GTA
General Discussion To Gateway To Airguns => Back Room => : Airhawks January 19, 2010, 09:10:10 AM
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Hello everybody I'm new to the forum and joined up recently. They call me Ti but my screen name is 'Airhawks'. Yup that’s right, I bought one.
About the site its a treasury trove of information and overwhelming. I don't think the people out there realize the amount of time, effort and dedication that goes into putting up a site like this and to keep it running. My hats off to the originator and the maintainers. You do and have done an incredible job thank you for sharing it with me and allowing me to participate.
As I stated above my screen name is "Airhawks" and I bought one back in mid November of 2009. To all the people that bought one they know as I do it has its weaknesses and strong points, mine is a very hard hitter unfortunately the problem that I'm having is zeroing it with a scope, I think?
When I first opened the box right off the bat I could see the rear sight was way out of whack and a couple days later I decided to try and sight it in using the iron sights, so what I did next was adjusted the rear sight almost as far as it could go to one side to try and align it with the front sight, satisfied with where I had it I decided to go to work on the squirrels.
It had become apparent to me after fifty or sixty shots and five squirrels missed the iron sights just weren't making it so I decided to try and use the scope, excited about that prospect I mounted it and began to zeroing it and started having problems here too.
As I made adjustments on the scope to bring my shots in every other shot or so would go wild and start walking away from the bullseye. After making repeated adjustments again and finally hitting the bullseye, I then stopped and left it there.
Then the next morning I go outside and a squirrel is sitting in the tree twelve yards away and bango! One shot and he's down. So the morning after that another squirrel shows up and bango! I missed him. This went on for the next three squirrels till finally I figure something isn't right so back to the target board.
Well I can't even find the pellet on a sheet of eight by eleven inch paper so I move in close five yards and work from there. I finally get it zeroed again and the next morning another squirrel comes in. Bango! Down he goes. The next day after that and another and Bango! Missed him.
To try and make a long story short obviously there is a pattern that has evolved here and keeps repeating itself. I make adjustments and finally zero it and its good for one shot zero's on squirrels and after that the shots go wild again. I can see on my targets that the pattern starts walking away from zero. Something is going on here that is quite obvious but to me I don't know what that is. I'm sure somebody out there knows what that obvious is I just don't have the experience to crack this nut.
I see on the forum there was another person who had a barrel droop problem and it would not hold zero, I wrote him and he told me he bought a new scope and a very expensive seventy plus dollar Beeman scope mount with droop adjustment. He said it now holds zero. It looks like other people were having this problem too. The scope that comes with the Ruger Airhawk isn't that good is what they are saying so I finally came to that conclusion too. What I did next was purchase a Leapers Golden image 3 x 9 x 32 AO and Accu shot rings. I honestly don't believe the scope was or is turning in the rings or there is movement, plus the rifle has a scope stop.
I believe the original scope can't take the shock and internally is loosing adjustment somehow. But I'm now having the same problem with the new scope that I had with the old scope. I can't tighten the scope bracket and rings any tighter because it just won't go anymore.
So after replacing the scope and mount and still the same problem I believe now something internally is wrong with the gun and that somehow the dynamics of a seal possibly change after one, two or three or who knows how many shots are made.
I can't believe it would be a bad scope again. I'm told you want the knobs in the "Optimum range" which should be close to the scope's optical center, how many rotations in one direction is too many before it becomes redundant? But even if you reached the scopes limit and it was zeroed at that point, it wouldn't change as dramatic from shot to shot if at all such as my gun does if it is a quality scope.
I know the rifle has barrel droop because looking through the orginal scope mounted on the gun you could see the front sight in the lower left of the scope but I just took off the front and rear site completely to resolve this and that is fine with me. At this point and time after putting out almost seventy-five dollars for a new scope and mount I'm going to hold fast.
Maybe somebody out there can give me a guiding hand as to what direction I should take next.
