First time poster and new to PCP

[detox]

cptmclark,
Both my Marauder Rifle and Pistol shoot more accurately using standerd hunters hold (my lefthand grasping forearm). Today I was shooting consistantly 1/4" groups with the MRod and 1/2" groups with the P Rod at 25 yards using hunter hold. I rolled up one end of blanket and used that as a rest under my left hand. Pulling butt of rifle firmly into my shoulder. Then following thru the shot.

If I use a bipod or telescopic rifle rest my groups are far worse. I normally use my left hand to squeeze the Protektor sandbag to raise and lower elevation from butt of rifle. This does not work with this gun. Or not with me anyway

[USMCShooter]

Ok, hopefully I can lend some help here.....

About pumping...especially the first time....put the gun on 'safe' and cock it.....then try pumping it....if you still hear air, bleed the pump line and dry fire the gun a few times to seat the new valve....then 'safe', cock and pump again....

As for accuracy...I've now unboxed and tuned 13 .22 Mrods in the last year....only one had accuracy issues that needed bore/crown attention......IF, you are shooting the correct head-size pellets.....NONE of them liked a head diameter of less than .215...with .217 being ALL of their favorites.....

Take a set of dial calipers and head-size a tin to .216....weight isn't that important out to 50yds.....head size however is....I think you will find that JSB exact 5.52mm head diameter (you need to measure a few in each tin to be sure that's what you've got....I've had 5 tins now that said 5.52, that were actually 5.50mm)....

CLEAN THE BORE FIRST!!!!!!! Pull the bolt and the shroud and thoroughly clean the bore before you shoot it....

This should set you up for success....

s/f

Jamie

[detox]

NONE of them liked a head diameter of less than .215...with .217 being ALL of their favorites.....

Jamie

My JSB 16.1grain Predator pellets measure .2175" and shoot verygood.
My JSB 18.1 grain pellets measure .216" and shoot poorly.


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[cptmclark]

Back home in ten days and will be following your suggestions. How do I know what the head diameter of the pellets are without buying and measureing them? Is there a list maybe? What is is for my Premiers? Sounds like I'll have to get a metric caliper. Thinking about clues for my pressurizing problem, I remember that once I add about 100 # above the 2100 it sticks at, the pump pressure increases exponentially, as if trying to pump water, or against a wall. Something is blocked maybe? Anyhow, I've been given things to try and will do those things carefully.
Regarding hand holding for better accuracy, that is a surprise. On my powder guns I have to do that only with those generating like 3500 ft # energy or more, and serious recoil. They will bounce off the bag, but I'm surprised that this zero recoil air gun would care. Of course I can't hold it in my hand (even with hand on bag) well enough to achieve the accuracy we are talking about. I'll try both ways. New question: what is the simplest connection tool I should get. Crossman catalog lists more than one connector for scuba tanks. Will each work? Is one better? What else do I need to order? I suppose I'll get the scuba tank from a dive shop or internet source. I'd like to think there would be a simple compressor that would go to 3000 psi, but I guess not or I would have read about it here. Do the dive shops have to use some expensive or complex unit?
Thanks again for all of the help and interest. I am really enjoying reading all of the posts and will put the suggestions to good use. My main intention with this new rifle is to practice marskmanship without having to pack up and drive 50 minutes to the range. Now that I see these are capable of bench rest accuracy, that's a whole new interest in itself. I'm a nut for accuracy and have spent several decades tuning rifles and ammunition just to make tiny little groups. I even do it with hunting rifles, where it's not necessary. But again I digress. Thanks again.

