Kirk's HFT shooting blog

[Gareth]

Given you weren't the only one having a bad day it sounds like it might have been a tougher course than folks were giving it credit for.

[kirk13]

Given you weren't the only one having a bad day it sounds like it might have been a tougher course than folks were giving it credit for.

There were an awful lot of non standard targets,which doesn't help. The Oaks love peg 12. Targets about 15m up a tree,about 8m from the peg. This year,it had a 20mm kill,in the squirrels hands  I just could do it prone,but I took it as an unsupported kneeler  Go figure

[Gareth]

I don't mind the idea of one or two non-standard targets, it keeps things interesting, but many more than that just makes things frustrating.   There are other ways of making a shot challenging.  The squirrel 15m up a tree sounds like a right bugger!

[kirk13]

After a two week break,the Sussex Interclub Championship met up again at Ford Ranges outside Littlehampton

I don't know whether tho laugh or cry. I managed to have a small panic on the plinking range when I mistook the 30 yard marker for the 25, and messed up my zero. It took 8 targets to find my new aim point. So getting home on a 41, after two donuts and eight wasted targets was a bad job,but omg,what it could have been

[Gareth]

Well, you're having a better time than I am ATM.   I honestly cannot bring myself to say how bad a score I had today in the league competition. Mitigating factors of strong, blustery wind and rain aside, I honestly think something was/is up with my rig.  I was pulling the trigger and I had NO idea where the pellet would go.  Seemed almost totally random.

[kirk13]

Well, you're having a better time than I am ATM.   I honestly cannot bring myself to say how bad a score I had today in the league competition. Mitigating factors of strong, blustery wind and rain aside, I honestly think something was/is up with my rig.  I was pulling the trigger and I had NO idea where the pellet would go.  Seemed almost totally random.

Believe me,I know that feeling Gareth!

This is the Brocock? Have you had it on an indoor range to check zero? Sounds daft,but have you checked the tightness of screws and nuts? Only takes one to loosen by half a turn for everything to go south

[Gareth]

Well, you're having a better time than I am ATM.   I honestly cannot bring myself to say how bad a score I had today in the league competition. Mitigating factors of strong, blustery wind and rain aside, I honestly think something was/is up with my rig.  I was pulling the trigger and I had NO idea where the pellet would go.  Seemed almost totally random.

Believe me,I know that feeling Gareth!

This is the Brocock? Have you had it on an indoor range to check zero? Sounds daft,but have you checked the tightness of screws and nuts? Only takes one to loosen by half a turn for everything to go south

Yeah, the Brocock.  I checked the zero earlier in the week and it seemed OK.  I'll be heading to the indoor range tomorrow to give it a good going over.

[SAK Guy]

I ordered some Pellgun oil!!!  Yay!!!!!

[kirk13]

Well, you're having a better time than I am ATM.   I honestly cannot bring myself to say how bad a score I had today in the league competition. Mitigating factors of strong, blustery wind and rain aside, I honestly think something was/is up with my rig.  I was pulling the trigger and I had NO idea where the pellet would go.  Seemed almost totally random.

Believe me,I know that feeling Gareth!

This is the Brocock? Have you had it on an indoor range to check zero? Sounds daft,but have you checked the tightness of screws and nuts? Only takes one to loosen by half a turn for everything to go south

Yeah, the Brocock.  I checked the zero earlier in the week and it seemed OK.  I'll be heading to the indoor range tomorrow to give it a good going over.

Thing is,after a run of good results,a bad one really rattles you as well. I'd done well in the closing stages of Southern Hunters this years,had a bad day at Bisley,and it hit the bottom at the Oaks two weeks ago with my second worst result ever,not understanding why.

As much as today didn't go that well,over the concrete section (12 targets) I only dropped four points...two on a donut.

One of the things I'm starting to learn is to how to mind manage myself. Today I was able to shrug off the idea of a final score,or how I was doing vs Tony. Just shoot each target as if it's the first

[Gareth]

Ah yes, the psychology of success.   Oddly, today I actually still felt pretty good and managed to keep positive, despite the string of donuts.  My score card read like binary instructions BTW.  

