Bug buster 3-12x 32 has been a great little scope for me. tough little bugger and reasonable price. mildot reticle 3yards to infinity parallax
Upvote 0
HW/Weihrauch Who says springers arent accurate?
- Thread starter Cmiller
- Start date
Every scope I've mounted on a springer does this to some extent. Some more than others. A shift of 2-4 clicks @25 I'm chalking up to thermal drift. We have wide temperature swings and this seems to affect POI the most. My rifles will all hold zero until the Temps start changing.
Changing scopes has never solved the problem. My hunch is that the aluminum, steel and synthetic parts in a scope/mount/ rifle system expand and contract at different rates in temp changes.
Sooner or later they have all developed POI shifts that are extreme. Sudden 12-18 click jumps. Mostly elevation with small windage corrections.
In those cases changing scopes solves the problem.
It's frustrating to say the least. It happens on all my springers. I keep a paper target set up on the plinking range. I shift to paper to check zero when I miss a couple. If I shoot 150 shots in stable Temps I rarely ever have to re zero. In swinging Temps it's much more often.
Iron sights have never shown a propensity to drift. Day after day a zero check shows they are hitting in the same spot. But put a scope on them and things sometimes get funky.
I think a one piece mount does it worse than a two piece mount. I've tried loosening the front strap a bit and holding the scope tight on the rear strap. That seemed to lessen the creep.
I've noticed that if you optically center a scope on the bench and then check it after it's mounted things change a bit. The tension of the mounts bow the scope tube a little. I suspect this will change as things expand and contract. It may be why the POI shifts.
I've never lapped scope rings on an air rifle. But after a few years of constant scope issues I think it may be something that might help.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I like the Bug Buster because it is effective yet cheap. It was designed for our close range shooting. I would like to try a higher quality scope one day but it would be too expensive if the reticle doesn't work or isn't clear enough. But I always make sure of the mounts AND the STOP PIN. Already had scope slippage on springers. Then there was the Beeman scope that would spin the adjustment dial after you got sighted in as you REPLACED THE CAPS! Be Well, Bandito.
Upvote 0
I really appreciate your input. I'm hoping I don't have to live with this. The gun is fantastically accurate but for the scope.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Today I was able to clearly document the problem I'm having. Shot a bunch of targets from 25 yards on the bench. Top row I'm trying to zero. Finally give up at the start of row 2. The scope immediately shifts low right. I kept shooting the bull and every shot goes exactly in the same place.
On row 5 i finally adjusted the scope and got back on center. There are 3 weird shots on row 6 but everything else is either an x or a 10. The problem is clearly not me or the gun. This is the most precise shooting I've ever seen from any gun I've owned.
Now, can I find a scope that will stay still?
On row 5 i finally adjusted the scope and got back on center. There are 3 weird shots on row 6 but everything else is either an x or a 10. The problem is clearly not me or the gun. This is the most precise shooting I've ever seen from any gun I've owned.
Now, can I find a scope that will stay still?
Upvote 0
Leupold freedom rimfire 3x9x40 mil dot. Sportsmatch medium 4 screw rings.
The HW97 is a wicked accurate rifle. I've given up on cutting corners with mine.
My Hake Airmax has worked well but it jumps around a lot lately. It's a replacement for the first one that went wild. I'll send it back next week. When it gets back there will be a new leupold in its place.
I don't care for the reticle on the Airmax much anyway. And the adjustable objective does nothing for me either. The leupold has a great crosshair and parallax set at 60. That's all a guy needs to hit a tiny dot, a ground squirrel or a shotgun shell at springer ranges.
I fully expect the leupold to need service sooner or later too. But I'm tired of the $1000 horse with a $200 saddle. I'm betting an extra $100 that the leupold will outlast the Hawke and not be so prone to wandering.
The HW97 is a wicked accurate rifle. I've given up on cutting corners with mine.
My Hake Airmax has worked well but it jumps around a lot lately. It's a replacement for the first one that went wild. I'll send it back next week. When it gets back there will be a new leupold in its place.
