VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

HW 100 T FSB - In .22 - Shot String

I finally had a chance to set up my chrono, and run some of the 18 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy's through my new HW 100 T FSB, .22 cal PCP.

The specs I saw for the gun stated that the max velocity was 886 fps, but with what pellet weight?  Anybody's guess, so I didn't really know what to expect with the 18 grain JSB's.  I was pleasantly surprised.

After a bit of experimentation, I found that the best fill pressure for this particular rifle is 2950 psi.  Just as a side note, the barrel length on this rifle is 23.6 inches. One of the longer barrels in my PCP collection.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the shots over the chrono reading in the 880+ fps range.   

This rifle is a dedicated hunting gun, so a huge shot count, for my application, is not something that I focus on.  In my corner of the world, here in Northern Arizona, ground squirrel hunting is not a high volume shooting affair.  A couple dozen shot opportunities is a really, really good day.  Half that is more like the norm.

Since the gun came with two 14 round mags, I was curious to see what the performance would be over the 28 rounds the two mags hold.  That is more than enough shots for a days hunting in my area.  

The air cylinder is 175cc in size.  That's a bit less than my FX 2000 at 202cc.  The FX gives me 32 shots at an average of 854 fps, using the same 18 grain JSB.  The extreme spread is 17 fps, and fpe is 29.

I was guessing that the regulated HW 100, with 175cc air cylinder, would be similar, but with better extreme spread.

Below are the results of the chrono test.

Pellet: JSB Exact, 18 grain Jumbo Heavy.

Fill Pressure: 2950 psi.

1 -  883        15- 886        

2 -  887        16- 888

3 -  886        17- 885

4 -  885        18- 888

5 -  882        19- 884

6 -  880       20- 881

7 -  881        21- 881

8 -  884       22- 887

9 -  882       23- 886

10- 880       24- 887

11- 880        25- 887

12- 882        26- 889

13- 882        27- 886

14- 888        28- 883

Hi - 889 fps

Lo - 880 fps

Avg - 884.5 fps

ES - 9 fps

SD - 3

Avg fpe - 31.4

 

Just for the heck of it, I put a few more pellets in the mag and fired them over the chrono.  Shot number 29, clocked 875 fps, shot number 30, clocked 869 fps, and shot number 31, clocked 863 fps.  It looks like 28 shots, (2 mags) is about the ideal for this rifle.

I'm more than pleased with these numbers.  The sequential shot to shot consistency is really good.  There were two occasions where it was 6 fps, the rest of the time it was 4 fps or less.  This is going to be one heck of a good shooting rifle.  Especially with the 18 grain JSB's.

Last time, I showed how she was shooting them at 15 yards indoors. A few days ago, I had a chance to sight her in at 50 yards out of doors.  Yep, she's a shooter alright.

I set up my shooting stand, and put my wind flags out at 15, 25, 35, and the last one at 45 yards, five yards in front of my target frame.  I also have a wind flag made from a strip of video tape that I hang on the air cylinder of my rifle.

Whenever I'm doing serious accuracy testing, or sighting in a gun, I always use my wind flags.  Otherwise it's just a crap shoot, as far as what you are actually seeing down range on paper. Ideally, I would like to have a tunnel to shoot in, but since that's not going to happen, the next best thing is to use wind flags, and shoot during the lulls.

Watching the flags, and shooting only during the lulls, the following targets show the results.  My hold was at 6 o'clock on the half inch orange dot. 

First four shots at 50 yards.  I was being patient, but not as much as I could have, because I knew I would need to make a scope adjustment. The gun is definitely going to group. The orange dot is half inch.

I made a couple of scope adjustments, waited for the next lull, and taking my time, fired a shot at a fresh orange dot.  It landed dead nuts at 12 o'clock on the dot.  Since the lull was holding, I fired a second shot, It landed just left of the first one, slightly enlarging the hole.  The wind picked up, so I had to wait about five minutes for the next lull to appear. I got off two more shots during that lull, and they landed in with the first two, only slightly enlarging the hole.  The wind picked up again, so I had to wait.  When the next lull showed up, I fired off the fifth and final shot, it went through the existing hole.  I don't think it even touched the paper.  I put in one click of right windage and called it done.

Final five 18 grain JSB's, fired while sighting in my new HW 100 T FSB .22, at 50 yards, shooting over wind flags. 

YEEHAWWW!  I love it when things turn out better than expected.  You don't really hear much about these guns.  HW doesn't have a huge family of PCP's, like they do springers, but if my experience is typical, the one they do offer is AWESOME!  

Yeah, I'm happy, real, real happy.

A few days ago, the weather was pretty nice, so I decided to get her out on a short ground squirrel hunt.  That is if I could find any.  It's still a bit early for them to be coming out of hibernation, but the weather has been fairly warm, so I figured I'd head out and see what I could find.  You never know.  Plus it's just nice being out in the woods, squirrels or no squirrels.

Here's a strong hint as to how things went.  First ground squirrel of 2013, taken with a head shot at 61 yards.  Yep she's a shooter.

When I have some time, I'll get a story up about the hunt.  I'm just thrilled that I decided to give this rifle a try.   I look forward to many successful hunts with her.

