Why aren't more MOA accuracy tests done while locked into a fixed rifle rest?

[jpiperson2002]

Most of the air rifle reviews I've seen on YouTube test for accuracy with the front of the rifle on a support of some kind. Usually a tripod attached to the gun itself, or some other kind of bench rest which allows the shooter to reposition the angle of the stock for each shot. 

When I sight in new scopes or take pellet velocity strings over a chrony I usually lock a PCP or CO2 air rifle into a rifle rest so it won't move at all during testing. 

I understand why people want to provide 'real world' accuracy results by shooting from a front support on a rifle while holding the stock and aiming the gun. All of the small game hunting videos are just another kind of accuracy test for rifle and shooter. 

When I'm considering a new airgun and want to know how accurate it is, what I really want to know is how accurate it is when shot from a fixed rest. That tells me something important about the device and is not biased by the capabilities of the individual shooter. 

When I shoot my hunting crossbows over the chrony from a locked rifle rest at 20 yards I need to move the entire rest a small amount after each shot or else it will Robinhood the arrows into each other. Never happens when I shoot freehand: another good machine with a poor operator. 

 

[Guest]

Agree, take the human variable out of the equation so everything is equal.

 

[Navyblue]

Something like this maybe???

 

[nervoustrig]

A recent discussion on this very topic:

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/gun-accuracy

 

[jpiperson2002]

Thanks for including that discussion link. The comments and short videos are good reference which covered a lot of ground in a just couple of pages, especially the distinction made between a vice and a rest. I usually only glance at the airgun forums these days when I'm considering a particular model for purchase or repair and want to read up on it.

When pellets are cheap and time is available it would be informative to have accuracy specs from both a rifle clamped in a vice, and from a rifle shot on a rest. Accuracy and velocity with different pellets and all the rest are fun to know and help to offset marketing hype. Unfortunately, the inherent accuracy of a gun and barrel has only rarely predicted how my own accuracy would be with a particular airgun. Or whether I'd actually enjoy using it, which is more important to me for a long-term keeper.

The specs for most of the airguns I've owned and eventually sold usually looked great on paper. Had an AA 510 carbine for a while that was so accurate it was boring. She got too front-heavy for comfort as I got older though, and eventually I traded her in for a newer lighter model of something else. Just another example of one with beautiful curves and great specs which I let get away while hoping for something different and slightly better.

JP

 

[beerthief]

I also shoot powder burners . Eley Ammo .22 has a test range in Tx. when you send or take your rifle into them they do not want the stock , they charge extra for removing the stock . they have shims and bolt the action onto a bench and electronic trigger control . NO human factor . then they test ???????????? however many samples you wish to pay for . then you can buy as many as you can afford . (like a skid load )

that being said i clamp my "lead sled "to a cement stand , but still it is outside .

Today i am sorting pellets / 25 right from the can / wash and dry the remainder / pick 25 more / then lube 25 more . Later this week i will shoot all in the same session . i hope

 

[elh0102]

I think it's mostly just a matter of practicality. A good shooter, using a good bench rest setup, can extract a sufficient amount of the rifle's potential for a meaningful assessment. 

 

[timmah]

Well there is the human element to it. The test is "realistically, what could I do, when shooting this gun". That's probably it, more than anything.

 

[hooter13]

I don't think you have to look any further the the EBR competition in Phoenix. I believe "rest" like the Lead Sled which locks the gun into a very stable framework and the shooter has very little physical contact with the gun (a light cheek weld and trigger finger) is legal to use. However year after year the top shooters are using traditional things like bi-pods and V-bags. Am I off my nut here or do I have a point?

 

[elh0102]

I'm surprised to hear that kind of rest is legal. It is not in other forms of BR with which I'm familiar. Ironically, it probably would not make any difference. The best shooters will win.

 

[TDK]

Locked into rest may give worse harmonics?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsEnN25elVs

 

[steve123]

I don't think you have to look any further the the EBR competition in Phoenix. I believe "rest" like the Lead Sled which locks the gun into a very stable framework and the shooter has very little physical contact with the gun (a light cheek weld and trigger finger) is legal to use. However year after year the top shooters are using traditional things like bi-pods and V-bags. Am I off my nut here or do I have a point?

Lead Sleds are more of a less expensive hunter grade rest and the gun still isn't locked per say. These don't allow free recoil and actually my friends stock on his 300 Weatherby cracked at the grip because of this so there's a warning for some people.

There are very high quality one price rests designed for getting the ultimate precision. It's the accepted norm for those higher ups in the BR world that a gun must have some free recoil going to the rear as well as the gun coming back the same way every time.

Concerning EBR while using a one piece rest, IMHO because I've used mine there at the 50Y BR event, the transitions from the sighter bulls to the scoring bulls aren't very far away from each other and can be done reasonably quickly. This has to be accomplished before the wind has changed much - or else. I prefer using my higher quality one piece rest for this event.

At 100Y EBR the cards are massive! Also the sighter bulls are on the bottom of the card so transitioning from sighter bulls to scoring bulls can become a real PITA in time and effort, and by the time one transitions to the higher scoring bulls the wind has likely changed, all of which doesn't work well for me. From now on I'll be using a sturdy bipod instead for this event.

 

[c_m_shooter]

If you lock it down, you still have wind. Wind is the greatest variable in airgun shooting.