Bench Rest Accuracy with tuner (Heliboard)

[MDRICH2]

Hi. I am fairly new to Airguns and have recently became a member of the Airgun Nation website. I am really learning a lot about my PCP and shooting in general. I am recently retired and thought bench rest would be a great and expensive hobby to take up some of my down-time.

I have attached a couple of paper targets (1”) I shot at an indoor range at both 25/50 yards with my .22 Redwolf standard. I am wondering if it would be worth it to buy a tuner to hopefully tighten up the groups or maybe I just continue to work on my shooting techniques which will hopefully improve my accuracy. I understand wind will be an additional element I will need to deal with, but just would like your thoughts in general regarding the tuning aspect. Thank you.

 

[MDRICH2]

I just saw this thread and can offer a small bit of advice. For best luck with high fps speeds at 50 yards, I recommend sorting your heavy pellets by weight (tenth grain batches) then lubing. I use Old English furniture spray wax. I spray batches in paper towel, roll them around, then let dry over night. The small amount of wax left on pellet is all the lube needed. I shoot 25 grainers at 950fps at 50 yards with success (under minute angle).

View attachment 538984

Nice shoot BTW

 

[igolfat8]

I would guess 4-5# total, including the base I fabricated.

 

[MDRICH2]

I would guess 4-5# total, including the base I fabricated.

Thanks. Wish I had your mad fabricating skills. Looks awesome.

 

[TheAirgunnero]

Nice stock. I was thinking about buying the GP Stock from Daystate and converting it over so I would have a flatter surface for bench.

Thanks! Just be aware that the stock RW’s barrel is not that accurate. Those who score high in the Pro Class using their Red Wolves at AOA have barrels that are different, selected and supplied by their sponsors.

The GP Stock looks good but I have no info if it is better than a benchrest stock.

 

[MDRICH2]

Thanks! Just be aware that the stock RW’s barrel is not that accurate. Those who score high in the Pro Class using their Red Wolves at AOA have barrels that are different, selected and supplied by their sponsors.

The GP Stock looks good but I have no info if it is better than a benchrest stock.

Thanks. I enjoy the challenge of making it the best platform I can for my mediocre shooting. I don’t mind not being great as long as it has decent accuracy and I don’t embarrass myself when competing down the road. I appreciate everyone who has helped me along the way. Much appreciated.

 

[igolfat8]

Just be careful ordering from Ali Express. Just make sure that you click on the correct picture before placing the add to cart order button. Sometimes they show multiple items in one ad and the price always appears on the lowest priced item. Click on the other items and you will see prices change. They are safe to order from but just a a bit weird until you figure it out.

 

[MDRICH2]

Just be careful ordering from Ali Express. Just make sure that you click on the correct picture before placing the add to cart order button. Sometimes they show multiple items in one ad and the price always appears on the lowest priced item. Click on the other items and you will see prices change. They are safe to order from but just a a bit weird until you figure it out.

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[6gun]

I would suggest tuning your gun to shoot heavier pellets if you plan to eventually shoot outdoors in the wind. The 25.4 MRD’s have a higher BC than the 18 grain pellets Some shooters are having good success withn the 28 grain Grands and 22 grain JTS pellets too.

What is your bench set up? Shooting fundamentals including trigger control, follow through, breathing and mental focus should all be considered equally important as your equipment is.

I second this. If your gun is like any and all of my 22s, if it will shoot 18s nicely it can be tuned for monster redesigns to sneak a couple benefits of a slug into a pellet shooter. I haven't met a pcp yet that didn't like the mrd pellets. Your groups look really promising too. I bet you can stretch your legs to 150 or 200 yards if the projectile can hang on. Well done sir.

 

[MDRICH2]

I second this. If your gun is like any and all of my 22s, if it will shoot 18s nicely it can be tuned for monster redesigns to sneak a couple benefits of a slug into a pellet shooter. I haven't met a pcp yet that didn't like the mrd pellets. Your groups look really promising too. I bet you can stretch your legs to 150 or 200 yards if the projectile can hang on. Well done sir.

Thanks 6Gun…I think the tune will do wonders…appreciate your comments:

I took the advice of “Igolfat8” and lubed my pellets and changed up the rear rest and shot a couple of more target cards Today. My brother had a Cheaney rear bag with a pump and gave that a shot. I still need to buy a better rear rest, and possibly get a better stock for bench rest as “Airgunnero” stated, but I think my shooting got a little better with the advice I received so far. I did notice that I also need to change my scope. I am using a 6-24-50 Athlon Midas Tac (MOA) and the eye piece is too finicky for my liking. I tend to have to move my eye around to find the sweet spot at times. I know this will be a long process to get better, but I am excited to what the future holds. Anyhoo…here is my updated shooting with the advice I received on this thread.

