So I finally bought my dream air rifle 3 months ago, after saving up some cash and selling off a few rifles. It's a .22 Cal FX Wildcat MKII, the last one that was available here in South Africa and probably one of the last of the range.
I ordered and installed the Huma reg and power plenum and shot the H&N 21gr slugs at 900/910 fps with laser accuracy (until I ran out. No more left in South Africa). I then turned it down and shot the 18gr JSB's at 900 fps, again with laser accuracy. I do a lot of pesting on the dairy farms in my area and took my longest kill shot on a pigeon at 125 yards and took regular shots at 85 yards with confidence. Long story short the more I shot the rifle the more I loved it... Until!
Recently I noticed I was missing shots that should have been sitters. So I went back to my zero range, 30 yards, to re-zero and get the beast back to its deadly self. Its been 3 days and I can not get the rifle zeroed. As soon as I think I have it zeroed my POI would jump half an inch during my shooting session, no rifle bump, no dialing on the scope, not even a parallax adjustment and the POI would randomly jump. I ran the rifle over the Chrony and the speed was still consistent between 900- 910 fps. Sometimes I'll get a full mag in one ragged hole and then the shift on the next mag, sometimes it will jump after 3 or 4 shots and it will continue to do so throughout the session. The groups stay within an inch to an inch and a half of each other but at 30 yards I was getting pellet on pellet before, and that is what I have come to expect from this rifle.
I started the process of elimination. Took out the pellet liner and gave it a thorough cleaning, re-installed and same result. I played around with the bolt tightness that secures the liner and still could not fix the problem. I then re-mounted my Athlon Talos BTR taking care to have it as level as I possibly can, re-zeroed it, and still got the same result. I then mounted a different scope, thinking that it might be the Athlon scope giving me trouble and still had the same problem.
I then disassembled the rifle, took out the reg, and adjusted to a different pressure setting. I made sure to take my time reassembling the rifle and again after tuning and zeroing, the POI would eventually start to jump.
After exhausting all options I can think of, two tins of pellets, and emptying my cylinder, I am at my wit's end. All that's left is the liner that could have been damaged somehow and needs replacing or could it be the scope rings (UTG Picatinny rings) that could cause this issue?
Has anyone ever experienced this problem or know how to fix it? Please I am desperate.
I ordered and installed the Huma reg and power plenum and shot the H&N 21gr slugs at 900/910 fps with laser accuracy (until I ran out. No more left in South Africa). I then turned it down and shot the 18gr JSB's at 900 fps, again with laser accuracy. I do a lot of pesting on the dairy farms in my area and took my longest kill shot on a pigeon at 125 yards and took regular shots at 85 yards with confidence. Long story short the more I shot the rifle the more I loved it... Until!
Recently I noticed I was missing shots that should have been sitters. So I went back to my zero range, 30 yards, to re-zero and get the beast back to its deadly self. Its been 3 days and I can not get the rifle zeroed. As soon as I think I have it zeroed my POI would jump half an inch during my shooting session, no rifle bump, no dialing on the scope, not even a parallax adjustment and the POI would randomly jump. I ran the rifle over the Chrony and the speed was still consistent between 900- 910 fps. Sometimes I'll get a full mag in one ragged hole and then the shift on the next mag, sometimes it will jump after 3 or 4 shots and it will continue to do so throughout the session. The groups stay within an inch to an inch and a half of each other but at 30 yards I was getting pellet on pellet before, and that is what I have come to expect from this rifle.
I started the process of elimination. Took out the pellet liner and gave it a thorough cleaning, re-installed and same result. I played around with the bolt tightness that secures the liner and still could not fix the problem. I then re-mounted my Athlon Talos BTR taking care to have it as level as I possibly can, re-zeroed it, and still got the same result. I then mounted a different scope, thinking that it might be the Athlon scope giving me trouble and still had the same problem.
I then disassembled the rifle, took out the reg, and adjusted to a different pressure setting. I made sure to take my time reassembling the rifle and again after tuning and zeroing, the POI would eventually start to jump.
After exhausting all options I can think of, two tins of pellets, and emptying my cylinder, I am at my wit's end. All that's left is the liner that could have been damaged somehow and needs replacing or could it be the scope rings (UTG Picatinny rings) that could cause this issue?
Has anyone ever experienced this problem or know how to fix it? Please I am desperate.