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Other The Shooting Thread

Discussion in 'General' started by Gareth Halfacree, 7 May 2015.

  1. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    That may be better suited to jrs77's archery thread.

    Picked up the HW45 and MP5 yesterday. Have to say, the finish on the HW45 isn't quite what I expected: more "Sparkly Grey Star" than "Silver Star." Very nice build quality, though, as I expected from Weihrauch, and the dry-fire system (pull back the hammer to release the cocking mechanism then push it back down without actually cocking it to set the trigger) is handy for getting used to grip and trigger activation without firing any pellets. Big bugger, but well-balanced, and that laminate grip is lovely. Will be taking it to the range on Thursday to see how I get on; I've read that the HW45 is very challenging to shoot, though, so I'm not expecting great grouping at first.

    The Umarex MP5 is exactly as I expected: mainly plastic with the occasional nice touch. The removable flash-hider (on a CO2 gun - hah!) is a nice touch, for example, and meant I was able to quickly and easily fit a custom aluminium version which is threaded for a moderator - and the moderator is on its way now from China. Fun to see 'weld' lines in the plastic, too, in an attempt to emulate the look of the real-steel version. The only thing I'm not happy with: the sights are all-but unusable. The drum-type rear sight is fixed and has notches instead of apertures - meaning that at that distance from your eyes it's just a blurry mess with a massive gap between it and the the front sight. Found a guy in China who sells metal replacements with proper H&K-style apertures for £9, so reckon I'll pick one of those up and give it a go.

    Oh, and it turns out I could have saved myself the £30 transfer fee: Aaron of Aaron Wheeler Gunsmith explained that he's got a trade account with Sportsmans Gun Centre, where I bought 'em, and that he's happy to match their prices - but because I'm ordering from him rather than SGC, there'd be no transfer fee to pay and any warranty problems could be dealt with locally rather than having to post 'em off. Worth remembering for the future, that!

    EDIT: The moderator just arrived. Poor finish - matte paint rather than anodising, by the look of it - but it *was* cheap. It's also functional: inside the tube is a spring and a trio of small foam pieces. I've upgraded it already: took the spring out and stretched it so it wouldn't rattle around any more, and replaced two of the three foam pieces with scouring pad cut to size and wrapped around the spring so there's a length of scouring pad, the lighter foam piece, then more scouring pad. It makes a genuine difference to the report, too: with the moderator fitted, it's a lot less noisy even on a fresh CO2 capsule.

    The only thing I'm not too pleased with: the pictures showed a plain black moderator, which is why I chose it; what has arrived is a black moderator with markings for a Bushmaster AR-15 on the side, which doesn't exactly fit well with my MP5K. I can either put up with it or paint over it, I guess - I ain't sending it back to Hong Kong over that.
     
    Last edited: 15 Jul 2015
  2. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Quick set of pictures, since I had the camera out already:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Not great quality, but you get the idea. Now, back to doing actual work!
     
  3. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    One of my range cards from last night, using the HW45 with RWS Superfield pellets, on a 10m NSRA air pistol target on the 10m range.

    [​IMG]

    Very pleased with that - and I can blame that particularly low flyer on a misshapen pellet, which I could *tell* wasn't sitting quite right in the barrel when I loaded it.

    It's bleedin' hold-sensitive, though: a slight change in grip alters the point of impact massively. So much so, in fact, that one of the automatic target changes is now out of action, 'cos a particularly low shot while I was still practising different grips severed the string. How embarrassing! I've found the best grip is a reasonably firm one-handed target-style stance, with my forefinger touching the safety switch. May take the advice of one of the members and put a few small blobs of Sugru or similar on the grip, to make it easier for me to repeat the grip accurately each time - that's one of the HW45's downsides: because you need to drop your stance to re-cock the spring for each shot, it's more challenging than something like a PCP.

    Recoils like a bull, too!
     
  4. Almightyrastus

    Almightyrastus On the jazz.

