I have been watching the Scorpion SE for awhile waiting for a sale or used model on the classifieds that I couldnt pass up. Then PA started the usually sales around Thanksgiving and the rest is history ;D I received it Thursday and everything looked good with no damage or marks that I could see on the Scorpion and all the parts where in the box. I got it cleaned up mounted a scope and aired it up thursday night when I got home from work. Friday morning the air was still in it so I took the Scorpion to work in hopes of sighting it in and finding its best pellet. Its December in MT so its cold and it can be windy but you have to be ready around here in case the weather decides to not blow 15+ miles an hour. I did get a chance Friday morning at work to shoot a couple types of pellets and get a good idea if this Scorpion was going to shoot out of the box or not. I didnt have a chrony so I just shot for groups and to see what pellets it liked. I shot AA Diabolo Filed 8.4 gr. , JSB Exact 8.4 gr. , H&N Field Target Trophy 8.64 gr and JSB Exact Heavy 10.34 gr. I shot them at 40 yds laying on the frozen ground using only a bipod with temps at 25 degrees F. The Scorpion didnt like the H&N FTT at all but the Scorpion shot the JSB Exact 8.4 better but not good enough for me. I moved onto the AA Diabolo Fields 8.4 gr and the Scorpion told me yes I like these ones ;D I then tried the JSB Exact Heavy 10.3 and the Scorpion screamed at me to feed it more. It was clear the Scorpion was going to shoot the JSB Exact Heavy the best with the AA Fields being a close second.
Heres a couple pics of the groups:
Here is the first 5 shots using the AA Diabolo Fields
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Pic of the second 5 shot group with the AA Fields
Pic of the 5 shot group with the JSB Exact Heavy
The pics make it look like the AA Fields gave the better group but I felt like I pulled those two shots in the JSB group.
After that quick test at work it was time to dial it in more and shoot from a better position to see if I could tighten things up more and get a final answer for the best pellet. I get up Saturday morning (this morning) and its pretty calm but still hovering around 25 degrees with a few snow flakes falling. But its calmer so I gather up my target, pellets, chrony and tank. I get setup in our field on an old picnic table I use as a bench. I am still using the bipod but I have a small bag under the stock to help stabilize the Scorpion. I set the target out at 40 yds again and settle in for the tests. I get a couple shots off to see the chrony numbers and the weather decides to do what it does best and a breeze starts up. No biggie its not 25 miles an hour just a 5 - 10 mph breeze coming and going.
Chrony says the JSB heavies are going 916 fps. Now I know why the lighter pellets I tried had some flyers. I was surprised the AA Fields did as well as they did. Then I realized why the first AA group was so good and the second opened up. The second group with the AA fields was shot after I tested the other pellets to see if it was as good or better than the first group shot with the AA Fields. When I shot the first group with the AA fields the Scorpion was filled to 232 bar so the valve was partially locked giving a velocity of 875 fps. The second group the pressure was lower and the valve was no longer partially locked so velocity had jumped up to approx 940 fps.
Back to the testing . I keep shooting the JSB Heavy over the chrony and they top out at 916 fps around 150 bar. I was able to shoot down to 100 bar and got 890 fps with the JSB Heavy. I filled the Scorpion back up to 230 bar and shot more JSB Heavy looking for the optimum fill for a tight ES. With the Scorpion filled to 230 bar the velocity was 870 fps and climbed to 890 fps around 210 - 215 bar. So I settled on a fill of 210 bar to keep my ES tight. It shot a very flat string in the 210 bar - 100 bar window. The Scorpion will give very close to the 40 shots they advertise with a small ES if you dont fill above the 215 bar.
I didnt shoot the AA fields in this test because the Scorpion was just to fast for them for best results. Even if I turn the power down I think the hammer and valve will be out of balance for the fill I would have to use and it would not perform as good as the JSB Heavies. The type of shooting I will use the Scorpion for the JSB Heavy will be the better option anyway.
So here are the pics of the groups.
This is a 5 shot group shot with a starting pressure of 210 bar. Again this is 40 yds with a breeze varying from 5 - 10 mph temps are 25 degrees f. The shots to the left were ones I took while playing with the fill pressure and scope zero.
Second group with 9 shots. This group was shot from 230 bar using the pellet hole just above the group as the aim point. Velocity was from 875 fps to 890 fps. Same distance and conditions as the first group.
Heres a couple pics of the Scorpion and a couple pics showing the conditions I was shooting in.
