N/A How accurate can I get and how do I get there?

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plinker718

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Jun 28, 2023
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Suffolk,va
I'm a fairly new airgunner. I've had a Marauder .22 for a bit over a year now. At first I was fairly happy plinking within 25 yards; then I wanted more accuracy/challenge. And then more, etc. I added a regulator, Tim Hill internal parts, upgraded scope. There are still some things I think that I could do to it (polish barrel? Barrel bands? ) but at this point I don't know what the "bang for buck" would be.

Now, I have a target out to 60 yards. I could put targets out to 100yd in my back yard. The best accuracy that I have gotten is maybe 2" groups at 60 yards. I'm not a world-class marksman, but I've done some shooting with powder burners in the past so I don't think I'm terrible either. At that range I can watch the pellets going elsewhere than I have shot them, so I don't think it's me. I can understand groups opening up somewhat in a stiff wind, but this is even in fairly calm conditions. While I am still improving and tinkering, at this point it seems like I am more accurate than the gun is.

So I guess that I have a few questions,

1) What can of accuracy should I reasonably expect out of my air rifle at 60-100 yards? Is MOA within reason, or is that too much to ask for out of most air rifles? My accuracy seems poor.

2) If more accuracy is reasonably achievable, which is what I anticipate, how should I go about improving accuracy? Should I,
A) Continue to modify/work on Marauder (any recs? I will probably do this anyways, just to tinker, but should I hang my hat on this?), or
B) Upgrade rifle

3) If I choose to upgrade rifle, should I
A) Change caliber (would 25 or 30 be more inherently accurate at those ranges?)
B) Look into shooting slugs?
C) Any recommendations on rifle? I've been reading/thinking about the FX Wildcat vs RTI prophet vs BRK Ghost vs Avenge-X. Not sure which of those would help me achieve my goals (lots of bench rest but also woods walking for squirrels). I'm willing to "buy once cry once."

Thanks in advance for your wisdom
 
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plinker718 said:
I'm a fairly new airgunner. I've had a Marauder .22 for a bit over a year now. At first I was fairly happy plinking within 25 yards; then I wanted more accuracy/challenge. And then more, etc. I added a regulator, Tim Hill internal parts, upgraded scope. There are still some things I think that I could do to it (polish barrel? Barrel bands? ) but at this point I don't know what the "bang for buck" would be.

Now, I have a target out to 60 yards. I could put targets out to 100yd in my back yard. The best accuracy that I have gotten is maybe 2" groups at 60 yards. I'm not a world-class marksman, but I've done some shooting with powder burners in the past so I don't think I'm terrible either. At that range I can watch the pellets going elsewhere than I have shot them, so I don't think it's me. I can understand groups opening up somewhat in a stiff wind, but this is even in fairly calm conditions. While I am still improving and tinkering, at this point it seems like I am more accurate than the gun is.

So I guess that I have a few questions,

1) What can of accuracy should I reasonably expect out of my air rifle at 60-100 yards? Is MOA within reason, or is that too much to ask for out of most air rifles? My accuracy seems poor.

2) If more accuracy is reasonably achievable, which is what I anticipate, how should I go about improving accuracy? Should I,
A) Continue to modify/work on Marauder (any recs? I will probably do this anyways, just to tinker, but should I hang my hat on this?), or
B) Upgrade rifle

3) If I choose to upgrade rifle, should I
A) Change caliber (would 25 or 30 be more inherently accurate at those ranges?)
B) Look into shooting slugs?
C) Any recommendations on rifle? I've been reading/thinking about the FX Wildcat vs RTI prophet vs BRK Ghost vs Avenge-X. Not sure which of those would help me achieve my goals (lots of bench rest but also woods walking for squirrels). I'm willing to "buy once cry once."

