Got my Talon SS/ Shooting birds in store tonight!
So I get the gun, slap on a Nikko Sterling Nighteater 6x24x56 scope, and after 26 shots during site-in, my next 3 were tack-driven into a 1/4” group at 30 yards. Power is set to 3, and initial fill was 2700psi. Pellets were JSB Exact Diablos. Next, I started going through all of the wadcutter and hollowpoint pellets in my pellet sampler from Straight Shooters. It looked like the RWS Diablo Basics were shooting just as accurately as the JSB’s, but I expected some of the others to do better. I had high hopes for the Beeman H+N Match, the RWS R-10 Heavies, and RWS Super Mags, but for some reason they just didn’t perform very well. So I got the JSB ED’s and RWS DB’s and just started shooting from random positions and distances to see what I could expect in a store.
Well, the groupings started turning into crap, pellets were dropping about 2-3 inches, and then it finally dawned on me what was happening. I had already shot about 90 shots without even thinking about it! I thought I’d get more at power setting 3, but apparently not. When I checked air pressure for a refill I was down to 1000 psi. Ooops!
The next disaster was my scuba tank would only refill it back to 2500. It’s a dinky starter type tank, only abt. 6″ in diameter, maybe 2′ high. I’m not sure but I think it’s only 30cf, which ain’t enough, I found out.
So, I shot only 1 pellet with the new fill to see if accuracy was back on, and sure enough, at 30 yards whamo!, out goes another bullseye. I have a job tonight at a grocery store 1 hour away. They have 4 birds in the store, and I’m going to see if I can get a shot at em’.
I’ve bothered some of you before with questions about the gun and such, and I just thought you’d like to see an update on my situation. I gotta tell you, as soon as I picked up the Talon SS, it was love at first sight! It feels so right for me that I’m probably going to sell the Daystate Harrier X that I bought for Field Target shooting, if I can figure out how to keep the SS a little more stable when shooting at 55 yard targets. I know some of you have told me that it couldn’t compete in that arena, but you know what? I’m having so much fun with the Talon that I don’t really care. If I miss a few shots out past 45-55 yards, so what. At least I didn’t miss them with the $5000 guns some of these other guys have, and for closer-in ranges, I’ll definitely give them a run for their money and make em’ wonder why they spent all of that dough.
Anyway, gotta go, gotta be in the store at midnight when it closes, so I’ll post an update on what happens on the Talon’s initial outing. Thanks so much to all of you who have given me advice and information about this gun. I do absolutely love it!
Scrench
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….It was a cold and rainy night,…oh, wait, that was some other guy.
I Arrived at the store at 11:30pm. I walked through it once, and while waiting for customers to leave and the manger to lock the doors at midnight, I thought I saw a bird sleeping on a metal rafter back in their warehouse. Since no one was back there I got permission from the manager to bring in the gun and shoot it if it was. I carried it in with the tank off in a small nylon bag I have for a pup-tent, just long enough for the barrel to fit in, and about 8″ in diameter. No one had a clue what was in the bag. I put the gun together and used the big Nighteater to scan the rafters. It wasn’t a bird, but I found all kinds of crap that I’m sure they had no idea was up there. I was using 12x power so I could inspect screws on outlet boxes from 30′ away.
Then…
The store closed, we pulled out some long, light aluminum poles they use to hang stuff from the ceiling, and started banging the walls to try to get any birds to come out. Two of them did, and one landed on a Powerade endcap display about 7′ high, and just sat there looking around. Big mistake. I snuck up to within 15 yards, and rested on a low cooler in a kneeling position. That bird was huge at 12x in my scope at that distance, and was out of focus, but I didn’t want to waste any time as he might fly off. So wham!, and a puff of feathers flew off of him. The aggravating thing was, he didn’t drop, but flew off into the attic with his buddy. Now I’m absolutely positive he got hit, and I’m sure he’ll expire somewhere up in that attic, but I didn’t expect him to be able to do that. Now I’m thinking maybe I need to go with a .22 barrel (mine’s .177) and of course switch to wadcutters or hollowpoints. I used domed JSB Exacts just because they performed so well earlier in the day, but now I know I need something that will open up.
We spent the next hour atop a 12′ ladder removing ceiling tiles in various places to see if we could find anything, but I’m sure these birds were 2 steps ahead of us, and the attic space was half as big as the entire open space of the store, so they had plenty of room to hide, especially with the giant commercial air ducts that were running everywhere. The good part is, I did get paid for the one bird, even though I’m supposed to show the manager a body, but she understood why it would be difficult to produce one.
I’d like to try the Discovery pellets, but I can’t find them anywhere. Are they the same thing as the Crossman’s? I’m also thinking about going with the Micro-meter tank or the Co2. I think I’ve got plenty of power, so backing off shouldn’t hurt, but does anybody know about what fps and # of shots I would get with either of those tanks with the power set around 3-4? Another reason is the standard tank, even at power 3, with a 2700 psi fill, is too loud for my neighbor 30′ on the other side of my fence, plus I think it might scare other birds when multiple targets appear. How much quieter are the other two tanks compared to the standard?
Thanks to everyone for your interest and expertise.
Scrench
Give the Crosman hollow points / Benjamin Discovery pellets a try, they shoot fairly well for me in my SS. This has become my plinking pellet for ranges under 40 yards. At $7.99 for 500 it doesn’t break the bank for plinking.
My only regret is they are very dirty pellets. I just cleaned two tins with simple green, but have not gotten around to retesting them.
As far as close range pest control, don’t rule out the co2 adaptor. Tons of low power shots, and POI with temp change should not matter too much at close range or shooting up into the rafters.
You can also try the predator pellets with the red tip removed, and see how they group for you at low power. They might work well and not cause too much property damage on a pass through or miss.
Roger
Well did you getum or did you end up shooting out a ceiling light?? 😆
The Talon SS is a very desirable gun, everyone I’ve showed it to has immediately liked it, over my Condor, good luck in the store and thanks for keeping us posted on this crazy adventure, being so crazy just makes it much more interesting.
Scrench
That will make 2 of us!! 😉 FT’s watch out!!
glad you’re happy with the setup and its shooting well.
I’ve also had good luck with the RWS Basic at low power. Since they do well, I’ll mention that the RWS Club have performed marginally better than the Basics for me. About the same price and the only real difference I can tell is the Club has a smooth skirt vs the “striated” skirt on the Basic. Either are very economical, especially when bought from PA, with the buy 3 get 1 deal.
hope your “hunt” is successful.
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So what’s the going price for a feathered grocery store bird these days…?