wolfmangreg
Well-known member
Revamped my modest arsenal lately, selling a couple & buying a couple. Latest is a used but well cared for Red Wolf HP in the midnight blue stock. She sure is pretty, could pass as new if it weren't for the aftermarket 580cc bottle.
Yesterday evening & early this morning were just about perfect for getting zero & dope for an air rifle, hot as Hades but little or no wind. Mounted a Midas Tac (I'm a big fan now) & got it "close enough" at 30 yards, then moved out to 85- the limit on my property. First 10:
Well that dog will hunt! Other matters needed tending to last night, so stopped there knowing I'd be hitting the 100 yard range this morning. First 5 at 100:
Walked it in toward the bull, then another 7 at 100 (wrote 10 on the target but that's wrong, still three left in the mag when I stopped for air):
Did some testing with other pellets I'd brought along, then finished up with another 7 from that tin of FX 25.4:
It's early, but pretty certain this is going to be the most accurate air rifle I've owned.
Other ramblings from today's events-
Brought four tins of pellets; three variants of the JSB Monster Redesigned and JTS Dead Center 25.4 grain.
The JTS did not do well at all. They're very clean & consistent in weight, but I'm 0 for 2 with them. The 45 grain shot ok in my Cricket 2 Tac, but not as good as either the 45 or 50 grain JSB. The 25.4 were all over out of the Red Wolf. They're a lot harder than the JSB pellets, & in lieu of any other explanation, I think that makes barrel fit more critical. Can see where, if head/skirt diameter is a perfect fit with a given barrel/choke, they could be lights out.
Best groups were turned in by the FX pellets. Have never found the rebranded JSB pellets to be better (nor have they been worse) over the course of multiple lots, despite the "single die for better consistency" claims. That said, I'm going to order more- that tin came with the rifle & is all I have. MRD are the inexplicably weird sibling of the JSB family of pellets, so who knows, maybe the FX rebranded ones really will prove to be better.
Two versions of the JSB; longskirt (0.092") & miniskirt (0.068"). The long skirted, deep cavity version seemed to be slightly better, though it was really close. Both threw an occasional flyer that I didn't see with the FX tin (the FX were deepskirts, 0.094"). Always low or high, never left or right. All shots were straight from the tin, so maybe weight sorting could help. Going to sort a tin & see what happens.
Fellow I bought the rifle from told me that the magic happens between 215 bar & 180 bar, and he spoke truth. The fantastic groups in the photos were all shot in that pressure range. Wouldn't go so far as to call it Jeckyll & Hyde- accuracy wasn't poor outside of that range, but groups were consistently larger & not just from a flyer. Not sure of the dynamics involved in causing the change.
Early returns indicate she likes to be clean. Doesn't fall off a cliff, but things do open up after ~100 or so shots.
Yesterday evening & early this morning were just about perfect for getting zero & dope for an air rifle, hot as Hades but little or no wind. Mounted a Midas Tac (I'm a big fan now) & got it "close enough" at 30 yards, then moved out to 85- the limit on my property. First 10:
Well that dog will hunt! Other matters needed tending to last night, so stopped there knowing I'd be hitting the 100 yard range this morning. First 5 at 100:
Walked it in toward the bull, then another 7 at 100 (wrote 10 on the target but that's wrong, still three left in the mag when I stopped for air):
Did some testing with other pellets I'd brought along, then finished up with another 7 from that tin of FX 25.4:
It's early, but pretty certain this is going to be the most accurate air rifle I've owned.
Other ramblings from today's events-
Brought four tins of pellets; three variants of the JSB Monster Redesigned and JTS Dead Center 25.4 grain.
The JTS did not do well at all. They're very clean & consistent in weight, but I'm 0 for 2 with them. The 45 grain shot ok in my Cricket 2 Tac, but not as good as either the 45 or 50 grain JSB. The 25.4 were all over out of the Red Wolf. They're a lot harder than the JSB pellets, & in lieu of any other explanation, I think that makes barrel fit more critical. Can see where, if head/skirt diameter is a perfect fit with a given barrel/choke, they could be lights out.
Best groups were turned in by the FX pellets. Have never found the rebranded JSB pellets to be better (nor have they been worse) over the course of multiple lots, despite the "single die for better consistency" claims. That said, I'm going to order more- that tin came with the rifle & is all I have. MRD are the inexplicably weird sibling of the JSB family of pellets, so who knows, maybe the FX rebranded ones really will prove to be better.
Two versions of the JSB; longskirt (0.092") & miniskirt (0.068"). The long skirted, deep cavity version seemed to be slightly better, though it was really close. Both threw an occasional flyer that I didn't see with the FX tin (the FX were deepskirts, 0.094"). Always low or high, never left or right. All shots were straight from the tin, so maybe weight sorting could help. Going to sort a tin & see what happens.
Fellow I bought the rifle from told me that the magic happens between 215 bar & 180 bar, and he spoke truth. The fantastic groups in the photos were all shot in that pressure range. Wouldn't go so far as to call it Jeckyll & Hyde- accuracy wasn't poor outside of that range, but groups were consistently larger & not just from a flyer. Not sure of the dynamics involved in causing the change.
Early returns indicate she likes to be clean. Doesn't fall off a cliff, but things do open up after ~100 or so shots.
! Was happy with them looking through the scope, but really happy after putting a ruler to them.
pic rail fitting day for mine 
