Other Point of impact changes everyday - cold weather?

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Dave~H

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Dec 30, 2024
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Hi guys it’s my 1st post. And yes I read the forum looking for the answer before I posted.. I saw some hints but no solid answer.

Does cold weather change the point of impact? I usually shoot in the winter so I take my Gauntlet 30SL from the heated garage out to the cold barn and shoot out the barn door for a few hours.. all the while I suppose the rifle is getting colder.. if I walk away for awhile and come back my point of impact is off. Each day that i shoot my point of impact is off from the previous session. I tried a barrel band with no improvement. I just upgraded scope and rings with no improvement. I’ve owned this gun for a year and I’ve never had it show repeatable accuracy from one day to the next… I wonder if I have a lemon? Or is this just the nature of pcp’s.? I hope not because I just ordered a Panthera hoping for something better.

When I shoot my AR-15 or my .308 I can put it away for a year and it will still shoot sub 1 MOA from the 1st shot. Is that something I should or shouldn’t expect from a pcp?

Thanks
 
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Dave~H said:
Hi guys it’s my 1st post. And yes I read the forum looking for the answer before I posted.. I saw some hints but no solid answer.

Does cold weather change the point of impact? I usually shoot in the winter so I take my Gauntlet 30SL from the heated garage out to the cold barn and shoot out the barn door for a few hours.. all the while I suppose the rifle is getting colder.. if I walk away for awhile and come back my point of impact is off. Each day that i shoot my point of impact is off from the previous session. I tried a barrel band with no improvement. I just upgraded scope and rings with no improvement. I’ve owned this gun for a year and I’ve never had it show repeatable accuracy from one day to the next… I wonder if I have a lemon? Or is this just the nature of pcp’s.? I hope not because I just ordered a Panthera hoping for something better.

When I shoot my AR-15 or my .308 I can put it away for a year and it will still shoot sub 1 MOA from the 1st shot. Is that something I should or shouldn’t expect from a pcp?

Thanks
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Have you checked the oring in the breech and the barrel orings that seal the barrel inside the receiver? Just spitballing. If they're worn or cut it can lend to a little bit of wiggle room. And the tiniest wiggle will and does contribute to shifting impacts.
 
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Unfortunately if you live anywhere near the Midwest it is just going to be a fact of airgun ownership that they don’t do the greatest in cold weather. I would recommend getting a gun with two regulators, which I do believe the pantera has. This may or may not make a difference. Best thing you could do is zero the rifle in the cold. Do you have a chrono you can leave on regularly? Say an fx pocket chrono or others? My guess is you are getting first shot drop off(which may last longer than one shot). This is super common amongst all airguns and has to do with dwell time and reg creep. If you take a couple of shots before your hunt in the barn or anywhere for instance you will most likely have a better experience. Only way you will know for sure tho is to chrono almost every shot till you get it fixed. As if it’s not simple first shot drop off, then I’m not quite sure what that would be. FX makes a nice airgun though. I have an Impact in .35 cal and a DRS in .25. In general I find that I get more consistency with two regulators. Every shot I take on my M3 is the same, where my drs has a pressure area it likes best. Hope this helps!
 
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Jman4183 said:
Unfortunately if you live anywhere near the Midwest it is just going to be a fact of airgun ownership that they don’t do the greatest in cold weather. I would recommend getting a gun with two regulators, which I do believe the pantera has. This may or may not make a difference. Best thing you could do is zero the rifle in the cold. Do you have a chrono you can leave on regularly? Say an fx pocket chrono or others? My guess is you are getting first shot drop off(which may last longer than one shot). This is super common amongst all airguns and has to do with dwell time and reg creep. If you take a couple of shots before your hunt in the barn or anywhere for instance you will most likely have a better experience. Only way you will know for sure tho is to chrono almost every shot till you get it fixed. As if it’s not simple first shot drop off, then I’m not quite sure what that would be. FX makes a nice airgun though. I have an Impact in .35 cal and a DRS in .25. In general I find that I get more consistency with two regulators. Every shot I take on my M3 is the same, where my drs has a pressure area it likes best. Hope this helps!
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Tuning in the cold helps too. I have a dreamline, crown, and DRS. I retune every season. Going from inside to outside in the winter and summer offer issues. Going from 67 deg to 95 causes problems, going from 68 to 28 offers another set.
 
