30-Yard Challenge

[tommyb]

196 13x. Air Arms pellets seem to be what it likes. The JSB 10.3 and FX 10.3 have both scored in the high 180's at best.
A few flyers, but I'm just shooting straight from the tin unwashed.

I’ll take a “196” every day and twice on Sunday! Gotta love those Revere’s.

 

[Florida_Man]

We see Florida_Man is getting the hang of that Daystate…

… if that flyer “6” was a good pellet and a ‘10’ - you would be at 198 already.

Good shootin’

Thanks. I just ordered 5 more tins of AA 10.3's from Trenier
I've tried some other stuff from FX, JSB, and H&N. None have been as good as Air Arms. The crazy Crosman's shot pretty well at 20 yards. If I can get a 200 with the AA i'll probably switch to the Crosmans. I haven't ordered any of the "new" Benjamin pellets. From looking at peoples post reporting the data on them, they seem the same to me as the cardboard box Crosmans.

 

[Florida_Man]

I'll be asking for a new bench for Christmas. I really like this rifle. I was just testing out this rear option, I have been using the bag in the foreground. I also found that the Daystate mag works really well, my groups open up A LOT using the CARM mags. I have been only using the SST.

 

[igolfat8]

I'll be asking for a new bench for Christmas. I really like this rifle. I was just testing out this rear option, I have been using the bag in the foreground. I also found that the Daystate mag works really well, my groups open up A LOT using the CARM mags. I have been only using the SST.

Since you have a rear bag Jack, you might want to experiment with a bi-pod in front with adjustable cant.

 

[Florida_Man]

Since you have a rear bag Jack, you might want to experiment with a bi-pod in front with adjustable cant.

Maybe once I'm off FMLA and can work some overtime. My wife has become very suspicious of packages lately haha. Newborn son here.

 

[igolfat8]

Try a $20 one from eBay.

 

[Ogleorama]

Hello everyone,

Shooting conditions near perfect today and I have shot a lot of 25-Yard targets and really good scoring so I decided to set up the 30-Yard range. I had been shooting some Air Arms Diabolo Field Heavy 18gr so I zeroed the scope and shot the first 30 Yard Challenge Masters target and got a 194. Second target got a 197. Third target got a 184. So I switched to the JTS Dead Center 18.1gr, zeroed the scope and shot this target.

Ed I did use a .22cal Scoring Plug to get the X’s and the final score and I cannot remember if scoring plugs are allowed for the Masters. If they are not, I will withdraw this card and re-score it and submit a new card.

ThomasT

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Nice shooting

 

[tommyb]

Maybe once I'm off FMLA and can work some overtime. My wife has become very suspicious of packages lately haha. Newborn son here.

Congrats on the new born son Chris. That should make your family’s Holidays this year extra special.

Alexa gives me up all the time with new packages. Nothing like having to explain ‘new notifications’ and what’s been ordered from Amazon.

 

[tommyb]

Went out yesterday and shot some 30Y Challenge cards ( no Masters ) with the Revere and HW100 .22 cals. Wind was pretty calm, with occasional 1-3 mph gusts. A couple of 194's, but nothing to submit unfortunately.

Question for the troops - I am noticing a very predictable pattern as I shoot a card, during very calm wind conditions. I will typically get two or three POI shifts while I am shooting a single card during my time period. I normally shoot a card between 10-15 minutes max, usually much faster.

Here's a typical scenario.

I start a card after shooting a couple of sighters, to try and optimize my best zero for the 'X' ring. I shoot a couple of bulls after checking wind flag and/or last shot taken. Let's say I have a good start, hit three or four 10's in a row, then get an 8 or 7. Now the guessing begins. Was it me, was it the wind, was it my trigger control, was it a technique error, etc....So, now I adjust and take another sighter and see where it lands. Then I hold for my next real shot on the card.

Here's the quirk in this whole process. I may start with my first hold at 3 o'clock between the 7 and 8 ring as an example, then hit three or four 10's in a row, until I again get an unexpected 7 or 8. This time my hold calls for an 8 o'clock hold between the 9 and 10 ring. A couple more 10's, then another POI shift with a 12 o'clock hold on the 8 ring. These are examples for illustration only to see if others have the same issues and how you address them in your session.

I think this is pretty normal, but I am curious as to how some of you adjust your holds and how often during a ONE card time interval? I have a pretty good idea of how the competition bench rest shooters do this at 50-100 yards with sighters and flags, but I was curious to understand how you guys handle this for the 30-40 yard challenge and masters cards?

 

[ThomasT]

Went out yesterday and shot some 30Y Challenge cards ( no Masters ) with the Revere and HW100 .22 cals. Wind was pretty calm, with occasional 1-3 mph gusts. A couple of 194's, but nothing to submit unfortunately.

Question for the troops - I am noticing a very predictable pattern as I shoot a card, during very calm wind conditions. I will typically get two or three POI shifts while I am shooting a single card during my time period. I normally shoot a card between 10-15 minutes max, usually much faster.

