UPDATE...Accuracy falling off...
I've revisited the problem every day as my free time permits. I've checked everything I can find to check and simply can't find a reason for the accuracy problem.
Today I broke down and ordered a new air gun. However…I kept going back to the 'problem' gun. As it turns out…the problem was rooted in how I closed the action. Apparently (and unknowingly) I had gotten into the habit of easing the barrel closed so that the squirrels wouldn't hear it. I mean i had no idea I was closing it that lightly. For 5 months I closed it normal, then, at some point I guess I started closing it lightly so the squirrels wouldn't detect me.
So today, after the die was cast on the new gun, I went back and tried the old gun again. For whatever reason I decided to sharply close the action…and that shot was pretty close to point of aim. Hmmm…coincidence? Maybe. I snapped it closed again and the second shot was touching the first. Hmmm…really big coincidence. Third time…snapped it shut…and it was touching the first two shots. Ultimately 10 or 12 shots dropped into what my old pattern used to be.
I was the problem. I had slipped into a really bad habit of easing the barrel closed and in the process I guess it was leaking air and not lined up right, and the shots were going everywhere.
So the old gun is back to normal and I have a new Benjamin Marauder on the way as well. Should be a fun week.
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I have a Crossman TR77. It's been shooting great since November…but in the last month the accuracy has really taken a turn for the worse. As part of my procedures to figure out what's going on I've cleaned the barrel, lubed the compression chamber (according to the manufacturers recommendation) and replaced the scope.
However…it's still throwing shots. I might get one or two good shots in a row, then it'll send a flyer…sometimes it's 2 inches away and sometimes it's more. The distance I'm shooting is about 20 yards, and I'm shooting from a position where I've always been accurate before. My old spread might have been an inch or an inch and a half (guessing)…now it's more like 4 or 5 inches.
To put it in perspective…for the last six months I've needed one shot to kill a squirrel…I noticed there was a problem when I had to take 5 shots at the same distances. Something is bad wrong. I tightened all the screws I could tighten…and there are no loose parts or joints anywhere.
I'm halfway through a box of 500 pellets…it was accurate for the first half and now the accuracy has really gotten spotty.
I know it's not the scope, I know it's not the shooter. That leaves the gun and the ammo as suspects.
I'd say the gun has less than 2,000 shots through it.
I'm going to test some more types of pellets tomorrow to see if maybe the ammo on the bottom of the can is for some reason less accurate than the pellets I used off the top.
Any ideas on what I might check to track this down?
I've revisited the problem every day as my free time permits. I've checked everything I can find to check and simply can't find a reason for the accuracy problem.
Today I broke down and ordered a new air gun. However…I kept going back to the 'problem' gun. As it turns out…the problem was rooted in how I closed the action. Apparently (and unknowingly) I had gotten into the habit of easing the barrel closed so that the squirrels wouldn't hear it. I mean i had no idea I was closing it that lightly. For 5 months I closed it normal, then, at some point I guess I started closing it lightly so the squirrels wouldn't detect me.
So today, after the die was cast on the new gun, I went back and tried the old gun again. For whatever reason I decided to sharply close the action…and that shot was pretty close to point of aim. Hmmm…coincidence? Maybe. I snapped it closed again and the second shot was touching the first. Hmmm…really big coincidence. Third time…snapped it shut…and it was touching the first two shots. Ultimately 10 or 12 shots dropped into what my old pattern used to be.
I was the problem. I had slipped into a really bad habit of easing the barrel closed and in the process I guess it was leaking air and not lined up right, and the shots were going everywhere.
So the old gun is back to normal and I have a new Benjamin Marauder on the way as well. Should be a fun week.
------------------------
I have a Crossman TR77. It's been shooting great since November…but in the last month the accuracy has really taken a turn for the worse. As part of my procedures to figure out what's going on I've cleaned the barrel, lubed the compression chamber (according to the manufacturers recommendation) and replaced the scope.
However…it's still throwing shots. I might get one or two good shots in a row, then it'll send a flyer…sometimes it's 2 inches away and sometimes it's more. The distance I'm shooting is about 20 yards, and I'm shooting from a position where I've always been accurate before. My old spread might have been an inch or an inch and a half (guessing)…now it's more like 4 or 5 inches.
To put it in perspective…for the last six months I've needed one shot to kill a squirrel…I noticed there was a problem when I had to take 5 shots at the same distances. Something is bad wrong. I tightened all the screws I could tighten…and there are no loose parts or joints anywhere.
I'm halfway through a box of 500 pellets…it was accurate for the first half and now the accuracy has really gotten spotty.
I know it's not the scope, I know it's not the shooter. That leaves the gun and the ammo as suspects.
I'd say the gun has less than 2,000 shots through it.
I'm going to test some more types of pellets tomorrow to see if maybe the ammo on the bottom of the can is for some reason less accurate than the pellets I used off the top.
Any ideas on what I might check to track this down?
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