Something this Inexperinced Shooter didn't Know

[AJ3]

I have shot pistols and shotguns most of my life and really never got into long bores until recently with the discovery of PCP's. Love to target shoot in my backyard and humanely dispatch pesky damaging ground squirrels.
Was target shooting my trusty Vulcan 25 the other day at 20 yards with the usual rewarding challenge to repeatedly shoot through the same hole. However, this day, my Vulcan was shooting all over the target with no consistency...left, right, high, low. I panicked as to what had happened to one of my most accurate and consistent air rifles...regulator problem, loose scope mount? After Chrony showed no change and the scope checked out...finally realized that I had changed my hold on the Vulcan by firmly pressing the shroud into my shot bag rests with my left hand. I had never used this technique before with the short Vulcan but it seemed to really provide a stable sight picture. Discovered that this hand pressure on the shroud and barrel was changing my POI.
It seems that most experienced shooters already know this as a fundamental but I honestly had no idea that hand pressure or even resting on the barrel could cause a steel barrel to change POI. It may be a "duh" moment for most but an awakening for me...now I know why I miss so many ground squirrels when resting the barrel on my shooting sticks!

 

[Mentolio]

I think the "problem" is that most PCPs have a floating or semi-floating barrel. I took my Discovery out in the woods today, and bumped it lightly as I was walking through some brush. Even with two freakin' barrel bands on it, that bump changed my POI left and down by an inch at 35 yards! I love my Disco, but it's times like this that make me want to start taking my springers out for squirrel instead.

 

[azuaro]

AJ3:

It is good to hear someone learning by doing...Sometimes it is frustrating but in the end rewarding...You are beginning to discover what Benchrest shooters have been learning and working on the hard way for many years...Barrel vibrations, gun position, balance, hold and SHOOTING FORM...I have seen many guns that were bad shooters converted into tack drivers in the hands of consistent good shooters without touching anything in the gun. 

Now that you got a feel of how sensible these airguns are, experiment and develop a good holding technique, grip and trigger pull...CONSISTENCY is the name of the game...I don't know how light your trigger is, but don't discard trying FREE RECOIL...Many guns don't react well to Free Recoil shooting, but the ones that do and are set well with good barrels provide very little tiny little groups. 

I also share your other hobby...I am an avid shotgunner and fine shotguns are my passion...There is nothing I enjoy more than quail, white wing dove and pheasant hunting...Lots of Sporting Clays in between hunting seasons though. but airguns are a daily thing around my backyard...

Regards,

AZ 

 

[Barbarian]

AZ could you fill me in on free recoil I'm scratching my head on this thanks

 

[FearnLoading]

Hi AJ, I went through the same challenge with my cricket. In an attempt to get the gun completely stable, I used to push the barrel down into the sandbags. Ended up getting terrible groups and continuously trying to figure out whether my scope had gone whack. Finally realised it was me!!!! Shooting is a sport where the learning NEVER ENDS.  

 

[azuaro]

"AZ could you fill me in on free recoil I’m scratching my head on this thanks"

Barbarian: 

Absolutely!...Free Recoil is a very simple shooting technique or style style that many Benchrest Shooters use with great results...Without getting technical or discussing too many details, what you need to do is to align your front rest (usually backwards) so the center in between the front rest-rear bag is around the trigger guard or a little behind...This is a rough estimation that needs to be fine tuned.

In Free Recoil you don't grab the pistol grip nor the stock...You put that cross hair where you want to place your shot and without touching or grabbing the gun in any way you ONLY pull the trigger consistently every time...

This technique or shooting style doesn't work for all guns nor for all shooters, but if it works for you/your gun, you will be a very happy shooter...If it doesn't, just go back to what you have been doing and work on your consistency and shooting form.
Generally speaking it works better with guns on the heavy side but this is not absolute, I have a 5 pound gun that shoots the best using free recoil

You will need to move the front & rear rests back and forth and test for the best grouping...The gun will be vibrating differently and you need to find the best position...And don't think that it is a matter of putting the balance point in between front and rear rests because IT IS NOT...Some guns shoot better when stock heavy and many others perfor outstanding when barrel heavy...

If you go to the extremes, every gun will shoots very differently by just moving the position of the scope...

Regards,

AZ
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