       

 

Got The .20 Cal - Logun MK II - Out For A Little Ground Squirrel Hunting

Logun Mk II .20 cal.

The Logun MK II is a British made PCP.  Unfortunately, they were discontinued a few years ago.   If you ever come across a used one, it would be worth a look.  They are very nice airguns.  The only regret I have is that when I bought it new, I didn't get it in .22 instead of .20 cal.

It's a repeater, but instead of a removable magazine, it has an inline magazine that is machined as part of the receiver.  I actually like that feature a lot.  Instead of changing out a magazine every 10 shots, I just pull back the follower and drop in a few more pellets when I need to add more ammo.

Logun Mk II inline magazine.

The above picture shows a close up of the inline mag.  You can see the pellets sitting head to skirt, head to skirt, with the spring tensioned follower holding them in place. When you rack the bolt back to cock the rifle, a shuttle slides over and picks up a pellet. When you close the bolt, the shuttle carries the pellet over and lines it up with the bore.  The final action of pushing the bolt forward and down, chambers the pellet into the barrel.  The operation of the bolt, and cam system that drives the shuttle, is butter smooth.

I was hoping that the gun would shoot non-lead tin pellets, for use in California on ground squirrels, but no such luck.  When it comes to .20 caliber non-lead tin pellets, there is only one, and that is the DYNAMIC SPC-5.  Most of my guns shoot tin really well, but not this one.  A couple of inches at 50 yards, is about as good as this rifle will do with them, and that's just not good enough for my application.

I decided to switch back to shooting lead pellets in her, and checking my notes found that she shoots the .20 cal JSB Exacts really well.  She launches the 13.6 grain JSB's at an average of 930 fps, and generates 26 fpe at the muzzle.  I sighted her in a half inch high at 50 yards, and we headed out into the forest for a ground squirrel hunt.

Ground squirrel taken at 43 yards.

The very first shot opportunity I had with her, I had to make a decision. There was a ground squirrel sitting on a stump at 43 yards, and right next to it on a rock, at the same distance, was a chipper.  I opted to take the squirrel.  

I caught the shot on video, and it is included in the clips that accompany this story. At about 9 ounces, these ground squirrels are quite small, and at 3 ounces the chippers are even smaller.  Both critters make for challenging targets.

Unlike California Ground Squirrels, who many times will colonize an area, and you can sometimes set up in one place and shoot from the same spot for quite awhile, these guys are more scattered.  I rarely find two in the same den area.  They get together for mating, but after that, are pretty much loners.

There are plenty of them out there in the forest, but you have to get out, put some boot leather on the ground, and hunt them individually.  Much like hunting tree squirrels in these same forests.

Ground squirrel taken at just over 40 yards.

The areas of the forest that I hunt are also loaded with chipmunks. I probably see five times more chippers than I do ground squirrels.  I don't head out targeting them specifically, because I am primarily focused on hunting the ground squirrels. However, I do consider them a bonus critter that inhabits the same habitat that the ground squirrels do. They are much smaller than the ground squirrels, and are a much tougher target to hit at long range, especially in the wind.  I walk up on a lot of them at 20 or 30 yards, and those get a free pass, but if I find a specific shot opportunity particularly interesting, or challenging distance wise, I will take the chippers as well.  

Here's a pair that I took at 37 and 48 yards respectively.  When the shot broke on the chipper at 37 yards, another behind it, and out at 48 yards ran up on a log.  I quickly racked the bolt and dropped that one also. Those are the kinds of chipper shots that I find challenging and interesting.

A pair of chipmunks dropped at 37 and 48 yards. 

Hunting with this gun is a ton of fun.  The action is butter smooth, the trigger is flawless, and the accuracy is excellent, which is a must have for taking these small critters out to 60 plus yards.

The following, are some of the video clips that I shot while hunting. They run about 4 minutes and 40 seconds, and depending upon the speed of your system, may take 20 to 30 seconds to load.  Thanks for watching.

  

Setting Up The AA 510 - .22 cal Carbine - To Hunt Ground Squirrels - In Northern Arizona

I had this gun set up to shoot DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets, at 18 fpe, for use while hunting California Ground Squirrels, but as that old expression goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."  

Since I'm not going to be able to get over to California as much as I had planned this year, it's time to go to plan "B" and set this gun up to hunt the types of ground squirrels that we have here in Northern Arizona.

Since I don't have to shoot tin pellets here, my plan is to turn the power back up to max, and sight her in with the 18 grain JSB Jumbo Exact Heavy pellets shooting at about 30 fpe.

Most of the shots around here are going to be in the 40 to 65 yard range. For this purpose, I like to sight her in one half inch high at 50 yards. This way, I just hold a little low for closer shots, dead on at 55, top of the head at 60, and show just a little daylight above the head at 65 yards. Been doing it this way for years and it works great.

One other change I made, was to mount a Leupold Vari-x-II, 4-12x40mm scope on her.  I've had this scope for over 20 years, and it's one of my favorites.