 

[Perry Perry]

I would like to suggest going to some matches and competing. You will gain a wealth of knowledge, I have found many air gunners love to share the tips and secrets. While at a match ask questions and look at the other set ups. Where I compete, we have become like an extended family and our rifles have become our children. We set them on the finest rests, feed them the best pellets and yell at them when they miss.

 

[MDRICH2]

I would like to suggest going to some matches and competing. You will gain a wealth of knowledge, I have found many air gunners love to share the tips and secrets. While at a match ask questions and look at the other set ups. Where I compete, we have become like an extended family and our rifles have become our children. We set them on the finest rests, feed them the best pellets and yell at them when they miss.

I will definitely do that this summer. I plan to volunteer at RMAC for Utah Airguans. Sounds like my kind of family . I have been following a lot of your discussions and shooting. Very impressive.

 

[6gun]

Thanks 6Gun…I think the tune will do wonders…appreciate your comments:

I took the advice of “Igolfat8” and lubed my pellets and changed up the rear rest and shot a couple of more target cards Today. My brother had a Cheaney rear bag with a pump and gave that a shot. I still need to buy a better rear rest, and possibly get a better stock for bench rest as “Airgunnero” stated, but I think my shooting got a little better with the advice I received so far. I did notice that I also need to change my scope. I am using a 6-24-50 Athlon Midas Tac (MOA) and the eye piece is too finicky for my liking. I tend to have to move my eye around to find the sweet spot at times. I know this will be a long process to get better, but I am excited to what the future holds. Anyhoo…here is my updated shooting with the advice I received on this thread.

View attachment 539174

View attachment 539175

Washing, sorting(for defects) and lubing made a big difference in my accuracy, consistency and barrel fouling. I was just using silicone lube.

 

[MDRICH2]

Washing, sorting(for defects) and lubing made a big difference in my accuracy, consistency and barrel fouling. I was just using silicone lube.

I lubed with baristol. I will try my next batch with silicone. I need to buy a scale to start my sorting. Any little bit helps. Thank you!

 

[Smok3y]

I’ll share some things I made note of in my notebook from my last RedWolf 22HP with the Helliboard. I think this model was before the newer GCU2. I’ll try to find my spreadsheet as well to see what other good nuggets I can find. I didn’t make any notes here before the Helliboard install.

First - Fill pressure… If I ever filled more than 230, my extreme spread was wide. I usually only filled to 220 to keep it tight.

18gr FX and JSB notes at 50yds. Differences are probably just lot related and may not have anything to do with the label since they are made at the same plant.

1. Mine liked the FX more than JSB in every case.
2. At 880 FPS the 18s did the best, which is about right for most every 22 I have owned. Much less fliers at this speed. 880-890 in every 22 I’ve owned has been the sweet spot.
   1. The JSBs I had seemed to like faster better at 950. I do have several notes about a big flier every now and then, and that is never mentioned at the slower speeds, but they were worst of all at slow speeds.
   2. The FX liked the 880 best, but appeared to also do really well at 950.
   3. I don’t have notes on any other rifle liking 18s that fast (950). The notes I can find on all my rifles, showed some promise at fast speeds but always had problems with flyers.

FX and JSB 25gr

1. Mine liked the JSB more going fast!
2. JSB at 990 were great and best of all, but didn’t really like 950
3. FX liked 950 more and were very good but didn’t quite match JSB at higher speeds. FX didn’t like the higher speeds.

Anyway… that is what I got. I would not assume anything in the FX vs JSB comments around branding until you try them. Just like when shooting 22LR, it could be a batch thing, so I don’t want to assume anything widespread based on small sample sizes.

I think the factory RW shot the 18s around 880, and the 25s around 940, but both were better with the Helliboard.

 

[Smok3y]

One more nugget, although I can’t find it in my notes… I am pretty sure my RW liked a light hold most. I always wondered if the stock had something to do with that, which is why I wanted to try the chassis, but wasn’t willing to spend what they charge for it.

 

[MDRICH2]

One more nugget, although I can’t find it in my notes… I am pretty sure my RW liked a light hold most. I always wondered if the stock had something to do with that, which is why I wanted to try the chassis, but wasn’t willing to spend what they charge for it.

One more nugget, although I can’t find it in my notes… I am pretty sure my RW liked a light hold most. I always wondered if the stock had something to do with that, which is why I wanted to try the chassis, but wasn’t willing to spend what they charge for it.

