|
On Uplandhunter.net, you'll come across more than a few photos of game with captions indicating successful take at distances
of 45, 50, or even 55 yards.
It is absolutely possible to cleanly kill small, edible game species at those distances with spring-piston air rifles.
However, doing so isn't easy. Effective shooting under field conditions at those distances places huge demands on the
skill of the shooter and his or her ability to wring out all of the precision that the chosen air rifle is capable of delivering.
This is why I do not believe in the "false economy of cheap." The kind of shooting that this website deals
with demands top-notch equipment. It is as simple as that. You need a high-quality rifle with an accurate
barrel and enough power to ensure a reasonably flat trajectory out to the 50 yard line. You need a good, light, crisp
trigger. You need quality optical sights and a solid mounting system. The unfortunate reality is that all these
things cost money and there is no "lower cost alternative" -at least where air rifles are concerned.
|
| Precision worth the price |
In the photo to the left, you see a Birchwood-Casey target center decal affixed, after it was shot at five times, to
my range box. There are three pellet holes in the center black and two above that are still centered, but a touch high.
This target was shot outdoors at the Cherokee Wildlife Area shooting range near Zeb, Cherokee Nation, on a gusty
March 15, 2008, with the .177 R-9 "Goldfinger" on the homepage of this site, at a distance of 50 yards. The pellets
that made the holes in the black were Crosman Premiers. The pellets that made the holes above those were Beeman Field
Target Specials. When the adhesive target dot was shot, the orientation was reversed -i.e., the pellet holes outside
of the black were lower than the bull and not above it..
I did this on purpose to demonstrate the importance that ballistic coeffecient has on trajectory at the 50 yard line.
The more aerodynamic Crosman Premier pellets with their .028 BC yield a far zero of close to 50 yards when sighted in to
maximize point blank range. The less aerodynamic Beeman Field Target Specials, which yield a .020 BC out of
my rifle, shoot almost an inch lower with the same point of aim. Again, I screwed up and reveresed the orientation when
I took the picture and the holes at the top really should be on the bottom.
In the photo to the left, you see the same target as the photo above. This time, however, the U.S. quarter-dollar
coin used to provide a size reference in the above photo now covers all of the pellet holes.
This demonstrates how accurate a spring-piston air rifle can be, as the shooting was done from an unsupported, standing
position on a fairly windy day with variable gusts up to 15 MPH. The combined group measures less than one inch, center-to-center,
as evidenced by the fact that the quarter-dollar coin completely covers the pellet holes. This is what you're paying
for when you buy quality hardware like a Beeman R-9. You're paying for equipment that is up to the challenge of shooting
groups like this at 50 yards from an unsupported, standing position on a windy day. If the aim point were not a target
center, but the "magic spot" behind the eye and below the ear on a bunny, you'd be looking at picture of a dead rabbit with
one hole in its noggin, instead of picutres of target dots.
While the ability to group pellets into a one-inch circle is nice, it isn't really that impressive when you consider
that one of the cheapest .22LR rifles sold in America -the Rossi Single Shot- will shoot groups half as large. (My 9
year old son has the Rossi "matched pair" youth model break action single shot with .22LR and 20 gauge shotshell barrels and
it will shoot 1/2" groups at 50 yards all day long with 8 different kinds of ammo. This is how I know that a $155.00
.22LR firearm will best $385.00 worth of German spring-piston quality in the accuracy department.)
That said, it is also safe to say that there are plenty of break-barrel spring-piston air rifles on the market that won't
deliver this level of precision. In fact, I think it is safe to say that the overwhelming majority of makes and models
won't deliever this kind of performance.
With the .20 R-1 that used to be my main small game rifle, I couldn't always completely cover my groups at 50 yards with
a quarter-dollar coin. I generally can with my .177 and .20 R-9s. They aren't as powerful and have milder shooting
manners, being less "hold sensitive" and less demanding of technique and that is one of the reasons why I now prefer the R-9
over the bigger and more powerful R-1.
A .20 Theoben Crusader that I briefly owned would shoot groups half as large as those that my pair of R-9's deliver.
You may get lucky and stumble onto a cheap rifle that will deliver this kind of accuracy after a tune. The Gamo
Shadow that you see on this site, tuned by yours truly and sporting Bob Werner's excellent true two-stage replacement trigger
( www.charliedatuna.com) would shoot about as well as my R-9's -at least accurate enough for field use. My R-9's, however, would deliever this
kind of precision out of the box, with no modification or tinkering required.
For the kind of hunting that this website deals with, the level of precision illustrated in the photos above isn't something
that is "nice to have, if you can afford it." It is absolutely essential to success.
Hardware is only part of your shooting system. You are the other part. Once you obtain hardware that is capable
of delivering the goods, it is up to you to develop the skills needed to wring out all of the performance that your precision
equipment can deliver. That means practice, practice, and more practice.
Whatever the maximum range is where you can put five shots in the center of the bull and cover them with a quarter is
your personal maximum field distance. For me, that is somewhere in the neighborhood of 55-60 yards, and I limit
my game shots to 50 or less for added insurance. For you, it might be 60 or 65. Or it might be 30 or 35.
If the latter is the case, you can develop the skill to extend your maximum field distance farther if you have good hardware
to work with and are disciplined enough to imporove.
|
