Buying A New Long Distance Rifle ? A Setting Expectations Video !

[Shooting Targets]

Hey this is for any body considering long distance airgun shooting. If you are considering spending spending alot of cash on a new long distance air rifle yo might want to take a look at a quick video I put together. Again not 100% accurate but enough to help new guys set expectations even with the best gear.....

 

[Stubbers]

Pellet guns IMO are best suited for a max of 50-100 yards, certainly for hunting...beyond that is unethical, no matter the gun/slug propelled by air.

Paper or the like OTOH, 200-300 yards all day! Just my 2c. Enjoyed the video.

 

[Shooting Targets]

Pellet guns IMO are best suited for a max of 50-100 yards, certainly for hunting...beyond that is unethical, no matter the gun/slug propelled by air.

Paper or the like OTOH, 200-300 yards all day! Just my 2c. Enjoyed the video.

Yep thanks for watching. funny thing I shot 220 yards with the pellets and those things were all over the place, so the slugs do help but are not miracle workers.

 

[Stubbers]

Yep thanks for watching. funny thing I shot 220 yards with the pellets and those things were all over the place, so the slugs do help but are not miracle workers.

Your video couldn't have said it better!

 

[Centercut]

Jared,

Up until a few months ago, I would have agreed with you. But in the past few months, shooting a .25 Panthera 600mm with Altaros ATP Smooth 49.5 grain BT slugs at about 890 fps, I know differently.

Yes, the gun has a VERY good barrel, and I feel like I won the "barrel lottery" with this one. I also have the gun tuned mildly, at about 87 FPE, so it's easy to shoot smoothly, and also shoot with a VERY low SD, less than 2 fps.

But the KEY to shooting long range in other than ideal conditions is BC.! I agree that the 'Tuber vids showing long range are almost always in ideal conditions. But when we shot the long-range event in Oregon April 30th (120 to 240 yards), the wind was anything but calm. It was mostly over my left shoulder from 5 to 10 mph, with gusts to higher, and changing directions.

The BC of G1 0.21 (I used an equivalent G7 0.111) made shooting fairly easy. I knew I had my dope worked out for distance, so all I was concerned about was windage. For most of the targets I held left edge middle height and pulled the trigger. For the 240-yard target to the right of the rest, the wind was directly at my back, maybe even a bit right to left, so I held middle-middle. Having shot the gun/ammo in similar conditions with my buddy Gerry @Gerry52, I was confident in my set up and knew if I did my part I wouldn't miss. And I went 25/25 for a perfect 250 score.

I was playing the odds for each shot, but reality is that most of my shots were closer to the left edge than the right edge.
Prior to Oregon, I had worked out the DOPE and verified out to 286 yards, so further than that I have no idea. The gun/ammo combo is definitely "minute of squirrel" out to that range... At 300 yards the slug is still in excess of 58 FPE, which is more than a standard .25 King pellet at the muzzle.

IMHO, these .25 Altaros ATP Smooth 49.5 BT slugs are "next generation" and significantly more advanced than anything else on the market...

https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/altaros-b-c-set-a-bnew-standard.1289204/#post-1493648

 

[EdinGa]

I love shooting paper and steel at 100 (max distance here at home) but my budget says my PBs make more sense for longer ranges.

 

[Stubbers]

Those new Altaros ATP slugs sure do show promise....I still have reservations launching sub-sonic projectiles well beyond 100 yards effectively into live targets.

 

[Shooting Targets]

Jared,

Up until a few months ago, I would have agreed with you. But in the past few months, shooting a .25 Panthera 600mm with Altaros ATP Smooth 49.5 grain BT slugs at about 890 fps, I know differently.

Yes, the gun has a VERY good barrel, and I feel like I won the "barrel lottery" with this one. I also have the gun tuned mildly, at about 87 FPE, so it's easy to shoot smoothly, and also shoot with a VERY low SD, less than 2 fps.

But the KEY to shooting long range in other than ideal conditions is BC.! I agree that the 'Tuber vids showing long range are almost always in ideal conditions. But when we shot the long-range event in Oregon April 30th (120 to 240 yards), the wind was anything but calm. It was mostly over my left shoulder from 5 to 10 mph, with gusts to higher, and changing directions.

