Finally! Perfect conditions for 100 yards with the Royale 500

Jump to latest Follow Reply
C

Cliff_Allen

Member
Jul 14, 2015
625
35
maine, United States
A while back I posted a video a of a 33 shot group at 50 yards that I was pretty pleased with. (32 of the 33 shots fit under a dime :) I've been waiting for what feels like months for a calm morning on my day off to shoot at 100 yards. No video this time, just pictures. 

It feels like it's been a windy summer here in Southern Maine and it seems like I haven't had many opportunities to shoot in optimal conditions. Of course I'd describe optimal as being able to shoot inside, but I don't have that available to me so I'll have to settle for little to no wind. I feel like this morning was as close to no wind as I could hope for.

The Royale 500 is shooting at about 890 fps with the JSB Kings, 25 grain. As you can see in the picture, it isn't a professional bench I'm shooting from haha. For what it's worth, I can't really recall the last time I cleaned the barrel. The gun seems to be just as accurate with the JSB Heavies, both the MKI and MKII's although I haven't done extensive testing to confirm that.

The scope is a Hawke Airmax 6-24 and while I really like the scope, I can't help but think the extra magnification from an 8-32 might help a bit when shooting at distance. Aim small, miss small and all that.

I've seen a lot of people post amazing groups over the years at around 100 yards and while I'm sure a lot of them are legit, I also think a percentage of them are cherry picked, under perfect conditions, pellet sorting, professionally tuned guns, etc. I'm sure some people are even just downright dishonest about their results. Seeing those results used to make me feel a bit disappointed when I was only getting 1.5" groups on average at 100 yards. I've learned to take it with a grain of salt now and I'm pretty pleased with the results I get. I can, probably half the time, hit a 2.5" metal spinner 10 out of 10 times at 100 yards when there is zero wind and I don't think I can ask more than that without putting in 90% more effort for 10% better results.

I will say though that I did just re-watch Ted's review of the Impact and I'm really intrigued by his statements at the end about how he was able to tighten up his 2" 100 yard groups by simply adjusting the velocity of the pellets a bit. The finite adjustability of the Impact really has me curious and I would LOVE to see FX make a rifle that has those capabilities. I can't help but be really curious about how much more I might be able to squeeze out of this gun if that were the case.

Anyway, these are my real world results, with a gun straight out of the box. (no tuning but it has a couple thousand rounds through it at this point). Pellets are straight out of the tin, no sorting, shot straight from the magazines. I'm always happy to answer any questions anyone has and I hope you enjoy! 






My 100 yard range out the back window on the 2nd floor of my house. I feel like a nice benefit to shooting from the second floor is that my gun is always pointed downward at my target so any misses go right in the ground behind the target. And no mosquitos or sunburns and I can shoot in the winter! Talk about splitting the uprights haha


Pics taken with a Samsung Galaxy note 4. This is taken with the digital zoom at 8x.


I'm shocked I was able to hold both the rangefinder and the phone steady enough at the same time to get this picture haha Any of you that have tried this will probably know what I'm talking about. :)



Annnd... the target. The top six groups are 5 shot groups. The bottom three groups are 10 shots each. Those coins are American Quarters.
 

I took the paper off to get a better visual of the groups. The groups in the top left and right were the best and can almost be covered with a quarter. 






The smallest group in the top right. 



Top left



Bottom right, 10 shot group. 



Bottom left, 10 shot group.



Middle left group.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Michael
wyshadowIn hunting situations, I never attempt anything more then 80 yards unless it's under perfect situations meaning no wind and I have a steady rest even though I get excellent groups at a hundred yards with my cricket.
Click to expand...


Thank you shadow. Just so everyone knows what you're referring to, after rereading my original post I removed the part about unethical hunting past a hundred yards. My post was already getting a little long-winded and the hunting part didn't seem to coincide with my post about target shooting. I'm glad to hear you have an ethical stance on hunting at distance though! I think the 80 yard rule is a really good one.
 