Thank you for the fps/pellet data. I will definitely work around these numbers when I get my tuner. I have been playing with both JSB 25.39 and FX 25.4 pellets at different speeds, but I need the tuner to put them in a sweet spot to be sure which pellet my rifle likes. My RW also likes a light hold and I am still playing with the trigger pull to match my hold. I purchased the bench rest stock from AoA and should get it this week. I will see if this helps with the hold sensitivity. I am still researching rests, but hope to find something to my liking soon so I can put this all together for some real testing. Thanks again for all the info you shared. Much appreciate and will definitely help in my search for the best set-up for this rifle.

 

[Smok3y]

Found my spreadsheet. Looks like the same things I said before, but the spreadsheet is showing speeds about 10FPS than I had in the notebook. No weather was noted.

Spreadsheet notes are clear that the 980 power level on 25s were the way to go.All vertical stringing and fliers eliminated at that speed.

Nothing new in the 18s except the speeds there were also showing about 10FPS slower.

Extreme spreads on the factory rifle and also filling past 230 were 25+. Holding the fill to 230 or less kept the spread at 10 or less.

 

[MDRICH2]

Found my spreadsheet. Looks like the same things I said before, but the spreadsheet is showing speeds about 10FPS than I had in the notebook. No weather was noted.

Spreadsheet notes are clear that the 980 power level on 25s were the way to go.All vertical stringing and fliers eliminated at that speed.

Nothing new in the 18s except the speeds there were also showing about 10FPS slower.

Extreme spreads on the factory rifle and also filling past 230 were 25+. Holding the fill to 230 or less kept the spread at 10 or less.

I’ll see what 980 does for my RW. Would be nice not to have to worry too much about fliers. 18gr doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue, just some tweaking. Plan to mostly shoot 25s so your history is much help. Glad you take good notes : ). I will check my fill pressure next time I shoot and see if 230 helps tighten my groups.

 

[6gun]

I’ll share some things I made note of in my notebook from my last RedWolf 22HP with the Helliboard. I think this model was before the newer GCU2. I’ll try to find my spreadsheet as well to see what other good nuggets I can find. I didn’t make any notes here before the Helliboard install.

First - Fill pressure… If I ever filled more than 230, my extreme spread was wide. I usually only filled to 220 to keep it tight.

18gr FX and JSB notes at 50yds. Differences are probably just lot related and may not have anything to do with the label since they are made at the same plant.

1. Mine liked the FX more than JSB in every case.
2. At 880 FPS the 18s did the best, which is about right for most every 22 I have owned. Much less fliers at this speed. 880-890 in every 22 I’ve owned has been the sweet spot.
   1. The JSBs I had seemed to like faster better at 950. I do have several notes about a big flier every now and then, and that is never mentioned at the slower speeds, but they were worst of all at slow speeds.
   2. The FX liked the 880 best, but appeared to also do really well at 950.
   3. I don’t have notes on any other rifle liking 18s that fast (950). The notes I can find on all my rifles, showed some promise at fast speeds but always had problems with flyers.

FX and JSB 25gr

1. Mine liked the JSB more going fast!
2. JSB at 990 were great and best of all, but didn’t really like 950
3. FX liked 950 more and were very good but didn’t quite match JSB at higher speeds. FX didn’t like the higher speeds.

Anyway… that is what I got. I would not assume anything in the FX vs JSB comments around branding until you try them. Just like when shooting 22LR, it could be a batch thing, so I don’t want to assume anything widespread based on small sample sizes.

I think the factory RW shot the 18s around 880, and the 25s around 940, but both were better with the Helliboard.

I too noticed state of fill effecting my groups and es. Hey if your gun liked the jsb more than the sorted jsb(fx) It's all for the better to save some coin. Every gun I have in 22 likes mrd pellets washed and barely lubed. 400 fps to 1k+. Pellet liner/tight choke or heavy liner with less choke and that liner only shoots the heavy pellets well. If its adjustable on your gun, toy with seating depth as well if you have to chase the dragon. Op's groups were beautiful as is, but i understand chasing perfection.

 

[MDRICH2]

I too noticed state of fill effecting my groups and es. Hey if your gun liked the jsb more than the sorted jsb(fx) It's all for the better to save some coin. Every gun I have in 22 likes mrd pellets washed and barely lubed. 400 fps to 1k+. Pellet liner/tight choke or heavy liner with less choke and that liner only shoots the heavy pellets well. If its adjustable on your gun, toy with seating depth as well if you have to chase the dragon. Op's groups were beautiful as is, but i understand chasing perfection.

Sounds like fill is a constant factor. Copy regarding pellets, but you are above my pay grade when it comes to liners/choke. I am fairly new to PCPs and learning everyday. I will do some research on choke/liners. I don’t think link liners apply to the Red Wolf. I am sure by the end of the year I will be more up to speed on the jargon and gun mechanics. Thanks for the insight.