[detox]

[quote author=detox link=topic=6640.msg53138#msg53138 date=1294225831]
I found this interesting post in another forum. I do not know this person, but it sounds like he knows what he is talking about:

"Sorry to say But With a few well known exceptions who actually post thier groups and I can beleive the distances I do not beleive more then half of what I read regarding accuracy from most posters here. I Have gone the route of expensive to ultra expensive custom built FT rigs. I have found most are capable of "AVERAGE" 3/4 to 1" groups at 55 yds. MAny will throw one out every 3 groups. THe word being "AVERAGE". It's easy for someone to come on here and post a pic of a 1/2" group their rifle produced with them behind the trigger . It is another thing to shoot 100 consecutive rounds in a 1/2" and have everyone appear within the 1/2" "NOW THAT"S THE ACCURACY I WANT" in "NO WIND" conditions. That is very very very very difficult to find and when you find that rifle and ammo combo do not let it go. I was speaking with Johnny Ingram at the NAts and telling him how Impressed I was with Harold Rushton's performance and he said " ME TOO, there you have the perfect example of the perfect shooter who has found his rifle and setup. Isn't he incredable?".
Many of my shooting buddies have $4300+ rigs who can not execute the 100 shot 1/2" test. It is not that they are good enough shots because they can do it with a friends rig and not their own!

I could be wrong but these "ALL THE TIME 1/2" RIGS ARE RARE" and I know I will get bashed for this but I would love to have all the posters on the yellow who have claimed incredible rigs lined up at a shooting range on a calm day, hand them 100 pellets weighed and sorted of their choice and have them shoot 1/2" ctc targets at 55yds. If each one put $1000 up for the bet I would feel safe saying I would leave that range with a lot more $ then what I came with and a bunch of excuses.
Every shooter I know who has one of these rigs does not part with it. DOn't get me wrong I am not saying there is not an inexpensive rig that can achieve this but I feel that is rare and limited to the top 10 percentile. I know of a couple exceptions but they are custom guns on inexpensive platforms and not the out of box guns you can purchase.
I write this because so many shooters are frustrated over their rifles accuracy and when they read the yellow they beleive almost every one out there with rifles from $500 to $5000 can do this. SO this is written to tell you I found it is not easy to find that 1/2" consistant rifle and I was frustrated like most until I found it and the BS that is written here addded to that frustration! AIr rifles are not powder burners and from my expierence it's alot easier to find consistency in powder burners then in air rifles. I have spoken with one of the top 3 gun smiths in the country and he told me he went thru 5 barrels on a brand new $5000 rig to get the rifle to shoot 1/2" goups and it is still squirrly in the wind. What does that tell you about what leaves the factories?
I would love to know who agrees and disagrees with this logic or is it I was unlucky with rifles for a long time?"
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[detox]

I ordered my 80 tank from these people. If you shoot alot the 100 and up size is better. If you order one of these tanks, it will be drop shipped from Michigan I believe.
shttp://www.divegearexpress.com/gas/steel.shtml

The AirForce K Vale adaptor fits all K valves. The Crosman fill vlave does not fit some valves without modification.
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/AirForce_ ... _Hose/3018

The Field Target section in the Yellow Forum is probably the best area to read and learn about air rifle accuracy and Field Target shooting. Lots of old timers with a wealth of info over there.






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[cptmclark]

Thank you to all. When I started smallbore competition I began my quest for accuracy in a rimfire that would match my high power rifles. I concluded that ammuntion was the limiting factor and that 1 1/2 MOA was about the absolute best attainable. That's all I need to compete of course, since I'm using my hands. Then I was asked to set up a certain new brand of light sporter in 22LR for a friend, and found it accidentally shot 3/4 inch at 50 yards with hunting ammo. I stuck in some of my Wolf target rounds and it has never left MOA (1/2" at 50 yards) since, unless I was experimenting with ammo. This was magic to me and I've not seen it before or since, although I've heard of others. Calm day, 1" at 100 yards, but "most of the time" for five shot groups. Again, this is the only one in a lifetime and others may have had better experiences. ( Happily for me my friend decided he'd rather have one of the new super speed 17s in the same rifle, and dang it, I was stuck with this inexpensive tack driver. I'll not likely part with it. All this to say that I understand that factory rifles are not likely to be MOA guns without tinkering, although to my surprise many new centerfire rifles have begun accmplishing that once proper ammo is found and in the hands of a real shooter. I'm not hijacking the forum to a powder gun discussion. I appreciate real test results, and they are not easy to obtain. Just check the shooting magazines and see that there is usually a "called flyer" or some other excuse for the errant hole. If it wasn't hard, it wouldn't be fun. I will be submitting range reports that will include velocity and ctc accuracy data. Flyers will be included . If the suggestions Iv'e recieved work out, look for these reports in about 12 days. A bit longer if it has to go back to Crossman. I do enjoy this forum.