I'm enclosing four pics of a five shot group I took today with the new scope and bracket. (seeing how this is my first post they may not allow me to post pics)
The other day I tried zeroing the scope in after twelve shots or so but it was running wild again so I gave up. Today the first shot was off the target so I zeroed in on the center target and I was three and five eights low at top dead center of my target. I adjusted the 'up' knob on the scope three quarters of a turn almost full circle and then fired again and as you can see in (#1) pic the first shot hit the ring on the bullseye. The second shot is dead center. Actually after shooting this five shot group I thought for a minute that I had finally resolve the problem but as you can see the next three five shot groups are all over the place. On pic (#3) my first shot is low and my second shot is even lower then my third shot which comes up a bit and the fourth comes way up then the fifth shot comes down and hits the bullseye. The same thing happens in the (#2 and #3) pic five shot groups. I know there is such a thing as flyers but the inconsistency in the patterning in which the shots are taken has me stumped. One minute the first shot is at the bottom the next minute its at the top then the last shot it hits the bullseye.
I shoot from a table in which the gun is resting on pillows. The crosshairs of the scope are always in the center of the 3/4" circle when I pull the trigger.
Does anybody have any insight on this problem, I'm at a stand still until I figure out what is going on or to do next.
Thanks, Ti
Airhawks
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Ti, I'll start and let others chime in. First off, welcome to GTA Forums. Glad to have you aboard. There's lots of knowledge here and a bunch of great airgun addicts willing to help and share from their experiences.
What ammo are you using and have you tried several different brands and weights? Most or all guns prefer a specific ammo. Part of the airgun adventure is finding the the right combination of gun, ammo and pairing all of this to the shooter. Have you done a thorough cleaning of the bore yet? That needs to be done also. And while you are cleaning, check the crown of the barrel. Make sure it's good and not damaged in any way. And my last suggestion is check everything for tightness. Make sure the barrel does not have excessive side to side play (if so, tighten the breach block pivot bolt) and make sure it has good lockup when you return it to the closed position after cocking.
See if any of these ideas turn up anything that helps. And again, welcome.
Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
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Hi Dave,
Thank you for the warm welcome. Yes indeed, there is much available to the airgunner. My only experience is a Winchester 800 which was sadly lacking in power and performance so much that I returned it. That was about six years back. The Winchester 800 was certainly a beautiful rifle but I wanted something more than a wall decoration. The crossman 760 I owned at the time had much more power and accuracy than it did. Later I returned that too because of inconsistency in accuracy. I only wish I would have kept the 760 because knowing now what I know about air and pellet guns all I would of had to do was try another brand of pellet for the 760 instead of just the cheapest daisy pellet.
To answer your questions I'm using Crossman Pointed Premium Grade Hunting Pellets 7.4 Grains. No I haven't cleaned the bore yet. What I've read about this is somewhat conflicting to me. Some say leave it alone and others say do it. I looked down the barrel in a light when I first bought it and it looked clean to me. I didn't see any crud in it. I know that doesn't mean it is clean. Some say to clean it with brake cleaner another post said clean it with simple green, I don't know what to use? I know you have to stay away from the harsh solvents so it doesn't reach the seals.
There is a slight crown not much. It doesn't look damaged to me. The barrel has absolutely no side to side play and the barrel locks up tighter than a drum. Its a solid gun. I tighten all the bolts after the first few rounds when I first fired it and they were loose and I continue to constantly recheck them. There's maybe around one hundred and fifty rounds through it. My concern is that there might be something wrong internally with it and I have until the tenth of February to return it.
Any advise on the solvents to use Dave? I don't know what to use on the barrel and receiver. One post said "Rem oil" another said ' "lemon Pledge" . What I've been doing is wiping them down with a damp cloth and then drying it with a paper towel.
Ti
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Welcome to the GTA Forums Ti,
The BEST Air Gun Forum on the Internet !!!!! And, It's A GREAT PLACE TO BE !!!!!
Many air guns are "Hold Sensitive", and must be held the same way every shot ! The pressure you put on the grip and for end must be constant for good accuracy, as well as the way you squeeze your trigger. The placement on the pillow can also effect your accuracy, make sure that you place the air rifle at the same position on the rifle and the pillow.