I am very happy with the Scorpion SE and it is shooting very accurate. The trigger is smooth and light but it does have a very small amount of creep. I think I can adjust the trigger and remove the creep so that shouldnt be an issue. I used two mags during the test and both worked perfectly. With the moderator from my .22 R10 the Scorpion was very quiet. The composite stock on the tactical model is solid with no flex and does not feel like a hollow cheap stock like other synthetic stocks I have held on other pcp rifles. The stock has palm swells and is ambi with sling swivel studs installed. The stock does have a mold line but if it bothered you I am sure you could sand it out so it was no longer visible. The fit and finish on my Scorpion is very good. The bolt is smooth and not hard to pull. The fill port is covered by a screw on cap and it uses the same fill probe as the R10 mk2. The fill probe worked as it should without leaking around the probe as it filled. The Scorpion is a solid rifle thats accurate, excellent fit and finish, not overly long, not heavy and it has good balance. I will add to this as I shoot more and maybe a video or two.
Heres a couple pics of the groups:
Here is the first 5 shots using the AA Diabolo Fields
.
Pic of the second 5 shot group with the AA Fields
Pic of the 5 shot group with the JSB Exact Heavy
The pics make it look like the AA Fields gave the better group but I felt like I pulled those two shots in the JSB group.
After that quick test at work it was time to dial it in more and shoot from a better position to see if I could tighten things up more and get a final answer for the best pellet. I get up Saturday morning (this morning) and its pretty calm but still hovering around 25 degrees with a few snow flakes falling. But its calmer so I gather up my target, pellets, chrony and tank. I get setup in our field on an old picnic table I use as a bench. I am still using the bipod but I have a small bag under the stock to help stabilize the Scorpion. I set the target out at 40 yds again and settle in for the tests. I get a couple shots off to see the chrony numbers and the weather decides to do what it does best and a breeze starts up. No biggie its not 25 miles an hour just a 5 - 10 mph breeze coming and going.
Chrony says the JSB heavies are going 916 fps. Now I know why the lighter pellets I tried had some flyers. I was surprised the AA Fields did as well as they did. Then I realized why the first AA group was so good and the second opened up. The second group with the AA fields was shot after I tested the other pellets to see if it was as good or better than the first group shot with the AA Fields. When I shot the first group with the AA fields the Scorpion was filled to 232 bar so the valve was partially locked giving a velocity of 875 fps. The second group the pressure was lower and the valve was no longer partially locked so velocity had jumped up to approx 940 fps.
Back to the testing . I keep shooting the JSB Heavy over the chrony and they top out at 916 fps around 150 bar. I was able to shoot down to 100 bar and got 890 fps with the JSB Heavy. I filled the Scorpion back up to 230 bar and shot more JSB Heavy looking for the optimum fill for a tight ES. With the Scorpion filled to 230 bar the velocity was 870 fps and climbed to 890 fps around 210 - 215 bar. So I settled on a fill of 210 bar to keep my ES tight. It shot a very flat string in the 210 bar - 100 bar window. The Scorpion will give very close to the 40 shots they advertise with a small ES if you dont fill above the 215 bar.
I didnt shoot the AA fields in this test because the Scorpion was just to fast for them for best results. Even if I turn the power down I think the hammer and valve will be out of balance for the fill I would have to use and it would not perform as good as the JSB Heavies. The type of shooting I will use the Scorpion for the JSB Heavy will be the better option anyway.
So here are the pics of the groups.
This is a 5 shot group shot with a starting pressure of 210 bar. Again this is 40 yds with a breeze varying from 5 - 10 mph temps are 25 degrees f. The shots to the left were ones I took while playing with the fill pressure and scope zero.
Second group with 9 shots. This group was shot from 230 bar using the pellet hole just above the group as the aim point. Velocity was from 875 fps to 890 fps. Same distance and conditions as the first group.
Heres a couple pics of the Scorpion and a couple pics showing the conditions I was shooting in.
I am very happy with the Scorpion SE and it is shooting very accurate. The trigger is smooth and light but it does have a very small amount of creep. I think I can adjust the trigger and remove the creep so that shouldnt be an issue. I used two mags during the test and both worked perfectly. With the moderator from my .22 R10 the Scorpion was very quiet. The composite stock on the tactical model is solid with no flex and does not feel like a hollow cheap stock like other synthetic stocks I have held on other pcp rifles. The stock has palm swells and is ambi with sling swivel studs installed. The stock does have a mold line but if it bothered you I am sure you could sand it out so it was no longer visible. The fit and finish on my Scorpion is very good. The bolt is smooth and not hard to pull. The fill port is covered by a screw on cap and it uses the same fill probe as the R10 mk2. The fill probe worked as it should without leaking around the probe as it filled. The Scorpion is a solid rifle thats accurate, excellent fit and finish, not overly long, not heavy and it has good balance. I will add to this as I shoot more and maybe a video or two.
