To all that shoot long range 100+ yards with a AF rifle
I know many of you guys have in the past or do now make long shots with your rifle. I was just wondering what sort of accuracy are you getting and whats your spec? Thanks
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Tof,
Yeah, I knew you of all the posters here would understand what I am saying.
There is a lot of brand loyality here, having said that, AirForce are 500 dollar rifles, often with 400 dollar mods on them.
You can do a lot of thing with them, but at the end of the day, a rifle you can take out at any time and hit dead on on the mark each and everytime and one that you never had to take apart and redo, becomes the go to gun.
For you it is your Rapid and for me it is my Royale 500 carbine, for others it is their Edguns or Daystates. However, fact is for long range, beyond 150 yards, those wood stock bolt actions guns have no peer, they were made to empty their tanks of usable air in three shots and when tethered to a tank with a sweet spot pressure, they are extremely consistant, they do not require heavy hammers or heavy springs to jar you off target.
ANd they have a lot of horsepower, and one thing I have learned in this long range projet is that youneed a lot of FPE in relation to caliber to shoot consistantly at long range.
Yes I do like the Talon SSS and its valve Doug made for me, it is a great after hours air gun for what goes bump in the night and is simply a cool gun, but against those wood stocked bolt action guns like what you and RJ are using for long range, my best groups are probably RJ’s and your ho hum groups.
For other options I can do this with the Ranger 45, and have but it simply beats the shit out of my steel target. Or I could in fact improve some more on the Long range AirForce project, but that would involve a new 257 barrel, maybe a new mold and a hammer, and I just don’t want to sink more money into this project so it is time for something a little more mission specific.
Regards,
Roachcreek
RC,
OK, i understand for sure. That was some of the same problems with my Airforce too. Some days the gun could work miracles and somedays it was a pain in the ass. And it always seemed to be a pain in the ass when Mr. Coyote showed up.
But taking ANY AIRGUN apart time and time again can get old quick. At least for me. I’m at the point like you, when i pull out my airgun i simply want it to work. And work EVERYTIME with as less maintenance as possible.
But very few guns IF ANY beat the tried and true BOLT ACTION, WOOD STOCK and AIRTUBE combo for all out accuracy.
Gonna still try to make my Airforce a long range gun as already put money into it. Should prove to be good………………….I HOPE….lol!
Hey RC
U need to remember im still young with a family and somehow find the funds to do all this stuff. Im glad i got my Haley rifles. They have proven to me to be some of the best bigbores out there. I have not had the first mechanical problem. No leaks. Just been a damn good gun. Soon i will start another post to show yall what i mean about these guns. I know there r alot of haters of haley guns on here but shut up if u dont own one
Raven,
I have shot just about everything in the good old US of A that you can legally and otherwise.
But hunting is not why I want a long range air rifle, I just love to print tiny groups on a piece of steel at 275 to 300 yards.
I used to live on a place that had a 1100 yard range, I spent a fortune in 300 Mags of every make, SR 25’s, MIA Supermatches and Sharps rifles just clanging steel, I know it doesn’t make a lot of sence, especially to those younger posters here who have families, to spend the bucks to do that.
The AirForce Platform is what it is. It allows modification like no other air rifle system out there, but like I say there is just so far you can go with it.
It is not the most powerful, it is not the most accurate and it is not the most ergnomical air rifle, but it does a fair job.
Rifles like the XPairguns Ranger, DAQ’s and the Haleys are desgned for one or two powerful accurale shots, and power is what gets you good groups at uber ranges. They blend into the realm of Powder burners, the Ranger is really a hot loaded 45 LC with heavy bullets, the Haley 257 is right at the starting line for handloaded 25-20’s, my 25 LBT is just surpassing the 25 ACP.
In the end it is probably just in the realm of old men with too much time on their hands that don’t have a bunch of kids to feed anymore.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Tof,
I just get tired of taking it apart and putting it together again to keep it in tune, or trying to get just a little more power or accuracy out of it.
Or at least my arthritic thumbs get tired of turning those dang allen wrenches. Too many nights of waking up at 3 AM with those fuckers throbbing.
