Once again, another long post and this one is a story of surprises.
Finally, I was able to get in a little range time in on Friday. I took just two rifles - the Terrus from Part 1, now sporting a swanky Nikon 3-9x40 EFR and the Beeman R9 (also a .22), now sporting a Sightron 4-12x40 with the MOA20 reticle. In my opinion, the R9 and that Sightron go together like peanut butter and jelly. Good stuff!
The first surprise of the day?
The Terrus was the first rifle up, and it shot terribly. And I mean it flat out sucked. Worse than a worn out clunker shooting junk pellets, seriously. And it had shot just fine when I tested it at the show.
Conditions were great - it was a pleasant day with very little wind, I had a good shooting setup, and we had the range to ourselves. I had some Shoot N C bullseyes, but confidence was high and I planned on quickly switching to use pellet holes as fine aiming points. I mean, I could already see the tight groups in my minds eye....
Well...... THAT didn't happen!
Groups were just plain poor. Every pellet I tried produced similarly lousy groups.
My first thought was loose stock screws, but I had snugged them up when I mounted the scope. Double checked them, and they were still nice and snug. Breech block screws were spot on too. So, not that.
Well, I had bought the Nikon used, and I immediately wondered if it had died before I bought it (which seemed very unlikely). A real head scratcher. But without open sights to fall back on, I decided to move on to the R9, then later swap the R9 scope in for the Nikon and re-test the Terrus.
So, putting the Terrus aside, I dove into the R9 with gusto. If I have a "#1 springer" the R9 is probably it, generally speaking. This one came tuned with the ARH Hornet kit and has a beautifully adjusted trigger. Otherwise like new, I was very happy to buy it, and doubly pleased that it has a tight bore - no extra large pellets needed for this one!
I had been saving that Sightron for another Weihrauch, but I had decided to put my best foot forward and mount it on this rifle. It's taken me a while to find my way into an R9/HW95 in .22 that I'd like to take into the woods too, and this is probably it
I loaded up, settled into position and fired the first of many equally lousy groups, using the same RWS, JSB, H&N and Norma pellets.
Huh?
I mean, seriously,..... HUH..?!?!?
I had just uncovered the second surprise of the day. And it sucked too!
But, really,... both of them? They both have the same problem, whatever it is? What are the odds of that? I mean, they both shot fine in NY....
Now I'm thinking that it's gotta be something external, right?
Something I'm doing.
Something in my rest, or ???
So I started trying different things in my hold etc. Stopped using the small bag I was using for the first time and reverted to resting on my hand as usual. No chqnge.
Made sure I wasn't getting any sort of hard contact I wasn't aware of.
Nothing was found, and there was no improvement.
What else could be going on...?
This R9 has a nice, quick firing cycle much like my FWB Sport, which led me to compare it to a powder burner. So, with that in mind I tried varying the tension on the stock screws, as I might do with a rimfire rifle....
BINGO!
That was the third surprise of the day, and what a good one it was!
Turns out, the R9 shoots like "a frickin' laser beam" when the the stock screws are almost completely loose. But accuracy gets incrementally worse as they get incrementally tightened up. Of course, at 95% loose the screws shift within a few shots because there's barely any tension to hold them in place. Usually 3 shots or so, and going a little past that snugness was quickly detrimental to accuracy.
Even so, I was able to prove to myself that this rifle is exceptionally accurate (and thats by Weihrauch standards!) for the brief time that the screw tension holds steady.
Some 3 shot groups were around 1/8" or a bit over at 25 yards before things loosened up. One in particular may have been a 3 shot (or more) pass through if the screws didn't loosen. I know those 3 shots were held perfectly, and the 2nd passed through the first, the 3rd did its own thing and just touched the other two.
My friend Kevin has an HW97 in .22 that shoots at that level, and it's way beyond "fun" to shoot. I'm really excited to get this issue resolved, and hopefully end up with a rifle that's on par with his.
The only 10 shot group that held together is probably in the 1/2" range but I know how the group formed shot by shot and it was basically a "circular string" with 1 uncalled shot a bit out of sequence. I'm guessing I'm responsible for that one, but I can usually tell. That group, started a bit snugger than others, definitely showed the effects of changing screw tension, though it happened over 10 shots.
