# pellet rifle accuracy



## driftwood (Jun 29, 2013)

two gamo pellet rifles here,,,,,neither will shoot a 1inch group at ten yards.
both scoped....one is a $200 bone collector. what do you consider good enough accuracy for hunting?


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

An inch or less at 50 feet...


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Adult airguns are like muzzleloaders. You have to work up a load for that individual gun.With a muzzleloader it's done by adjusting the amount of powder to the weight of the projectile. With the airgun it's done by shooting a varity of pellets until you find one the gun likes since you con not control the speed that the projectile travels.
Also if these are new gun you can't expect them to settle in until you've put around 2000 pellets down the barrel. I'll try to add a link you can scan for lots more info.


Wade

http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537/


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## MrSmith (Jun 24, 2009)

Also of note; Spring powered pellet rifles are much more sensitive to shooting form than standard rifles. I have a very nice powerful RWS, and just resting my elbow on a hard surface vs soft affects point of impact. As does holding it in the same place each shot. I've also read that time in barrel is longer on some pellet rifles, so "follow through" on the shot is more important. Definitely keep working on breaking them in, but also be very aware of maintaining consistent form each shot.


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

Do a search for the " Artillery hold " for spring air rifles. Faithfully practice this hold , use decent quality pellets , & shoot several hundred more pellets through it . Inexpensive, furnished air rifle scopes are notoriously poor quality . With open sites, you should start seeing some very decent accuracy.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

A long time ago in a Field and Stream magazine they wrote about a 13 year old girl on her schools air rifle team. She could put ten pellets through the same hole at 10 meters. That's accuracy. Please do not think Im being sarcastic. I save that for general chat and politics. But the question is, how good of a shot are you? Many times I've seen groups of shooters firing the same gun with greatly varying results. Im not a bad shot, but my son and son inlaw blow me out of the water.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

sand bag it , when the scope or sight is perfect on target and not moving around it at all squeeze the trigger slowly 
reload and do this again 5 times don't worry where the group is only where you aim 

do that at a measured 25 feet , 30 feet , 35 feet and see what the groups look like you will find a spot where they fall apart if your gun is super sonic then falls below at xx many feet 
some cartridge shooters in load development of light target loads have found erratic accuracy especially at different temperatures when they are very close to the speed of sound some being so close that they hear a pop on one shot and a crack on the next they are to close to the speed of sound and one round will go above the next just 30 feet slower will be below you go supersonic through the target or you stay below the speed of sound and when you do that at different temps and altitudes you have to stay away from the speed of sound by 50 to 100fps you don't necessarily get to make any adjustment to a pellet gun but finding a heavier pellet may make it work 

try some different pellets , but i would probably start with cross-man lead pointed pellets or wad cutters they are low cost and work well in most guns 

spring guns are a bit harder to control as the spring jumps inside of them 

but I think you should be able to find 1/2 inch at 30 feet 

the single pump air rifles we shoot for targets will if you can do your part hole an enlarged 1 pellet hole at 10 meters/33 feet all day long but they do not jump at all 

I had a kid bring a Remington 1200 fps air rifle to shoot with , grandpa had bought it for him , it was a spring gun and bigger than he was he had to get out of shooting position and hang on the barrel to cock it , if I shot it it would hole under a 1/2 inch , so i suspect yours will to but it is hard when the gun jumps forward while your trying to shoot it from the inertia of the spring not to move 

follow through is huge much more than most people think when shooting don't look up or move till you heard it hit the target


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

I have a Gamo Silent Cat pellet rifle and I couldn't get the scope that came with the rifle to zero in on the target either. I'd shoot, shoot, shoot, and shoot trying to get it sighted in and would come close, but the next time I got it out and started shooting, it would be way off again. 

So I took the cheap red dot scope off my daughters little .22 cricket and placed it on the air rifle and now it shoots great. Everybody tells me I can't do that cause it will mess up the scope. Well I've had it on thier for two years now and it's still killing squirrels for me. Hasn't messed up yet (knock on wood).


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## driftwood (Jun 29, 2013)

5 differant people shooting the guns with three differant pellet types.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> sand bag it , when the scope or sight is perfect on target and not moving around it at all squeeze the trigger slowly
> reload and do this again 5 times don't worry where the group is only where you aim
> 
> do that at a measured 25 feet , 30 feet , 35 feet and see what the groups look like you will find a spot where they fall apart if your gun is super sonic then falls below at xx many feet
> ...


all top competitive rifles have to put ten pellets through the same hole at 10 meters now are they are not even considered. but the most accurate velocity for target pellets is around 450-480 FPS. hunting is about twice that speed. 