One of the mantras you always hear, when talking about scopes for airguns is, they must be able to focus down to 10 yards.  Well not really. I rarely shoot at less than about 35 yards.  I will occasionally shoot at 20 yards indoors, to do some  preliminary pellet testing, but most of the time I'm hunting, and rarely get a shot much under 35/40 yards.

This scope focuses down to 25 yards, plenty good enough for my hunting application. It has a fine duplex crosshair, and that works out about perfect for shots out to around 70 yards.  At the longer ranges, I just use the tip of the duplex post as my aim point.

As usual, I set out my wind flags.  I put the target frame out at a lasered 50 yards, and shot a few groups while making scope adjustments, until I had the poi adjusted to where I wanted it.

The wind was varible in speed, and shifting directions, but by watching the flags, I was able to pick some lulls to shoot in, and got her shooting exactly where I wanted.

Final sight-in target.  Holding center on the green dot, five 18 grain JSB's went into .525 ctc at 50 yards, with four going into .279 ctc.  Considering the breezy conditions, not to bad.  Half minute of ground squirrel for sure.

The next morning, I headed out into the forest to see if the local ground squirrels had emerged from hibernation.  It wasn't long before I had my answer.  On my way to the area that I was going to hunt, I had several run across the road in front of me.

The two types of ground squirrels that we can hunt here in the mountains, are the Rock Squirrel, and Golden Mantle ground squirrels. Neither one populates an area like California Ground Squirrels do, but both are very fun and challenging to hunt, and the country that they live in is just magnificently beautiful.

Below is a shot of the forest canyon that I decided to hunt.  It has a lot of old stumps, from being logged over about 100 years ago, as well as a lot of deadfall, blowdowns, and piles of large and small boulders.  All places that both types of these ground squirrels like to build their dens in and around, as well as sit on as they survey their domain.

I decided not to shoot video on this trip.  I just wanted to get out with my new gun, and on the first hunt of the season,  just have a fun day of hunting, without messing around with any video technology.

I had been slowly hunting my way up this canyon, glassing the rocks, stumps, and logs, when I spotted a ground squirrel sitting on top of a pile of boulders at 46 yards, but it was partially obscured by a small pine tree.  I had to move a bit to my left for a clear shot, and when I did, the squirrel bolted down the back side of the boulders.

I took that opportunity to move to a spot, in the shade, under a big pine tree, where I could survey the boulder pile, as well as have a better view of the entire area around the boulders. I set my rifle up on my Stoney Point bipod, and just waited. About ten minutes later, as I was glassing the boulders and area around them, I spotted the squirrel pop up on a stump to the left rear of the boulder pile.

I shot a range to it, and it came back at 52 yards.  Knowing I needed to hold a bit low at that range, I settled the crosshairs on the center of it's chest. I slowly took up the trigger pressure until the shot broke.

That 18 grain pellet hit him just under the chin, and it sounded like a lady finger going off.  There wasn't so much as a twitch.  He was DRT.

First hunt with a new rifle, and the first shot with it is a clean kill.  For me, it just doesn't get much better than that.  This is a great start to a new season of varmint hunting.

Golden Mantle ground squirrel taken at 52 yards, with AA 510 carbine, and 18 grain JSB's. 

After getting a couple of pictures, I continued slipping through the Ponderosa Pine forest, glassing all of the likely squirrel habitat as I went.  I spotted a couple more, but they lit out cross country before I could get a shot.

I decided to turn around and check my back trail, and sure enough, there was a squirrel sitting on a large pile of boulders, that I had passed by earlier, and at that time nothing was on it.  

It lasered at 56 yards.  Again I made the shot from my bipod, and at impact, the pellet picked the squirrel up, and blew it clear off the back of the boulder.  All I found when I got over there though, was some blood on the rock, but no squirrel.  Looking around, I could see more blood smears, and where it had slipped down into the depths of the boulder pile.  I hate it when that happens.

At that point, I decided to call it a day, and spent the next half an hour hunting my way back to my vehicle.  As I always do, before putting my gear away, I take a few minutes to carefully glass the surrounding area. It's interesting how many times I'll get a shot at a critter that has gotten curious about my presence, and will be sneaking a peek at what I'm doing there.

Sure enough, as I'm glassing the area, I spot a ground squirrel sitting upright on a stump off to my left.  I shoot a range to it and get 61 yards. At that range I know I'll need to hold a bit high.  There is also a slight breeze coming at ninety degrees from my left.

I set the rifle on my bipod, hold the horizontal crosshair on the top of the squirrels head, and put the vertical crosshair on its left side.  About that time, the wind picks up.  I'm well outside of this guys danger zone, which is usually about 50 yards, so I decide to gamble and wait a bit to see if the wind drops.

A short time later the wind does drop to a light breeze again.  I finalize my hold and send the pellet on its way. There is a resounding WHOP at impact, and the furball drops on the spot.  When I get over to it, I see that the pellet has gone through both shoulders for instant lights out.  

Ground squirrel taken at 61 yards.

A photo looking back towards my vehicle, from the stump that I whacked the squirrel on.

This type of hunting isn't high volume shooting, but man is it ever fun and challenging. I'm thrilled with the performance of my new AA 510 carbine, and the accuracy of the 18 grain JSB's is all that I could ask for.

