.25" @ 50 yards

Switching to Griffin 135 Dish Base Hollow points I got 2.75" spread over 6 shots at 50 yards.



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Using the new flat tip Benjamin (new to me anyway) 147 grain I got 3.75" at 50 yards. Two shots were not picked up by the FX chronograph, but those that were were: 919, 912, 916, 902, 900, 898 for about 260 ft. lbs of energy. On this one however I started shooting some light ammo as well, and the shots are all mixed up on the target, so no photo.

I cannot say I am impressed. My results are not out of line with this pitbull video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKXEekVtbVE) but it is worse than I was hoping for, and I do not think these sorts of results are conducive to taking coyote, or deer (which is only legal in some states but not mine as far as I can tell, so it is a moot point) beyond 50 yards. 

I don't think I'll take a shot at 100 yards at a coyote, certainly wouldn't take a shot at a deer, at least not until I figure out some magical combination of hammer spring and ammo. 

Also, this Huma regulated gun is always off on the first shot of the day, by a lot. I am now second guessing my desire to get a regulated Benjamin bulldog. The power is awesome, and the shot count and power is reasonable but requires the hammer spring cap to be backed out between 8 and 10 turns from full tight depending on the mass of the ammo, which is a lot of turns, to the point I'm worried that the hammer spring cap will fall out of its threads. I am wondering if I should start storing it at a low pressure so I don't have to waste a shot at the range.

Anyway, it will still be a good coyote gun up to 50 yards, which is why I bought it anyway. 
 
In comparison, this is an FX crown MKII in .25 off a folded up winter jacket used as a support for my hand (no bipod):

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While not great, not bad for 16 shot strings, and I was fairly happy with the 25.39 grain pellets, though the bottle placement on the crown is starting to annoy me a bit. (The JSB Knockout slugs in .251 33.49 grains I tried today were all over the place, I am not sure what is up with those, I think I need to get a slug barrel or something, even though the slugs were less than the 34 grains others told me I could use on this barrel.
 
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@bd20121 Have you tried shooting NSA 110 grain hollow point slugs?
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Coincidentally, I did today. But I cannot turn the hammer back far enough to not waste a ton of air. And I mixed it up on a target where I also used the benjamin eXTREMEs. I was basically using them for plinking at that point, just getting frustration out. So I cannot tell how much more accurate or less accurate they were. The camera was down on the 50 yard target and I had a lot of shots and wasn't keeping track of which were which on the target.
 
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Have you cleaned the barrel recently? If not it might be time. I was holding similar groups to that with iron sights on mine (before regulator), it should be doing a bit better. Also Check you scope mounts to make sure they are good.
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Yeah, I plan to clean it tonight with the Ballistol I have now. I did clean but I am not keeping great records on that so I don't know if it was 20 shots prior or 100 shots prior.
 
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@bd2021 Which pills do Pitbull Airguns recommend?
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Is that a trick question?

They have some ammo but half of it is out of stock. 

I am thinking about trying the 178 grain or 142 grain HP boattail from NSA, which pitbull also sells (but is out of stock).

I guess that 160 grain pittbull HP by high arc hunter might be good as it has those grooves that benjamin also seems to put on their ammo. But I have a lot of ammo right now and don't think I'll buy more unless people start selling samplers. Buying 400 rounds to experiment and then realizing 300 of it is junk is just stupid.
 
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@bd2021 Which pills do Pitbull Airguns recommend?
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Is that a trick question?

They have some ammo but half of it is out of stock. 

I am thinking about trying the 178 grain or 142 grain HP boattail from NSA, which pitbull also sells (but is out of stock).

Buying 400 rounds to experiment and then realizing 300 of it is junk is just stupid.
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No. A legitimate question. Have you looked for the 142 grain or 178 grain NSA slugs on NSA’s site?
 
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I would clean it with Hoppes, Balistol doesn't do much for me and Hoppes has been shown to be safe for the Oring.
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I might already have some Hoppes. But this is another issue I have on the internet. I trust you Greg but in this thread https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/cleaning-my-guns/?referrer=1 a user recommended this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xu6ZnX7q4M so I bought some Balistol and the patch worm...

After using the patchwork it works okay on the crown, but it requires a straw to get it between the barrel and shroud end. On the bulldog it is not very good at all, or I need to find a straw with an OD of .357" to bridge the barrel to shroud.


 
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@bd2021 Which pills do Pitbull Airguns recommend?
Click to expand...

Is that a trick question?