To combat this, I'm thinking that a hard-ish durometer rubber or similar washer on the front two or all three mounting points, along with some VibraTite to hold things in place will do it. Heck, maybe just the VibraTite. I'm thinking of a material similar to the rubber used in the Dampa scope mount, or Hatsan's SAS stock insert.
I want the gun to shoot the way it showed me that it can, but with a little more tension on the screws - I dont want to risk cracking the stock. I might even try stabilized cork or "hard" oiled leather - this will be a fun experiment.
Anyway, once I was satisfied that I knew what was going on with the R9, I decided to try the same thing with the Terrus. It's worth mentioning that the Terrus has an easy firing cycle and soft report at 14-16 fpe, where the R9 is fast cycle and a little sharp crack to its report at 16-18 fpe. Very different, and I was thinking that it was the combination of the snappy firing cycle and the restriction from the tight screws that was producing those 2 and 3 inch "groups" from the R9. I wasnt sold on the Terrus having the same problem, but wouldn't it be great if it did...
.......aaaaand yeah. YEAH! It did!
The Terrus may like its screws to be a little tighter than the R9 does (maybe 85 or 90% loose), but it responded the same way. And when tensioned to its liking, is also an excellent shooter, proving that the Nikon is fine, but also adding to my general surprise. One is odd. Two? Something more than odd for sure....
While I burned up most of my range time wasting pellets and scratching my head, in the end I learned something very valuable about screw tension, and I'm thinking that the lesson may well apply to every springer that's shooting on the edge of its power limit. After all, what are the odds that these two rifles are both rare exceptions to the tight stock screw rule?
The whole thing is weird, if you ask me. We've all had our accuracy start to slip, snugged up our screws and all was well. What the heck is so different about these two rifles? And, if it's as simple as both being "hot" and this should be expected, how is it that no one else has noticed what I did about backing off the screws? I can't believe that the community wouldn't know all about this if it were a natural condition.
As an aside, I previously did something similar with a 10-22 and an aluminum barrel that wasn't "a good shooter". By giving it the Goldilocks tension at the end of the stock forearm, that stiff barrel will shoot microgroups. Something similar may be happening here, and if I can use it to my advantage I'll be thrilled.
That's all to this report, but if anyone has any experience/recommendations for my next step, please share them here for everyone.
Thanks all!
Finally, I was able to get in a little range time in on Friday. I took just two rifles - the Terrus from Part 1, now sporting a swanky Nikon 3-9x40 EFR and the Beeman R9 (also a .22), now sporting a Sightron 4-12x40 with the MOA20 reticle. In my opinion, the R9 and that Sightron go together like peanut butter and jelly. Good stuff!
The first surprise of the day?
The Terrus was the first rifle up, and it shot terribly. And I mean it flat out sucked. Worse than a worn out clunker shooting junk pellets, seriously. And it had shot just fine when I tested it at the show.
Conditions were great - it was a pleasant day with very little wind, I had a good shooting setup, and we had the range to ourselves. I had some Shoot N C bullseyes, but confidence was high and I planned on quickly switching to use pellet holes as fine aiming points. I mean, I could already see the tight groups in my minds eye....
Well...... THAT didn't happen!
Groups were just plain poor. Every pellet I tried produced similarly lousy groups.
My first thought was loose stock screws, but I had snugged them up when I mounted the scope. Double checked them, and they were still nice and snug. Breech block screws were spot on too. So, not that.
Well, I had bought the Nikon used, and I immediately wondered if it had died before I bought it (which seemed very unlikely). A real head scratcher. But without open sights to fall back on, I decided to move on to the R9, then later swap the R9 scope in for the Nikon and re-test the Terrus.
So, putting the Terrus aside, I dove into the R9 with gusto. If I have a "#1 springer" the R9 is probably it, generally speaking. This one came tuned with the ARH Hornet kit and has a beautifully adjusted trigger. Otherwise like new, I was very happy to buy it, and doubly pleased that it has a tight bore - no extra large pellets needed for this one!
I had been saving that Sightron for another Weihrauch, but I had decided to put my best foot forward and mount it on this rifle. It's taken me a while to find my way into an R9/HW95 in .22 that I'd like to take into the woods too, and this is probably it
I loaded up, settled into position and fired the first of many equally lousy groups, using the same RWS, JSB, H&N and Norma pellets.
Huh?
I mean, seriously,..... HUH..?!?!?
I had just uncovered the second surprise of the day. And it sucked too!