This type of hunting is great practice for this coming fall tree squirrel season.  It was great to get out into the forest, and I have plans to do it again next week.

Stay tuned, more to follow. 

Benjamin Discovery Goes Green - With H&N - .22 cal 12.6 Grain - Baracuda Green - Tin Pellets .

Benjamin .22 cal Discovery, with Bushnell 5-15x40mm scope.

The vast majority of the snow has melted off, and the local forest roads have dried out enough to drive on without sinking in up to the frame, so I thought I would spend a day getting some sunshine and fresh air.

One of the things I wanted to do while out there, was to try the H&N 12.6 grain Baracuda Green, non-lead, tin pellets in my .22 cal Disco. Normally, in a non-lead ammo situation, I would shoot the DYNAMIC PCP-2, tin pellets in this rifle, but they have become very difficult to come by, so it would be real nice to have a readily available alternative. I wanted to see if maybe the Baracuda Green tin pellets would make for a good second choice.

I've had my .22 Disco since they first came out in early 2008.  It has been a really good performer since day one.  I currently have it sighted in with the 15.9/16 grain JSB Exact Jumbo pellets, and it is death on tree squirrels out to about 60 yards with those.

We don't have a commercial shooting range in my neck of the woods, so when I want to do some pellet testing, I have to head out into the wide open spaces of the National Forest and set up my own range. Sometimes I go to a familiar spot, and other times I just drive until I find an area that looks like it's a place I would like to spend the day. That's what I did this time.

It took me about twenty minutes to get all of my gear set up.  I have a portable shooting stand that I shoot from.  A set of wind flags that I shoot over, and a portable target frame that I place my targets on.

I put the target frame out at 40 yards, and set up my wind flags at 10 yard intervals, starting with the first one 10 yards from the muzzle, and the last one next to the target frame at 40 yards.  I set them up so that I can see them while looking through the scope on my rifle, yet offset to one side far enough that I won't hit them while shooting.

I checked my wind meter, and it was indicating wind velocities running from 8 to 12 mph.  During the lulls, it was dropping down to the 3 to 4 mph range.  I did all of my shooting during the lulls, and even then it was a challenge.

I fired a half dozen shots at random targets, to condition the freshly cleaned bore to the tin pellets.

This rifle is currently sighted in with the 16 grain JSB's, so I didn't expect the lighter Baracuda Green pellets to have the same point of impact, and I was right.  They are shooting much higher at 40 yards than the JSB's are, but by using the first mildot above the crosshair, I was able to get them to print on my target, although a bit left and low.

Considering the conditions, I'm really happy with the way these H&N tin pellets shoot. Shooting during the lulls, the first five went into a group, at 40 yards, that measured .474 ctc.

Group number 1.

I dropped down to the second target, and once again shooting during the lulls, shot five into a group that measured .363 ctc.

Group number 2.

Next, just for the heck of it, I dropped down to a Prairie Chuck target and fired one shot, to see if I could put one between the eye and the ear. Below is the result.  I'm really pleased with the way these H&N tin pellets are shooting in my Disco.

As a hunter, I'm not one that enjoys shooting groups just for the sake of shooting groups.  I've been doing this for a hell of a long time, (about 40 years with airguns) and it doesn't take me long to tell if a particular pellet is going to meet my accuracy standards in a given gun.

These H&N Baracuda Green pellets are obviously shooting quite well in my Disco, and will make for a great alternative to the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets in this rifle.  It would be nice if they were a couple of grains heavier, but if I'm in a situation where I must use a non-lead pellet, they will certainly do, and they are available.

I want to try them in a few other guns as well.  I'll try them in my AA 410, and AA 510 carbines for sure, as well as my Marauder pistol.

All of those other pellet holes are from other shooting sessions.  I've had this portable target frame for about 45 years, and have replaced the cardboard backer many, many times. This is what the back of it looks like currently.  It goes with me on every hunt.  I use it to check my zero before heading out into the field, as well as for sighting in, and accuracy testing.  It's an indispensable piece of gear.

Back of portable target frame.

So, if you are in need of accurate lead free pellets, and are looking for something that can hold it's own, accuracy wise, against some of the lead pellets out there, be sure to check out the H&N non-lead offerings.

When it comes to what pellet a particular gun will shoot well, each one has its preferences, but the Baracuda Green pellets are certainly worth trying, and might be just what you're looking for.   

 

Comparing The .22 cal AA 510 and AA 410 Carbines - Shot Strings - Shooting The 18 Grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy's

This photo shows the AA 410 Carbine at the top, and AA 510 Carbine at the bottom.

So that there is no confusion, let me mention that I have swapped the stocks between the two rifles, and that's why the AA 410 is wearing the AA 510 ambidextrous stock.

I prefer the thumbhole design for hunting, and rather than have a thumbhole stock on both rifles, I just swap the one back and forth between guns.

A few things differentiate the AA 510 carbine from the AA 410 carbine. The most noticable is the longer air tube on the AA 510.  It holds 242cc of air, compared to the 180cc that the AA 410 carbine air tube holds.