Thanks in advance for your wisdom
Click to expand...
Out of a marauder .22 you should be able at least get moa groups at 50yds. Pull the barrel out and inspect it for nics on the crown, pass a pellet through it with a wooden dowel to see if there are any tight or loose spots. Polishing your barrel and recrowning almost always gets rids of any accuracy issues you may have with the gun. What ammo are you using? Have you tried other kinds of ammo? The selection you have may not be what it likes best. Barrel bands can help, but aren't always necessary.

I would start with trying different ammo, if you've already done that, inpect your barrel, look for nics on your crown, or an uneven crowning of the barrel it will definitely affect your pellet trajectory. Hand feed the pellets to your gun if either of those first options don't get you different results, maybe the magazine is causing some feeding issues. If you have a moderator on it, take it off and shoot it to make sure it's not clipping, take the shroud off of your barrel and inspect it for clipping as well to make sure that isn't happening either.
 
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Even a small amount of wind can affect pellets drastically. So, there's that. I'd definitely polish the barrel. Make sure your shroud and mod are properly in line with bore. Can try playing with your tune, and see if groups shrink or widen. Can try heavier ammo or slugs as well. I got a fx crown for my first pcp rifle several years back. In 22 cal, I've had it shoot under 1/2 moa at 100yrds, but that was using 36gr boat tail slugs @65fpe. Extensive testing and tuning with various ammo types. 700mm slug a liner. I don't even use that barrel anymore as it's just way too long. Have no issue making headshots on squirrel out to 70 yards with 380mm pellet a liner (16gr pellets @ 960fps). But this is in dense woods with 0 wind.
 
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Thanks to all for rapid replied!

I've tried a fairly wide range of pellets - jsb from 14 to 25 grain plus hades, h&n from 18 to 21, JTS, crossman, even nsa 17.5 gr slugs in all the sizes. I keep trying more, but I keep being disappointed. I've taken moderator off, tried hand feeding.

I'm continuing to work on tuning, which could yet be fruitful.

I'll look into polishing barrel and reckoning- those seem like solid recommendations!
 
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plinker718 said:
Thanks to all for rapid replied!

I've tried a fairly wide range of pellets - jsb from 14 to 25 grain plus hades, h&n from 18 to 21, JTS, crossman, even nsa 17.5 gr slugs in all the sizes. I keep trying more, but I keep being disappointed. I've taken moderator off, tried hand feeding.

I'm continuing to work on tuning, which could yet be fruitful.

I'll look into polishing barrel and reckoning- those seem like solid recommendations!
Click to expand...
Not sure if you have a chronograph, but invest in one if you don't. It will help you decipher what may or may not be the problem a bit easier.
 
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What I've found the marauder started me into the tinkering phase and it can be 1 inch to 1 and 1/2 at a 100 gun I found after that the more money I spent the better the accuracy bought a impact and a raw hm1000x both great shooters then I ended up trying a daystate redwolf hp that I bought used and wow it's just stupid accurate and I'm a ok shot but when it's in my hands it's just different it's like it can't miss
 
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I assume your Red Wolf is a .22, which is what I have. I’ve had my Red Wolf for about a month now. I traded in an FX Crown .22 for her, these are the only 2 airguns I have owned, well that’s not true the first trade was for a used Daystate Wolverine but I didn’t like the trigger so I took it back for trade part 2. Two things I’ve found that she likes, one a clean barrel and two larger headed pellets in the 5.55+, JSB in .22 at their largest are 5.53 with maybe some 5.54, H&N are 5.52-5.53 as are AA, the smaller the hear size the worse the group. Check out the JTS pellets and get a pelletgage if you don’t have one.
 
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I do not consider my rifles zeroed until I can hit the head of a match at 50 yards.

Use JSB pellets.

Daystate rifles, Airgun Technology rilfes, Sidewinder rifles, FX rifles, Brocock Ghost, can easily make you make groups the size of a ten cents coin at 50 yards an a quarter at 90 yards.

Of course there could be other rifles that can achieve that.

In my experience .30 Cal can deal much better with wind. But without wind my Revere an my Vulcan 3 in .177 can easily achieve those groups at that distance.

