Benchrest 100yd 5x5 Challenge Inspired by Franklink

[Jaabaa]

Very nice. I can't see anything with all the snow here everywhere.

 

[Slugslinger]

That was my solution for winter fun. Low powered springers and CO2 spend hours down here. Listen to AM radio talk shows, just like Grandpa did. The jeans help deaden the sound off the sheet metal.

What rifle is that in the last pic, and brand peep sight

 

[Jaabaa]

What rifle is that in the last pic, and brand peep sight

That is the Williams Fool Proof series. These were $69 but have went up.
All the existing front sight work great with it.

 

[Franklink]

Here's a couple from the last two-ish weeks. Shared elsewhere too.

Bottom left is the 5x5 average group size.

 

[Billm]

The Sonoran .30 with its Sub-MOA smooth bore barrel rose to the challenge. 101yds, AEA 45gr, 160bar, 865fps. Crosswind right to left.

 

[duchunter007]

The Sonoran .30 with its Sub-MOA smooth bore barrel rose to the challenge. 101yds, AEA 45gr, 160bar, 865fps. Crosswind right to left.

Nice shooting with the Sonoran!!

 

[Billm]

Nice shooting with the Sonoran!!

Thanks. It did well today. I’m fighting the urge to turn the regulator back up a little. I know I should leave it alone lol.

 

[Franklink]

Shot these two last night.





12 group average of just shy of 1moa. That's 61 shots in a row. Only the one sighter. Every shot I took last night is right here - it's not cherry-picked.

 

[Billm]

The Sonoran .30 with its Sub-MOA smooth bore barrel rose to the challenge. 101yds, AEA 45gr, 160bar, 865fps. Crosswind right to left.

Point of interest: I put the Sonoran and the AV Alpha outside on the plastic table so that it could acclimate. I tried the Alpha for 6 shots and decided it was too windy to achieve anything meaningful, so I decided to shoot the Sonoran. I used an open off the shelf tin of AEA pellets. I didn’t examine, clean, lube, weigh or sort the pellets. As matter of fact they are out of the latest reportedly inferior batches of 45gr pellets. I’ve only shot AEA 45gr, 51gr and JSB 45gr and can’t honestly say which are better accuracy wise, but believe AEA are more consistent. I shot seven sighters at the steel backstop, to see where the wind was pushing the pellets. Then I shot this target and then was done for the day. That’s the idea of the challenge, no real prep, shoot a card and post it. No “cherry picked groups” or throw away cards and that’s what I do. My wind indicator is a 2ft piece of ragged craft ribbon hanging off the bottom of the pellet trap that gets stuck on the frame most times. I do have a $99 Amazon weather station next to my house, but I don’t think it really represents what’s happening on the ground. I shoot off of a plastic table using a bipod and a diy rear rest that I have to stack ragged tea towels on to hold the rifle. I’ve never shot any type of competition other than informal 10m indoors 40-50 years ago. Informal means several guys getting together and shooting against each other, with whatever they have. As a non-competitor, I personally don’t think any of this really means much. But, it’s fun to do and that’s why I shoot. It doesn’t really test the capabilities of the rifle - it takes a machine rest that eliminates human input and an indoor range or shooting tube to do that, otherwise there’s too many variables. But, with all of these variables it does challenge me and show me my weaknesses. Personally I don’t think any air rifle over $2000 should have any weaknesses, when used for its intended purpose. I’ve figured out that no matter how much I spend on equipment or how much I practice, the wind really determines the final outcome. One thing that I’ve really learned is that as @Solo1 has pointed out to me, is that wind, no matter how slight, can have a huge impact on groups. I don’t shoot for accuracy and only shoot for groups, because I know I need to learn to calculate for the wind. I almost always shoot over a chronograph and so I have a record of how many shots I’ve taken. The last 25 shots were the shots at the card. The stats screen shows the shots that I took with both airguns. The sighters are highlighted on the left of the steel plate and the tangled ribbon is highlighted under the bullet trap lol. The only sandbagging I might do: I’m not going to shoot a challenge in 15mph plus winds lol. I’ve got no incentive to fudge my results, I own my equipment, own my skills and I only have to please or disappoint myself and I do both. It’s just my opinion and opinions are like airguns, we all have one and everyone thinks theirs is the best.