Also, the power control knob on the AA 510 operates just the opposite of the AA 410. Turning the knob to the right on the AA 410 increases power.  Doing the same on the AA 510 decreases power.

There are also a few cosmetic machine cuts on the receiver of the AA 510 that are not on the AA 410 receiver.  Functionally, the side lever actions on the two guns operate exactly the same, and they share the same magazine design.

I consider both of these rifles to be nice compact hunters.  I use them mainly for tree squirrel (limit 5) and cottontail rabbit (limit 10) hunting. For those applications, shot count isn't really an issue because both guns get 20 or more useable shots on a fill. 

But, since a lot of folks live and die by shot count numbers, I thought I would go ahead and show a string from both rifles, when shooting the 18.1 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets.  Both rifles are exceptionally accurate when shooting this particular pellet.

AA 410 CRBSL .22, shot string with 18.1 grain JSB, 3000 psi fill, power adj. at Hi.

1 - 837      11 - 874

2 - 844     12 - 871

3 - 851      13 - 870

4 - 844     14 - 867      

5 - 848     15 - 864

6 - 854      16 - 860

7 - 862      17 - 851

8 - 860     18 - 846 

9 - 871      19 - 845 

10- 868    20 - 840

Avg - 856 fps

Hi - 874 fps

Lo - 837 fps

ES - 37 fps

Fpe - 29

AA 510 CRBSL .22, shot string with 18.1 grain JSB, 3000 psi fill, Power adj. at Hi.

1 - 863     11 - 893     21 - 870

2 - 867     12 - 892    22 - 867

3 - 865     13 - 891    23 - 865

4 - 867     14 - 893    24 - 863

5 - 872     15 - 887    25 - 860

6 - 880    16 - 890

7 - 883     17 - 885

8 - 888    18 - 885

9 - 892     19 - 880

10- 890    20- 877 

Avg - 878 fps

Hi - 893 fps

Lo - 860 fps

ES - 33 fps

Fpe - 31

The AA 510 carbine is generating two more fpe at the muzzle than the AA 410 carbine is, but that isn't even noticeable in the field while hunting.  The additional 62cc of air, that the AA 510 carbine holds, manifests itself as five more shots than the AA 410 carbine gets.  So that gives me 20 shots with the AA 410 carbine, or 25 with the AA 510 carbine.  Either way, more than enough shots for the way I typically use these guns.  

Again, I don't get overly anxious about shot counts on my PCP's.  They all hold more than enough air for what I am doing with them 99% of the time.

My AA 510 carbine runs about 6 ounces heavier than my AA 410 carbine. The additional weight is toward the muzzle, and I like that.  All in all, they are both very nice guns, and you can't go wrong with either one.

 

 

 

AA 510 CRBSL - .22 Carbine - Turned The Power Down To 18 FPE - Shooting 14.5 Grain DYNAMIC Tin PCP-2's

AA 510 .22 cal Carbine.

If you follow the airgunning scene at all, you are probably aware of the race for ever more power.  Guns generating, 50, 60, 70, 80, 100, 200+ fpe, and more at the muzzle, are now readily available.  Big bore airguns in, 40, 45, and 50 caliber, have taken airgun power levels to amazing new heights.  Guys are hunting deer, bear, hogs, elk, and other large critters with airguns these days.  More, and more states are making hunting big game with big bore airguns legal.  

But, you know what, the thing that originally attracted me to airgunning, was the quiet, low power finesse, that I found challenging and exciting, when hunting with traditional small caliber airguns, and I'm starting to reconnect with what brought me to the party.

My first, really good quality adult airguns, were an FWB 300S, and an FWB 124D. Both were in .177 caliber.  They were doing about 7 fpe, and 12 fpe respectively, and I had a blast with those guns. A lot of vermin and small game have fallen to both of those rifles.

Somewhere along the way, I started to become a power junkie, and started chasing higher fpe guns.  Nothing wrong with that, they have their place, and I've had a blast acquiring, and hunting with the more powerful rifles, but last year, I got a reminder about the fun, that comes along with hunting guns that put out less than 25/30 fpe at the muzzle.

Long range prairie dog hunting requires some power to reach out in the wind, and bag those guys at 100+ yards.  Thirty to fifty fpe can be a good thing for that application. But, a lot of my ground squirrel, and tree squirrel hunting, is done in areas where a 70/80 yard shot is definitely the exception, and most shots are in the 40 to 65 yard range, and high power just isn't needed.

The thing that got me to thinking about all of this, was last spring and summer, when I did all of my ground squirrel hunting with my new Marauder PCP pistol/carbine.  

My Marauder pistol/carbine, with factory settings, was doing 13 fpe at the muzzle, shooting the 12.8 grain DYNAMIC Sn-2 tin pellets.  It pretty much killed every ground squirrel I got the crosshairs on, all the way out to just past 60 yards, and 99% of all shots were complete pass throughs. Obviously plenty of power.