They have some ammo but half of it is out of stock. 

I am thinking about trying the 178 grain or 142 grain HP boattail from NSA, which pitbull also sells (but is out of stock).

Buying 400 rounds to experiment and then realizing 300 of it is junk is just stupid.
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No. A legitimate question. Have you looked for the 142 grain or 178 grain NSA slugs on NSA’s site?
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I was just wondering if you already knew the answer. Back when I ordered ammo from NSA they hadn't evaluated it yet, and at that time I only had access to a 30 yard range, so they didn't think it worth it to have me evaluate the 142 grain ammo they were in the midst of evaluating. Have you tried the 142 grain or 178 grain?

I think I have spent enough of ammo at this point including with NSA, at least until they sell .357/.358 sample packs or let me know which ammo will work well in a pitbull AKC. I have a bunch of their stuff right now...very nice looking work they do, nice people for sure--but I care more about accuracy in my situation than the smoothness and profitability of their operation. At this point I think cleaning the gun and trying again is my next step, then either cutting bait or sending it off to a different airgun smith for evaluation and improvement. I have probably $200 to $300 of ammo right now from NSA, Griffin, Benjamin, and Benjamin/Nossler. It is getting silly. 

In the end, I think I need to try the powder coating technique, because cleaning shrouded barrels is a pain, and reducing the frequency this task needs to be done is a nobrainer if I can also get accuracy and power. 

If I could get the eXTREME by Nosler (they are out of stock everywhere) I think I would have stuck with them. I think I am down to 5 left, and need them for a new coyote that has been spotted in my yard.

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screen capture from this helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhaMY0Qc4IE
 
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@bd2021 No I didn't know the answer. I would hope that with a company that modifies air rifles, they could tell you exactly what your gun should be shooting and at which velocities. When you contacted Pitbull Airguns were they able to tell you exactly which brand and weight slugs that your gun shoots well? Do you know if they tested your rifle before sending it you? That's something I can say that I appreciate about @bthurman. In speaking with him, he can suggest which ammo to select for use in airguns he modifies based upon his testing. He has also posted shot string data for one of his mods on his site https://www.veradiumair.com/bull_d.html.  I thought all airgunsmiths did this sort of thing. I looked on NSA's site and didn't see the 172 boat tails. I think you'd have to email them about those. No, I haven't shot either of the aforementioned weights. I'm familiar with the Noslers.
 
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I've tried Balistol, and run a bore scope down the barrel, and then switched to Hoppes. The balistol didn't really get things cleaned out. You might need a real cleaning kit with a brush to get some lead out, it can be pretty difficult. The Patchworm was OK, but it won't get the stubborn stuff.

As far as clipping the moderator, if it was doing that I think you'd see the evidence. Since these are 3d printed I think it would delaminate really badly with a clip.
 
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I got a pitbull Texas edition, which I am told is just the pitbull AKC with accessories. They have since taken down the page for the long range texas edition

Well, according to this, the pitbull AKC includes: https://www.pitbullairguns.com/product-page/pitbull-akc-357 (archived here: https://archive.ph/yIv6f)



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The barrel is supposed to be crowned. But while cleaning tonight, I looked down the adapter hole and barrel with a flashlight, I don't see what looks like a crown. I am not an expert though so maybe it is there across the whole barrel lip, or more subtle than I was expecting. I was expecting to see a chamfer, but I see on youtube some people do the whole front face of the barrel. Also the bolt's air passage cutout at the end may be giving me an optical illusion that the barrel is not perfectly straight, but since I cannot look right down the center since I am also shining a flashlight I assume it is just an optical illusion.



No matter what you do if you have a rough factory barrel you will just keep chasing your tail. .I'm saving for a benchmark barrel😀 Most target powder burners run good custom factory lapped barrels. There is no comparison!! Krieger, Benchmark, Brux, broughton. To name a few. Good luck
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I cannot find a link to a benchmark barrel.

Also, the barrel looks pretty clean, and cleaned up pretty quickly today compared to before, but it isn't a fair comparison because I didn't use ballistol last time but I did this time. I should get a barrel scope

I had a rough barrel in my Bulldog, and even after polishing enough to increase the diameter 0.001 inch, it still wasn't completely good. Ended up buying a new barrel and this one is better. I would not have known about the issues without a borescope, other than it would lead up after 40 shots.
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That is what I am afraid of, that I might need a new barrel. Probably jumping the gun though.

All this barrel talk got me searching youtube, and I found this great video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xuIQ0HnZ3E
 
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