That and there is only so far you can go power wise with the AirForce Platform. To me a lot of the problem is the jar of the heavy hammer and spring combination being counter productive to accuracy.
I really do like the stretched Talon SSS, but I will most likely just regulate it to a 50 yard or less powerhouse for around the vineyard, right now it sets in the corner with the 2×7 Burris back on it with the laser and a light.
Yes I do get some pretty good groups at 150 and 275 yards, but I just can’t seem to get it to do it with regularity, which is a thing with most AF rilfes. I shot that beautiful 10 shot group today, and spent the rest of the day trying to dupicate it to no avail.
Marvin says I should get a longer barrel for it, and I could get a 22 incher in 257 and keep it hidden in the frame, but it still would not get close to the 240 FPE the Haley gets.
I think with heavier 25 caliber bullets and 240 or so FPE it will be more consistant.
And it will bide me over until I get a upper in 30 caliber for the Ranger 45.
And Yes OldGoat you are correct, I am on this cast bullet long range accuracy thing, and the only 25 caliber I see out there right now, shooting heavier bullets is the Haley.
Or maybe I am just getting bored with it, I guess most of us know how that is.
Regards,
Roachcreek
That is not the point. Some of us already have powder burners; we are trying to get the best performance possible using compressed air.
I was just trying to figure the mindset. I can’t buy a .257 or .308 powder burner no matter how much money I had. Also here in Oklahoma I can’t hunt anything with an airgun besides squirrels, and possums.
Raven, you could buy a couple of .257 Roberts for what one .257 Haley costs and you could buy a whole arsenal for what a Daystate Wolverine will cost.
That is not the point. Some of us already have powder burners; we are trying to get the best performance possible using compressed air.
Outside of the R3 Matador 25 cal standard that I am waiting for, the .257 Haley or a 25 cal Daystate Wolverine will be my next purchase. I am waiting to see how the 25 cal Wolverine turns out.
I’m wondering how either/both of them would work with a bull pup stock! 😆
That being the case why not just save some serious money and get a .257 Roberts, or .223? They do really well at 300 yards. Heck a .308 with match grade reloads can get you out to 1000 yards.
Cedric: RC is after 3 shot groups under 1” at 300 yards! I don’t blame him and I am seriously thinking about ordering a .257 Haley myself.
Outside of the R3 Matador 25 cal standard that I am waiting for, the .257 Haley or a 25 cal Daystate Wolverine will be my next purchase. I am waiting to see how the 25 cal Wolverine turns out.
I’m wondering how either/both of them would work with a bull pup stock! 😆
RC,
So now you don’t seem happy with the new stretched Condor. I thought it was doing well. You broke MOA at 275 yards with it.
I read your post on the yellow and now you don’t seem happy with its performance.
What gives?!
That powerwheel replacement is an item I got from Tagdagger and tried for a while.
What it does, is allow you to use the heavy Airarcher spring and hammer and gives the spring its full range of movement/power. It also replaces the rear barrel bushing.
I no longer use it on the one remaining 25 LBT rifle I use now, instead I use a shortened spring.
Today I tried casting bullets from pure lead with no tin, I have been using anywhere for 20-1,30-1, 40-1 alloy.
And I also sized my bullets in the Lee sizer base first to stop the trailing edge of lead on the base that I had been getting.
The pure lead does not fill the mold as well, resulting smaller diameter bullets and in less finning in the mold and as a result less trialing edges, combinig that and sizing base first takes the finning away all together. I did see improvement in grouping.
Of course sizing base first is nothing new, almost all sizing dies to size base first except Lee dies.
And like I said in the beginning about someday getting a Haley .257, I ordered one yesterday.
Regards,
Roachcreek
haven’t been on in a wile but look like a spacer. might be wrong but when making power the wheel is useless once u find the setting. like my af 308 shots heavey shit and I never change the pre load so a perfect bushing stops UN wanted change. thats my though.
Hey Charlie,your power wheel looks different.
Thanks roachcreek. Think I may have to get some heavy pellets and give it a go.
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If you notice periodic changes in POI with that amazing setup you have, try removing or significantly loosening the front screw that holds the stock to the gun. Tempature, humidity can cause some flexing of the one piece stock and as a result POI can be affected.