There were a few areas though, that I hunted, where some of the shots were at 70/75 yards, and because of terrain, I couldn't close the range, and didn't want to chance a shot, at that range, with a 13 fpe gun, so it got me to thinking about having just a bit more power.  Not 30 or 40 fpe, more like 18 to 20 fpe.  Kind of splitting the difference.   

Rather than modify my Marauder pistol for more power, I decided to turn down the power on my PCP carbines.  I have two, an AA 410, and a new AA 510, both side levers.

I have already adjusted the power down on the AA 410, but I like to have a backup gun, as well as a loaner, so I decided to do the same to the AA 510 carbine, shooting the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets.

One of the things that I want to see in a shot string, from a non regulated gun, is a very low velocity difference in sequential shots.  In other words. I want shot two, to be very close in velocity to shot one, and shot three to be very close to shot two, etc.

The reason has to do with followup shots.  My first shot kill ratio is very high, but it isn't perfect, and when taking a shot, I'm very focused on the location of the crosshairs, and the result of the shot.    

If the critter drops as intended, all is good, but I if I miss, I want to know where the pellet went, how and why I missed, and what I need to correct on the followup shot, assuming that I get one, to make a second shot kill.

Some times I can actually see the pellet in flight, see exactly where it went, and why I missed.  Maybe high left, or low right etc.  Other times I can tell from the dust kicked up at pellet impact, where the pellet went compared to where I was holding.

I want to know that the next pellet up, is going to track down, as close as possible, the same trajectory path that the shot I missed with took.  That way, I know the correction I make in my hold is good, and the next pellet I fire, is going to track very close to the first shots, trajectory path, and not be high or low, because of a large velocity difference between the two shots. Low sequential shot to shot velocity variation, is key for accurate followup shot placement.

As you will see, the sequential shot to shot variation with this AA 510 carbine, is exceptional.  For the most part, very low single digits.

AA 510 side lever carbine, 30 shot string, with the power turned down to 18 fpe, shooting the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets, on a 3000 psi fill.

1 - 748 fps  11 - 747        21 - 736

2 - 748        12 - 746       22 - 736

3 - 750        13 - 745        23 - 739        

4 - 750        14 - 747        24 - 740

5 - 746        15 - 744        25 - 736

6 - 749        16 - 743        26 - 733

7 - 748        17 - 742        27 - 736 

8 - 746        18 - 740       28 - 731

9 - 749        19 - 738        29 - 733

10- 748       20 - 744       30 - 734

AVG. - 742 fps

ES - 19 fps

FPE - 18

I could flatten the string out a bit more, by using a 3050 psi fill, but I can more than live with the results this 3000 psi fill gives me.  Thirty shots with this kind of squential shot to shot consistency, is going to be awesome in the field.  I can hardly wait to get her out on a hunt.

Air Arms builds some fantastic PCP's, and the new AA 510 carbine is no exception.

 

 

 

FX T-12 Whisper - .22 cal - Shooting The Baracuda Green - 12.6 Grain Tin Pellets - Over The Chrongraph

I picked this gun up new in early 2007.  It has been a stellar performer, and starred in the second half of my DVD, "Airgun Hunting the California Ground Squirrel."  

I decided, that since it has been awhile since I had run her over the chrono, that I would shoot a string, using the 14.5 grain DYNAMIC PCP-2, tin pellets, and see how she's doing compared to a couple of years ago.

On a 3000 psi fill, she is still real close to the original 36 shot string (3 mags).  This time, the average velocity is just a bit higher at 882 fps, compared to 871 fps the first time.  The ES is 33 fps, compared to 27 fps the first time, but still good enough for my hunting needs.

Since the DYNAMIC tin pellets have become very difficult to come by, and I have a couple of situations where I must use non-lead pellets, if I want to hunt those properties.  I'm curious to see how the performance of the relatively new H&N Baracuda Green tin pellets stack up against the DYNAMIC PCP-2's, in a few of my guns.

I previously tried them in my AA 410CRBSL carbine, and determined, that from a shot count perspective, they are less efficient when it comes to air useage, but beggars can't be choosy, and though they aren't as efficient as the heavier DYNAMIC PCP-2's, they would certainly suffice in a pinch.

I also wanted to see how the Baracuda Greens would perform, from an air use efficiency stand point, in my Whisper.

What I found, was a situation similar to what I saw with the AA 410 carbine.  On a 3000 psi fill, a 36 shot string with the 12.6 grain Baracudas, showed an ES of 77 fps, where the 14.5 grain PCP-2's only showed an ES of 33 fps.  For my hunting application, an ES of 77 fps is just to great, and will have a negative effect on POI, especially at longer ranges.  

If I stopped at 24 shots, with the Baracuda Greens, (2 mags) the ES was a very low 17 fps.  It was with the third mag, that the velocity started to drop like a free falling safe, and the ES climbed like crazy.

I could probably improve things a bit by going to a higher fill pressure, but I don't like exceeding the manufacturers recommended max fill specification, so in actual practice, with this pellet in this gun, I would simply shoot two mags, and then refill the gun.

At this point, I've still got a good supply of the DYNAMIC PCP-2's on hand, so there is no need to switch to the Baracuda Greens just yet, but I always like to have a plan "B" just in case.