But, really,... both of them? They both have the same problem, whatever it is? What are the odds of that? I mean, they both shot fine in NY....
Now I'm thinking that it's gotta be something external, right?
Something I'm doing.
Something in my rest, or ???
So I started trying different things in my hold etc. Stopped using the small bag I was using for the first time and reverted to resting on my hand as usual. No chqnge.
Made sure I wasn't getting any sort of hard contact I wasn't aware of.
Nothing was found, and there was no improvement.
What else could be going on...?
This R9 has a nice, quick firing cycle much like my FWB Sport, which led me to compare it to a powder burner. So, with that in mind I tried varying the tension on the stock screws, as I might do with a rimfire rifle....
BINGO!
That was the third surprise of the day, and what a good one it was!
Turns out, the R9 shoots like "a frickin' laser beam" when the the stock screws are almost completely loose. But accuracy gets incrementally worse as they get incrementally tightened up. Of course, at 95% loose the screws shift within a few shots because there's barely any tension to hold them in place. Usually 3 shots or so, and going a little past that snugness was quickly detrimental to accuracy.
Even so, I was able to prove to myself that this rifle is exceptionally accurate (and thats by Weihrauch standards!) for the brief time that the screw tension holds steady.
Some 3 shot groups were around 1/8" or a bit over at 25 yards before things loosened up. One in particular may have been a 3 shot (or more) pass through if the screws didn't loosen. I know those 3 shots were held perfectly, and the 2nd passed through the first, the 3rd did its own thing and just touched the other two.
My friend Kevin has an HW97 in .22 that shoots at that level, and it's way beyond "fun" to shoot. I'm really excited to get this issue resolved, and hopefully end up with a rifle that's on par with his.
The only 10 shot group that held together is probably in the 1/2" range but I know how the group formed shot by shot and it was basically a "circular string" with 1 uncalled shot a bit out of sequence. I'm guessing I'm responsible for that one, but I can usually tell. That group, started a bit snugger than others, definitely showed the effects of changing screw tension, though it happened over 10 shots.
To combat this, I'm thinking that a hard-ish durometer rubber or similar washer on the front two or all three mounting points, along with some VibraTite to hold things in place will do it. Heck, maybe just the VibraTite. I'm thinking of a material similar to the rubber used in the Dampa scope mount, or Hatsan's SAS stock insert.
I want the gun to shoot the way it showed me that it can, but with a little more tension on the screws - I dont want to risk cracking the stock. I might even try stabilized cork or "hard" oiled leather - this will be a fun experiment.
Anyway, once I was satisfied that I knew what was going on with the R9, I decided to try the same thing with the Terrus. It's worth mentioning that the Terrus has an easy firing cycle and soft report at 14-16 fpe, where the R9 is fast cycle and a little sharp crack to its report at 16-18 fpe. Very different, and I was thinking that it was the combination of the snappy firing cycle and the restriction from the tight screws that was producing those 2 and 3 inch "groups" from the R9. I wasnt sold on the Terrus having the same problem, but wouldn't it be great if it did...
.......aaaaand yeah. YEAH! It did!
The Terrus may like its screws to be a little tighter than the R9 does (maybe 85 or 90% loose), but it responded the same way. And when tensioned to its liking, is also an excellent shooter, proving that the Nikon is fine, but also adding to my general surprise. One is odd. Two? Something more than odd for sure....
While I burned up most of my range time wasting pellets and scratching my head, in the end I learned something very valuable about screw tension, and I'm thinking that the lesson may well apply to every springer that's shooting on the edge of its power limit. After all, what are the odds that these two rifles are both rare exceptions to the tight stock screw rule?
The whole thing is weird, if you ask me. We've all had our accuracy start to slip, snugged up our screws and all was well. What the heck is so different about these two rifles? And, if it's as simple as both being "hot" and this should be expected, how is it that no one else has noticed what I did about backing off the screws? I can't believe that the community wouldn't know all about this if it were a natural condition.
As an aside, I previously did something similar with a 10-22 and an aluminum barrel that wasn't "a good shooter". By giving it the Goldilocks tension at the end of the stock forearm, that stiff barrel will shoot microgroups. Something similar may be happening here, and if I can use it to my advantage I'll be thrilled.
That's all to this report, but if anyone has any experience/recommendations for my next step, please share them here for everyone.
Thanks all!
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