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First target shooting with Vulcan

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"Zoey"Wow! How in the world do you guys learn all of this?

I tried some off-hand shooting today only to realize that the gun, with all of its accoutrements, is FAR too heavy to steady. If I can't consistently hit a dime while standing, I certainly won't be doing it when shooting vermin.
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Trail and error, lots of practice and sharing information with others. In a competitive environment the later can be difficult as some think that if they share a "secret" they will lose an advantage they have. This may or may not be true. Others will look at it as let the best shooter win, let all the information out there and see who can use it the best.

Its like a lot of people look at bench rest say things like "that's not real marksmanship" or other disparaging comments. If it was so easy as they would make it out to be, everyone would stop competing as it would always end up a tie with perfect score vs perfect score. The reality is bench rest shooting takes a lot of skills, come up short on any one, and you lost that match.

Off hand shooting is not easy. Get on YouTube are start watching the 10m air rifle competition video's. Research skeletal hold. The weight of the rifle has a part to play, but the balance of that weight is most important. Too much in the barrel or butt makes for a VERY shaking rifle regardless of how well you can hold it. The idea is to have it balance on your supporting hand then to steady it with your grip/shoulder/cheek weld. Personally I like butt heavy guns for off hand so that my supporting hand is under my gripping/trigger hand but I'm pretty unique in that.
 
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Thanks for the tip about skeletal hold. I found some information about it, and practiced it a bit (not actually shooting). I'm still quite wobbly, but much improved. I'm sure with more practice and changing up hand-holds/positioning, I will get better.

I did notice that my gun is very front-heavy. Maybe a butt stock change or some ballast in the aft will help?
 
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Sorry, something is going haywire with posting today? I can't edit anything, and there's a double photo?

(Referring to the post above) Speaking of challenging, I found a beat-to-snot Caldwell pistol stand and decided to adapt it for shooting the Vulcan. It literally looks like someone shot the front of it. The "V" is split in half, and the whole setup is pretty wobbly. But, just ever so less wobbly than me standing and using the bi-pod.

Here it is with the gun atop: 

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I try to always keep a hand on the gun for fear of it falling off. As you can see in the photo, the threaded portion of the Caldwell is warped.

Now I just needed something to sit on. So, I pulled two benches together and put my gun case across them. Instant shooting chair.

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Ghetto...yes. Effective...that's up for debate. I did a little pellet testing today, and will post the results later tonight. I need some help analyzing the results.
 
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There's nothing better than a little range time to yourself. Adjustable drummer/musicians stools are popular.

I shoot at a full KZ(1.5 inches) crosman zombie shoot to reset target off hand at 40yds for my off hand practice. When I started shooting I was averaging 2-3 hits out of 10, 4 on a good day,. After three months of intermittent practice I can hit 6/10 with confidence, 7/10 when doing well.

Just keep practicing and you will see improvement.
 
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Here's the results of shooting today. This page was shot during the AR15 chaos. All pellets were weighed from a tin of 18.1gr JSB Jumbo Heavy Diablo's. Weights are in grams. With each new weight of pellet, the gun was refilled to 230-240 bar.

Row
1. 1.16g
2. 1.16g
3. 1.17g (Only had enough pellets of this weight for one row of shooting)
4. 1.18g
5. 1.18g
6. 1.16g
7. 1.18g
8. Randomly picked straight out of the tin
9. Randomly picked straight out of the tin

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I stared to write the beginning and ending gun pressure after each magazine, but somehow I screwed things up. So, disregard the pressures I have written. Honestly, I'm not sure if this is even significant information?

Can anything be gleamed from today's shooting? Due to movement from myself, the benchrest instability, and AR15 concussion, a lot of the shooting was like "guess work" when to pull the trigger. 

How does one approach testing?

On a side-note, I ordered a benchrest today. I talked to the owner of the range, and showed him a cardboard cutout of the footprint for the rest. It's clearly too large for the shooting table, but he said they would "get it figured out".
 
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​This is the same useless, pistol-oriented bench we have. With triangular flags sticking out of right-side wall with foot markings on'em. I need something comfortable to sit on that raises me up to use front bench bag. Has to be light & portable, as gun cases, range bag, etc are already a lot of weight & bulky to carry.
 
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Until you have a stable rest to shoot from, testing is not going to be to definitive. Something I have seen and not sure just how impactful it is, but I have squeezed off a shot "at the same time" as a AR shooting a 308 next to me and have the pellets drift away from the blast. I suspect that it was pushed by the muzzle blast. I know if I have a PB with a lot of blast it effects my POA as it jars the rest/bags, I think its the sand moving with the blasts.
 