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    I find that a 1 handed target stance with a little change works best for me. Once I have my arm out to the side I then rotate my elbow clockwise, locking my tricep into my side. This gives me just a little more support.

    I haven't tried recoiling pistol shooting just CO2. My best with my Drulov is 5 shots in a £2 coin at 10m.

    Do you wash and lube your pellets at all? My Umarex S&W doesn't care one bit about all of that stuff, straight out of the tin cheapo dome heads seem to work just as well, however the DU-10 performs soooo much better with washed and lubed flat head target pellets.
     
  5. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I'll give that a go, cheers.
    Yeah, I'm nowhere near doing that kind of shooting, but considering it was my first night with the gun and everything I've read talks about how challenging it is to shoot, I was pleased to get most of the shots in the black. Next step: get most of the shots near the centre of the black!
    Nah. I've got some Napier lube in a spray bottle, which I've had for years - I think it came free when I bought a Napier pull-through kit - but haven't used much. If I were doing proper competition shooting, I'd be doing the whole wash, lube and weigh routine for pellet selection - but right now I'm under no illusion that I'm the weak link in the chain, not the pellets.

    Got a pellet selection pack in my FleaBay basket, though - I tend to just use whatever pellets I have lying around, but figured I'd at least get a pack of 10 different types and see if the HW45 likes any particular pellet more than another. Trouble is, there are so many different types of pellet - it'd take me weeks and cost a fortune to try 25 of each type!
     
  6. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    The pellet selection arrived: might take it to the range tonight, put five of each type through the HW45, see what happens. Also picked up a metal rear sight for the MP5, with proper drum apertures instead of the notches of the plastic version. Massive improvement: you can actually aim now.
     
  7. Almightyrastus

    Almightyrastus On the jazz.

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    Excellent, I'll have to see if I have some pellets that I can sort out a sample of for you. Pretty sure that you won't have some of the high end target stuff in that sample pack. The HW45 is .177 isn't it?
     
  8. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Ooh, cheers, that'd be lovely. It's .177: I've been using RWS Super Fields in it at present, and the selection pack came with Air Arms Diabolo Field, H&N Field Target Trophy, Webley Accupell, Air Arms Diablo Express, Bisley Magnum, JSB Exact, BSA Storm, H&N Excite Econ, and BSA Interceptor pellets - plus more Super Fields, which I can just throw back into my existing tin.
     
  9. Almightyrastus

    Almightyrastus On the jazz.

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    I have some of these that you might find to be fun.

    [​IMG]

    They've never had a reputation for accuracy but they are a novel idea.
     
  10. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I remember seeing those in various magazines. Got put off 'em when I heard about people finding waxy residue in their barrels from the plastic, although I recall that was a bigger problem with the pellets that had the plastic skirts (Prometheus? Something like that.)
     
  11. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Right, back from the range. Shot five of each type, then five more of the good ones before settling on the gun's favourite.

    Bisley Magnum: Lolno. Tried one just for giggles: only just made it into the one-point ring.
    BSA Storm: Shotgun-like pattern, 25 points over 5 shots (average of five points.)
    H&N Excite Eco: Wadcutters make lovely round holes in targets, eh? 60 points over ten shots (average of 6 points; several fliers.)
    Webley Accupell: Slightly tighter pattern, but not much. 32 points over five shots (average of 6.4 points.)
    RWS Super Field 4.51: These are different to my usual 4.52mm version. 65 points over ten shots, but I think I was to blame here.
    BSA Interceptor: Not terrible, and I think one flyer was my fault. 35 points over five shots (average of 7 points). Got one ten-pointer with these!
    H&N Field Target Trophy 4.50mm: Again, a flyer for which I was to blame. 35 points (average of 7 points; rises to 7.75 with the flyer removed.)
    RWS Super Field 4.52: The pellets I was using already. 71 points over ten shots (average of 7.1 points.)
    JSB Exact Diablo 4.52: 73 points over 10 shots (average of 7.3 points.)
    Air Arms Diabolo Express 4.52mm: Messy holes, but good grouping. 75 points over ten shots (average of 7.5 points.)
    Air Arms Diabolo Field 4.51mm: 41 points over five shots (average of 8.2 points.) Another ten-point bull, too.

