bad grouping.

[snipers eye]

hi folks,mate bought a cometa fenix 400 .22 cal break barrel,at 5-10 yards groups are fine nearly hole in hole,but at 25-30 yards the group really opens up 3 to 4 inches,would he need to change pellet,or what,everything is tight,etc,thanks

[Hamster]

Trying two or three more quality pellets would be the first thing to do, eliminate human error too if possible by getting someone who is known to be able to shoot recoiling guns well. Last week I had to help zero a friends air gun (can't recall make but not Benz territory) which he had bought to deter certain pests from his garden ! I ended up having to pack the back mount for a start and the groups with two quality pellets were still awful at 15 yards which I simply put down to the poor quality of the gun.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Hamster

[ditchman]

alter the trigger loading ...and improve your teqnique........................

[ips]

He is not shooting from a rest by any chance. ?

Other than that its prob a pellet issue. Try at least four different types.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, you can buy an assortment of pellets online about 50 in each pack, a lot of springers like superdomes, if he is going to keep it well worth a strip and polish and re grease

[davewh100]

try jsb or like the man above says get a sample pack

[Mice!]

Might be an obvious one but is the scope set up right? If its not sitting true up down left right then this could be part off the problem, also can your mate shoot? If he is shooting free hand he could well be wobbling all over especially if like ditchman says its got a heavy trigger pull as well.

 

Probably best to practice off a bench for a while at 15-20 yards and the technique will come.

[manthing]

Can your mate shoot Artillery hold or does he waft about like a reed on a windy pond?

Bench bag it, forehand resting on bag and supporting the rifle, not gripping it.

Air rifles are notoriously pellet fussy, that's why most airgun shooters end up with a library of pellets.

[snipers eye]

thanks lads great advice,will try different pellets and check scope,and dont use a bipod,

[Stonepark]

try a mixed test/sample pack of different from evilbay.

 

Scope needs to be secure

 

Hold needs to be consistent

 

Crown of barrel needs to be checked.

 

if brand new, gun may take 500 pellets to settle in (stop dieseling etc), put 500 cheap pellets through it and then test with mixed pack, working through the above.

 

bench it for a 35 yard zero as descibed above

[iano]

Bad airgun grouping, if not due to snapping the trigger can also be caused by bad follow through.

 

Takes a bit of time (compared to a bullet) to clear the barrel, so you need to hold the gun on target after the shot for a bit.

[bruno22rf]

As iano says - sometimes when clearing your barrel you can suffer a serious follow thru, nasty

[GingerCat]

If at 5-10 yards it's one hole then at 10-20 yards the hole shouldn't be much bigger, or rather exactly double the size. My guess is the pellets don't suit the barrel so try some more as suggested or he's holding it in a vice like grip and it's recoiling all over the place.

[snipers eye]

thanks lads,think he found the problem,holding it to tight,seems fine now at 20 yrds,

[ips]

Good stuff 👍

[iano]

As iano says - sometimes when clearing your barrel you can suffer a serious follow thru, nasty

 

[Pigeon_snIPer]

might seem silly but cleaning the barrel helps, and yes do try different types of pellets after that.

/S

[ips]

Um, I was always told by a very competent smith that cleaning barrell too often (if at all) was detrimental to good grouping !!!

[GingerCat]

I've never cleaned an air gun barrel when using lead pellets.

[timmytree]

Um, I was always told by a very competent smith that cleaning barrell too often (if at all) was detrimental to good grouping !!!

It might be better to say that cleaning a barrel thoroughly on a new gun removes protective grease, after that, a light clean when groups open up is the norm. For some guns that may be 500 pellets, for others 5,000.

[ips]

It might be better to say that cleaning a barrel thoroughly on a new gun removes protective grease, after that, a light clean when groups open up is the norm. For some guns that may be 500 pellets, for others 5,000.

Yep, that.

I must have put ten thousand through the aa400 and have never cleaned the barrell, groups are still tight as you like.