What shoulld I do now?

[atchman2]

I have an Air Hawk refurb that I bought from Cabelas.  I ordered a JM spring kit, lube etc, but still ended up sending it off to Mike Melick as I couldn't do the job properly.  The thing is it has never shot anywhere near my other guns.  My TF 89 out of the box shoots 100% better than this tuned gun.  

Now it is smooth as silk to cock and the trigger is a delight.  However it never seems to shoot in the same place twice!  If it was just up or down, I probably could figure it out, but you never know where it will shoot.  

It is fine for shooting cans, but I'd like it to be more accurate.  Do you think I need to 1) send it off to someone for repairs 2) Call Umarex and order another barrel  3) just cut my losses and get rid of it 4) something I haven't thought of yet.  

Randy

[Magnum]

I would check the crown and  try pushing a few pellets through the barrel and feel  if its loose near the last +/- 4 " or maybe determin if barrel chop is a good plan? before ordering a new barrel( a barrel with some choke is obviously desirable) I think the german rws have choke but not sure if the chinese rugers do?  then i would check if it locks shut properly same everytime even a thou movement can make a difference. I speak from first hand experience, i did  macarri spring seal and hours of time. I eventually gave up after not getting the accuracy needed:(   I did have fun working on it tho and hope yours is not a dud like mine was. Tony

[atchman2]

I just have so much money in this gun.  I could have bought two guns for what I have in this one  What would a barrel cost?

[JimL911]

It's too bad you got a bad one. I can cover 10 shots with a dime at 20 meters. Pop the sight/muzzle brake off and check the crown. It would probably be cheaper to buy a new one than get a barrel from Umarex. They wanted $140 for a 34 barrel. That is pricey for a $200 gun.

[atchman2]

You've got that right!  $140 for a barrel?  I guess though that the gun is mostly barrrel

[tjk]

Hey Randy, try the suggestions the others have given. I don't know how many rounds you've put through your rifle,...but if it's less than a few hundred, your barrel may simply be 'un-seasonned'. Just keep shooting it and give it a chance to break in some more. From my experience shooting alot of different springers, some take more time to break in and some take less. Also, I would avoid 'over-cleanning' the barrel too much. Leading is beneficial to an extent, and shouldn't be too much of a factor in achieving decent accuracy. Just keep shooting it and see how things develope for a while. Just my 2 cents, tjk

[atchman2]

I've shot thousands of shots through it

[Lerchy]

Check with Mike Melick on a B-25 barrel for it. I would think it would be much cheaper than a Umarex barrel.

[Bogey]

Randy, have you let anyone else shoot this AG ?   If so did they experience the same inaccuracy problem?   Just asking.   I have one particular AG that I have never shot very well.   But, one of my sons can turn in groups ( very small )  with this AG that I have never been able to do.   Go figure.

Anyway....Happy New Year to all.

[DanoInTx]

Bogey - 12/31/2009  2:16 PM

Randy, have you let anyone else shoot this AG ?   If so did they experience the same inaccuracy problem?   Just asking.   I have one particular AG that I have never shot very well.   But, one of my sons can turn in groups ( very small )  with this AG that I have never been able to do.   Go figure.

Anyway....Happy New Year to all.

I second that possible prognosis.  I just had this same experience with a higher end euro gun.  Everyone could make it group except me, and I can group with other guns just fine.  Sometimes a person and a gun just don't go together, not the fault of the person or the gun.  I say sell it and get a different gun, if the new one doesn't group, well....maybe practice your springer technique a little?  Rebarreling a lower end springer just isn't cost effective, and may not get you anywhere in the end.  Just my 2% of a dollar.

[fisherdude]

Did you try several different brands/types of pellets?  Some of my guns shoot only certain pellets well.  My Fast Deer, for example, can't keep Crosman pellets on the backboard but it will shoot dime size groups at 20 yards with JSB exacts.  I have about a dozen different tins of pellets I use to see which ones shoot best in my guns.

[Progun]

Hey Randy. You didn't say if you've compared results shooting open sights vs scoped. If the gun shoots awful with a scope that you know you can trust, then(1)   Check all stock and trigger guard screws for snuggness. Since harmonics affect where the barrel is pointing when the pellet leaves the barrel, there are many potential gremlins in the guns stock bed and anchoring points to investigate.A little hump here and there in the stock bed might need to be removed for example.A good bed is snug with no rattle or movement. (2)Open the breech and look thru the barrel against the sky or good light. A good visual inspection can tell you if there is an obvious build up that needs to be removed. I've seen certain brands of barrels that had tooling marks in the bore that led to rapid fouling when shooting certain brands of pellets. If you can see any kind of smear or ring in the bore then clean the barrel until you no longer can see the build up. Shoot several shots to begin seasoning the bore and (3) shoot a few groups @ 20 yds from a comfortable rest.Record your average group size.If say you can only shoot a 2-3" group @ 20 yds(awful) with your best pellet, then remove the scope and shoot some groups with open sights. If the open sights allow you to shoot much tighter groups than you did with the scope, then you know you likely have a scope/mount problem. If however your smooth shooting tuned gun shoots just as erratically with the open sights as when scoped then check the crown for burrs.If it needs recrowning that might fix your problem.If you haven't already, chronograph several shots to check for reasonable consistency in velocity.If all inspections check out OK and she still  frustrates you, get shed of it. Go Vols!

[Progun]

Randy, one more idea you might try. A cheek pad to elevate where your face sits on the stock. Lots of rifles could benefit from a slightly higher comb for a better line of sight.If just your chin and not your cheek is  laying on the stock then you need to "cheek up".