Also check all of your stock to rifle screws, just for fun.
I hope to see you around here often !!!!
Bill
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Yeah, you will find contradicting info all over. Different folks have different opinions. But you will probably find this to be a goodrecommendtion from others here also. Use Goo Gone to clean the bore. Get a piece of grass trimmer string, maybe 24" long. Heat one end with a match or lighter and form a ball on end. Cut a sharp point onto the other end. Take a .177 cotton bore patch and push it onto the string. Apply a little Goo Gone and run it from the breach end out. Run new patches through till they come out clean. Then run a couple of dry patches through to wipe out any Goo Gone residue. I use brake cleaner when I tear a gun down to remove any lubricant in the chamber before I start honing. And to wash the chamber out after the honing.
I would also suggest you try some heavier weight ammo, possibly CP Ultra Mags, Gamo Rockets or something around 9-10gr weight hollow points. The heavier weight and slower velocity might be all it needs to get the accuracy you want. You can get a sample packet of different ammo from Pryamyd or other supplier. But try different pellets and heaviers for sure.
As far as cleaning the outside of the AG, I have used Break-Free on all of my firearms, powder burners and AGs, for decades. It cleans, removes rust and protects the heck out of them. I even wipe a light coat on the furniture. It's proven itself over MANY years of use. I have some powder burners thatI've used foralmost 40 yearsthat look practically new.
So, if you have a crown that looks even, the barrel has no side to side play and the lock-up is very positive, take Bills advice for experimenting with hold sensitivity and get a sample pack of pellets. It may be simply finding the best diet for your Hawk and figuring out how she likes to be held. (http://../jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif)Oh, and don't forget to do an initial very good cleaning.
Let us know your progress and Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
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Hi Ti, a big welcome to the GTA forum and family. Are those the really pointed pellets or the dome ones (Although Crosman do call them "pointed hunting pellets").....usually the pointed pellets don't shoot good in most airguns. Do as the posters mention above and see what happens after a tin of pellets..... Good luck.
Btw....when you bought the AirHawk.....was it off the wall (Display model) or brand-new in the box. Sometimes display models get handled by customers and dry-fired (Maybe lots of times) and could've caused some internal damage.
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Hi Big Bill,
Thank you for the input and I agree, there is no other form like it.
As far as the Airhawk, I've battened down all the hatches and its good to go. I have found out through shooting the Airhawk just what you say (hold sensitivity,form and position) are vital for good shot placement. Just a thought though, I was always under the impression that whereever the cross-hairs end up on the target that is where the point of impact is for the bullet regardless of how the gun is held just as long as the crosshairs line up on the target at the point when you pull the trigger.
If your talking about "jumping" the gun I agree. Yes I believe you can "jump" the gun by pulling too fast or hard on the trigger or applying too much movement in form thus missing your intended target. I know I was doing this at first but I did "pop" a squirrel one day about fifteen yards away with a (slap shot) just throwing the gun up from my side and shooting. It was a fleeting snap shot. I didn't hit the intended crosshair mark but I did get the squirrel. This was the second shot after it had been zeroed. The next three shots "fixed" position at squirrels missed all together.
I know they say the more pellets through the gun the more sweet it shall become but that seems to be the exception here. The more pellets through this one and the "worst" it gets in accuracy.
Ti
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"Break Free" I've never heard of that before Dave. It sounds like it does what "Hoppe's" gun solvent does but with different additives. I think your idea on different ammo certainly deserves a try. The only variety immediately available to me right now is two different Gamo weights a Beeman brand a couple different Crossman weights and a Daisy.
I'll stay away from the PBA raptors and the Daisy. I don't need the speed and want a quality pellet. I really would like to try the heavier pellet now and am curious. The Crossman pellets I'm using are the rounded nose type not the true pointed pellet. It is a good quality pellet I can see that.
But there is something here you guys might be missing, if you look at my five shot groups you will notice the shots start to deteriorate after the first 5-shot group. One by one and ultimately the last 5-shot group is the worst. Now if I go back to the target and start shooting 5-shot groups again they are eventually going to start working right of the target completely. This is what I'm talking about. I'll have to rezero the scope again and once more it will repeat itself all over again.
