Gun Choice Advice, Please! Subtitle: Why can't I shoot straight anymore?!?

Pellet brand/weight? Have you messed around with that? I have a regular air rifle that I couldnt tune in for the life of me.. Until i tried a heavier pellet (jsb jumbo), then it was accurate as anything again... milage may vary.

Might well be related to different amounts of drop from LOS in relation to inclined (or declined) shooting. Maximum drop occurs when shooting horizontally. Shooting "uphill" (like at a squirrel high in a tree) or downhill at any noticeable angle will cause a shooter to miss, usually high at common shooting distances. Sometimes seems counterintuitive because one might think shooting upwards would cause more drop but it doesn't at "normal" shooting distances. Extreme range would be a different bag of nuts to discuss, however.

Bull pups and ultra short rifles are more difficult for the majority of us to shoot well. I believe it's easy to get carried away with the attraction of a super light and/or short rifle for hunting, due to its ease of toting around the woods. But we forget, we also would like to hit our target! I do some practicing at the range using one of the roof uprights as a simulated tree, shooting at either paper or plinking targets. The stock and air reservoir design of many air rifles makes them difficult for me to shoot in that manner. My guess, yes, the rifle design is likely your problem. Although you can probably train your way through it, sometimes it's just not worth the effort.

Wafair,

If you are resting the gun directly on the tree or windowsill, I suspect that might be your problem. ALWAYS have something at least quasi-soft between the gun and the rest, as a hard gun resting on a hard surface equals inaccuracy, whether it be an air rifle or a PB.

Air rifles still recoil...especially the higher powered ones. During the recoil cycle, that gun is going to bounce and skip if it is fired whilst resting on a hard surface. And it won't bounce and skip consistently from shot to shot. Couple that with the pellet being in the barrel for a long time and you have the perfect recipe for improved choke patterns.

Try using your hand as a buffer between the gun and your rest, i.e., hold the gun, but rest your hand on the windowsill or tree.

If you know all this already, sorry to waste your time.

Something I've done to my Impact to mitigate this, as well as protect the carbon fiber bottle, is to wrap the bottom half with a Kick Eez neoprene pad. They are adhesive backed, and are intended to be put on the comb of a stock to solidify your cheek weld and/or protect against the comb thumping you in the face during recoil.

I do find it harder to shoot my Impact accurately than my other guns. I find the Impact to be susceptible to small variations in how it is held. Something else to pay attention to.

Justin

I think it is you,I say his because you can hit targets at 30yd with a bipod with the same rifle,I had the same problem and it was because I got excited and rushed my shot....hitting the bullseye and hunting are to different things....plus the angle of the shot may throw your shot off....

My advice is keep the rifle,and practice your offhand shooting skills...=you need to practice the goal you want to obtain,one shot squirrel kills.....

Stability is your goal.....if you can not get it with a lot of practice with what you have ,Then it is time for a more stable plate form=something your more comfortable shooting offhand....me it would be a light traditional rifle....I like a carbines.

Hey thanks. On trees I am resting on my hand, but not from a windowsill. Had not thought about the hard surface thing. I will just have to pick up a longer one and that will tell me if this is the issue.

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The "hard surface" might be a problem for PCP's but it seems that it is viewed as a problem much more related to spring gun shooting due to the amount of vibration and movement they produce when fired. PCP's are more toward the firearm end of the spectrum where such is much less of a concern, if a concern at all. Bottle position/bullpup configuration/etc. could be a part of the problem but lots of people shoot those type guns just fine. I'll stick with incline/decline angle for now because you specifically mentioned "squirrel in a tree".

For sure all of that is true. But with ALL other guns in the same scenario I've been dead-eye. Gotta be either the Impact platform itself vs me or just the shortness of the Compact. I'll try to find a longer one and give it a go. Thanks.

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The Impact is susceptible to "Cant" more so then most guns. There is a possibility that you are not holding the Impact properly. 

For some reason the Impact isn't as intuitive as other bullpups. 

Ted (Teds Holdover) was having some issues with cant in the beginning. Just be conscious that it is a factor when shooting the Impact.



As for the Length?? The Cricket and the Wildcat are in the same ball park as the Impact. So I doubt it's the shortness of the gun.

Well, I sold it since it won't be hunting season until the fall/winter anyway, and I did not want the gun (and the money) sitting around. No doubt I could be a better shooter. Maybe this short setup revealed weaknesses that the longer guns masked for me.

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Well, that solves the problem. But you will probably have another gun and shoot some more. I have some very long rifles and some bullpups. Bullpups can be more difficult to shoot for many but not necessarily for others so I don't buy "length" as the answer here. Could be, but I don't believe so. I'll stick with shooting angle as the likely cause in this case, maybe to be considered "later" if you hunt more.

hard to say .. when it comes to hunting and pesting or even self defense it gets 'real' and for me anyway, the gun im most comfortable with and use alot is what i have the most luck with .. just a random 'glam gun' although its sounds and looks like the end-all to every accuracy problem isnt the prime factor when you got your sights on something fluffy lol .. so yeah .. eat drink and sleep with it, be able to disassemble and tune it in the dark while your sleeping, use it as your primary plinker and everything gun, and it will probably become everything its built to be ..

hard to say .. when it comes to hunting and pesting or even self defense it gets 'real' and for me anyway, the gun im most comfortable with and use alot is what i have the most luck with .. just a random 'glam gun' although its sounds and looks like the end-all to every accuracy problem isnt the prime factor when you got your sights on something fluffy lol .. so yeah .. eat drink and sleep with it, be able to disassemble and tune it in the dark while your sleeping, use it as your primary plinker and everything gun, and it will probably become everything its built to be ..