 

[Grunt64]

If it was only warmer,lol this is what I shot before colder temps at 100 yards with a wobbly bipod that I have improved since then.
groups are roughly:

• 0.21 MOA–0.25 MOA That's just my luck

 

[Billm]

I got out and shot another target tonight as it was getting dark. The only 25 shots I took today - no warmup or sighters. Random tin of pellets. I thought I was going to shoot my best 100yd airgun targets ever when I started. On target #2 I managed to put 3 pellets through the same hole and then 2 pellets departed to the left. I don’t think I can blame the wind. It went downhill from there. I shot the 25 shot card in approximately 8 minutes, loading five at a time. Why, because I have fresh bear scat in my yard and I’m nervous being out there after dark. It just so happens that’s when there is the least wind.

 

[duchunter007]

I got out and shot another target tonight as it was getting dark. The only 25 shots I took today - no warmup or sighters. Random tin of pellets. I thought I was going to shoot my best 100yd airgun targets ever when I started. On target #2 I managed to put 3 pellets through the same hole and then 2 pellets departed to the left. I don’t think I can blame the wind. It went downhill from there. I shot the 25 shot card in approximately 8 minutes, loading five at a time. Why, because I have fresh bear scat in my yard and I’m nervous being out there after dark. It just so happens that’s when there is the least wind.View attachment 19081

You really have the Sonoran shooting very well and a very consistent with the SD number too! I would not change anything on your tune.

 

[Billm]

You really have the Sonoran shooting very well and a very consistent with the SD number too! I would not change anything on your tune.

I’m thinking the same thing. I’m going to try and lighten the trigger again. Maybe I’ll try sorting some pellets.

 

[duchunter007]

I’m thinking the same thing. I’m going to try and lighten the trigger again. Maybe I’ll try sorting some pellets.

Trigger work sure helps things out

 

[Billm]

I didn’t think there was much wind, but it seems the

Trigger work sure helps things out

I got it down to 8ozs with some helpful advice. But, I had several shots let loose on their own and so I backed it off to around 1lb. I’m not sure what might be causing the vertical stringing. It seemed like each group got a little bigger because of the pellets climbing vertically. Usually I see that with a headwind, but I didn’t think there was much wind. It’s not the SD, as you said, it was pretty solid. I’m really not sure. I don’t think that I should clean it, although I don’t have any idea how many rounds have passed through it since the last cleaning.

 

[duchunter007]

I didn’t think there was much wind, but it seems the

I got it down to 8ozs with some helpful advice. But, I had several shots let loose on their own and so I backed it off to around 1lb. I’m not sure what might be causing the vertical stringing. It seemed like each group got a little bigger because of the pellets climbing vertically. Usually I see that with a headwind, but I didn’t think there was much wind. It’s not the SD, as you said, it was pretty solid. I’m really not sure. I don’t think that I should clean it, although I don’t have any idea how many rounds have passed through it since the last cleaning.

To me, it looks like you might need to do a quick clean of the barrel. My Ghost, a couple of weeks ago, started spreading out shoots for what I thought was no reason. One of the guys I was shooting with suggested I pull a couple of cleaning pads through, and that resolvedthe problem.

 

[Billm]

To me, it looks like you might need to do a quick clean of the barrel. My Ghost, a couple of weeks ago, started spreading out shoots for what I thought was no reason. One of the guys I was shooting with suggested I pull a couple of cleaning pads through, and that resolvedthe problem.

I will try that and see if it helps. Worse case scenario: I’ll have to shoot a few extra groups to build it back up lol.

 

[duchunter007]

I will try that and see if it helps. Worse case scenario: I’ll have to shoot a few extra groups to build it back up lol.

It can't hurt to do that,

 

[Franklink]

Let me see those 5x5 challenges guys!

What I like about this whole concept of 5, 5 shot groups on the same page @ 100 yards is that it effectively eliminates cherry pickers. It's also a very good yardstick (and sometimes a slap in the face) of where a particular gun falls in the spectrum of what an airgun is actually capable of (or not capable of) @ 100yards.

@Billm, thanks for starting this thread.

 

[Billm]

Let me see those 5x5 challenges guys!

What I like about this whole concept of 5, 5 shot groups on the same page @ 100 yards is that it effectively eliminates cherry pickers. It's also a very good yardstick (and sometimes a slap in the face) of where a particular gun falls in the spectrum of what an airgun is actually capable of (or not capable of) @ 100yards.

@Billm, thanks for starting this thread.

Your idea, I hope others join in. I’m going to try and shoot one each time I short as the first target of the day, with no more than 1 or two shots prior to allow the reg to settle or whatever. I thought my last card was pretty good, until Tony asked me for some info. Then I saw that I’ve shot some 1/2 MOA 100yd groups with the Sonoran. So, I think the rifle is capable. I would just like to get consistent with it. Your idea of 5x5 makes it easy to see what I’m doing each time.