But I'll try to find some "Goo Gone" I think I saw that at Walmart. I don't know if they carry "Break Free". I know they have "Rem oil". Is that ok to use on the metal outside? I'll also try to find some 9-10 grain hollow points like you suggested. I did read a post where one fella was using 14 grain and broke a spring on one of his springers but he said he was willing to replace a spring for the accuracy he was getting in return.
We'll see what happens
Ti
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Ti,
I also own an Airhawk and initially had a few issues with it. The main thing is that the gun is pretty powerful at around 16 fpe or so, and tended to vibrate the stock scres loose with regularity. The barrel on mine not only droops but also locks up a little off axis left to right. So, out of the box, it was a bit frustrating. My iron sights were good, so I never experienced the problems that you mention. Here's how I fixed all of those problems and now have a gun that will hold it's zero and keep things on a quarter out to about 35 yards when I do my part.
First, I disassembled the gun and performed a basic deburring and lube tune with proper lubricants. That smoothed the shot cycle a bit and made cocking go much smoother. I also polished the bearing surfaces on the trigger group and lubed them, which helped reduce the trigger pull. It still has a good bit of creep in the second stage, which I might refine once squirrel season finishes in February. Or, I might just practice more as there are lots of fiddly bits in the trigger group and crawling around in the dirt and dust searching for escaped springs isn't my idea of a fun time. That's the voice of experience by the way.
The lube tune helped to calm some of the vibrations, but it would still loosen stock screws. So, I replaced the forearm srews with good hex-head bolts from my local hardware store. I also replaced the lock washers with regular flat washers. The bolts will hold much better and the flat washers distribute the load across the wood fibers which means you can crank them down more tightly without damaging the wood itself. The lock washers that came with it were hogging out the wood in the forearms. When replacing them, it's best to clean all of the oil from the screw threads on the bolt as well as on the action itself before installing. This will often be enough to keep the bolts from unscrewing under vibration. To be safe, I loktited them down as well. Every time you adjust the screws, your point of impact will change, so the loktite is a good idea as well. Though, it's best not to use it if you don't have to as it's kind of hard to clean up should you need to disassemble the gun again.
The leapers scope you chose has a good reputation, but you'll probably need an adjustable mount if your gun is like mine. I had to compensate for droop as well as the barrel itself pointing to the left. You can shim the rings with 35mm film if you have only a little droop, but you'll need to be careful not to use too many shims and end up bending the scope's tube. I bit the bullet and got a fully adjustable mount and that did the trick. It's vitally important for best accuracy that you optically center the scope and then use the adjustments in the mount to get on target. That gives you the best chance of keeping zero. The internal adjustments on scopes are prone to floating as they approach the limits of travel on their adjustment mechanisms. The symptoms of scope floating is one where the zero wanders around during a shooting session. Of course, that's not the only thing that can cause the zero to wander. They'll also wander if there is a temperature difference between the gun and where you're shooting such as if you keep it indoors at night but shoot outdoors mainly. Or if you aren't achieving a good, consistent cheek weld there will be some parallax even in an AO scope.
Folks touched on the importance of hold above in the post. My AirHawk is extremely hold sensitive, so I have to really concentrate on achieving the exact same hold from shot to shot. I get the best results with the forearm laying on my open palm just in front of the trigger guard and no fingers touching the sides of the forearm combined with a very loose hold where the thumb on my trigger hand presses down just behind the safety while the trigger finger itself moves up towards my thumb in a squeezing motion. My trigger hand fingers just barely cradle the pistol grip and the elbow of my trigger arm has to be almost straight out from my body. Something as simple as laying my thumb over the wrist of the stock will move the point of impact by an inch at 20 yards. The same is true for how firmly I pull the rifle into my shoulder. In the woods, this means that I'm mostly limited to shots as low angles where I can get my body into a good position. So far, I've only taken one squirrel at a significant upward angle, and that was luck on my part as the pellet impacted in the middle of his back when I was holding on his ear almost two inches away. I like the rifle, but it's far and away the most hold sensitive one that own. The prescription for that malady is more shooting practice, which is the kind of problem that I like :-)
I have also found that this rifle exaggerates any mistakes that I make mentally as well. So, if I forgot to control my breating, boom the pellet moves around. If I haven't achieved a natural point of aim, it's a miss. Pull the trigger rather than squeeze it, miss. You get the idea. Mind you, I'm a much better shooter in some ways because it's forced me to become more deliberate about my preparations, but the learning curve has been frustrating.