Upvote 0
Good shooting Cliff! Sold my old school 500 and got a wild cat.
Would not say it was a mistake, off the bench she is great, but in the field.
Well lets just say I am better with a broom handle than a fly swatter.
Am a hunter first and foremost, field performance is all I care about.
Soon as I find the cat a home. Will go back to the 500 this time regulated
in laminate. Appreciate your remarks regarding the long range craze.
Think it steams from lack of leadership mixed with unbridled optimism
Not sure on the internet how it will get any better when a voice of reason
is immediately and viciously attacked buy posers with no real knowledge or experience.
To quote your goat its ( baaaaaaad!!! ) Lol take care keep shooting

 
  • Like
Reactions: Cliff_Allen
Upvote 0
Thanks everyone! JKing, the mounts I'm using are BKL's, double strap. I like them a lot. I also have FX no limit mounts and those are very nice as well, especially for getting out further distances. I initially had a problem a couple of years ago with a gun that would shoot to the right at closer distances and then to the left at further distances. The axis of the scope was not lined up with the axis of the bore. When trying to figure out the problem I came across some info about how scope rings are not always lined up properly. If you take your rings and place them on the rail so that they are close enough to be touching or almost touching, you will be able to see if they are canted off in different directions. This led me to the BKL mounts. Because of the way they are designed to attach to the rail with an even pinching motion, it completely removes the room for error caused by normal mounts that attach with a clamping motion. The result of course is that you have a much better chance of you scope lining up with the breech / bore more accurately. IIRC the FX no limits mounts that I have lined up well and they are clamping mounts so it isn't all clamping mounts that have that problem.

I too was having issues running out of scope elevation at longer distances and I've since realized that because I don't shoot that far out very often, I don't need an 8-32 scope and even when I do reach out that far the 6-24 is still plenty capable. Since the magnification is less on a 6-24 scope, you have a larger field of view through the scope and hence, need less elevation adjustment to be able to see your target. Initially I liked the idea of 8-32 with a side wheel for ranging and even 8-40 or 10-40. However, in my experience, the side wheel ranging while helpful, isn't always super accurate / repeatable on the less expensive scopes. Hawkes do pretty well with it. Also, the higher mag scopes tend to be heavier and unless you step up to more expensive scopes, the glass can frequently be foggy at full magnification. Maybe one day I'll step up to a nice Sightron 10-60 or something else really awesome and try it out. 

BTW, to answer your question, I was shooting those groups straight from the magazines. I do have a single shot loader and enjoy using it sometimes, but I find I'm able to maintain a more consistent hold on the gun from shot to shot when I'm using the magazine. Also, when I know I'm going to be putting 60 shots down range at a target it will take less time shooting from the magazine. Plus, I'm a lazy shooter :)

 
Upvote 0
"fuznut"Good shooting Cliff! Sold my old school 500 and got a wild cat.
Would not say it was a mistake, off the bench she is great, but in the field.
Well lets just say I am better with a broom handle than a fly swatter.
Am a hunter first and foremost, field performance is all I care about.
Soon as I find the cat a home. Will go back to the 500 this time regulated
in laminate. Appreciate your remarks regarding the long range craze.
Think it steams from lack of leadership mixed with unbridled optimism
Not sure on the internet how it will get any better when a voice of reason
is immediately and viciously attacked buy posers with no real knowledge or experience.
To quote your goat its ( baaaaaaad!!! ) Lol take care keep shooting

Click to expand...
Thanks Fuz! I think you're right about the unbridled optimism thing in regards to hunting at longer distances. I see videos of people shooting doves, etc., at 140 yards or whatever and I cringe a bit thinking about how many animals were dispatched in a very inhumane way before getting that one perfect shot that made it onto camera. When taking lives you've "goat" to keep it real, ya know? haha
 
Upvote 0
Every body has to state there opinion lol just shoot your guns how you wanna shoot and let everyone else shoot how they want lol. It's not like your gonna change anything by saying it's inhuman to shoot long range. It's annoying listening to people getting there feelings hurt. The title was 100 yard groups not what you think about long range hunting.
 
Upvote 0
Great groups! And great gun! Thanks for the honest and detailed post. I would be happy with those results in light of considering that they are not cherry picked but consecutive. Shows consistency and reliability which worth more than a sub-MOA group once in a while.