[USMCShooter]

Cpt....with a little love, many of these guns are quite capable of MOA out to 100yds....and certainly, easily at 50yds.....it's just how much effort you're willing to put in to get it.......I've taken to head-size sorting all of my target pellets...Ie, for testing purposes.....the JSB 15.9's with a head diameter of 5.52 are consistent enough for plinking, as are the predators for hunting....

But, after polishing the inleade, smoothing the transfer port opening, lapping and polishing the bore, recrowning the barrel, and a lengthy process of sorting pellets, my .22 Mrod, with the factory Crosman barrel will indeed shot sub-MOA at 50yds on a very regular basis....the tune I have had on it for over a year (Greg Davis prepped gun), gives me 37shots at 50yds with no POI shift, with an ES of 16fps.....nearly unheard of in an unregulated gun....but with probably 10 hours of fine-tuning and a lot of pellets and air, and a couple chrony batteries, I can honestly say I'm completely happy with the gun....

284 squirrels (last year) can attest to it's lethality.....probably 85% or better were headshots.....with my farthest comfirmed kill of 109-lasered yards, with 4 witnesses present....and a dove at 103 lasered yards with my father and best friend on hand while I was home on leave in late summer......there have been numerous 75+ yd shots with the gun....I primarily hunt, but I've spent a LOT of time getting to know this rifle....it has over 15,000 pellets through it since I got it back from Greg over a year ago......yeah, I shot it a LOT! LOL!

So if you're willing to go to the lengths it takes, I think you'll find this gun will do everything you want it to do....then you'll want a .25! LOL....which, out of the box, my new one is shooting sub-MOA at 50yds...but only 9 shots in the sweet spot...gotta work on that.....MOA at 100 has also been done...but I know it will do better....the day was not ideal for it when I shot that far....but I have a feeling, this one is going to be one hell of a shooter, with half the time and effort I've got into the .22....time will tell.

s/f

Jamie

[cptmclark]

Well, polishing the leade and lapping the bore I can do with the JB Borepaste already on hand. I don't have a 22 crowning tool, so would need to job that out. If there is a pellet head size chart, or other source for knowing what the head diameters of pellet types are without buying a lot of them and measureing them myself, I'd appreciate knowing that. I'm sure there is a best head diameter for this 22 which has already been put in the thread, but how to know what pellets to buy to obtain that I don't know. Thanks. Eager to get back and fondle it some more.

[USMCShooter]

Cpt.....shoot me an email and I'll see if I can't send you a few samples of pellets that you can try...there's really no charts and not everyone 'advertises' head diameters and those that do don't always measure to their dimensions, which is why a set of dial calipers are crucial....

If I find a lot of pellets that my gun likes, I try to get as many as I can afford at the time....I went on this journey of head-sizing after getting 4 tins of Benji's that shot like lasers...then the next 4 tins had 3-4 flyers per tin....put them away and kept shooting JSB's....then had some time on my hands...started measuring and talking to Yrrah (from the yellow forum) as he's a true expert in this stuff....'lo and behold, I found HUGE inconsistencies in that lot of pellets.....of the 4 tins, I got 2.5 tins that were worth a damn.....and they again shot like a laser....

So now I do it with all....or at least do a random check....it's the first thing I check if flyers appear.....if it's not the head diamter of the pellets....then I go to bore cleaning....so it's definitely something to consider.

As for cleaning up the crown, there is a lot of info out on the net about it, but most folks without equipment use a round-headed brass screw, chucked in a drill, with either fine sandpaper or lapping compound on the head of the screw and just gently scour the crown utilizing the angle provided by the screw head.....If the crown is not too bad, I personally use a dremel bit (stone), and just gently touch the crown without getting into the rifling, then wrap it with fine sandpaper and polish it....take a q-tip and work it slowly around the muzzle rifling to see if you hang any fibers which indicate a burr.....

Again, there's a lot of data and some Youtube video's on it out there if you search....if I can help in any way, just say the word...

s/f

Jamie