I shoot mainly heavy pellets in it as I find airguns to be most accurate if you shoot around 900 fps max in order to avoid the pellet passing through the transonic zone closer to the speed of sound. So, it's either JSB Heavies (also sold as Air Arms Field Target Heavy) or Crosman Premier Heavy. Beeman Crow Magnums might be a good candidate as well, but It takes pellets in the 10 grain region to keep this thing under 1000 fps, so that's what I use. I just reread Tom Gaylord's review of the AirHawk Elite and he's getting much lower velocities than I remember for this powerplant. Hmmm, looks like I need to break out the chrony and retest as I may have been seeing the effects of dieseling the first time around. More shooting :-)
In summary, my AirHawk is hold sensitive with a droopy barrel and the trigger won't be mistaken for a Rekord any time soon. On the bright side, it's very powerful, priced right, and not so precious that I feel bad about dragging it through woods and weather. What's not to like?
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Hi Gamo, thank you for the welcome.
No they are not the "true" pointed pellets they are the round nose. The gun was in the box along with four others. I had the opportunity to open each one up and examine them all and I chose the one I have now because of its "fit". (tightness) Also the stock was most unusual compared with the others in that it had a "tiger stripe" pattern running parallel with the length of it.
Rather unique.
I couldn't imagine anything more damaging to a springer than "dry firing" it.
I wouldn't buy a springer if I knew it had been dry fired.
Hey! Thats quite an Armory you've got.
Ti
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Hi bnations,
Thank you so much for the input. Wow! A quarter at thirty-five yds, thats incredible with your airgun.
What you say about "floating as they approach the limits of travel on their adjustment mechanisms." This is of particular interest to me. I believe with a high degree of certainty that this more than likely is the problem. If you have seen my five shot groups, the scope was zeroed in just before the first set, after the first set the next groups start to go down hill. The shots are wandering all over then all of a sudden the next shot hits dead center. Some of these Airhawks shoot good right out of the box but this one isn't any good with neither the iron or scope sight.
What you are saying I read in a tech article at Pyramydair. Your experience was also confirmed by another Airhawker who replaced his scope mount with an adjustable. I was under the impression an "accu shot one piece mount" would do the trick along with the Leapers scope. The guy writing the article highly endorsed the Leapers so I figured the purchase of the one piece mount and scope would resolve the problem. Apparently not. Looks like I'll have to send the mount back and get a fully adjustable one. Your experience has convinced me now.
I've thought about the shim idea but I didn't like that because you really have to shim the scope fully or at both mounts to keep from distorting the scope proportionally.
What scope mount did you purchase for your gun to make it shoot the way it does now bnations?
It sounds like the adjustable mounts are rather expensive. I'd really like to keep the rifle cause I like it. Its kinda heavy duty if you know what I mean. Heavy for sure and it's a hard hitter.
I'll eventually make a leather sling for it and share the construction with the Airhawkers out there. I made a "hood" for the front site before it was rendered useless to protect the tru glow site. I didn't want to damage that but I'll eventually share that with you guys too once I get this problem resolved that I have now with it.
I don't really want to get into the internals of the gun right now unless I have to. I'm not experienced enough although I certainly could perform that operation with some guidance once I know what Iam doing.
I've taken three squirrels so far and have missed at least ten. Each time I've taken a squirrel I've had to rezero it again except once. But after that squirrel I missed three in a row.