However, I do think that gun tuning and pellet sorting are not frivolous activities, or amount to tilting the scale away from realistic results. I think both of them are options that often do lead to measurable and often significantly improved results. Arguably, they are time consuming and can be carried away doing it. So not everyone may want to spend the time or money to tinker around to gain (in many cases) marginal improvements.

But if you plug in just a 0.3 grains pellet to pellet variance in Chairgun at 100 yards it can lead to a 0.2 inches difference in POI. Then if you add to that a 15fps variation in pellet to pellet velocity (untuned or an unregulated rifle) you can add another 0.6 inches to that POI change. All these add up at 100 yards. Albeit no guarantee that you get 1 inch groups all day long at 100 yards, eliminating these variables can lead to smaller groups. Groups that otherwise would have been larger if the pellets were not weighed or done with a rifle that cannot maintain a tight shot to shot fps consistency. I am still working on these variables, or at least I blaming on them my lack of consistent results :) 
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cliff_Allen
Upvote 0
Way to go Cliff. Sub MOA at 100 yards does not come often. Like you said, sometimes reading what groups others say they're getting can lead one to believe sub 1" 100 yard groups are common. But they're not. Nice when it all comes together. I bet you had a smile on your face! Keep up the good shooting and have fun.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cliff_Allen
Upvote 0
First off Cliff, those are just astounding groups. Great shooting. I have a question about your PROFESSIONAL shooting bench. Do you get to use it any time you like, or only when the wife is out of the house? Also does your shooting stool have cushie matching cushins?😁. I don't own a 500, but I own a Boss and I have not been able to match your groups. And it's not for a lack of trying. Way to go
 
Upvote 0
"fe7565"Great groups! And great gun! Thanks for the honest and detailed post. I would be happy with those results in light of considering that they are not cherry picked but consecutive. Shows consistency and reliability which worth more than a sub-MOA group once in a while.

However, I do think that gun tuning and pellet sorting are not frivolous activities, or amount to tilting the scale away from realistic results. I think both of them are options that often do lead to measurable and often significantly improved results. Arguably, they are time consuming and can be carried away doing it. So not everyone may want to spend the time or money to tinker around to gain (in many cases) marginal improvements.

But if you plug in just a 0.3 grains pellet to pellet variance in Chairgun at 100 yards it can lead to a 0.2 inches difference in POI. Then if you add to that a 15fps variation in pellet to pellet velocity (untuned or an unregulated rifle) you can add another 0.6 inches to that POI change. All these add up at 100 yards. Albeit no guarantee that you get 1 inch groups all day long at 100 yards, eliminating these variables can lead to smaller groups. Groups that otherwise would have been larger if the pellets were not weighed or done with a rifle that cannot maintain a tight shot to shot fps consistency. I am still working on these variables, or at least I blaming on them my lack of consistent results :)
Click to expand...
Hey Fe, thanks for the reply! I think you're right, tuning and sorting are not frivolous activities. I actually wish I knew more about the guns and how they operate to have the confidence to take them apart and work on them myself. I'd love to have the knowledge of what to do to my gun to tighten those groups up.

The sorting thing is a good idea, I'm just too impatient haha.

If I knew more about my gun I'd probably take it apart and tinker with it. I've had it apart before and it doesn't seem too bad so if something goes wrong I could probably fix it, all except the regulator. Those seem a bit more involved. Maybe I just need to get a cheaper gun to start with so that I'm not so uncomfortable taking it apart and working on it.
 
Upvote 0
"Kitplanenut"
Click to expand...
Thanks Kit!

I'm lucky to have extra space in my house. The bench is set up in a spare bedroom that happens to have a huge closet which does double duty as my gun room. Since everything is sort of "out of sight, out of mind" my shooting out the back window seems to be completely off the wife's radar and I shoot pretty much whenever I want. At least 3 or 4 times a week. It's nice having everything constantly set up and ready to go with the bench, air, pellets, and lane for shooting. I'm very blessed in that regard.

My shooting stool is a computer chair and it actually is kind of cushie lol.

I've always wanted to try shooting a Boss and I'm surprised you're not able to get similar results. Maybe like Ted says, the velocity of the pellet just needs to change a bit. I wish I knew more about these guns to be able to tinker on them and improve consistency. All the best, good luck with the Boss!
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu