With over a quarter-century of vast field target competition experience, including a short-lived springer attempt with a TX200 carbine, I'm now considering trying again; this time with a Diana 38, FWB 124 or
.22 R-1 (all tuned), or a not-tuned Diana 48. Been shooting thousands of rounds through them trying to decide if it makes any FT sense, and which one(s) might.
Most of my shooting is at 50 yards, from Hunter position (stool and bipod) off my
wooden deck. Most times I can consistently get .75 to 1.25" five-shot groups at 50 with any of those springers. However when the bipod feet are on
earth the point of impact changes dramatically.
Obviously the physics and firing dynamics involved in the violent mechanical chain-of-events firing behavior of springers makes them hyper-sensitive to changes in hold, contact (with anything), shooting angle, and... how hard surface the bipod feet sit on!
And the lighter or more powerful the springer, the more hyper-sensitive they are to
EVERYTHING.
Bipod legs are also LEVERS, and levers are MULTIPLIERS; so those multipliers MULTIPLY
EXPONENTIALLY springers' HYPERSENSITIVITY TO EVERYTHING!
A tuning fork is a good analogy for the wood versus earth bipod footing. A tuning fork makes a
vastly different tone when struck against wood than earth. And if springers aren't at least as sensitive as tuning forks,
neither were my ex-wives! So although I have good trajectory charts for my springers off the back porch, it might take me a lifetime to ascertain new charts from earthen bipod footing. Correction- TWO lifetimes!
The Diana 48 being about my weight limit, I'm considering detuning it from 19.5 foot pounds with a 12 FP Maccari spring. Hopefully those concessions to physics might shorten my trajectory chart adjustments to just one lifetime; and given my septuagenarian case, hopefully only 5-10 years of one lifetime!
But hey, having decided two psychotic ex-wives enough to last me the rest of my life, I figure this springer attempt at field target competition should fill my aggravation deficit quite effectively. And if a detuned Diana 48 works well enough to avoid investing in a 'proper' field target springer, I'll save as much money as another wife would cost.