The BC of G1 0.21 (I used an equivalent G7 0.111) made shooting fairly easy. I knew I had my dope worked out for distance, so all I was concerned about was windage. For most of the targets I held left edge middle height and pulled the trigger. For the 240-yard target to the right of the rest, the wind was directly at my back, maybe even a bit right to left, so I held middle-middle. Having shot the gun/ammo in similar conditions with my buddy Gerry @Gerry52, I was confident in my set up and knew if I did my part I wouldn't miss. And I went 25/25 for a perfect 250 score.

I was playing the odds for each shot, but reality is that most of my shots were closer to the left edge than the right edge.
Prior to Oregon, I had worked out the DOPE and verified out to 286 yards, so further than that I have no idea. The gun/ammo combo is definitely "minute of squirrel" out to that range...

IMHO, these .25 Altaros ATP Smooth 49.5 BT slugs are "next generation" and significantly more advanced than anything else on the market...

https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/altaros-b-c-set-a-bnew-standard.1289204/#post-1493648

LOL, Mike, I knew this video would get your attention. I been wanting to order those slugs and will test them. I kind of put this video out to the new guys coming into the sport. I wanted to set expectations for them. Sadly many of these guys just think they can buy themselves into that type of accuracy like a 6.5 Creedmoor and most airgun sellers and youtubers wont tell them any different.

I believe what you mentioned about your results and the .21 BC is incredible for such a small slug. If we can get some super high BC slugs then it will help for sure.

 

[MongooseV8]

Pellet guns IMO are best suited for a max of 50-100 yards, certainly for hunting...beyond that is unethical, no matter the gun/slug propelled by air.

Paper or the like OTOH, 200-300 yards all day! Just my 2c. Enjoyed the video.

Im usually on the better safe than sorry side of hunting ethics, but I have to slightly disagree. With modern rifles and slugs I can make very humane pest contact at ~200yds. My setup can go a bit further but thats my personal limit. A 34.9 grain Nielsen slug leaving at ~1000fps in an accurate setup makes it "easy" for an air powered pest control device. And conversely I dont feel comfortable using my Urban, AEA, or tricked out Avenger further than about 60-70yds. I think you really need to know what you are doing to hunt at extended ranges and have the correct equipment, but it is certainly possible to be ehtical.

 

[Stubbers]

Im usually on the better safe than sorry side of hunting ethics, but I have to slightly disagree. With modern rifles and slugs I can make very humane pest contact at ~200yds. My setup can go a bit further but thats my personal limit. A 34.9 grain Nielsen slug leaving at ~1000fps in an accurate setup makes it "easy" for an air powered pest control device. And conversely I dont feel comfortable using my Urban, AEA, or tricked out Avenger further than about 60-70yds. I think you really need to know what you are doing to hunt at extended ranges and have the correct equipment, but it is certainly possible to be ehtical.

Agree to disagree, but even as you said 4/5 of your guns aren't capable, and imo if you can't make 100/100 shots hit the bullseye at 200 yards, neither is the 5th.

This also is heavily dependent on the kill zone of your target. 1" @ 200? You're kidding yourself if you think that is ethical....4" Sure, maybe, still disagree.

 

[MongooseV8]

Agree to disagree, but even as you said 4/5 of your guns aren't capable, and imo if you can't make 100/100 shots hit the bullseye at 200 yards, neither is the 5th.

This also is heavily dependent on the kill zone of your target. 1" @ 200? You're kidding yourself if you think that is ethical....4" Sure, maybe, still disagree.

My target zone is the size of a playing card or up to a standard index card. Thats about 2-4moa depending on target and distance; well within the average FX or similar accuracy. We are after ground squirrels/prairie dogs and pigeons. My consistency is very high. I refuse to take shots Im not confident in, and havent practiced at the given distance. I just think claiming there is no air rifle combo ethical passed 100yds is a 1990's mindset. The AirForce Texan has a stellar reputation for example. I only included my other rifles to show that not all combos work, but certainly there are many that can.

All that being said I would never compare my FX to a PB. As great as my Impact is, its still just an accurate rimfire level of power. Im not condoning the average new air rifle user start out squirrel hunting at 200yds either. Not intending to toot my own horn but I have extensive experience varmint hunting in all types of conditions and consider myself an expert. As such my ethical range is not the same as the next guy. I just started out with a compound bow, and I suck at it lol. My ethical range with a bow is like 6yds, but I know there are guys that regularly hunt 50yds+.