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RabbitofCaerbannog said:
Have you checked the oring in the breech and the barrel orings that seal the barrel inside the receiver? Just spitballing. If they're worn or cut it can lend to a little bit of wiggle room. And the tiniest wiggle will and does contribute to shifting impacts.
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I will try to check that.. I’m guessing the barrel threads in? I will figure it out
 
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RabbitofCaerbannog said:
Tuning in the cold helps too. I have a dreamline, crown, and DRS. I retune every season. Going from inside to outside in the winter and summer offer issues. Going from 67 deg to 95 causes problems, going from 68 to 28 offers another set.
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I’ve gotta admit I’ve never tuned a thing.. but I suppose I will need to learn how, especially with the panthera although Utah airguns is tuning it before they ship it. As for my gauntlet it is stock and the only tuning I’m aware of is the hammer spring?
 
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Jman4183 said:
Unfortunately if you live anywhere near the Midwest it is just going to be a fact of airgun ownership that they don’t do the greatest in cold weather. I would recommend getting a gun with two regulators, which I do believe the pantera has. This may or may not make a difference. Best thing you could do is zero the rifle in the cold. Do you have a chrono you can leave on regularly? Say an fx pocket chrono or others? My guess is you are getting first shot drop off(which may last longer than one shot). This is super common amongst all airguns and has to do with dwell time and reg creep. If you take a couple of shots before your hunt in the barn or anywhere for instance you will most likely have a better experience. Only way you will know for sure tho is to chrono almost every shot till you get it fixed. As if it’s not simple first shot drop off, then I’m not quite sure what that would be. FX makes a nice airgun though. I have an Impact in .35 cal and a DRS in .25. In general I find that I get more consistency with two regulators. Every shot I take on my M3 is the same, where my drs has a pressure area it likes best. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
My son has a big (shoot thru the cage) chrono, I will try that. In the mean time I’m saving for a garmin. I’ve never chronographed it.. I’ve been going off of a YouTube video for Griffen slugs and assuming my gun is shooting similar at 830 fps. But have never checked it and I didn’t learn until recently that the object of tuning is to look for consistency from shot to shot. Thank you
 
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Dave~H said:
I’ve gotta admit I’ve never tuned a thing.. but I suppose I will need to learn how, especially with the panthera although Utah airguns is tuning it before they ship it. As for my gauntlet it is stock and the only tuning I’m aware of is the hammer spring?
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Zeroing and setting everything at a temperature close to what your "game time" conditions will be usually has the best results. I have a cold weather and hot weather load for my center-fire rifles. Might want to run more economical settings for cold weather as air usage changes in extreme cold. You don't HAVE to do anything. The factory settings will be absolutely fine. Just wait till your gun matches the ambient temp and make that your baseline for the day. It takes 2 minutes to lay a few shots on a tree or rock or whatever and adjust.
 
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I'm not familiar with that rifle, but you mention accuracy issues irrespective of the weather. That, plus the inconsistent POI would make me suspicious of the barrel mounting system, and/or a dirty barrel. So I would first give the barrel a thorough cleaning and check the barrel assembly for solid connections. If the temp changes you mention are significant, then I'm afraid a certain amount of POI might be unavoidable. Try to zero the rifle at the temperature at which you will be using it.
 
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hussn32 said:
It is the big temperature change that causes this. 5-10 degrees doesn’t effect like 30 degrees or more. And you will love that panthera. Not beating on the gauntlet, but panthera is in a whole other level.
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You’re probably right although with the holiday I haven’t had a chance to get back out there. My garage is heated to 55 or 60 and I typically go out shooting in 20 to 40 degree temps. And yes I realize the gauntlet is entry level and the panthera is impressive.. looking forward to it for sure.
 
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