After studying various set-ups and watching a few videos from Brendan Mahaffey, I made some regulator adjustments to get the rifle better suited for the pellets I am shooting. Additionally, the rifle felt too tall on the bench and was a little unstable with the narrow, rounded bottle guard. An adjustable plate fixed that and was made to fit my Caldwell front rest. A simple piece of hard foam on top of the rest provides a nice solid surface for the forearm plate to lay on, and it is set as low as I can get it (just under 4.5").
One other thing I did was machine a brass gauge for verifying seating depth of the pellets. This was done with the barrel removed from the rifle so that the pellet skirt depth could be verified to be just beyond the ports. Once reassembled I backed off on the probe and went a little bit at a time until the gauge showed that the pellet was seated properly. You can also look in from the breech end, but I feel this gauge is easier to use.
On target at 100 yards the rifle is performing great and is much more manageable with the lower front rest and more forward shooting position on the bench.
Conditions were 8-12mph varying cross breeze. Learning the effects of the wind and reading flags are the challenge that lies ahead for me. But for today I dialed the rifle in with the new set-up and then aimed at the same spot for 10 shots, letting the breeze do what it may while watching the effects when the breeze would pick up. There were 7 shots that fell into a nice hole at just under 1/2" and 3 shots that were carried to the left by approximately 1" from the core group when the breeze was increasing. Now to get some flags and begin to learn how to read them and compensate as breeze picks up.
Watching some of the competitors like Jerry Kornfield and Joe Polanco shoot these rifles in the breeze is amazing. Hoping to acquire just a fraction of the knowledge these guys have at reading the wind. Another great shooter with many years of experience is forum member JEFFPPC, shooting both centerfire and air rifles at long distance. A great friend who is always willing to share his knowledge.
Let the learning begin!
Steve
One other thing I did was machine a brass gauge for verifying seating depth of the pellets. This was done with the barrel removed from the rifle so that the pellet skirt depth could be verified to be just beyond the ports. Once reassembled I backed off on the probe and went a little bit at a time until the gauge showed that the pellet was seated properly. You can also look in from the breech end, but I feel this gauge is easier to use.
On target at 100 yards the rifle is performing great and is much more manageable with the lower front rest and more forward shooting position on the bench.
Conditions were 8-12mph varying cross breeze. Learning the effects of the wind and reading flags are the challenge that lies ahead for me. But for today I dialed the rifle in with the new set-up and then aimed at the same spot for 10 shots, letting the breeze do what it may while watching the effects when the breeze would pick up. There were 7 shots that fell into a nice hole at just under 1/2" and 3 shots that were carried to the left by approximately 1" from the core group when the breeze was increasing. Now to get some flags and begin to learn how to read them and compensate as breeze picks up.
Watching some of the competitors like Jerry Kornfield and Joe Polanco shoot these rifles in the breeze is amazing. Hoping to acquire just a fraction of the knowledge these guys have at reading the wind. Another great shooter with many years of experience is forum member JEFFPPC, shooting both centerfire and air rifles at long distance. A great friend who is always willing to share his knowledge.
Let the learning begin!
Steve
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