I don't care for the reticle on the Airmax much anyway. And the adjustable objective does nothing for me either. The leupold has a great crosshair and parallax set at 60. That's all a guy needs to hit a tiny dot, a ground squirrel or a shotgun shell at springer ranges.
I fully expect the leupold to need service sooner or later too. But I'm tired of the $1000 horse with a $200 saddle. I'm betting an extra $100 that the leupold will outlast the Hawke and not be so prone to wandering.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I agree Bob, I have found the Freedom rimfire 3-9x40 scope to be very clear and trouble free on my HW50s.
Upvote 0
Do you miss that adjustable objective?
I think it's more trouble than it's worth. I can shoot as tight a pattern at 25 and 50 without one. I understand in competition at close range in various positions it may help. But in my everyday life it's not worth a nickel.
I've had my eye on the leupold for months. Every time I re-zero during a shoot I tell myself I'm going to go pick one up. I keep procrastinating. Meanwhile my super tight patterns walk all over the paper every 50-60 shots.
There should be a law against crappy scopes on good rifles. Stiff penalties. Community service.
If I bought a $700 hunting rifle I would expect to pay at least $4-500 for a scope. I don't know why I thought it would be any different with a fine airgun.
I'm shooting my 97 right now. It's one pellet on top of the other at 25. Every 50 shots or so it moves an inch across the paper and starts another tiny hole. I'm getting good at cranking it back on the dot. But that's the kind of practice I can do without.
I have had good luck with the Hawkes. They do a great job and are a value. When they start blowing your patterns it gets frustrating.
A good scope and mounts are more important than an accurate rifle. An accurate rifle with $h!tty scope and mounts is an abomination. I'm going to get the leupold for the HW97 and I might try a Sightron on my 95. They are too darn accurate to fiddle with scope problems.
Upvote 0
Bob, tomorrow I will send you the pricing info on the Leupold, I think you will be surprised how reasonable they are.
Upvote 0
A clean barrel really makes a difference with this gun. I don't think I've ever shot better. 21 Xs out of 41 targets. Only 4 nines.
Upvote 0
It seems like after a couple thousand shots without cleaning my barrel I get more flyers. I can still shoot great 3-5 shot groups but if I shoot 20 shot strings few will be off a half inch or more. With a clean barrel the same 20 shot string is a lot tighter. One hole.
....or so it seems.
I pull a dry patch through my guns fairly often. I'll use some penetrant if the patch is very dirty. It's not really about accuracy. It's about a super dusty environment.
If I was shooting long strings on paper I'd probably clean more often. It's tough to hit a tiny dot repeatedly. That's quite a feat to shoot a target like that!
....or so it seems.
I pull a dry patch through my guns fairly often. I'll use some penetrant if the patch is very dirty. It's not really about accuracy. It's about a super dusty environment.
If I was shooting long strings on paper I'd probably clean more often. It's tough to hit a tiny dot repeatedly. That's quite a feat to shoot a target like that!
Upvote 0
I thought you were only supposed to clean infrequently. I never cleaned my barrel much before, but I started getting wild flyers all over the place. I was blaming my scope but then I cleaned the barrel and it went away immediately. Just a few days later it started again. Same thing. Now I'm counting how many pellets before it starts again. Interesting to see if it recurs at any particular interval. I'm shooting pretty standard air arms heavies made by jsb.
Upvote 0
Definitely. Probably a few other factors too.
I clean the beer catalyzed hand cheese off the Hatsans almost daily. I feed every pellet with fingers that look like fajitas. We shoot in a sand pit that is mostly clean sharp silica.
No telling what kind of abrasive, adhesive goo gets in there. No telling when it starts to affect accuracy either.
A pellet rifle does not have to be cleaned very often. Or at all. It just depends on the gun and all the rest of the factors involved. It may never need cleaning in one case. In another it may need cleaning often.
A guy who shoots paper for accuracy would really know what's best for his situation. A plinker might not notice. Unless I'm shooting targets at the limits of my rifles capability I generally don't notice a slip in accuracy. If I do a good cleaning is the first thing I do.
Upvote 0
For relative newbies like myself, any tips on reducing these variables? Do those rubbery eye cups that extend from the scope help much? I’d like to work on my form.
Upvote 0