I fully admit though that bad results have gotten to me in the past, and that once the blues have set in they're hard to shrug off.  Last weekend I was shooting a comp back at my old club in Edinburgh and the rain was torrential, I really couldn't wait to get it over and done with and couldn't bring myself care where the pellets were going, just so long as I could finish up and get off the course.  Still shot better than I did today though.

[Gareth]

Well, smurf.   Took the Brocock to the indoor range this morning and gave it a workout.  The good news is that I'm not (just) an awful shot.  The bad news is that the Brocock is putting out patterns at anything over 25 yards that only a shotgun would be happy with.  In the past giving the barrel a clean has solved the problem, but not this time.   Also tried with both my scopes and neither were any better.  Pressure's OK, same pellets as always.

My one thought is that, after it's soaking a week ago, the stock is feeling a much tighter fit on the air cylinder.  As the cylinder is attached via a band to the barrel then, perhaps, the tight stock is impeding the natural movement of the barrel.  Feels like a bit of a long shot (pardon the pun), but I'm open to any sensible suggestions.

On a happier note, my new pistol arrived while I was out.

[SAK Guy]

Changes in stock fit affect the barrel harmonics in centerfire/rimfire rifles so probably in yours as well....

[Gareth]

Changes in stock fit affect the barrel harmonics in centerfire/rimfire rifles so probably in yours as well....

Cheers buddy.  It's good to hear that there is a chance I'm not talking out of my arse.

[SAK Guy]

Changes in stock fit affect the barrel harmonics in centerfire/rimfire rifles so probably in yours as well....

Cheers buddy.  It's good to hear that there is a chance I'm not talking out of my arse.

If  your humidity is low, the stock might return back to it's orig dimensions, eventually, but removing the stock and warming it a warm oven with the door ajar might speed up the process.  Don't want to over do it.  Here in Texas, I might leave in my truck a while on a sunny day to warm it but I don't know how warm it is at your location. Low dry heat is best...even a blow dryer on that area of forearm might help.

[Gareth]

[SAK Guy]

   But you probably knew all that anyway..!     

[kirk13]

Just to add a couple of things...

SAK Guy is bang on about stock fit affecting the harmonics,but this tends to be more noticeable on springers. Not to say it isn't valid,but PCPs suffer far less.

The other is this: humour me,and try again with your moderator removed. Tony bought a Brocock as a backup gun. Shoots fine til you put anything on the barrel. He's tried three different moderators,and a muzzle break,and he gets exactly what you've described.

[Gareth]

Just to add a couple of things...

SAK Guy is bang on about stock fit affecting the harmonics,but this tends to be more noticeable on springers. Not to say it isn't valid,but PCPs suffer far less.

The other is this: humour me,and try again with your moderator removed. Tony bought a Brocock as a backup gun. Shoots fine til you put anything on the barrel. He's tried three different moderators,and a muzzle break,and he gets exactly what you've described.

Good thought, but I've already taken it off.   I did it about a month or so ago, though I have to say I never had any real issue with it.  Seemed a little better without it, but not by much, if any.  Sadly this has developed since then.

[kirk13]

Just to add a couple of things...

SAK Guy is bang on about stock fit affecting the harmonics,but this tends to be more noticeable on springers. Not to say it isn't valid,but PCPs suffer far less.

The other is this: humour me,and try again with your moderator removed. Tony bought a Brocock as a backup gun. Shoots fine til you put anything on the barrel. He's tried three different moderators,and a muzzle break,and he gets exactly what you've described.

Good thought, but I've already taken it off.   I did it about a month or so ago, though I have to say I never had any real issue with it.  Seemed a little better without it, but not by much, if any.  Sadly this has developed since then.

Have you got a chrono?

[Gareth]

Just to add a couple of things...

SAK Guy is bang on about stock fit affecting the harmonics,but this tends to be more noticeable on springers. Not to say it isn't valid,but PCPs suffer far less.

The other is this: humour me,and try again with your moderator removed. Tony bought a Brocock as a backup gun. Shoots fine til you put anything on the barrel. He's tried three different moderators,and a muzzle break,and he gets exactly what you've described.

Good thought, but I've already taken it off.   I did it about a month or so ago, though I have to say I never had any real issue with it.  Seemed a little better without it, but not by much, if any.  Sadly this has developed since then.

