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twalter · Veteran Member

I guess I might be a bit neurotic about it, but I am curious as to what others thoughts or experiences on the subject might be. At 20 yards off a rest am I expecting too much by wanting the grouping under 1/2 inch CTC? Should a 3/4inch grouping top to bottom, edge to edge yet maybe 3/8ths across be total acceptable for hunting applications? In my opinion if I can consistently cover with a dime at 20 yards I wont carry into the field.

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

A reasonable .177 rifle should put 5 shots in a ½” circle at 20m, a good rifle will shoot 5 shots through a ¼” circle.
The thing is you get good and bad rifles in the same batch, the cheaper the gun the worst it gets, but saying that you sometimes get a cheap cracker.
The calibre should make no difference at 20m
You could get someone else who can shoot to give the gun a try, and see what results he gets?

Al

twalter · Veteran Member

I ask because I recently tuned my old springer and am getting interesting results. Instead of my old favorite pellet stacking almost on top of each others I now have quite a few pellets that do general well. Cases in point.

Here is the JSB heavy 10.34gr 6 shot grouping done right after I got about 200 shots through her after the tune.

This was my grouping to bring it closer to center mass. You can see there are two distinct groupings this time, 3 somewhat higher than the other.

twalter · Veteran Member

This is the JSB 8 grain (these are all done 20 yards, give or a take a foot)

The stray shot off the side is not from this group. I think it was 4 or 5 pellets.

This is a measurement shot, but Im not sure what Im trying to show here... Embarassed

Here is something like a 10+ shot group

twalter · Veteran Member

Here are my H&N FTT copper coated 8.80 gr

with measurement

twalter · Veteran Member

Lastly these are some gamo rockets that I used to love to shoot but I somehow convinced myself out of them. This is a shot of them after I pulled off the target sticker. I do believe the ones off the side are from this grouping. The vast majority of them stacked with a few fliers.

twalter · Veteran Member

Ultimately I think it comes down to this...

I need to buy in bulk and then be one of those people I used to discredit, the snobby pellet sorter. I can clearly see on the pellets that the rifle shoots well I tend to get two distinct groups. The anomaly being the pellet. So I find a scale that will read this accurate and a set of calipers. If Im going to "waste" 3 days of tuning a rifle and then another 2 days breaking in the parts, I might as well go all in sort. I now see it as no different than reloading powder burners.

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Three of my rifles that can stack AA Fields .177 4.52 8.4g pellets but give varied results with some other pellets such as Super Domes, Hobby’s ect.
So it comes down to the pellet preference, I do find that the AA fields with the slightly tighter fit (4.52 cal) make a lot of difference in all my guns.
Its just a matter of getting the right pellet?

Al

twalter · Veteran Member

I think it is all about the right pellet. Now that it shoots and acts like a new rifle so do the pellets in it. I was really curious from the onset if my expectations were too high for a springer even if it is a smooth shooting tuned rifle.

Thanks for the reply

Slavia · Moderator

Pellet choice does make a difference. What works in one gun may not work in another (even from the same model). What's more, what works at one range may not work at another (even from the same gun).