Next, I need to give them a good accuracy test at 50 yards.  There is just too much snow on the ground right now to be able to do that, but both this Whisper, and the AA 410 carbine look like they want to shoot this pellet pretty well.  I've only had a chance to do a small test at 25 yards, but they look like they have serious potential.

So, if you are in need of a non-lead pellet, for what ever reason, check out the Barracuda Greens, at first glance, they look like they could be a good substitute for lead pellets.  At least in some guns.

 

  

 

AA 410CRBSL - .22 cal Carbine - Power Turned Down To 20 FPE - Shooting The Baracuda Green - 12.6 Grain Tin Pellets Over The Chrongraph

The first thing that I had to do, was to remove the barreled action from the stock, so that I could access the set screw that locks the power control knob down.  That's an easy task, because the barreled action is held into the stock with one allen head screw, located just ahead of the trigger guard.

Allen screw loosened, to allow the barreled action to be removed from stock.

With the stock removed, I was able to access the setscrew that is located directly below the power control knob.  I had the power control set to maximum, and had it locked down so that I wouldn't accidentally move it while hunting.  To turn the power down, I had to loosen the setscrew so the power knob would again turn freely.

Location of setscrew, with allen wrench inserted.

Once I had the setscrew loosened, I put the gun back into the stock, and got ready to do some chrony testing of the Baracuda Green, 12.6 grain tin pellets.

As a starting point, I set the power control to the half way point.  I aired the gun up to 3000 psi, loaded a mag with ten Baracuda Greens, and started to shoot.

When hunting in an area where I must use non-lead pellets, I shoot the DYNAMIC PCP-2, 14.5 grain tin pellets in this gun.  They give me 20 good shots, with an ES of 29 fps at 27 fpe, before I need to refill with air. Turning the power down, looking for about 20 fpe, I expected to pick up a few more shots, but as we'll see, when also switching to a lighter weight pellet, at the same time the power is turned down, doesn't necessarily mean an increase in shot count. 

What actually happened, when shooting the lighter weight Baracuda Green pellets is, I was barely able to keep the original 20 shots with an ES of 31 fps.  By the time I got to 25 shots, which was my original goal, the ES was 75 fps.  Even though the power was turned down, shot count didn't improve with the lighter pellet, and ES had more than doubled by shot 25.    

I have seen this phenomenon before, when testing light weight lead pellets in a gun, compared to it's performance when shooting heavier pellets.  A heavier pellet seems to cause the gun to be more efficient in the use of air.  I think it probably has something to do with a higher back pressure on the valve when heavier pellets are used.

Next, I again aired the gun up to 3000 psi, and switched to the heavier DYNAMIC PCP-2, tin pellets.  I left the power adjuster at the previous half point setting, and started to chrony the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets.

Now this was more like what I was looking for.  The 25 shot string started at 777 fps, peaked at 791 fps, and ended at 762 fps.  The ES is 29 fps, and the fpe is 19.7 at the muzzle.  

I wanted to try the BARACUDA GREEN tin pellets, as a possible alternative to the hard to get DYNAMIC PCP-2's, and they could certainly still be used, but seem to be a bit light in this gun.  

I wonder if a regulated gun would maybe overcome this problem of inefficient use of air?  I don't have a regulated gun, so until I get one at some point, this question will remain unanswered.

I still have about 10,000 PCP-2's left, and will continue to use them in the AA 410 carbine.  I tried the Baracuda Green pellets in my FX Whisper, with similar results. I'll get that information posted at a later date.

I could certainly use the Baracudas in my AA 410 carbine, but would obviously need to refill more often, and that wasn't my goal.  But, if at some point they are the only choice in a quality non-lead pellet, I'll certainly do whatever I need to, to keep on hunting in a lead free area.

I've again locked the power control down, except this time it's at the mid setting on the power scale.  We are now ready to get after some California Ground Squirrels here in about four or five weeks. 

 

 

 

AA 410CRBSL - .22 cal Carbine - Going To Turn The Power Down To 20 FPE - To Use With The Baracuda Green - 12.6 Grain Tin Pellets

Man, the past few months have just been crazy busy, and because of that, there hasn't been much time for airguns, or the blog.  It's looking like January is going to be more of the same, so I thought I would take a little bit of the down time available between Christmas and New Years, to adjust my AA 410CRBSL carbine down to about 20 fpe at the muzzle.

I plan to hunt it with the relatively new, H&N 12.6 grain, Baracuda non-lead tin, .22 cal pellets on California ground squirrels next year.

For all practical purposes, I'm out of serious hunting with springers, and have made the complete switch to PCP's.  Just a better tool for what I do.  

Last spring and summer, I hunted exclusively with my new Benjamin Marauder PCP pistol/carbine.  The gun, shooting 12.8 grain, DYNAMIC Sn-2 tin pellets, generates 13 fpe at the muzzle.  That was essentially the same power as my R9, or HW97 .20 cals, and doing it in a PCP repeater carbine, that is recoilless, accurate, quiet, and weighs 4+ pounds less than either of those guns.  I was loving it.

