Trouble dialing in .22
Gentlemen,
This is going to be long, so buckle up. I just want to give as much information as possible to help diagnose my gun’s problem.
When I first got my Vulcan Pup Gen4, it was shooting like a dream compared to my springer, but I thought it could be better.
Around the 2000 shot mark, things started to go wonky. I would be hitting bulls-eyes, and then for no apparent reason, it would start grouping low or really high or to the left or right. I would re-zero the scope, and everything would be fine for a bit. However, eventually it would start all over again.
I clean the barrel after every 500 pellets using Kleen Bore Formula 3 on cotton patches pulled through the gun from the muzzle end. The patches are pulled with a piece of weed-wacker string that has a piece of 50# test fishing line taped to the end (in a loop).
Things I have checked:
1. I removed the stock and side-plates at the back. All screws were checked in the area around the rear block and all moving parts were cleaned/oiled.
2. I checked for an air leak at the probe by using the tissue paper method.
3. Scope rings and picatinny rail bolts were checked.
4. Bolts holding the trigger assembly checked.
5. Side plate removed and barrel bolts (One side only) were checked and found to be tight.
6. Shroud removed and gun was shot, which actually made the POI worse.
7. LDC removed and inspected inside for evidence of pellet clipping.
8. Stock bolts checked for tightness.
9. Gun shook listening for rattling.
10. Breech o-ring gets lubed with silicone (from the dive shop I work at) every time the barrel is cleaned. Applied with a Q-tip.
11. Tried shooting AA Diabolo Field 5.51 16gr. They seem to shoot a little worse than the JSB 18.13gr that I am currently using.
12. Parallax error minimized by proper scope setup. Scope Werks side-wheel was calibrated in 1 meter increments by myself using a scope visual target (from 10m to 41m) (took me all freaking day to do). Scope is an Althlon Argos BTR 6-24×50.
13. Bubble level on scope checked before every shot. Scope, bubble, and barrel are inline and re-verified using a string and electric level.
14. 11 pellets were shot into the pool at work and retrieved. Pellets were inspected for irregular grooves, damage, etc. I *think* they look fine.
Here are some photos of the crown:
The first couple are after shooting around 400 pellets today.
And then after doing some cleaning. The only thing I did differently with this cleaning is that I ever-so-carefully ran a nylon brush up and down the barrel twice. I did not run the brush into the barrel far enough to reach the breach o-ring.
Today, my chronograph arrived, so I put the gun through the paces. I also wanted to know when the gun would fall off the regulator. I used the JSB’s mentioned above. Is the gun shooting too hot for the JSB’s?
Now that the chronograph has arrived, I can start my big pellet experiment. Using the JSB’s from above, I first Yrrah rolled them and divided them up into groups. Those groups were then subdivided by head size using a PelletGauge. Then, those groups were further divided by weight. I will be shooting groups of approximately 5 provided there are enough pellets in each group.
Could my issue simply be that the gun has a specific requirement for a pellet, which I have yet to discover? Or, am I just expecting too much? After all, the Vulcan isn’t a competition rifle? Or is it…?
Again, sorry this is so long-winded. I hope I’ve given enough information. I really want this to be a pellet-on-pellet gun.
Cheers!
All Replies
Well Zonk, if I see no discernible difference, I’ll be joining you! :biggrinn:
Zoey, Zoey, relax and just SHOOT your gun and enjoy!!!!! It’s a pellet gun for gods sake ! I do nothing but blow out any lead dust and lube with what you want. I tried to weight each pellet and size but went back to just shooting and enjoying. Couldn’t see any difference in groups. :4:
you are wasting your time, if the speed myth was true, no one in sub12fpe lands could keep any decent groups.
we are talking about your should be 930fps versus 575fps with 15.9 grain or slightly less with 18.1gr.
once your speed is reasonably stable ( ideally single digit SD, but honestly I can tell you at these short distances even 30fps would not make much poi shift, maybe over 50fps would show but I doubt that…) and you are still not happy with groupings, you have to look elsewhere.
Today I did some more pellet testing at the indoor range, and have a question regarding FPS.
AV FPS of .22 JSB Exact Jumbo 18.1gr straight out of the tin was 866fps.