Here's a typical scenario.

I start a card after shooting a couple of sighters, to try and optimize my best zero for the 'X' ring. I shoot a couple of bulls after checking wind flag and/or last shot taken. Let's say I have a good start, hit three or four 10's in a row, then get an 8 or 7. Now the guessing begins. Was it me, was it the wind, was it my trigger control, was it a technique error, etc....So, now I adjust and take another sighter and see where it lands. Then I hold for my next real shot on the card.

Here's the quirk in this whole process. I may start with my first hold at 3 o'clock between the 7 and 8 ring as an example, then hit three or four 10's in a row, until I again get an unexpected 7 or 8. This time my hold calls for an 8 o'clock hold between the 9 and 10 ring. A couple more 10's, then another POI shift with a 12 o'clock hold on the 8 ring. These are examples for illustration only to see if others have the same issues and how you address them in your session.

I think this is pretty normal, but I am curious as to how some of you adjust your holds and how often during a ONE card time interval? I have a pretty good idea of how the competition bench rest shooters do this at 50-100 yards with sighters and flags, but I was curious to understand how you guys handle this for the 30-40 yard challenge and masters cards?

View attachment 404675

View attachment 404676

Hello @tommyb

This is just me, but when I am shooting any target where I am hitting a Bull ( a 10 ) and then an 8 comes up, I consider that is a flyer / bad pellet. Now I am talking about conditions that wind is not a factor ( 5mph or less ) and on a 50 yard or shorter range.

A really good way to confirm if it is you or pellets is to shoot a target at half the distance that you were originally shooting. In other words, if you are shooting at 30 yards and you get an "8-flyer" or worst every fourth or fifth shot then move in to 15-yards and try and do everything exactly as you did at 30. If you do not shoot everything in the 10-ring, then it is the gun or you.

Last year I purchased a new Daystate Wolverine R and it could not shoot MOA at 10-Meters. I had shot a bunch of targets at 25-yards to start with and tried everything to get it to shoot. Then I moved in to 10-Meters and as stated, still no good. This close in test proved that it was the rifle and not me or the pellets.

ThomasT

 

[tommyb]

Ha ha ….

Based on your suggestion, I think it’s me.

But, I will move it in to 15Y and shoot a whole card.

Thanks T!

 

[JimD]

I experience unexplained shifts in POI too. My P35-177 is not super accurate (best is a 194) so I normally assume it is the gun if that's what I'm shooting. But I have messed up a card or two making that assumption and it was really the wind had picked up. So now I look at wind harder (when the brain is working). When it happens with the P35-22 I tend to believe it is me or a bad pellet or wind - not the gun. I've messed up lots of targets chasing what I thought was a POI shift. Unless I can identify a cause (like wind) I think the best approach is to hold the same as I did with the 10 and hope I don't mess up again.

I find the Carm magazine comment interesting. I've tested SPA magazines versus Carm and a single loader from Carm and found no difference. Almost all my targets have been shot with Carm magazines. Different guns so doesn't refute other observations but I really like Carm magazines. I also tried weight and head size sorting pellets (head size only in 177) and that did not seem to make a difference for me. So I just shoot pellets straight from the tin into a Carm magazine and then into the gun. Again, not saying my way would be best for others. I do like to use H&N Baracuda Match pellets in both 177 and 22. I think they are more consistent than the regular H&N Baracudas or Powers in 177 in both weight and head size. But I shot at least a 190 in my 177 with the less expensive pellets and with a "good" tin of Crosman 10.5s. So the difference is not big.

 

[beerthief]

had honey do's today , no time . plus wind was erratic , dead calm then trees bending in the wind , dead again , wind again , At least i didn't have to blow leaves hahaha
Trees are 50 feet tall and from 8 inches in diameter to about 3 feet dia.

 

[Florida_Man]

The Carm mags are superior in my Notos and P35. I just bought the higher capacity mags, I wish I ordered some of the 10 round ones so I could compare for the Revere.

Being so close to the coast I rarely ever have a consistent direction or speed of the wind. It can drive me crazy, so i usually don’t shoot for score if it’s like that. Luckily mornings are usually pretty calm unless there is a front moving through. The other night I shot a 186, the wind direction was all over the place. So I grabbed the P35 25 cal and just shot steel haha.

My experience with POI shift was with the Maverick Compact I had. It would group great, then the group would move like 3 hours, if the bull was a clock. And it would group there. The problem was I would never know when it would shift. If it didn’t have that issue I have no doubt the rifle would have shot a 200 with the Crosmans. But I got to 197 and folded. It was just making the shooting unenjoyable. I even shot it at 18 yards and had the same results. For hunting, not a problem. Looking at that little dot at the center of the target, huge issue.

Around 500 pellets through the Revere and a 196, it shows a lot more promise. I wasn’t going to shoot for score until after 1k pellets, it I couldn’t wait. If I can get a few days of no wind I’d be happy to see what it can do. Trenier delivery tomorrow.