I was hunting very steep terrain, at elevations that at times were close to 6,000 feet, and humping a heavy rifle around in those conditions gets old real fast.  The Marauder pistol/carbine was awesome to hunt with in those areas.

There were some situations however, where the terrain was to steep and rugged, to allow me to get close enough to take some nice shots on squirrels in the 70/75 yard range.  With my P-Rod doing 13 fpe, my self imposed range limit, is just a little over 60 yards.  So I had to pass on those 70/75 yard shots, but it got me to thinking about a carbine doing about 20 fpe, that would reach out there, in that inaccessible terrain, and roll those furballs with ease.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I already owned the solution. My AA 410CRBSL .22 cal carbine, turned down to 20 fpe, would be just about ideal.  It currently does 27 fpe for 20 shots, with the 14.5 grain  DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets, so using the power adjuster to cut it back to 20 fpe, shooting the 12.6 grain Baracuda Green pellets was a no brainer.

So why not just shoot it as is?  Well, because I don't need 27 fpe at the muzzle to cleanly kill ground squirrels at 75 yards, and dropping it back to 20 fpe will increase the shot count by some number, as yet not known.

Also, in my experience, most light pellets do not do real well accuracy wise when driven ultra fast.

I also want to test the H&N non-lead offering, just in case the DYNAMICS become unobtainium in the future.

Using one of the online calculators, I determined that I need an average muzzle velocity of 845 fps, to produce 20 fpe at the muzzle, with the 12.6 grain pellet.

According to my past notes, this rifle is launching the 14.5 grain DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets at an average of 911 fps, for an average of 27 fpe at the muzzle.  That's with the power control set wide open.  At that setting, I'm sure it will be launching the 12.6 grain Baracudas at close to 1000 fps, or maybe a bit more.  I don't need that kind of velocity, and that's one of the reasons why I'll be adjusting the power down to give me about 20 fpe at the muzzle.

I'll get the chronograph set up here soon, and report back with my findings.  It will be interesting to see what happens to the shot count, when the power is dropped from 27 fpe, to 20 fpe.  Probably nothing major, but I should pick up a few more shots.

More to come.

 

 

AA 410CRBSL - A Real Quick Look - At the H&N Baracuda Green - Non-Lead Pellets - and Sighting-In - With the Beeman Kodiak - 21 Grain Lead Pellets

Time constraints have required, that I change my original plans, about an in depth test of the Baracuda Green non-lead pellets until Spring.  I won't need them until then anyway, so the test will have to wait.

I did shoot one 25 yard group with them, while sighting in my AA 410 CRBSL carbine, with 21 grain Kodiak lead pellets.

I got my wind flags set up, and since I had a fresh, newly cleaned barrel, I decided to shoot five of the Baracuda Green, 12.6 grain pellets, and see what they would do at 25 yards.  This rifle shoots the 14.5 grain DYNAMIC tin pellets at an average of 911 fps, so I'm guessing that these 12.6 grain Baracuda's are probably close to, or maybe a bit over 1000 fps.

In my experience, light pellets don't generally do real well when driven overly fast, so my expectations weren't very high, but I had them with me, and a clean barrel, so thought what the heck, I'll put five down range and see what I get.  I was actually surprised by the result.

Shooting stand and wind flag set up.  Shooting off of bags front and rear.

The first shot out of the clean barrel, on the target below, is the one at 6 o'clock. Shots two, three, and four, followed each other, pretty much through the same hole, and shot five was just slightly low right at 4 0clock.   The orange dot measures 3/4ths of an inch.  I'm sure these are doing around 1000 fps. My plan is to start slowing them down using the power adjuster on the rifle, and try and see if there is maybe a sweet spot where they group exceptionally well.  As in, through the same hole at 25 yards.

I would like to see if the AA 410 would shoot like that at around 20 fpe muzzle energy. This would make for a great light weight ground squirrel gun, and at 20 fpe, would be plenty of power to kill them out to 70+ yards or so.  The clean barrel flyer, kind of screwed up the group, but the other four tell me they want to shoot.  For sure, I'll be spending more time testing these H&N lead free pellets.

Five 12.6 grain Baracuda Green tin pellets shot at 25 yards.

Next, I put the target out at 40 yards, and sighted in the AA 410CRBSL with the 21 grain Beeman Kodiak lead pellets.  The shot at 12 o'clock, was the first out of the barrel after shooting the tin.  The next four clustered nice and tight just below it.  The orange dot measures 3/16ths of an inch in diameter.

I'll see that first shot flyer quite often, when switching from tin to lead, or back, when I don't clean the barrel in between.  Actually, I'll sometimes see the same thing, where the first shot or two are out of the rest of the group, even when switching between brands of lead pellets.

Sighting in with 21 grain lead, Beeman Kodiak pellets.

Next, holding at 6 o'clock on the eye, I fired a couple of shots at the head of a Prairie Chuck target. After that I decided that the gun was sighted in, and ready to hunt.  The eye measures 5/16ths of an inch in diameter.  

I spent a couple of hours putting the sneak on the resident tree squirrels. I saw three, but never got a shot at any of them, but still, it was great being out in the forest with an airgun, doing what I love to do.