1 inch at 50 as others have said.

different pellets ,
try cleaning the barrel. 

in target shooting the accuracy goes away rapidly as the barrel gets dirty.
artillery hold,,,people who know say its the way to go......although being a precision coach (non springers) i can't even imagine having to use this method..


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

There is no "magic" about the artillery hold.The popularity of this hold comes strictly from the ability to repeat it on an on going basis.It really doesn't have anything to do with "springers" except that the springer has a longer shot cycle while the spring returns to position. Little or no pressure at all just happens to be the easiest hold to repeat more precisely. Any experienced shooter can preform quite well with the hold they are used to as long as they carry it through the shot cycle.The "follow-through" must be maintained in the hold you chose as would be there anyway if you are an experienced
shooter.


Wade


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I think what ace is saying is that in non spring air rifle,and small bore 3 position we teach bone stacking , good pull into the shoulder , solid cheek weld 

all the things artillery hold is not, with artillery hold your trying to hold it on target but light enough that it can flop around when the spring expands and kind of free float in your grip


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Pete- Ya, I agree! Hope my reply didn't sound wrong. I've been in many discussions that the "more experienced" airgunner keeps telling me I can't do that 'cause it's not the artillery hold.Good intentions but just wrong!
I am convinced that with an accurate weapon in the hands of an experienced shooter ten rounds at 10 meters should be cloverleafing at the worst.
I shot a 223 contender in pistol form and get a ragged hole at 50 yards and a loose cloverleaf at 100 yards and I'm NOT a good distance shooter. I wish I were.The key for me I learned from playing pool with some of the best. Your grip on the stick should mimic holding the hand of a one year old learning to walk.I apply this to my grip on my weapon with great results. When I throw one , I get back into the proper grip and magic happens.All holds are different and all people have a different hold within that style of hold. This just happens to bet the hold that works for me.


Wade


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

no , it's all good , I understand the why , was just saying if you think about everything as getting ready for a high power rifle match , there are no loose rifles , your support hand isn't tight but the sling holds the gun into that hand , the but stock firmly in the pocket of the shoulder, cheek welded to if you have to raise your head off the stock to see the sights you need some spacers to get a proper weld


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## mdharris68 (Sep 28, 2006)

My little crossman 880 air gun had me in fits till I found that there are better pellets. I couldn't hit any thing with it for the longest time. I decided to purchase some german hunting pellets, I put on a four power weaver, and put it in a rest. Once I figured out where it was shooting and got the scope dialed in, I could shoot one of those 3/4" orange sticky targets at 100,' give or take a foot, on most every shot. I also placed a 5" steal circle at about 45 yrds and could hit it every time and occasionally hit the orange sticky target. It is fun to watch the pellet arc at that distance and walk them in. I was really surprised at the accuracy of the gun when I removed the variables.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

mdharris68 said:


> My little crossman 880 air gun had me in fits till I found that there are better pellets. I couldn't hit any thing with it for the longest time. I decided to purchase some german hunting pellets, I put on a four power weaver, and put it in a rest. Once I figured out where it was shooting and got the scope dialed in, I could shoot one of those 3/4" orange sticky targets at 100,' give or take a foot, on most every shot. I also placed a 5" steal circle at about 45 yrds and could hit it every time and occasionally hit the orange sticky target. It is fun to watch the pellet arc at that distance and walk them in. I was really surprised at the accuracy of the gun when I removed the variables.
> 
> 
> That's exactly right! The pellet makes all the difference! Shooting in an air gun is like shooting in a muzzleloader excerpt You are adjusting the pellet shape and weight instead of the charge! There are other good options in pellets most people don't know about or maybe if they are lucky just stumble across.Go to the crosman web sight and they have boxed 1250 count pellets that the adult airgunners seem to prefer.They are about $25 but they do run sales at times.
> ...


That's exactly right! The pellet makes all the difference! Shooting in an air gun is like shooting in a muzzleloader excerpt You are adjusting the pellet shape and weight instead of the charge! There are other good options in pellets most people don't know about or maybe if they are lucky just stumble across.Go to the crosman web sight and they have boxed 1250 count pellets that the adult airgunners seem to prefer.They are about $25 but they do run sales at times.

Wade


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