New to the page.

Hello, i am fresh to the airgun scene. I have shot my .177 pellet gun off and on through the past 6 or 7 years, putting around 6,000 pellets through it. I have finally gotten back at it and i finally got it fine tuned and its a tack driver, 10 rounds on a dime. But i recently got a .22 and it has been giving me issues, that is what brought me here... I got the Crosman Nitro Venom .22 this past Saturday and i have put around 700 pellets through it, the best grouping i can get is 3 1/4" at 20 yards, its rubbish compared to my .177. I was wondering if you guys could help me get this gun on target.
Thanks
 
Hey man welcome aboard !!! I'm Joe , slightly off springer enthusiast. . Well can you let us know if the 22 has a good scope or if you have tried a couple of different pellets. Sometimes it takes some trial an error to find the right fit on each gun . And it sucks but it can take a couple hundred pellets for a gun to settle in ( 700 should have been plenty )
 
Appears i spoke too soon, on the 726th shot (counted left over ammo) it's 1/4" low at 20 yards (zero at 25). I shot RWS, Umarex, and premier domes from the rifle. It has a 3-9x32 centerpoint scope ,with judgment lines i guess you could call them, im going to be getting a new scope some time in the future. What could you reccomend for the rifle? Im not wanted to spend anything over $100, just something clear and reliable.
Thanks for the response.
 
Hey, welcome to the forum!

Did you read up yet on The Artillery Hold? It is important to know when shooting springers, and especially so for lightweight or especially powerful ones. Try that first; 82.3% that will solve all your problems. Premier domes will probably shoot well, but you owe it to yourself to try JSB and H&N pellets too. Each gun has a different preference.

By the way, what's your .177 that you like so well? I'm a .177 guy myself. (haven't tried anything else yet)

As for reliable scopes under a hunnerd bux, I like the Leapers/UTG scopes.. 4-16x40 is a great one. Can you swing $110? They're a bit heavy, but they hold zero and have mil dots like you want. I have one on my Stoeger X20 and it works a treat. You need an adjustable objective, which it also has.

http://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/UTG_4_16x40_AO_Rifle_Scope_EZ_TAP_Illuminated_Mil_Dot_Reticle_1_4_MOA_1_Tube_See_Thru_Weaver_Rings/4777

Not sure if you have a Weaver scope mount, but if not, you can get it without rings, I think.

Enjoy your stay!

-Jeremy

 
SmaugHey, welcome to the forum!

Did you read up yet on The Artillery Hold? It is important to know when shooting springers, and especially so for lightweight or especially powerful ones. Try that first; 82.3% that will solve all your problems. Premier domes will probably shoot well, but you owe it to yourself to try JSB and H&N pellets too. Each gun has a different preference.

By the way, what's your .177 that you like so well? I'm a .177 guy myself. (haven't tried anything else yet)

As for reliable scopes under a hunnerd bux, I like the Leapers/UTG scopes.. 4-16x40 is a great one. Can you swing $110? They're a bit heavy, but they hold zero and have mil dots like you want. I have one on my Stoeger X20 and it works a treat. You need an adjustable objective, which it also has.

http://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/UTG_4_16x40_AO_Rifle_Scope_EZ_TAP_Illuminated_Mil_Dot_Reticle_1_4_MOA_1_Tube_See_Thru_Weaver_Rings/4777

Not sure if you have a Weaver scope mount, but if not, you can get it without rings, I think.

Enjoy your stay!

-Jeremy


I use the artillery hold ontop of a bipod, not one that goes on a rail.. Believe it or not, its a beat up crossman Storm XT. The scope is bent in the front, sling wore through while walking on gravel driveway and it had a free fall, but it has killed dozens, maybe even hundreds, of sparrows and dove for me. Even some of those dime groups i shot today when i was fine tuning it.. As for the .22, it has a weaver rail, and the $110 is workable, i have some expensive glass ($500+) on my powder rifles, and it makes all the difference, it is worth it in the end. I ordered some H&N crow magnums and more premier domes. I plan on using the crow magnums for raccoon and groundhog.
 
Crow Mags may not work well on raccoons, since they sacrifice penetration for expansion and impact. Save those for the birds, and use the domes on the raccoon and groundhog.

Also if your new .22 is a springer (or nitro piston) those take a little while to settle in, maybe a couple hundred rounds.

Good that you're using the artillery hold. Some folks report that with the more powerful springers, they seem to like a firmer hold into the shoulder, but still loose supporting the stock. I haven't tried it yet.

Let us know how it pans out, and maybe pass on some hunting pix and videos in the Hunting sub-forum!
 
How well do you think the crow magnums will work for rabbit and Squirrel? I want to try them on larger game, primarily mammals.

The artillery hold has proven more accurate, and even a little more stable compared to holding it regularly. I have been holding the rifle with just enough force to keep it in my shoulder, it has been consistent so far.
 
