So, SO, SOOO close, yet so far away!

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AirNGasman

AirNGasman

Member
Jul 18, 2018
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Texas, United States
 

One of a few 'Holy Grails' I've sought in my lifetime of airgunning is what has proven perhaps the most elusive- one minute-of-angle AVERAGE hundred yard groups, of at least three consecutive five-shot groups, fliers included. That quest now spans a couple decades, 1-2 dozen hundred-yard capable airguns, hundreds of 100 yard bench-rest groups, tens of thousands of pellets, multiple airgun books authored, a couple years of hosting monthly long-range airgun matches (to 100 yards), and about a dozen "so close, yet so far away" accuracy-testing results. 

One MOA being about 1.04" at 100 yards, the recent 1.06" average is EXCRUCIATINGLY close. But nevertheless, STILL "so close, yet so far away".

AEA record at 100.1630004831.jpg
 

I've learned a lot in all this. Perhaps the most poignant epiphany is that I (we) are trying to make pellet guns do something polar opposite of the purpose they were originally conceived for; SHORT RANGE shooting (for safe shooting opportunities in tight confines). That fact makes constantly beating my head against the 1 MOA wall something of a fool's game. An expensive fool's game! My only consolation is the growing numbers of other fools also willing to spend small (and not so small) fortunes in similar quests to my mightily elusive 'Holy Grail'. 

Correction- there is a second consolation in this recent MINISCULE shortfall of just .02". Read that, 2 one-hundredths of an inch! It came with a cheap, CHINESE, WEIRD-ASS, .30 caliber bullpup... that no sane person would have given a snowball's chance in hell of such extreme performance.

AEA FLR.1630005527.jpg


I'll take this opportunity to take some credit for my rudimentary, ham-fisted, 'back-yard mechanic' airgunsmithing "skills" exposing the (deeply) hidden capabilities of the .30 AEA Challenger bullpup. FWIW and to lend additional perspective, several... make that, too many high-end, high $$$ PCPs have fallen shorter than the weird-ass gun above.

Assuming I live long enough, I will achieve the Holy Grail. That declared, it occurs to me I don't have another two decades in me to accomplish it. Much less another many-thousand dollars!

Thankfully the AEA Challenger testing is yet unfinished.

AEA V16.1630006744.jpg


Removing the huge muzzle-pickle not only transforms the 32" barreled AEA .30 into a good-looking air rifle (in the eyes of this beholder anyway), but reduces the overall length to a much handier, almost carbine-esque 41". Unfortunately my hearing cannot abide the transformation of beast to beauty.
 
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Great shooting!

One question for you though: is 3, 5 shot groups the same as 1 fifteen shot group?

(the big kicker being CONSECUTIVE, 15 shots into a sub moa group @ 100 yards does seem mighty difficult. My understanding of the way RMAC and EBR go is to throw a lot of lead downrange, many being "sighters" and few being counted shots. With that thought, the 15 CONSECUTIVE is a lofty goal.)
 
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"is 3, 5 shot groups the same as 1 fifteen shot group?" Good question, Frank. The answer is no; not nearly. 

And the reason no-one will ever achieve a fifteen-shot, 1" hundred-yard group with a pellet gun using my protocol(s) is because I have to completely rebuild my shooting position after each 200 yard round-trip to mark each five-shot group. So understanding that, though the 1.87" c-t-c 'fifteen-shot group' might not sound real impressive, it is. As I suspect you know, groups point-of-impact move from one to the next no matter how careful or talented the shooter; particularly when the shooting position is undone and must be reconstructed best as possible between groups. It's simply not the same as shooting multiple groups uninterrupted.

I suspect if I'd decided to turn the second five-shot group into a ten-shot group without getting up from the bench, the 1.87" 'fifteen-shot group' pictured would have been much closer to the 1.32" c-t-c ten-shot group printed before I went to mark the second five-shot group. If you're still a-followin' what I'm a-sayin', notice the (last) 1.38" five-shot group marked in black centers to a different POI than the previous ten shots. Though that could be the slightest, imperceptible change in air movement between groups, I'll not use that excuse as cover for what I truly believe; that my shooting position for the last group was different from that of the previous group(s), no matter how slight.

Despite admitting my tenuous grasp on sanity, I do like to delude myself that I am not stark, raving mad. And having occasionally experimented with ten-shot groups, I am convinced further such experimentation would, undoubtedly, do more damage to my sanity than things I experimented with in The Sixties and Seventies.

Let me repeat, "Good question, Frank". And not unexpected (or some variation). But one I'd hoped I wouldn't have to answer, knowing it would require such a long-winded explanation as you just endured. My apologies.


 
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Here is my SO close..... this is 15 consecutive @ 91 yds.... not exactly 100 yds, but still sub moa. It was a good day and VERY good batch of MRDs for Wally. I was holding left, right, up, down and just guessed well but it seemed pretty predictable. Haven't found a batch since that were as good but had some good ones. My 100 yard groups were as good that day but I had so many on my target, wasn't good for a pic. The paddle is just over 1".

20190930_145454.1630073902.jpg
20190930_145509.1630073976.jpg


Definitely a large element of luck...😉

Bob
 
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