The gun is really tight, no hang ups or off axis. Yes the screws were loose or started coming loose when I first started shooting but I removed them and cleaned them with enamel reducer then washed and dried them and put them back in. They haven't moved since. They are very tight. I'm always checking them.
One thing I have to fix on the gun is the safety housing. I was coming from the back room and bumped the receiver against the door jam right at the plastic housing where the safety is pulled out. This thing is loose now. I took the stock off and it looks like all they did was take crazy glue to attach it to the receiver. I'll align it up where it is suppose to be and reglue it.
Your right on everything you say. The Airhawk is hold sensitive. I'll try everything the others are saying but I believe like you say I'll have to replace the scope mount with an adjustable one.
Ti
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Do you want to know the truth about Airguns??? They are more trouble than they are worth. Tinker, Tinker. Fuss, Fuss. Adjust, Adjust.
They are a puzzle wrapped in a riddle. But these are most likely the reasons so many people fool with them and enjoy them at the same time.
I have found that getting the best accuracy from a springer takes awhile. And a new springer will challenge you every step of the way.
The Airhawk should begin to get better after 500 to 1000 shots. And you will get better after about 6 months of tinkering and shooting.
My first Big Cat, I almost put up in the closet. I could not hit the side of a barn, groups bigger than yours and with no pattern. I tried everything. Slowly, I got better and the groups shrank. And the AG did like some pellets better than others but it was mostly me.
Keep posting and keep asking thoughtful questions. It will get better. Listen to the advice at the GTA, they know alot.
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I read that you've checked the stock screws to make sure they're tight. But have you checked the barrel pivot screw/bolt? If that's loose you'll have some slight movement of the barrel......and that'll throw off the shot.
My Crosman G1 Extreme and Sierra Pro were shooting so great....out to 50 yards I was hitting spent shotgun shells/and getting 1 1/2" groups.......then suddenly they weren't accurate anymore. At my basement I used to be able to get 5 to 7mm groups out of 10 shots with them at 8 meters distance. I later found out there was some wiggle in the barrel due to the loose pivot screw. Took it/them off, cleaned up the excess oil and Loc-Tited it and the guns are back to 100%. Hope this helps.
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Hi Ti,
Just wanted to welcome you to the forum. The others have already given you great advice and I'm sure you'll get that rifle shooting ragged hole groups in no time :)
I have a Ruger Blackhawk (same gun as your but with synthetic stock) that I bought a few months ago and the rifle is a hammer :) and deadly accurate with the right pellets. I have mine sighted in right now with the GAMO "Rocket" pellets (the ones with the round "bb" in the tip") and the rifle absolutely loves them,,,, shoots ragged hole groups at 30 yards no problem. They are available at Walmart, give a tin a try, I think you may be surprised :)
As for those Crosman pointed pellets you're using,,,,, I've never found them to be very accurate. I do have a couple of rifles that will shoot them fairly well, but for the most part only my much slower FPS chinese guns will shoot them accurately. Do yourself a favor and get yourself some other pellets to try. Walmart also sells the Crosman Premier Hollow Points (CPHP"S) and they are usually a very good, stable pellet as well to try.
I'll be looking forward to your future posts.. Let us know how you make out with the Airhawk...
Jeff
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Ti,
IIRC, I picked up a B-Square adjustable mount similar to this one (http://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/B_Square_17701_Adjustable_1_Pc_Mount_w_1_Rings_High_9_5_13mm_Dovetail/454) except it is the normal height rings version. I bought it used and it had a broken piece that makes adjustments more finicky than normal, but once locked down it functions flawlessly.
I tried shimming at first as I've had a good bit of success doing that on other rifles, but there was too much droop. Remember that the AirHawk is a clone of the Diana 34, and all Diana rifles droop. It's so prevalent that they now sell Diana specific droop mounts to compensate. Sad but true.
Best of luck, and welcome to the forum.