You need to learn how to pull the trigger. You do not need a bipod, just a rest and a comfortable chair that help you to have your right elbow risen (if you are right handed).

Not too difficult to improve, just practice. I am not saying you will defeat champions of this forum, but for sure you will notice improvement on your groups.

Look at this group at 88 yards. This is where I am in my shooting now:

IMG_2952.jpeg
 
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I've found the 30 yard challenge to be an excellent way to improve my bench shooting. If you haven't tried it I would. My best last year was a low 190s score. This year I've shot 3 199s and one 200. The difference wasn't anything to do with the guns but I did fine tune the pellets a bit - head size of H&Ns they like. Sorting pellets did not help. Taking my time and getting lined up with very little of my pressure on the gun helped and is still something I have to work on. Switching to a rest setup where I can just turn screws to move from target to target helps but mostly with my patience. One of the 199s was with a bipod and monopod that required repositioning for each shot. It was tedious but still accurate if I was just careful. I also found that leaving my non trigger hand on the admittedly somewhat flexible shooting bench caused occasional errant shots. In other words, I got about 5% better scores by improving my technique. Depending on where you are at now, you might see more or less improvement.

Each of my 5 guns cost less than $500 and the scope I used to shoot my best scores was one that cost less than $200. So I am not using high end "stuff". But 4 of the 5 guns haven't shot a upper 190s score although two have shot a 193 and a 194. My Avenger is probably capable of a 19?, possibly a 200, I haven't shot it much. My P35-25 won't even do a 180 with it's current barrel. My point is just that lower priced airguns can and often do shoot pretty well but not all will shoot with guns that cost 3X as much. For me, a decent 6-24 scope is necessary for the 30 yard challenge for me to shoot my best and several of my top scores were with a Vector Sentinel 8-32 - a low end but higher magnification scope. The 10-40 would probably be better, it has a dot reticle. At least for my old eyes more magnification helps. I've tried my P35-22, the gun that gave me the 199s and 200, with a 4-16 and I shot about 10 points lower. I was using a 6-24 last year, however, and still did not shoot as well as this year when I made some changes in my technique.

I wouldn't do anything drastic to the Marauder before you shoot some 30 yard challenge targets with a scope with enough magnification for you. If you can't shoot over 190 with it after you get used to the target and the distance I would work hard on technique first but if you still don't get there it might be time for a different gun. I've tried barrel polishing and it's worth a try but it hasn't helped my guns. I do think cleaning up the crown with a brass round headed screw and some JBs (screw goes in a drill) is a good idea, however. The crown on all my P35s showed obvious chatter marks and I cleaned all them up before shooting them.
 
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In addition to the above advice, have you found the best speeds with the best pellets and slugs you have the best luck with?

Of course that would also mean you need a chronograph. I keep the chronograph (fx) on all the time when possible, that way if something shoots a bit weird and is related to the speed I know where to concentrate my work on. The 30 yard challenge has help my long distance accuracy shots immensely.

Allen
 
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Your gun is probably capable of really great groups out to the extremes of pellet distances. Plenty of guys have shown what their Marauders are capable of. But you, because you had to tinker, added another dimension. When you add a reg, that’s another tuning parameter that has to work in harmony with porting, hammer weight and spring to find the guns happy spot. You might just be a little off with the speed or wasting some air to get the most accuracy out of your gun. Either way, how you started in this hobby will pay dividends down the road. Lots of guys who drop big coin on a top of the line consistent built like a tank gun right off the bat never really get to understand what makes a PCP tick.
 
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Just remember, less is more, use only the amount of air necessary to get the pellet out to where you want it. It really doesn't take much at 100 yards, except a heck of a lot of practice and watching that pesky heart beat. I started at 30 yards 24x scope and learned to time the beats. worked out to 50, then 100 and 125. JSB 18.13 work fine or 22gr. RMR/FX slugs. 100 yards one shot. FX Maverick Compact, barrel's cleaned up
.IMG_2289 (1).jpegIMG_2288.jpeg
 
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