50+ yards group thread

A friend of mine have made the custom built Jager airgun for handmade slugs and invited me to shoot them. Amazing result!

Video with English subtitles - don't forget to turn them on!

 

OK, so my first, ever, official 50 yard targets. I've shot close to 50 before, but space limitations keep me from much of the longer range shooting.

​The local public range here is Lee Kay in Salt Lake. It was BUSY last Saturday at 9:00 AM. I've shot the 25 yard lanes before, but yesterday, decided to stretch to 50 and 75 yards. And yes, the staff were a bit puzzled about my weapon. 

​It's a Benjamin Marauder .22, Gen 2. Scope is a BSA 4-14x44 from Midway USA. They don't make it anymore, but love the scope. So far, I've been extremely happy with the gun / scope combo.

Now for the Good, Bad and really UGLY!

First group after a sighter target:
The target is the downloaded version of the AOA 75 yard target, no modifications (My first official 50 yard shoot, EVER!):

​Crosman Premier Domes, 14.3 grain. 10 shot groups. If you exclude the 2 screw-ups (my fault, not flyers), it's 1.5 inches Center to Center. Next Card:

​JSB Jumbo Exacts 18 grain. about 1.6 inches Center to Center. 10 shot groups.

​Next, is a card at 50 yards, probably best of the day. JSB Exacts 18 Grain:

Switched to splatter style targets to see better. Still in the 1.5 inch range center to center. For first time out, I'm happy.

​Now for the Really UGLY, 75 Yards. To be honest, I was getting tired, and having trouble with the holdover at 3.5 mil-dots hold. 50 yards was only 2, which for me was a lot easier.



These two targets represent 20 shots at the top target. Yes, I did hit the bull at the bottom target, only because I loused up the hold over for the top target! Missed completely on a couple shots. Yes, I was tired, and really starting to have trouble with focusing my eye through the scope.

​Next time, I start at 75 and work down from there.

​I also learned several things:
​1. My normal shooting is around 25 yards. the amount of hold over for 75 yards gets excessive, so I need a different tactic. I think I'll take another scope, and mount it, set for 75 yards. It'll probably require shims so it'll be specifically setup for the 75 and 100 yard markers I'm working with.

​2. I need to shoot more, with longer sessions. After a couple hours shooting, and pulling that damned Marauder bolt back, I was having a great deal of trouble holding it all steady. By the way, I do suffer from a mild case of Muscular Dystrophy (MD) so 150 pulls on a 10 pound bold do add up for me. Also, each pull requires moving your eyes from the scope, meaning lots of movement.

​3, I need Elbow Pads or a blanket to make the benches a bit more comfortable. Elbows are raw today. One more bit of kit I'll need.

​4. I love long range shooting. If I can go next week, I'll have another scope ready to go, and hopefully do better. The challenge of 75 yards trumps 25 yards any day.

Way to go stretching it out to 50 and 75! One thing that has been really helpful for me with longer range shooting is having adjustable scope rings. No need to shim. Just adjust and you can keep the cross hairs on the bulls eye out to 100 yards no problem. Sportsmatch, Eaglevision and FX all make adjustable scope rings. Every little thing gets more pronounced the longer the distance, from the effects of the wind on the poi to any inconsistancies with one's shooting technique. Keep at it and enjoy!

I have a brand new spare scope without a home. For now, it will be dedicated to 75 and 100 yard shooting. plan on starting sight in process later today.

​I do like longer distances. Must admit I like watching the pellet as it arcs downrange. gives me a whole new appreciation for the Chair Gun app.

​Yes, everything gets more pronounced the greater the distance. Shots that were possible at 50 became just that much more complex at 75. Hope to be on the 100 yard range in a few weeks with a nicely dedicated scope for that range.

Mounted the new scope last night. Cheesy scope, but it'll do for experimental purposes. It's a 6-24 BSA, quality isn't great but it has an adjustable objective for parallax and enough magnification to work. It drops off around the edges, so will be looking for a new scope eventually. (only paid $60 last Christmas)

Shimmed it so it was close at 50 yards. Want to make sure that the reticle adjustment is towards the center of the scope and not maxed out. When I move to 75 yards, the Point of Impact should drop 4 to 5 inches if I read Chair Gun correctly. If I did it correctly, moving to 75 yards will put the scope at almost where it came from the factory. 100 yards should be well inside the adjustments available on the scope.

Rewatched Ted's "How I won the Extreme Benchrest" video and he mentioned (very briefly) that he used a Vortex 6-24 scope (retails for $900), which is a bit out my range. Athlon also produces a similar scope that gets good reviews for less than half that. Funny that he didn't talk more about the scope, maybe that's part of the 10% he wants to keep private.

I have 50 yards in my back yard, so will be doing some 50 yard groups shortly. spent yesterday hacking brush to clear the last 6 feet so too shakey to do any shooting. Hopefully, back to the range this weekend for 75 yards.

More to come . . . . . . . 

