Air rifle groupings

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dippa

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Mar 1, 2017
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Hi
I recently acquired a new air rifle and can's say I'm very impressed with the groupings I'm getting.

Is my expectations to high?

At 11 meters the best grouping I can get is 40mm for 6 pellets, second to this is a 45mm grouping for 6 pellets. I have tried 7 different types of pellets but just can't get anything to group nicely. With one of the pellets I was able to get 2 groups of 3 pellets in a 1cm grouping, but the 2 groupings we 5 cm apart - WOW. I've cleaned the barrel, checked the scope bolt and I get the same results.

It's also interesting that different pellets all at 11 meters and with no changes to the scope do not end up in the same area, I would have expected high and low a little at 11 meters but some of the pellets end up to the right, this would be the middle point of the groupings.

I cannot add pictures yet, else I would have added them here.

Any advise?

thanks

J
 
How many shots have you put through it so far? Springers need some break-in before they start to settle down.

How are you supporting it? Same way every time? Letting it move a little with the shot cycle?

My old Stoeger X20 in .177 started out all over the place, like your ATAC. By the time I sold it, after thousands of pellets had been sent through it, It would shoot 1.5" (38 mm) 5-shot groups at 40 yards, (36.6 m) if I did my part.

Also, what pellets are you using? Hopefully something decent.
 
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Just a few ideas off hand. Look for something loose first. Scope could be moving which happens with springers. I know it is a gas ram...... Just used to using that term for break guns. Also the screws that hold the receiver can be loose and throw it all off. I have never shot your model, but I would think at 11 meters it should group a bit better.
As for hold when just shouldering the gun the general consensus is to use an artillery hold for spring guns. The way spring guns work they should float a bit in the forearm area of the gun.
 
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G'day dippa +1 for what Dirte said about the artillery hold. There is heaps of advise on the artillery hold on the web. If your shooting and supporting your rifle on a hard table and without the palm of your hand under the stock your shots will be all over the table lol. If I'm resting on a table I place the stock on my open palm and don't close my hand. Also what Smaug said about follow through and consistent holds is very good advise.
 
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MY Stoeger X20 Suppressor took around 250 to 300 pellets before it was broke in.

It is a bit hold sensetive but once I learned what it liked I can pUT pellet after pellet in the same hole at 10 yards with quite a few different pellets.

I would say you need to run another 150 or so pellets through your gun before getting excited about its lack of accuracy.

Clean the barrel and check every nut, bolt and screw on the rifle.

It is also possible that you just haven't found the right pellet yet either. I have over 40 different tins of pellets. Some shoot well in one rifle and not worth a darn in another. Each rifle is different.

Try loosening up your hold a bit and use the artillery hold. My Stoeger actually likes to be shot from the bench with a foam block under the fore end and loose grip that allows the gun to recoil.

Keep at it and let us know how it goes.

Good luck!
 
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The Atac was my first Springer. POI was all over the place. I called Stoeger USA and complained and they sent a free shipping slip. They told me that the original Atac had clipping issues (which I had) so they sent me their newer ATAC S2 Suppressor (upgrade on internal baffle system that addresses pellet clipping). Also, the small pic-rails on the sides of the stock that accommodates Stoeger's bipod come off; the fore-end of the stock screws directly into the barrel and the screws consistently come loose if not secured with lock tight (you'll never know that's the problem because the pic-rails conceal the screws). The barrel moves around when fired when those screws are loose.
I got the best accuracy with heavy pellets...Metalmags were exceptional.
And that gun is brutal on scopes...especially the garbage they ship with it.
 
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"dippa"How do I rest the rifle.

On a table and well rested in my shoulder, pretty stable with a light to firm grip in the handle.

I insert the pellets with the same amount of pressure each time and follow through with the shot.



Click to expand...
I have no first hand experience with any Stoeger so I looked up your gun and found that it's a gas ram piston gun so I do have a few comments since I only shoot piston guns, however spring piston instead of gas spring.

"On a table and well rested in my shoulder"
My Hw springers, a .177 Beeman R9 and a .177 HW95 really don't "like" to be supported solidly, even when "rested in my shoulder". Whenever I "benched" my springers I always made sure that I placed a hand between the stock forearm and the front shot bag. I also made sure that the butt of the stock didn't touch the bench when shot. Even though the gun can be supported very steady on bags I found that groups will spread if I do that with my lower powered HW springers.

"light to firm grip in the handle"
With piston guns there are actually "hold issues" where the recoiling piston gun needs to be supported exactly the same way for each shot and even the points where the gun is supported needs to be consistent. "Light to firm grip" would certainly be counter productive with my HW springers.

"I insert the pellets with the same amount of pressure each time and follow through with the shot."
This is good, however I believe that the pellet should always be seated to the same depth in the leade for each shot. Concerning pellets, they need to fit the leade snugly with the same consistency. I know from experience that if I shoot a loose fitting pellet relative to the normal fit it will be a flier. One of the reasons I stopped using .177 JSB Exacts and .177 H&N FTTs in my R9 which has a rather loose leade was the fact that the head sizes were so inconsistent between the tins that many were "real loose fitters". My .177 HW95 however has a tighter leade to the bore so the JSB/H&N fit is actually pretty good and the HW95 shoots those inconsistent pellets very well.

Here are a few pics of targets shot with my .177 R9 and HW95. The only shooting position I use (except for the occasional offhand shot) is sitting on a bucket and resting the gun on cross sticks like this...........
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/wved/Field%20Target/avatar.jpeg
I can use this position for field target competition in the US and also for "still hunting" squirrels. Some groups.........
5 shots at 50 yards.........


15 out of 20 CPLs through a 3/4" reducer at 50 yards...........


More normal 50 yard groups for me..........

Next 5 shots on paper..........


Some paper targets..........




165 consecutive shots from 10 yards to 50 yards when checking out the trajectory of a specific R9 home tune..........


A couple HW95 groups from 10 yards to 50 yards.......





50 & 53 yards.........


Some paper targets.........
 
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