One of "Your" air rifles..

[Mortblanc]

The "boring accuracy" is a very real factor when shooting good quality air rifles.

Even my little Diana Stormrider, which cost me less than 200 pounds your money, is capable of shooting 6-8mm groups at 25 meters.

The Gauntlet is rock solid and does even better, shooting a ragged hole at that range. Now bear in mind that I have a 20x scope on the Gauntlet and the whole rig probably weighs 6-7 kilo. That Gauntlet, using JSB 18.5 grain pellets is producing more then 25 ft/lbs energy and is capable of more if I tinker with the regulator. I sill not do so since if I need more power I can always move to the .22 rimfire guns. The Gauntlet only has a 6 fps variation shot to shot and I do not want to mess with that performance. It also gives me 35-40 shots before dropping off the regulator.

I was wearing my poor 68 year old back out with all that pumping, so I bought a compressor. That sure makes things easier. It is out in the workshop and rattles the entire shed when I turn it on.

I have also discovered that pellets have as much variation in accuracy as bullets do. The discount house fare put out bu Crosman and Daisey is practically worthless. JSB pellets will pull the best performance out of anything, even the worst guns will show improvement though they may still remain unusable. BSA and Beeman are both good in .177 but I have not had good luck with either in .22.

Due to the mix-up in ordering, the company that supplied me the rifle included three tins of RWS hobby pellets in .177. I already had one tin barely opened so I have an ample supply of that particular brand. I zeroed the scope on the HW30 to those pellets and worked out the trajectory and verified it on the target. They are "good enough", and most important they are consistent and no fliers are evident.

I would dare say the accuracy is "good enough" to keep one fed on birds and small fare in an emergency, and it is quiet in the extreme. "Backyard friendly" really means the neighbors can not hear it when you pop a pidgin for the pot.

I zeroed at 10 meters for use on my indoor range. At that starting point I am almost one inch high at 25 yards, which is my outdoor range distance. The pellet drops back across the cross-hairs at around 35 yards but I will only be shooting at that range occasionally with this little rifle. I am being tempted to set up a set of spinner targets down at the corner of the lot and that range is a measured 35 yards.

Lord only knows how slow those little pellets are going at 35 yards. They are only a bit over 600 fps at the muzzle!

That one inch elevation at 25 yards is very consistent also. I can aim at the bottom of my one inch steel targets and insure a hit and aim at the middle of my 2.5 inch targets and still hit a bit high.

I bought some 3/4" wide strip metal so I can make some spiners that are a bit smaller. I have discovered that is a good answer to the problem of "boring accuracy", smaller targets!

Anybody have any Lifesaver candy, we will shoot through the hole in the middle. First guy that breaks a candy buys the drinks.