 

[EPG]

I had today off from work, but shooting conditions were windy and cold…

…still I battled it and got in 4 cards with FX PowerPup .22 at 40 yards.

Shot 174 3X, 185 5X and 189 6X using the H&N 21g Baracuda Match at 830fps.

The 174 was in crazy wind - and I’m proud to have only one 7 scored on that Master’s card - and that 7 was just a hair from being an 8. Just a wind guessing game on that card.

Then shot this final card with FX 18.13g at 878-881 fps - 187 8X.

Should have broke 190 but darn wind shifted and handed me a 15 score on #6.

Can’t wait for some calmer weather…

-Ed

 

[ThomasT]

Hello @EPG

Taking the weather conditions into consideration those are some well shot cards .

ThomasT

 

[mreynolds]

Attached is my latest entry for the 30YD Masters class. Upgrading my scores is a proving to be a slow process, but my goal is to match my last year's score before the end of 2023. I really thought I had it with this card only to find my scoring plug was a tiny bit (like one or two thousandths) too small to make an X on target 6-2.

Since it was almost sunset and overcast, wind conditions were relatively calm with sneaky direction changes that were subtle enough to not be immediately detected by the wind flags. Apparent dead calm conditions seem are the most challenging for me as there always seems to be a hidden gremlin or two hiding between me and my target.

 

[tommyb]

Attached is my latest entry for the 30YD Masters class. Upgrading my scores is a proving to be a slow process, but my goal is to match my last year's score before the end of 2023. I really thought I had it with this card only to find my scoring plug was a tiny bit (like one or two thousandths) too small to make an X on target 6-2.

Since it was almost sunset and overcast, wind conditions were relatively calm with sneaky direction changes that were subtle enough to not be immediately detected by the wind flags. Apparent dead calm conditions seem are the most challenging for me as there always seems to be a hidden gremlin or two hiding between me and my target.

View attachment 405139

Re. “ Upgrading my scores is proving to be a slow process “

We forgive you Marvin 200-19X.

Fantastic card!! You have not submitted anything less than a 200 score since you began.

All these Thomas rifles seem to be extremely precise and accurate, as I look at how well they do at the various 30y and N50 matches. Even Mike’s “slugs in the rings” post at 100 yards shows how accurate they can shoot at 100 yards.

I would welcome any thoughts or observations you have ( after reading) on my prior post #1789. I.e., How you handle any POI shifts due to wind, while you are shooting some less than ‘200’ practice cards.

Thanks
Tom

 

[EPG]

It was too windy to shoot today, but at dusk I ran out and shot a 40 Yards Masters with the .22 RTI Prophet.

It was still mildly breezy, and I was holding both left and right for the breezes as I shot this card.

I am completely blown away! It was so dark I cold barely make out the 10-ring by the time I got into the 3rd row of this card. The last row I shot 3 Xs and a 9 - basically by feel as it was so dark. (45x scope in dim light!)

Perhaps the best card I have ever shot considering I battled both wind and darkness- and cold - it’s 42 degrees here now.

The Prophet Takes No Prisoners - even in the dark, lol.

Feels good to have gotten one card in today - and then its a 192 10X @ 40 Masters!

 

[mreynolds]

Re. “ Upgrading my scores is proving to be a slow process “

We forgive you Marvin 200-19X.

Fantastic card!! You have not submitted anything less than a 200 score since you began.

All these Thomas rifles seem to be extremely precise and accurate, as I look at how well they do at the various 30y and N50 matches. Even Mike’s “slugs in the rings” post at 100 yards shows how accurate they can shoot at 100 yards.

I would welcome any thoughts or observations you have ( after reading) on my prior post #1789. I.e., How you handle any POI shifts due to wind, while you are shooting some less than ‘200’ practice cards.

Thanks
Tom

Tom, if I read your previous post correctly, you are selecting a "hold" point for your future shots based upon your previous impact point and continue to use it until it fails to provide hoped for results. My apologies if isn't the case.

I use the same procedures today as I did when I was competing in the 20 minute timed 25 meter HV Class benchrest competitions and will attempt to briefly explain. First of all, I consider every bull as a new challenge that has to be tackled under existing current conditions. The previous shot is history and useful if I see something that causes me to suspect a creeping trend in my poi or suspect a fowling issue which will cause me to go to the sighters before taking the next point shot. I utilize a combination of a rear bag and a mechanical joy-stick front rest which provides me with the ability to constantly move my aim point while I monitor the information provided by my two wind flags. Obviously, I shoot with both eyes open. Wind flags are an absolute necessity and the more sensitive, the better. I take my shots when I sense that I have made my best guess regarding adjusting for impact drift and the air movement conditions at that instant in time I tap the 2oz. trigger and hope to beat the next wind switch. I failed to mention that I shoot from a rock-solid heavy wood bench.

After expending vast amounts of both time and money, I still don't have the answer as to how to identify those erratic flying pellets as evidenced by the attached card I shot prior to the one I submitted on the 10th.
Marvin