Poor shooters plus FX Indy at 50m

[greg]

I have a friend named Ashley, who is into PBs.
He took me to the rifle range in Kenmore, WA, where I wanted to test my .22 Indy at 50 yards with different pellets. He brought his 338 Lapua. When shot by him, with me standing 10ft behind, it sent such shock waves through my rib cage that I think I'll skip my next chiropractor appointment.
We mostly shot the Indy though.
He is a better shot than I am, no doubt, but has never shot a PCP before. I was actually a little disappointed. I was expecting him to get consistent 0.5 inch groups, or even better, but alas, HPA gods did not favor us today. Here is the footage, honest and un-edited, some OK-ish groups, some - not so much. I'm sure you guys are getting much better results on your average days (I'm serious).
Bipod on the front and sandbags in the back. We did not bother zeroing the scope (and could see the pellets better)

Needless to say, we were getting curious looks at the range (esp with the scope cam attached), but overall, the folks were friendly. I think the biggest lesson I learned is that I don't have a good story for front bipod and back sandbag combo. Getting the sandbag cooperate was a time-consuming process, and I feel the major reason for unstable shots.

Edit: if you can spot reasons for those bad groups - would appreciate a heads up.

 

[gorgata]

lol all pellet guns are pellet picky just keep trying more see if you get one or the tin you had might of had 2 man diverse head sizes 

 

[Bwalton]

The main thing that I got from that is that you guys just lined up and shot, Sure maybe it was a light wind, but with pellets even the lightest of winds can re direct a pellet. which way was the wind blowing? vital info, what was the speed?
This video that I made will give you a look at how fast wind can change direction...

 

[greg]

That's some impressive shooting, @BWalton!
You are right,we just lined up and shot - had no way to read the wind, as there were no flags, etc. Even then, I'd understand the horizontal spread, but vertical component is still unclear to me. There was a lot of "mirrage" due to hot sunny day (god bless global warming for reaching Seattle area).
In your experience, guys, (AZ, TX, CA, NM, etc) can a rising hot air impact the vertical component?

 

[Bwalton]

LOL I did not even talk about that part yet, It all has an effect... Yes hot air can as well as wind coming in from behind you will raise the pellet then when speed drops it can drop the pellet back down, for target shooting with precision you have to understand these things for hunting you can still hit the kill zone, but understanding them gives a much better recovery percentage.
there are 4 things that have an effect on the pellet that we shoot, The shape and BC of a pellets affects some more then others/
Temperature, Humidity, Elevation / Barometric Pressure, Wind,
A simple fact of physics tells us that warm air is thinner or less dense than cool air. As a result, a pellet encounters less resistance and expends less energy as it travels from the muzzle to the target on a warm day than it does on a cooler day. Thats why before you hunt always check your zero, I find that my zero would change as it got hotter in the day.
Wind is also a good thing when it is steady and predictable. As long as it acts as a constant and not as a variable, we can calculate its effect on the flight of our pellets and make the necessary adjustments to compensate for it accordingly. It’s when the wind is unpredictable, gusting, and erratic that it plays havoc with us. Over the course of 50-100yards, the wind can actually be blowing in several different directions at the same time!

 

[Guest]

As a poor shot myself sub 1 inch groups at 50 ain't too bad.