I've seen the Vortex scope. Nice, but the Sightron SIII is better, but it will cost you one large. I have one and can't find anything better, even those fancy schmantzy German jobs that cost $2K to $4K.. Don't forget, Ted gets his equipment gratis.

That said, I also have a couple of Mueller 8-32X44 target dot scopes. I am super impressed with these in terms of optical clarity and useful cross hair reticle. You can get these for $250 on Optics Planet. I do not hesitate to recommend them. A lot of my shooting mates use them. Check them out on Mueller's website:

Mueller 8-32×44 Side Focus Target Dot[/QUOTE]http://muelleroptics.com/products/mueller-8-32x44-side-focus-target-dot/embed/

That's what I love about this forum. Information! I'd have never thought to try the Mueller's if you hadn't suggested it. I will check it out. Saving pennies for a better gun, but I'll need a better scope to go with it. Just means it'll be a while before I buy anything else.

Check out the Hawke 10-50ED sidewinder. Nice scope that has a street price around $800.

I will check out quite a few scopes. I've gotten spoiled with the current nice scope I picked up last year. It's an FFP. Good clear glass, but only 4-14. The cheesy scope I put on the gun that is 6-24 is SFP, and I do notice the difference. Next nice one will be FFP. Good suggestions all!

May have found part of my 75 yard accuracy issue.
Stupid really. Finally put a chrony on the gun. When I set it up, I used Crosman Premier Dome's at 830 feet per second. Worked great at that speed. This week, got the chrony out and shot a string of my new found favorites, JSB Heavies at 18.13 grain. 750 fps. At that, I got the hex wrenches out and went to work and got the speeds up to 830 with JSB's. I'll get out and do some 50 yard shooting tonight, but if 25 yards were any indication, groups should tighten up. Literally stacking pellets at 25 yards when I did my part. I'll chrony some Premier Domes tonight as well. Probably around 900 fps. I remember now, setting it up a couple years ago for shot count and accuracy for the Premier's. Now that I'm using a heavier pellet, need more air. That means I'll drop from 40 shots per fill closer to the 30 shots per fill the Marauder is advertised with. Still pretty good.

Now if I could only figure out how to fix the heavy bolt pull. Seems to be something wrong inside as it seems to be getting harder, not easier. Probably have to take the gun apart and see what's going on inside. Not looking forward to that. If I do, maybe ad a regulator as part of the deal. Thinking . . . . . . .

Back to the range this AM. Shot more at 50 and 75. 50 yard groups as expected. Moved to 75. Opened up to 2 inches or so. Windy and by the time I figured out how to sight the scope, I was tired. I shimmed the scope between 50 and 75 yards as I intend to move to 100 next week. Had trouble finding the shot placement after I shimmed 'cause it went a foot high. Once figured out, I reduced the scope elevation to minimum setting and knew where to shoot. It's shimmed heavy as I'm working up to the Golf Ball challenge. It'll be interesting to see if the Marauder combined with JSB's can do the trick. Or, if I can do the trick as I'm not all that good a shot. Time will tell. Range folks are working with me to help where they can. Really great bunch out there (Lee Kay in Salt Lake)

​Now that I know where the pellet is going, have the scope magnification set where I want it, and the rest, it should be a matter of walking the shot into the ball. Never quite that simple though.

Good luck all of you wherever you shoot.

Back to the range again. Getting to be a weekly occurrence. Setup was Benjamin Marauder, .22, JSB Exact Heavies 18 gr. 830 FPS on full tank of air. 20 shots before needing to refill. Scope is BSA 6-24 I picked up last Christmas (Cheesy to say the least but it works). On the 75 yard line, this was my group:


​The center 4 are about 7/8 of an inch, Including the "Flyer" is about 2 inch group. Not sure if the flyer was the gun, wind, or me. It was pretty gusty, probably 20 mph winds south to north. Range shoots from south to north. Burms at the back could direct the wind, but to be honest, I probably pulled it.

​I'm getting to know the range officers, and they are intrigued that an air rifle could shoot like this. 

The powder burner shooters were a hoot. Guy next to me had some sort of elephant gun that kicked like a mule. It hurt my ears and I had ear plugs and muffs on. He lasted under 10 rounds and gave up, because it kicked like a mule. My ears are still ringing.

​Most of them setup at 25 yards, or 50 yards. Only one was shooting at 75, and wasn't having as good a day as I was. Love these air guns. Easy on the shoulder and easy on the ear to shoot.

good shooting and best part is using old political signs for backers. Good choice!

what scope are you using?

That's a great scope! That's what I love about this sport, you can spend as little or as much as you want on the components. And with PCP's you don't need special "Airgun Scopes". Any scope will work, so it leaves the world of optics wide open.

​I assume your RAW is .25 caliber. That's my next goal is something in a .25, that can shoot the lights out at 100 yards. RAW is probably a long way off, but something less expensive might be in my near future. So much to learn and do.