Panthera Panthera MKII .30 700mm and AEA 66.2gr Pellets - Shoots Awesome

[Billm]

I haven’t shot in over a week as I was out of town. I got back last night, but it was too late to shoot. I went out today and the heat index was 117f with 67% humidity. It was brutal and so I shot a tin of AEA 50.5gr pellets at 101yds, WITH THE FX Panthera MKII .30. I went back out later when it was almost dark and the heat index was only 106f. I had lowered the reg pressure to 130-135bar and. I shot a few groups with the AEA 50.5gr pellets. As usual I was chasing the elusive sub 6fps SD. Then I decided to switch to AEA 66.2gr pellets. I had some sub-MOA groups with it before. Almost every post that I’ve read about the 66.2gr pellets here and elsewhere indicates that they’re a waste of time. I decided to keep the same regulator settings as I was using for the 50.5gr pellets. I just turned up the Macro wheel until I hit around 910fps. I then increased the Micro wheel until I Hit around 919fps and the 101yd groups closed up. I shot a few groups to adjust the sights. Then I shot five groups of five. It was getting dark and the crosshairs on the Athlon SFP at 40X were difficult to see. My five group average was .80 MOA. One thing that I have noticed is that the first shot out of the fresh magazine is almost always a flyer and that low shot on the largest group was the first shot. I guess the lesson there is to fire the first shot off target as a sighter.
I am very impressed with how this FX shoots the AEA 66.2 gr pellets. It is consistently sub-MOA at 100 yds and hits with authority at 125fpe. It even has an SD of 3.4fps over 44 shots. This is my first FX and so I don’t know if it is a fluke or a unicorn, but I like its accuracy. This was with the 1:40 pellet liner. I can’t help but wonder if these heavy pellets might do well with the 1:16 liner. The voice in my left ear keeps saying: “swap the liner and give it a try”. The drunk monkey on my right shoulder keeps saying: “Don’t be stupid, it’s working , leave it alone”. I think I’ll just try and fix me. I definitely need to figure out the vertical stringing. It will be interesting to see if the POI changes next session. I will try to measure the B,C. tomorrow using the chronograph at the muzzle and 100yds.

 

[hameditor]

@Billm Great stuff! Thanks for sharing

 

[Pesty3782]

Very nice Bill!!!! We have the same heat here in AZ

Tony P.

 

[Auto1191]

I haven’t shot in over a week as I was out of town. I got back last night, but it was too late to shoot. I went out today and the heat index was 117f with 67% humidity. It was brutal and so I shot a tin of AEA 50.5gr pellets at 101yds, WITH THE FX Panthera MKII .30. I went back out later when it was almost dark and the heat index was only 106f. I had lowered the reg pressure to 130-135bar and. I shot a few groups with the AEA 50.5gr pellets. As usual I was chasing the elusive sub 6fps SD. Then I decided to switch to AEA 66.2gr pellets. I had some sub-MOA groups with it before. Almost every post that I’ve read about the 66.2gr pellets here and elsewhere indicates that they’re a waste of time. I decided to keep the same regulator settings as I was using for the 50.5gr pellets. I just turned up the Macro wheel until I hit around 910fps. I then increased the Micro wheel until I Hit around 919fps and the 101yd groups closed up. I shot a few groups to adjust the sights. Then I shot five groups of five. It was getting dark and the crosshairs on the Athlon SFP at 40X were difficult to see. My five group average was .80 MOA. One thing that I have noticed is that the first shot out of the fresh magazine is almost always a flyer and that low shot on the largest group was the first shot. I guess the lesson there is to fire the first shot off target as a sighter.
I am very impressed with how this FX shoots the AEA 66.2 gr pellets. It is consistently sub-MOA at 100 yds and hits with authority at 125fpe. It even has an SD of 3.4fps over 44 shots. This is my first FX and so I don’t know if it is a fluke or a unicorn, but I like its accuracy. This was with the 1:40 pellet liner. I can’t help but wonder if these heavy pellets might do well with the 1:16 liner. The voice in my left ear keeps saying: “swap the liner and give it a try”. The drunk monkey on my right shoulder keeps saying: “Don’t be stupid, it’s working , leave it alone”. I think I’ll just try and fix me. I definitely need to figure out the vertical stringing. It will be interesting to see if the POI changes next session. I will try to measure the B,C. tomorrow using the chronograph at the muzzle and 100yds. View attachment 22295View attachment 22296View attachment 22297View attachment 22298View attachment 22299View attachment 22300

Sometimes shooting for groups can be hard. Get some 100 yard cards & go for x 's that will show true accuracy & learn the shooting characteristics & hold sequence. I am also a fan of SFP clean reticles. I shot 1 of my rigs this weekend & the SD was 2.7 I will say it is so accurate it gets boring real quick, Which is not a bad thing . I don't even touch anything as far as settings . Don't want to mess up a good thing, If it isn't broken DON't TOUCH IT Maybe Clean your Barrel? By the way I was shooting my Custom Thomas in .22