    So, going on per-shot averages, Air Arms Diabolo Field 4.51mm is the one to use. However, I found that the grouping was substantially better with the RWS Super Field 4.52mm pellets I was already using; the first four shots I fired were touching, but in the eight-point ring rather than the bull. I've since adjusted the sights, but spent the rest of the evening hitting a steel spinner so haven't got a refreshed score.

    Conclusion: I'm probably best off sticking with my RWS Super Fields in 4.52mm head size, which is a slightly disappointing conclusion from an £8.45 pellet selection pack and an evening of testing but does mean that I'll be using the other tin of RWS Super Fields I've got in the cabinet. Hooray!

    I've also agreed to enter a Yorkshire-wide competition; I need to set an average before the end of next month (three groups of four five-shot cards) and pay a couple of quid. I won't win, but I'm going to have fun trying!
     
  12. Almightyrastus

    Almightyrastus On the jazz.

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    Hehe those Bisley Magnums are weighty beasts aren't they? You really need a rifle, ideally an FAC one to make the most of them. A friend uses similar pellets in his 80 ft/lb .25 rapid and in that they are monsters. I got a big rabbit out at around 85 yards with it, made a hell of a mess on the outgoing side of the head.

    I normally use the air arms fields in 4.52 in my fun CO2 pistols such as my CP99 and 8" S&W revolver and they are perfectly suited to that as I find that flat headed wadcutters tend to have more chance of jamming, they need a bit of a dome or point to them to allow for any slight misalignment between the revolving magazine and the barrel.

    The DU10 only gets fed match grade flat heads though as anything else can get a bit touchy with multiple shots. The DU10 is a 5 shot semi auto with an inline magazine at the back of the barrel. When fired, the gas flows over the stack of pellets and pops the front one off and down the barrel, if things are not set up exactly right, you can get it to go fully automatic with all 5 shots going off in a fraction of a second...
     
  13. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Aye, my rifles are 12ft/lbs, so I don't think I'm going to be using the other 24 Magnums!
    Eeesh, scary-scary Section 5 scary - don't think I want a DU10 any more!
     
  14. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Picked up a couple of new mounts for my rifle scopes: Sportsmatch one-piece Dampa mount for the springer and a fully-adjustable two-piece for the PCP. It's a ridiculous improvement, especially the two-piece: you can zero the scope without even touching its dials! They're both a little high - one is designed for up to 60mm and has a 50mm on it, and the other is for up to 50mm and has a 40mm on it. Gives me room to upgrade in the future, though!
     
  15. mrlongbeard

    mrlongbeard Multimodder

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    Just picked up a HW97KT and a Hawke Vantage IR 4-12x50 mildot scope :cooldude:

    Blimey scopes have come on some since I last shot some 10 years back
     
  16. mrlongbeard

    mrlongbeard Multimodder

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  17. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Since the birth of my second daughter, I haven't been to the range once. I am a Sad Panda. However, despite this, I've got my eyes on yet another rifle. Basically, I want something I can use with iron sights; the scopes are fine and good, but there's a lot of fun to be had peering down the barrel instead.

    So, I need to decide 'twix these two beasties.

    [​IMG]
    Diana Mauser K98, based on the classic 1898 pattern. Underlever springer with single-shot breech loading.

    [​IMG]
    Walther Winchester in steel finish. Eight-shot clip with lever-action.

    The Winchester's pretty, but I'm leaning Mauser-wards at the moment 'cos I wouldn't have to buy CO2 cartridges (the Winchester takes 88g bottles, and all I have 'ere are 12g) and it's cheaper.

    Thoughts?
     
  18. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    Winchester :D
     
  19. MadGinga

    MadGinga oooh whats this do?

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    Hell yes.
     
  20. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Really? No love for the meaty Mauser and its zero running cost bar pellets?
     

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