Then I started washing and waxing the pellets with White Lightning Chain Wax. In addition, I separated them by head size and Yrrah rolled them. Today I only shot 5.52mm head pellets. The AV FPS with the washed/sorted pellets was 891 at the muzzle.
Anyone think that this might be a little fast for accuracy, or is it one of those “Maybe yes, maybe no. Depends upon your gun. You should try shooting both slower and faster to see what happens”.
On a side-note, I also shot through the chronograph at 21 meters. Chairgun had previously indicated a BC of something like 0.030. I plugged in the FPS at the muzzle and the FPS at 21 meters into Chairgun. The corrected BC is 0.0437.
I’m not sure if this BC translates to other guns.
Yea, I know it’s asinine to buy glass that is stupid expensive. However, I am really starting to believe in the “Buy once, cry once” philosophy. Sometimes you have to wait longer to get something, but once you do, you’re done.
It seems like by the time I get done d*cking around replacing lower quality items because they fail, I could have just gone out and bought what I was lusting after in the first place.
The good thing is that I can use this scope with virtually any gun I might own in the future.
I’ve been to the range multiple times now and only one person (a 3-gun competition shooter) recognized the scope. People look at it, but don’t know what a SB is, which makes me happy. Now, the gun on the other hand…that damn thing draws a ton of attention. Everyone and their dog wants to talk to me about it. I can’t seem to get any shooting done! :biggrinn:
great news Zoey! Ain’t many shooters of these dang bb guns have optics that cost twice what their gun cost!! :suprisedn: :suprisedn: :8:
That S&B is the pinnacle of gun glass!
Well guys, the scope was the problem. I’m back to grouping like a fiend, and testing a variety of pellets. I appreciate all of the helpful advice.
The new scope is a dream. Clear doesn’t begin to explain the view through it. Super crisp clicks that line up with the turret marks. It tracks to the “”T”.
A little hint to you guys. I tried washing, drying, and waxing my pellets with “White Lightning” bicycle chain lube (They have several products, and it’s a specific one, but I’m not at home to tell you which one). Without a doubt, it increased the accuracy of my gun, and it doesn’t leave a bunch of graphite residue in the barrel.
Chime in if you want to know which White Lightning it is.
I like that S&B :8:
Thank you, sir! :biggrinn:
And here she is…all dressed up and nowhere to go. If the weather holds out, I’ll pop over to the range tomorrow. Fingers crossed that I haven’t made a monumental mistake in thinking that the problem was with the scope.
I really wish I could get my mitts on one of the flat-black synthetic stocks…
That’s a great scope, congratulations.
Here’s a sneak peek at the scope I bought. I’ll get to the range this week to see what’s what and report back.
Sorry, I wasn’t very clear in my wording throughout this thread, so let me try again:
The Athlon scope I am selling is not flawed in any way. It is not a refurbished scope. It is a brand new, in box scope directly from Athlon. The serial number of the scope I am selling does not match the serial number of the flawed scope that I sent back to Athlon under warranty.
After looking through some top-tier glass, I purchased a new scope from a different manufacturer . This is the scope I will be using.
I would never sell anything that is flawed in any way without expressly stating what the issue is. Heck, I wouldn’t even give anything away without telling someone if there was an issue. My morals wouldn’t allow it, nor would my reputation.
I do not believe that the gun is bad. If you read back through this thread you’ll see when the issue appeared, and my reasoning behind believing that it was the scope. The fact that Athlon replaced the scope, as opposed to sending the scope back to me, tells me that they did find an issue with it.
I hope this clarifies things! 😉
Zoe , If the scope was the problem , you should just eat the cost for that scope and not sell a bad
scope to someone else and give them the same problem . You would lose all credibility on this forum .
If the gun is bad then send it back to whom you bought it from and ask for them to fix the problem or
send you a new gun .
FROM : THE BIRDMAN
The new scope I bought was delivered yesterday, and I figured out what height rings I need (hopefully). Rings will be here tomorrow. If this doesn’t fix my issues I’ll be both sad and happy. Happy that I’ve got some exceptional glass…sad that it doesn’t make a bit of difference if I still can’t put pellet-on-pellet.
The Athlon scope is for sale if anyone is interested. It’s BNIB, and not a refurbished unit.
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Yep, watchin’ sparrow and starling heads explode pretty much tells me all I need to know about my guns… When the body explodes, I know I’ve dropped off the regulator! 😉 :biggrinn: