What springer did you shoot today?

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Pulled out the old Hercules XSB7 I bought about 25 yrs ago from Golden Toller in Maine for some plinking. The crappy camo paint job was a test subject for some camo patterns and covered the putty filled Chu wood. Think I will strip it and refurbish the stock. Also dragged out another Chinese rifle, a basic .22 B3.

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Kim and I had a play date today. My HW35E vs her HW50S. She gave our new rabbit target a nose and dared me to hit same spot. That’s my .177 pellet buried in her .22 pellet. Squirrel target was my last shot of the day. If I were smarter I’d retire right now LOL. High right was Kim’s first shot of the day. Been shooting Crosmans and pulled right through the wall. Safe to say the 35E is finally shooting the way I want. Very rewarding because I had some serious frustration working the kinks outta this gun. It was worth it. Can’t say enough good about the Sightron scope either.

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This post is for Kim. She didn’t want y’all to think she was that bad a shot ha ha ha. Her last shot of the day. Or last that counted. Next shot her HW50 started scattering pellets, which is why we stopped. Checked all the easy stuff, cleaned barrel, no dice. Need to chrono, thinking might need a new piston seal. We’ll see.

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UPS man showed up yesterday with a new toy. Always wanted a magnum springer in .22 cal. I bought a Diana 350 from PA using their Labor Day discount. Holy smokes this rifle is long. And boy does it hit hard. Scope is a magnum springer rated Mantis 4-12x40 AO. Rings are Sportsmatch mediums with recoil stop pin in the forward ring. Got the scope nice and low. As an added measure, I mounted a Sportsmatch recoil stop block with large diameter pin on the back end. Perfect fit. Did the hashmark test and everything is solid with no creep.

Got the action screws snugged down with loctite, and she's zeroed at 30yds with 14.3gr Crosman Premier as a starting point. Today I'll do my usual offhand shooting at various distances to get a feel for things. Tomorrow I'll sit down on the bench with a variety of ammo to see what she really likes. Gotta say I'm impressed so far. Perfect fit and finish, and it's a really long lean looking rifle. So far it shoots great. Getting 1/4" 5 shot groups at 30 yds with the Premiers off the sandbag with an artillery hold, hand between forend and bag. Can't wait to "stretch her legs".

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beerthief said:
took a fan out to my bench the other day , reminded me of camping long ago , i took a box fan apart and installed a 12 volt dc motor in it , used a car battery and sat under a tree @ 105 now thats primitive camping !
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Swamp coolers are the only way I get any shooting in during daylight hours. Echoing what jkingrph said looks like we’re going to have 47 days over 100. Record I’d just as soon not have broken. Which means heat indices of 110 or more. I’m ready for fall.
 
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I finally went out and did a little shooting today for the first time in a few months. What can I say, it’s been stupid hot….anyway I took my Benjamin Trail in .22. I punched holes Milo’s ice tea jugs, they were starting to pile up. Excellent consistent results as expected. I’m sure glad I talked myself into this. Time well spent and the CMP air rifle matches are coming soon. I can’t wait.

Rick H.
 
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Northwoods22 said:
UPS man showed up yesterday with a new toy. Always wanted a magnum springer in .22 cal. I bought a Diana 350 from PA using their Labor Day discount. Holy smokes this rifle is long. And boy does it hit hard. Scope is a magnum springer rated Mantis 4-12x40 AO. Rings are Sportsmatch mediums with recoil stop pin in the forward ring. Got the scope nice and low. As an added measure, I mounted a Sportsmatch recoil stop block with large diameter pin on the back end. Perfect fit. Did the hashmark test and everything is solid with no creep.

Got the action screws snugged down with loctite, and she's zeroed at 30yds with 14.3gr Crosman Premier as a starting point. Today I'll do my usual offhand shooting at various distances to get a feel for things. Tomorrow I'll sit down on the bench with a variety of ammo to see what she really likes. Gotta say I'm impressed so far. Perfect fit and finish, and it's a really long lean looking rifle. So far it shoots great. Getting 1/4" 5 shot groups at 30 yds with the Premiers off the sandbag with an artillery hold, hand between forend and bag. Can't wait to "stretch her legs".

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Congratulations on the Diana 350 . Please keep us posted . That model is on my bucket list It and the HW35E 😀I have a mantic on my Diana 48 it’s held up good. Several thousand pellets
 
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Frogy said:
Congratulations on the Diana 350 . Please keep us posted . That model is on my bucket list It and the HW35E 😀I have a mantic on my Diana 48 it’s held up good. Several thousand pellets
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That's good to hear Frogy, this is my first Mantis. So far I really like the overall quality. A nice budget scope. Did some more offhand shooting early this morning. 100 rounds or so at cans at 35-40 yds, and gallon milk jugs full of gravel at 70 yds. It hits really hard, and isn't as hold sensitive as my other springers. The cocking cycle is starting to smooth up, and I'm getting used to the cocking effort. At 45 lbs it takes a firm grip and a fast positive crank to cock it.

Shot cycle is surprisingly quiet. Not much in the way of spring buzz. The T06 trigger is set perfectly for my taste and breaks really clean at right around 2.5 lbs. Recoil-wise it definitely has more snap than any other airgun I've shot or owned. I'm glad I went with two recoil stop pins instead of one. I won't be doing any accuracy testing today, as we've got some heavy thunderstorms rolling in. So far the 350 is proving to be one helluva gun, though I doubt the local squirrel population will share my enthusiasm. :D
 
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