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I was planning on building a platform out of MDF to put on top of their existing black plastic lane table. However, I just found out that the tables are removable on both end lanes. With all of the wobble created by other shooters, I think I need to change tactics and build something that is a stand-alone.
With triangular flags sticking out of right-side wall with foot markings on’em.
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The range I shoot at doesn't have distance markers, so I bring my laser range finder.

Percula: I think I have noticed the same thing. The concussion definitely shakes everything on my bench. I had the weighed pellets in separate bags on my bench, and every time someone fired, the bags moved.

One evening I was at the range late, and the only one there. They had the air-recirculate system off, and I was in lane 5. They turned it back on, and all of a sudden my POI changed. I think there is a vent located somewhere above lane 5. 

I haven't ordered a rear bag yet because I didn't know what size to get. Once my rest arrives, I'll put the gun on it and try to figure out how tall the bag should be.

I'll tell you, going to the range is becoming more like packing a bag for an overnight trip. E.G. gun case, air tank, fill whip, EDC bag, benchrest.....I'm going to need one of those bellhop trolley's you see in hotels just to bring in all of my junk.
 
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"Zoey"I'll tell you, going to the range is becoming more like packing a bag for an overnight trip. E.G. gun case, air tank, fill whip, EDC bag, benchrest.....I'm going to need one of those bellhop trolley's you see in hotels just to bring in all of my junk.
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LOL, why do you think I LOVE that EdGun mini chrono so much. I got one of these... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OMM38TC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 If you have a CostCo near by check there as they are cheaper there than Amazon.

I lug around... with the wagon I can make it in one trip
  • Large plastic box with lots and lots of little things, plus my front rest, rear bag
  • Mapex drummer's thrown
  • 100cuft tank
  • RAW BM500x
  • Thomas
  • Stands for my read bag and front rest to elevate them
 
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That's a pretty neat little wagon! I do need to be careful about the amount of junk I bring into the range. The guys have been very accommodating thus far, but I don't want to push the boundaries and become "That guy". 

It's amazing how much attention the Vulcan gets. I get people asking about it all the time. When people think of pellet guns, they typically remember back to the Crossman pumpers and the like. Most, not unlike myself, have no idea how far the guns have come since then.
 
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My range bag too has a lot of stuff in it. Tripod bag, camera (when used), hearing protection, front & rear bench bags, cleaning kit, lube, Co2 cartridges & the like in the little clip pouches in the zip-out bags on either side, two per clip pouch. Both boxes of Straight Shooters .177 pellet samples for the Winchester, several tins of .22 cal pellets, Various batteries for chronograph & headset, instruction manuals, everything I could need while shooting. Then one and two gun cases, depending on if I take one or both of the .22's. Then I need a slightly longer case for the Winchester, so that'll be three cases piled up in my little man cave. I bought a folding dolly from a local office supply that I'll likely use with bungee chords to haul the gun case & range bag in from the parking lot, about a 200' walk just to the front door. Once I get hip surgery 3/20, it'll be a few months before I can work with all the weight, let alone walking as much as normal. Gotta rehab for several months with exorcises & such. I hope they have wheel chairs or the like at the ODNR place at meeting time 3/4. Gonna be rough if they don't & the folding wheel chair I was measured for weeks ago ain't here yet? Ah, the pressures of getting old.
​While I was at the range last Saturday, the range master, another old guy, Smiled big between shots when he spoke to me about how weird it was, the way I had to load & fire " that thing". He said he'd never seen anything like that before. So I briefly explained how the rifle (Hatsan) worked, and how it's loaded. Besides muzzle velocity & such. The guy in lane 1 (I was in lane 8 of 9) with the AR was making shock waves from the muzzle blasts. The range master watched me for a good little while. Then started talking to AR guy, young, skinny fella that looked recent military to me? He gave me a snotty sorta grin when range master refers to my rifle as a " BB gun" when talking to him. I was a little miffed at that remark...but most folks don't know they aren't BB guns anymore. Even though I'd explained all that, showed/explained the pellets, etc at the front desk. I must of been the first to call &/or show up with air rifles?
 
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I too get a bit of flak once people find out that it's a pellet gun. But, it is what it is, and most (understandably) aren't educated. I'm not a great shot by any stretch of the imagination, but the hecklers tend to go quiet once I reel my target sheet back in from the very end of the range.

Pellet gun or not, it sure does draw a lot of attention. I will not be returning to the range until I get my hearing protection sorted out.
 
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