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Airhawks - 1/19/2010 11:42 PM "Break Free" I've never heard of that before Dave. It sounds like it does what "Hoppe's" gun solvent does but with different additives. Ti
Ti, check this (http://www.break-free.com/)[/b][/i] web site for more info on Break-Free. You should be able to find a small spray can of it at Wally World, Dick's Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain or any place that carries firearm related items. I use it to clean and lubricate the bore of my powder burners but I do not recomment it for the bore of AGs. Stick with Goo Gone for that. Use it to wipe any metal down with. And can be used on thestock safely also. Really good Teflon based lubricant, cleaner, protectant.
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I checked which mount I'm using on my AirHawk while home for lunch, and it's an RWS C Mount, not the B-Square. I took the stop pin out of it since the rifle has a pretty good scope stop already, so that wasn't an issue (early ones had rounded stop pins that gouged rifles, later ones have proper stop pins). I googled for you and found one for $30 from R & R Arms (http://www.rrarms.com/catalog.php?prod=2300575), wihich is about what I paid for mine used. Great price.
Tom Gaylord has compiled a whole list of his blog postings that you may find useful under the title Adjustable scope mounts (http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2006/01/adjustable-scope-mounts.html). He deals with why the zero might wander in a couple of different postings as well as how to use adjustable mounts. Well worth reading through all of them.
One thing. My mount adjusts for elevation, windage, and the rings tilt, so I must have a later, improved version or something. Dunno, but it holds and hasn't bent my scope, so I'm happy.
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Gamo
Wow! Fifty yards. Thats incredible too. You guys must have your guns super tweaked to get that kind of accuracy. Thanks for pointing that out about the barrel pivot bolt. When I first purchased the rifle and tried sighting it in after the first few shots it dawned on me to do a once over on all the screws and yes, most all of them were at least a little loose. They since have been retightened.
I think bnations has cracked this nut for me. His is the second confirmation in regard to the Airhawk of "scope float" if you will ( crosshairs jumping around during set shots when the dial is maxed or almost maxed out). Seeing how this is a clone of the Diana 34 it also inherited at least one of its faults, barrel droop. Unfortunately I already purchased a mount that doesn't deliver so I'm gonna have to sit tight for awhile on another purchase of the correct scope mount to fix the problem.
But I might have a solution for that too, seeing how I introduced my girlfriend to a squirrel supper one night and she loved it, I'll hint to her that I need a new scope mount for my rifle a few weeks before my birthday this summer and see how that goes.
Hey, she won't let me keep any of the squirrels I get now because she likes them so much so its the least she can do. (smile)
Looks like I found somebody that likes eating squirrel as much as I do.
Ti
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Thank you for the foot work bnations. Another member and pyramydair suggested Beeman B-5039 adjustable mount. I looked it up on their site and its adjustable only at the base for width adaptions.
The fact that it sits up high on the receiver I guess makes up for the droop. I'll have to take a closer look at it again. Very expensive $80.00.
I like the fact the scope mount that you are using is adjustable in all axis's. I'll check that out too. A little higer scope mount wouldn't be bad because the one I have on there I really have to anchor my cheek down on the gun stock and do a slight twist (not much) inward with my left hand to hold the gun vertical to get proper line up of the scope to target acquistion. I really like the Leapers Scope but it is not very forgiving when it comes to the eye relief.
I think I know where I stand now bnations, I'll start over again with the basics and work from there.
Ti
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Hi Bogey
Truer words have never been spoken. I'm certainly inclined to believe what you are saying at this point.
The first airgun I owned was a Winchester 800. The salesperson at the store sold me on it because of his description. A few days later I tried to zero the iron sights and the best I could do was four and one half inches to the left of the target. To make matters worst at thirteen yards it wouldn't even penetrate a squirrels hide. The crossman 760 would anchor them and I'd try to finish them off with the Winchester but there wasn't enough power so I took it back. It was a beautiful gun but I didn't buy it just for that reason, I was looking for accuracy, power and simplicity. All I wanted was a "wash and wear" gun for squirrels. How much simpler can it be, just crack the barrel open drop in the pellet and POW! Lots of impact on the other end. Well it didn't work out that way.
