One of a few 'Holy Grails' I've sought in my lifetime of airgunning is what has proven perhaps the most elusive- one minute-of-angle AVERAGE hundred yard groups, of at least three consecutive five-shot groups, fliers included. That quest now spans a couple decades, 1-2 dozen hundred-yard capable airguns, hundreds of 100 yard bench-rest groups, tens of thousands of pellets, multiple airgun books authored, a couple years of hosting monthly long-range airgun matches (to 100 yards), and about a dozen "so close, yet so far away" accuracy-testing results.
One MOA being about 1.04" at 100 yards, the recent 1.06" average is EXCRUCIATINGLY close. But nevertheless, STILL "so close, yet so far away".
I've learned a lot in all this. Perhaps the most poignant epiphany is that I (we) are trying to make pellet guns do something polar opposite of the purpose they were originally conceived for; SHORT RANGE shooting (for safe shooting opportunities in tight confines). That fact makes constantly beating my head against the 1 MOA wall something of a fool's game. An expensive fool's game! My only consolation is the growing numbers of other fools also willing to spend small (and not so small) fortunes in similar quests to my mightily elusive 'Holy Grail'.
Correction- there is a second consolation in this recent MINISCULE shortfall of just .02". Read that, 2 one-hundredths of an inch! It came with a cheap, CHINESE, WEIRD-ASS, .30 caliber bullpup... that no sane person would have given a snowball's chance in hell of such extreme performance.
I'll take this opportunity to take some credit for my rudimentary, ham-fisted, 'back-yard mechanic' airgunsmithing "skills" exposing the (deeply) hidden capabilities of the .30 AEA Challenger bullpup. FWIW and to lend additional perspective, several... make that, too many high-end, high $$$ PCPs have fallen shorter than the weird-ass gun above.
Assuming I live long enough, I will achieve the Holy Grail. That declared, it occurs to me I don't have another two decades in me to accomplish it. Much less another many-thousand dollars!
Thankfully the AEA Challenger testing is yet unfinished.
Removing the huge muzzle-pickle not only transforms the 32" barreled AEA .30 into a good-looking air rifle (in the eyes of this beholder anyway), but reduces the overall length to a much handier, almost carbine-esque 41". Unfortunately my hearing cannot abide the transformation of beast to beauty.