Anyone notice shooting over tall grass/barely above ground will play with lighter pellets?

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_CTAIRGUNNER_

_CTAIRGUNNER_

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May 30, 2022
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Yesterday I had my taipan compact out and was shooting prone, shooting from my 55 yard mark prone means that I have to shoot over a high spot ("hill") and the grass has had about 5 to 6 weeks to grow and weve had a lot of rain this past week.

About 13 feet out of the muzzle the round would skim (about 5 inches above ground) what would be an extremely tiny roll or hill in the dirt where it might contact the grass but out to about 18-20 yards it would be flying directly over the grass.

Yesterday while shooting I did not have my chrono with me but at first I thought the 58* temperature played with the rifle but I did not touch it, then I was like maybe I dropped the rifle and forgot and my scope is all out of wack? kept adjusting zero, still all over. I then finally said hmmm, I wonder.... I stood up took an off hand shot (im terrible at this and really hope my new caiman coming in will help me practice this as Id love to get better at it) and boom there it was, then I took another, obviously being not so great off hand it wasnt in the exact same spot but it shot similar.

It is shooting the 18.13 at 945 fps (last chronod a week ago) and I am going to shoot it off my folding table this weekend to confirm, just something Id thought Id bring up for discussion.
 
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In my yard I shoot down hill and at 30yds my target was is raised 42 inches and when I shot the bottom row if the grass wasn't cut I'd catch a blade now & then. I'd see the disturbance from the pellets 2 ft before the drop off. The bottom row never scored as well as ones above. So another row of 8 in blocks... So, yes I think ground effect does have some influence.
 
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The field i shoot in have feed grass on it from the previous owner that had a few sheep running around. ( damn stuff grow fast )
Shooting up hill to a plateau at the top, my friend do have to get on his lawn mower and take a few laps as otherwise i will have to put targets so high the natural back stop there are not functional, and the lead will go into the field out back.
And as there is a row of trees / bushed and so we can not see what is in the field out back we can not do that, also we are respectful people here ( well in most regards anyway ) and we do not like to send lead onto other folks property, even if it is barely tumbling across the property line and so present no personal injury danger.

If the grass are cut, it is just the bottom foot or so i can not see / use.

I have been shooting and suddenly had to stop as a cat was running around up there trying to figure out where all those sounds came from.
Even if it is just farm cars running around, i do not shoot anything i wouldn't eat,,,,, well aside for pests like rats ASO.
Cats can / have at times been a pest in some towns due to population explosion, but it is rare it happen.

When i do have a clear view, as that corner of the field are not in use or have just been used by owners to throw garbage, well there are nettles and what not growing there and some times i try to topple one, BUT ! hitting a 5 - 10 mm plant stem from 70 -- 80 M away with a .177, thats not easy.
Just as hard as hitting a fly at the same distance.

I have not really noticed any bad effects, but when i shoot there it is also longer range, and with the almost always present wind here + my insessant fiddling with my gun, well i am never laser accurate,,,, at least i dont think so, groups are a bit random most often.

I would kill to be able to shoot 100 M indoor, that i am sure would make my weekly ammo use just explode at least for a while.
 
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I am always amazed at how little it takes to affect a pellet, or even a bullet, especially the lighter ones. I have a number of steel targets set up that i shoot from the deck in my backyard. If i step down from the deck then some of the targets are a little obscured by grass, or by leaves from my wife’s garden. I can still see the target through the scope, but there is a blur where there may be a leaf. Whenever i shoot through these my accuracy and consistency takes a hit, Not extremely dramatic, but definitely below the standard that I expect when shooting unobstructed.

I see the same thing when shooting powder burners, especially when shooting offhand.
 
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CTairgunner1288 said:
It wasn't hot enough for a mirage but I did have some blur due to blades of grass
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I am going to take a guess that the blur is what threw you off.

It may have caused you to misjudge your sight picture by obscuring slight misalignment at the bottom of your field of view.
If you have a solid repeatable cheek weld, you can avoid that scenario. I rely on my cheek weld and visual confirmation to verify alignment of my sight picture, and a blurry fringe from foliage will get me on occasion. Shooting into a dimly lit area has the same affect as well if I do not dial back the magnification.

Amazing what we can learn just by getting out and doing it!
Keep us updated with any conclusions you come up with. It is discussions like this that are the priceless content of this forum. The next time I am shooting across a low rise, I will have some info bits to analyze, and a thread to refer to if I experience the same.
 
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Chuck-in-Ohio said:
Yeah

I went back and caught the 13ft part......

Motorhead for the win! :)
Click to expand...


please see the new thread, I have a follow up

Shooting in grass follow up, excellent day shooting, classifieds etiquette, and some people just shouldnt work on airguns....

Tl;Dr - It wasnt grass that threw my shots off, I had a great day shooting this morning (see pics), some people really need to be more upfront about what they are selling, some people really shouldn't bring a tool to their hand let alone that tool to an airgun after its in their hand...... So I...
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com
 
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There is a super-lift effect as a result of ground-effect that likely comes into play here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_(aerodynamics)

With respect to the above you're seeing changes as a result of a reduction in the drag effect as the pellet travels at high speed across the path close to the ground or in this case the taller grass acting as the ground.
 
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