So now here Iam with the Airhawk and its short comings. Dispite all that I still like it because its a solid gun. Mine is very tight but like I've stated the iron sites are worthless. The scope I believe now is probably ok along with the internals and that its more than likely the droop that's the culprit here. Some of them off the line are ok and some aren't but like Dave said I'll let everybody "chime" in first then I'll file all the input into my Airhawk folder. Hey! What a toolbox I'll have! Huh
Ti
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Hi Jeff and thank you for the welcome.
Since starting my post I'm beginning to feel like a member of the "Band of Brothers" here. Good people and great advice. Wish I knew about this forum six years ago.
You've got an Airhawk too huh, glad to know I'm not alone. Sounds like some of you fellas got your Airhawks dialed right in. I think the groups you guys have been getting with your guns are incredible.
I'm curious Jeff are you using the original scope and mounts or the iron sights? Those Gamo Rocket's your describing I've seen many times in Walmart and have been tempted to buy a tin but hesitated because of negative posts I read about the performance factor. But that truely is subjective because not all guns are alike and the only way your going to find what really works is to try different brands as you suggest.
I was in Walmart today and this is the first time those pellets were out of stock. When I see they have them again I'll pick up a tin and try them. If your Airhawk likes them they are definitely were trying in mine. They look like they would do a number on squirrels with the BB in the center of the lead. The copper being harder than lead leaves me to believe it would have bone busting power. I know they have the CPHP'S but I'll see if they can get me a small tin. They will order them for you if they are not in stock as long as you get the item number off the net.
I bought my Crossman 1377 that way through them.
The Crossman pellets I'm using are the round nose I don't know why they call them pointed pellets. It's confusing enough with all the pellets on the market.
Ti
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Ti,
As soon as I got my rifle I changed the scope to a Leapers 3x9x32 AO scope. That is one of my favorite scopes and I have quite a few of them. You can pick them up at optics planet for around $50 bucks w/free shipping. The 4x scope that came with my Blackhawk actually isn't all that bad and I have that on another rifle. I also swapped out the mounts for an Accushot 1 piece medium height mount.
As for the "rocket" pellets..... I know that a lot of people don't like them and think they are a "gimmick" pellet but I have to tell you I really like them, especially for hunting. They pack one heck of a whallop and really take down small game well for me. The first day I took the rifle out hunting I took 2 woodchucks with single head shots and it put them right down,,, and woodchucks are one tough critter. Some of my rifles don't like the rockets but most of them do and the accuracy they give me is outstanding in those rifles. Give em a try, I think you're gonna be surprised :)
I know the Crosman "pointed" pellets you have.... I have several tins on my shelf. True, they really aren't as "pointed" as one one expect but I've never found them to be very accurate in most guns. I really think those pellets are one of the main reasons you're having some accuracy issues and I have no doubt when you try the rockets or the CPHP's you're going to see a huge difference.
Keep us up to date and let us know how you make out in your search for that "ragged hole group" :)
Jeff
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As for the Rockets.....none of my air rifles like them....good up to 10 to 12 meters....beyond that they're abit iffy. They do pack a punch with that little bb in front.
The cheapy Crosman Hunting pellet....they call them "pointed" but really are domed with a little elongated head works well in most of my air rifles out to 15 - 20 meters. Beyond that, they're not so good......but my .177 FX Cyclone PCP loves them out to 50 yards and beyond. My Crosman G1 Extreme used to like them but prefers CPHP's now. And it's the reverse for the Gamo Big Cat....... After shooting alot, most airguns will change their diet of pellets.
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I'll post some new 5-shot groups next week with some different pellets. If the shots are still going wild I'll take the scope off and optically center it then remount and resight at my target and see how far off the scope is. If its not too bad I'll take it off once more and try to shim some of the diffence. Your using the same set up Iam and your Airhawk is shooting great.
If I can make up half the difference of where its at after I center and remount maybe I will be out of the max range of adjust that I may be at now. Its worth a try.
Ti
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I'm really curious now gamo to get some different pellets to try. I'll be going after some rabbits tomorrow and I'll swing by Walmart and see if the they got some Rockets in yet. If not I'll swing by K-mart, they probably got something.
Ti