Hope this is the right forum for this.
My first air rifle since the 1970s arrived Tuesday - a Gamo Urban .22. (Excited) The pellets, scope rings, targets, and male adapter for the probe came Wednesday (Chomping at the bit), the hand pump got here today (yeah baby!) and then I get the email telling me my Hawke Vantage 2-7x32 is stuck in the polar vortex ( Noooooooooooo!!!) I couldn't take it, so down to Wally World I went and bought a cheap ($30) Simmons 22 Magnum 4x32 just so I could shoot NOW.
This is the first time I have ever used a scope, so I hope I set it up right. I put an 11x17 piece of paper on a door and used a level to draw a vertical line. The I sat up a table about 30' away, put the Urban in a rest with a butt clamp (?) and used a level on the top of the rail to make sure it was straight up and down.
I put the scope in the rings and got my eye relief positioned and then tightened the bases to the rail. Then I checked the rifles level again before rotating the scope so that the reticle was straight up and down with the line on my door 30' away, and tightened it down. Good so far?
Out to the back yard to finally get to shoot my new gun. I sat up a table, set up my rest and leveled everything, and used a 100' tape to measure out 30 yards and sat up a target with four 3" Shoot-N-C stickies. (Man, where were those things when I was a kid with a break barrel?) I loaded up the magazine with Crossman Premier Hollow Points in 14.3 gr, centered up on the top right target, and took my first shot......uhm.....I heard it hit, but where? Magazine out, de-cock, safety on, and down range I go. Oh, there it is...way over there!
That's the first shot all the way to the left, but I was shooting at the target on the right. Off come the caps and I went to cranking. I guess I did it right - I've never even used a scope before, much less tried to zero one in; but You Tube is my friend. I centered back up on the right hand target and tried to hold it still while I cranked it over. (That thing is mush, don't expect any clicks on that scope) The second and third shots are a little to the right on the correct target this time while I fine tuned it, and that's the fourth shot in the bullseye.
Caps back on and switched to the left hand target for five, again with the Crossmans. I'm, going to need some practice, as I think this thing should do better than 3/4" c.t.c. at 30 yards - though that little 3 shot group NE of the bull looks nice.
One more group with the Crossmans on the left-lower target. And again with the 3/4" group. Hhmm...well, maybe I can get a squirrel with that.
So I switch up to the JSB 18.13 gr Jumbo Heavies for my last group. (Right hand target) and I am starting to feel really good about myself as the first four pellets go into that 5/16" group on the lower right at 30 yards. Oh yeah - dead squirrel! Then I lined up my final shot, and I knew the second I felt the trigger break that I had pulled it, ruining my pretty little group and stretching it out to 7/8". Yep - need some practice. But now I have the rifle, pump, pellets, targets, and a scope, so I can do this whenever I feel like it. Yay! My Hawke should be here some time next week, so I will then be able to adjust out the paralax and zoom in a power or two, so maybe that will help a little.
My first air rifle since the 1970s arrived Tuesday - a Gamo Urban .22. (Excited) The pellets, scope rings, targets, and male adapter for the probe came Wednesday (Chomping at the bit), the hand pump got here today (yeah baby!) and then I get the email telling me my Hawke Vantage 2-7x32 is stuck in the polar vortex ( Noooooooooooo!!!) I couldn't take it, so down to Wally World I went and bought a cheap ($30) Simmons 22 Magnum 4x32 just so I could shoot NOW.
This is the first time I have ever used a scope, so I hope I set it up right. I put an 11x17 piece of paper on a door and used a level to draw a vertical line. The I sat up a table about 30' away, put the Urban in a rest with a butt clamp (?) and used a level on the top of the rail to make sure it was straight up and down.
I put the scope in the rings and got my eye relief positioned and then tightened the bases to the rail. Then I checked the rifles level again before rotating the scope so that the reticle was straight up and down with the line on my door 30' away, and tightened it down. Good so far?
Out to the back yard to finally get to shoot my new gun. I sat up a table, set up my rest and leveled everything, and used a 100' tape to measure out 30 yards and sat up a target with four 3" Shoot-N-C stickies. (Man, where were those things when I was a kid with a break barrel?) I loaded up the magazine with Crossman Premier Hollow Points in 14.3 gr, centered up on the top right target, and took my first shot......uhm.....I heard it hit, but where? Magazine out, de-cock, safety on, and down range I go. Oh, there it is...way over there!
That's the first shot all the way to the left, but I was shooting at the target on the right. Off come the caps and I went to cranking. I guess I did it right - I've never even used a scope before, much less tried to zero one in; but You Tube is my friend. I centered back up on the right hand target and tried to hold it still while I cranked it over. (That thing is mush, don't expect any clicks on that scope) The second and third shots are a little to the right on the correct target this time while I fine tuned it, and that's the fourth shot in the bullseye.
Caps back on and switched to the left hand target for five, again with the Crossmans. I'm, going to need some practice, as I think this thing should do better than 3/4" c.t.c. at 30 yards - though that little 3 shot group NE of the bull looks nice.
One more group with the Crossmans on the left-lower target. And again with the 3/4" group. Hhmm...well, maybe I can get a squirrel with that.
So I switch up to the JSB 18.13 gr Jumbo Heavies for my last group. (Right hand target) and I am starting to feel really good about myself as the first four pellets go into that 5/16" group on the lower right at 30 yards. Oh yeah - dead squirrel! Then I lined up my final shot, and I knew the second I felt the trigger break that I had pulled it, ruining my pretty little group and stretching it out to 7/8". Yep - need some practice. But now I have the rifle, pump, pellets, targets, and a scope, so I can do this whenever I feel like it. Yay! My Hawke should be here some time next week, so I will then be able to adjust out the paralax and zoom in a power or two, so maybe that will help a little.
)