Jshade it's possible your over thinking it with the hold and such . Shooting a gun , any gun should be like holding your toothbrush...This morning did you give any thought to how you held your toothbrush handle or did you just do what was natural ? If you have a good groups of pellets that work well with your gun , a steady rest , and good xonditions then the gun should perform as well as its capable of . Nobody wants to be the guy who takes a crap on another guys gun , but some guns just aren't capable or repeatable results . It sucks but it's true .
Between me and my shooting buddy if there's a springer sold by Walmart/ Academy we've owned it . And a couple of them are capable of some good shooting on any particular day but most aren't repeatable. We have found that some good ammo ( JSB or H&N) a mild wind day , and some cold beverage can lead to a hell of a lot of fun . But one day this one's shooting good , next day it's another one , and so on .
As far as scopes I've owned a couple of the Bushnell AR 2-7 scopes and still do on springers and they are really nice for the price . Midway has them on sale sometimes for like 80$ . I looked in my ammo stash and I don't have any 22 caliber pellets or I'd send you some to try . Keep us posted as how she's doing .
 
Unless those scopes are rated for airguns, don't do it; you'll break them.

As I said above, Crow Mags will be marginal, at best, on game larger than squirrel and rabbit. You probably won't get the penetration you need, and accuracy won't be that great outside of 15-20 yards. Anything beyond that, use domed pellets. Find the one that shoots most accurately in your rifle by buying a variety pack. Skip Gamo pellets; they almost never shoot well in anything. Same for Daisy.

As for the ongoing accuracy problems, is the gun broken in yet? Have you got a couple hundred rounds through it yet?

I don't want to sound elitist or condescending, but about the best accuracy you can hope for from a Nitro Venom Dusk or most of the Chinese-built springers from Crosman or Gamo is 'acceptable' and even then, it is often only at close to medium range. They're just not high-end airguns, and they tend to lack the careful production and finishing that is directly related to accuracy. They're cranked out in a Chinese factory by the thousand. The bores are not well finished, polished, or even cleaned. Scope rails are often not straight. Triggers are usually terrible. They do look nice, often have nicely-shaped stocks, and almost always have very high published velocity. But quality and accuracy are their last priorities.

I'll give you an example. I have what I consider a high-end Chinese airgun, a Stoeger X20. Probably about the same power level as your first gun.The stick is great; sharp checkering, a nice re-settable safety. The trigger was terrible, I upgraded it with a Charlie da Tuna one, which is still heavy, but breaks cleanly and predictably. It honks when cocking, because the spring is rubbing somewhere inside. It has cheezy fiber optic sights that give a nice fast target acquisition in low light, but are impossible to shoot a tight group with. They're not replaceable with anything decent, other than a scope. It has many hundreds of rounds through it, and shoots pretty accurately, but still not even quite up to par compared to a typical box stock European springer.

My advice is to return or sell that Nitro Venom Dusk and save the difference to get something decent. For your use, something like a Beeman R9, Weihrauch HW80s, HW50s, or Diana 36 would be great. Something that has been put together with some attention to detail by a company that cares about its long-term reputation.* Then, pop a decent scope on it. These are not the same as simple powderburner rifles. There are a lot more moving parts that have to work well in unison to make an accurate gun. You can buy a pretty nice, accurate 22LR powderburner for a few hundred bucks, and even $150 will buy a nice used one. Even a lot of the super cheap ones shoot well. (thinking of the H&R single shot shotguns and Marlin bolt and semi-auto 22s) That price is just the starting point for a good quality air rifle.

Lastly, try to avoid the mentality that "it's just an airgun, I don't want to spend that much." They end up being just as much fun as powderburners, and a lot cheaper to shoot, in the long run. Not to mention the fact that you don't always need certain designated places to shoot them. Back yard, basement, garage... these are all fair game for airguns.

Let us know the general area where you live. Maybe a member local to you will let you try his arsenal and open your eyes a bit.


* When Crosman started to ruin their reputation for quality by cutting costs, they bought the Benjamin and Sheridan brands to reassure customers that they still make something of quality. Daisy did the same with Winchester for their springers.
 
Also, here's some more food for thought: You don't need as much power if your airgun is more accurate. Would you rather have something that shoots at 20 FPE into a 2" group at 20 yards, or something that shoots 12 FPE but will easily hold the group to 1/2" at that same range? It's the different between body shots and head shots on these small critters we go after, and head shots don't take much power. 
 
I understand purely what you are saying. I cleaned the gun and it was pretty dirty.

My dad has a friend that has some nice pellet guns, well over $2,000 for one of his setups. He has others setup for different game. Im 16, i usually put roofs on with my dad over the summer, but we didn't get any this year. So thats about $2,000 out of my pocket, on one job.

I may return the rifle depending how it acts with a new scope. Do you know if the Umarex torq is any good? The gun store i bought the venom has one in .22.

Accuracy definitely rules over power. I have killed 4 possum, 3 raccoon, 1 squirrel and 3 rabbit with my .177, and its worn out im sure. Q

I'll get you guys more info when i get ammo.
 
Well, i believe he crossman domed premier has solved the problem. At 20 yards, i got a five shot group with 4 in the hole and 1 i flexed my forearm and pulled down and left. I am going to try a couple other pellets and see how it goes.

Thank you for all the answers and suggestions. I will surely visit this site in the future, and i will post pictures of any hunts i go on.
Thanks again.