Have you got a chrono?

Personally, no, but I can get to one on Sunday.  Are you thinking it might be underpowered?

[kirk13]

Just to add a couple of things...

SAK Guy is bang on about stock fit affecting the harmonics,but this tends to be more noticeable on springers. Not to say it isn't valid,but PCPs suffer far less.

The other is this: humour me,and try again with your moderator removed. Tony bought a Brocock as a backup gun. Shoots fine til you put anything on the barrel. He's tried three different moderators,and a muzzle break,and he gets exactly what you've described.

Good thought, but I've already taken it off.   I did it about a month or so ago, though I have to say I never had any real issue with it.  Seemed a little better without it, but not by much, if any.  Sadly this has developed since then.

Have you got a chrono?

Personally, no, but I can get to one on Sunday.  Are you thinking it might be underpowered?

I'm thinking inconsistency. If the pressure is is dipping or climbing,it'll give the bird shot effect.

[Gareth]

OK, good thought.  I'll see if I can get it chrono'd.

[Gareth]

Was back at the range this afternoon and got some results.  My HW57 with 3-9x50 scope was shooting much better than it had in a long time, producing pellet on pellet groups at 25 yards.  If that doesn't sound exceptional, then you've not seen the shotgun groups it has been producing.  Now, that 3-9x50 scope normally lives on my Brocock, with the HW57 normally having a 3-9x40 on it.  Swapped the scopes back and the groups open up again, though I have to say not as bad as I remember.   Some more investigating to be done, but that 3-9x40 scope is looking suspect.

The Brocock (with it's 3-9x50 returned to it) seems to be playing ball.  It'd given the stock a very light sanding inside and made a thin spacer to raise the action up a touch, resulting in a much lighter contact between the stock and the cylinder.  Now shooting pellet on pellet at 35 yards again.  Need to test it at longer distances, but I can't do that at our indoor range.

[HarleyXJGuy]

9X seems like to little magnification for the type of shooting you do Kirks.

I have a 14X on my .22 target rifle and find myself wanting more sometimes.

[kirk13]

9X seems like to little magnification for the type of shooting you do Kirks.

I have a 14X on my .22 target rifle and find myself wanting more sometimes.

There's an argument in favour of higher mag Harley,the problem is though,you have much more blur. At x9, I've a clear picture from about 9 or 10 yards. With higher mag you'll have a great picture at one range only. Saying that,a lot of guys use the degree of blur as a range finding aid. I'm not that clefer tho

[Gareth]

I've been playing with what magnification I've been shooting with and, oddly, seem to get along well with lower settings.  x6 is what I'm using ATM. 

[kirk13]

Another dose of  today

Home shoot at Horsham,with two runs through the Field of Tears return a 40x60. Can't even claim the sights were out(I re-zeroed before the comp), or that the wind was an issue,as it was as calm as Horsham gets.

One of those days I should have stayed in bed

[Gareth]

Hard lines mate.   I've got my club's "springer challenge" this Sunday.  I don't hold any illusions as to my chances, especially as there are some top notch spring gun shooters at my club, let alone how poorly my springer is shooting ATM.

I am however going to take the opportunity to spend some time with the HW57, with the better performing scope, a couple of different pellets types, the indoor range and make some range notes.

[Gareth]

Well, I had my club's 'spring shoot' today.  As expected my HW57 didn't perform very well, though I still placed middle of the field.  I had my mate at the club give it a go and we decided that it wasn't just me being rubbish. With that in mind we gave it a strip and clean this evening, with a light polish and re-grease of the spring and piston.  Also flipped the breach seals around to present the fresh faces.  I'll take the gun to the range tomorrow and see if all the effort was worth it.

[kirk13]

Well, I had my club's 'spring shoot' today.  As expected my HW57 didn't perform very well, though I still placed middle of the field.  I had my mate at the club give it a go and we decided that it wasn't just me being rubbish. With that in mind we gave it a strip and clean this evening, with a light polish and re-grease of the spring and piston.  Also flipped the breach seals around to present the fresh faces.  I'll take the gun to the range tomorrow and see if all the effort was worth it.

Sorry Gareth,only catching up here now(bad Kirk  )

Did the strip help?