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I don't have much use for your "random glam gun" bit but the rest is valid. There is still a hard fact at work, however, beyond opinion on what gun is best or how much one needs to practice. The most drop occurs when shooting at the horizontal. Increase or decrease shooting angle at common shooting ranges and you will shoot high. Physical fact. Since such is a physical fact, it might be prudent to eliminate THAT before any "subjective" view on other "gun" factors.

Bull pups and ultra short rifles are more difficult for the majority of us to shoot well. I believe it's easy to get carried away with the attraction of a super light and/or short rifle for hunting, due to its ease of toting around the woods. But we forget, we also would like to hit our target! I do some practicing at the range using one of the roof uprights as a simulated tree, shooting at either paper or plinking targets. The stock and air reservoir design of many air rifles makes them difficult for me to shoot in that manner. My guess, yes, the rifle design is likely your problem. Although you can probably train your way through it, sometimes it's just not worth the effort.

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I used to have Vulcan that I couldn't shoot, everyone else who shoots it was amazed how accurate it is...me? not really, I sold it.
B

Just sight it in resting the same way and see how the POI changes. As long as the rest/hold is consistent, the POI shift should be as well.

I find bull pups hard to shoot accurately. Buy a crown maybe. Also if your paralex is off just a little it can affect POI. Trigger control and follow thru. Shooting targets and hunting ? Different deal. I miss too. It can get frustrating. Some times you find a gun which just doesn’t work for you. Just slow down and concentrate on the basics. Trigger and sight picture. I also try to sight my gun it every time I hunt. I’ll put a card board box out at my best guess for that days hunt and sight it in. More often the not the gun is off some. Why? Nor sure seems to be the nature of the beast and especially with air guns. Those who do not miss are either liars or not challenging themselves . Then there is the wind. A 10 mile or even a 5 mile will make a difference at 50 yards. Miss judge the wind and “ jerk “ the trigger just a tad and you WILL miss. Ask me how I know .

Accuracy also depends on the scope and on the ammo.

A bad scope will make fail shot after shot.

A bad ammo will make fail shot after shot.

Variation of the possition of the face in regard of the scope will make you fail shot after shot.

Once you have a good rifle with the right ammo and a good scope, zero it will take very few shots.

Remember that once you think your rifle is dully zeroed, you will have to make small adjustments on time, untill the reticle is relaxing where is needed.

Remember that the pellet do not left the barrel immediatelly when you pull the trigger, so wait on the aiming point after you pull the trigger.

When you loose the o'ring within the barrell the pellet can be deformed and, also, the rifle decrease in accuracy. Confirm that the o´ring is there.

hard to say .. when it comes to hunting and pesting or even self defense it gets 'real' and for me anyway, the gun im most comfortable with and use alot is what i have the most luck with .. just a random 'glam gun' although its sounds and looks like the end-all to every accuracy problem isnt the prime factor when you got your sights on something fluffy lol .. so yeah .. eat drink and sleep with it, be able to disassemble and tune it in the dark while your sleeping, use it as your primary plinker and everything gun, and it will probably become everything its built to be ..

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...Increase or decrease shooting angle at common shooting ranges and you will shoot high. Physical fact. Since such is a physical fact, it might be prudent to eliminate THAT before any "subjective" view on other "gun" factors...

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Not true. If you do not have an understanding of what is occurring when you shoot uphill/downhill, the overwhelming tendency is to shoot high. But the mere fact that you're shooting uphill or downhill doesn't mean it's a "physical fact" that you will shoot high.

If you shoot straight up or down, will you shoot high?

If you picture a right triangle, you have the A and B legs, and the hypotenuse. The A leg being the vertical leg, the B leg being the horizontal leg, and the hypotenuse connecting the two, being the long leg of the triangle. If the A and B legs are 30 yards, the hypotenuse will be 42.43 yards (a² + b² = c²) and the angle will be 45 degrees. Now if you're standing at the point where the B leg and hypotenuse meet, and you shoot a range to your target, which is at the point where the A leg and hypotenuse meet (42.43 yards in this case), and base your hold on that distance, you will shoot high. 

Why?

Because for gravity to have 100% of it's effect on a projectile, the projectile must be traveling horizontal to Mother Earth. When you start shooting at angles, the effect diminishes and is quantifiable by figuring out the cosine of the angle you're shooting at, in this case, the cosine of 45 degrees being .707...call it .71...meaning that gravity is going to have a .71% effect on your projectile when shooting uphill or downhill at a 45 degree angle. And when you multiply .71 by 42.43, our hypotenuse or ranged distance, you get 30.125, which is pretty damned close to the length of our horizontal leg B. So if you solved this uphill/downhill shooting conundrum by doing the math such as I did above, you should use your 30 yard hold on the target for the scenario detailed above.

Or...if you don't have your cosines memorized, and your faced with a shot at a squirrel up in a tree, estimate, or take your range horizontally to the tree the squirrel is in and base your hold off of that distance, no matter the angle.

Way too much math. I'm going to bed...



Justin