by B.B. Pelletier
Got a lot of territory to cover today, because I learned a LOT about the Beeman dual-caliber RS1000H with this test. First, Vince advised me to adjust the trigger. I did and it works much better now. There are three adjustments, but two are tiny slotted screws and I didn’t have time to hunt for my wee teeny screwdriver, so I lightened only the pull weight. I cut it from 4 lbs. down to about 2. The creep remained, but was lessened by lightening the pull weight, so the end result was okay. However, an overtravel screw would be great on this rifle.
New scope
I removed the scope that came with the gun and mounted a Bushnell 6-18x Trophy in its place. Wonderfully clear, plus it adjusts down to 10 yards. I was still shooting at 21 yards, so that was perfect.
Proven pellets
Both the JSB Exacts and the Beeman Trophys were already proven, so I didn’t waste time trying what I knew didn’t work. Just for fun, I also tried Gamo Tomahawks, but they were pretty bad in this rifle. They grouped close to 2″. When I show you how good the rifle can shoot, you’ll agree that’s bad.
Couldn’t shoot a group!
I tried group after group and couldn’t shoot anything under 0.75″! That was after shooting several great groups yesterday. Well, the only difference was the scope, so I checked it thoroughly. The mounts were tight. The erector tube was screwed all the way down (pellets were shooting high) so there was zero chance of the reticle moving. Then, I checked the parallax.
Parallax was HORRIBLE!
Remember how I complained about the Beeman scope having parallax? Well, this one had a lot more! I could move the reticle more than 2″ just by moving my head. Yes, this scope has parallax correction; and yes, it was adjusted right. But, scopes may still have some parallax after all corrections have been made, and this one does – buckets of it. Now, I know why I was never more than a mediocre field target shooter back at DIFTA! (Just kidding.) Actually, this scope has been mounted on dozens of rifles over the past 10 years, and it’s probably getting a little out of adjustment.
I fixed it
I’ve told many of you how to do this, so now I’ll demonstrate how to correct parallax. The goal is to position your eye in the same place every time – a good “spot weld,” as it has been called in the military. Since both of my eyes are fairly well connected to my head, if I can put the head in the same place, the sighting eye usually follows. I put a strip of painter’s masking tape across the stock where my head went and then each time I got into position, I slid my head forward until I could just feel the tape against my cheek. Neat, huh? The type of painter’s tape I used doesn’t remove the finish or leave a residue.
That helped, but it wasn’t quite enough. I could hear all of you wondering why I was able to do so well yesterday with the fuzzy scope, but when I changed to the clear one that cost ten times as much, things went bad. Then, I tried something I have recently told you about and even promised to blog for you. Well, I won’t need to blog it any more. I’ll just include it in articles like this one.
Dancing reticle
I had just finished lunch and my heartbeat was wild from digestion. The reticle was dancing all over the place. I flipped my hand over and laid the forearm on the backs of my fingers where there are no blood vessels and guess what – steady as a rock! For thirteen years I have been writing about the artillery hold and in one day I learned a better way of doing it. Oh, and that solved the problem. Shots went into tight little groups the way they’re supposed to.
BB,
Regarding weighing steel BBs, it turned out that it produced absolutely no improvement in accuracy whatsoever, both in Daisy and Crossman brands. However, the reason for this was even more interesting than were the results. It turns out that the percentage range of weight of steel BBs [actually percentage standard deviation from the mean to be precise] is much smaller than that of even the best lead pellets.
I stopped using lead balls in the Drozd long ago because I never was able to shoot more than 10 shots without the gun jamming (I have 2 Drozds and 5 magazines, so I know it was the ammunition that was the cause). I did not even think to try a different brand of lead ball because I had heard of jamming with lead balls from blogs and from speaking with internet retailers like Pyramid, and assumed that for whatever reason (softness?) lead balls did not work well with the Drozd, even using semiautomatic mode.
HOWEVER, if you have used lead balls successfuly without jamming, then I would really like to know what brand[s] you have used, were you able to shoot them successfully in automati mode, how often you had jams, and why you believe one brand might work so much better than another brand of lead ball. Thank you.
– Dr. G.
Dr G.,
which size of lead balls did you use? Maybe you should use the ones for Haenel airguns. They are the same size as BBs, but smaller than .177. Try looking for “Punktkugeln”.
Markus
Hey BB.
When I finished reading this I found myself wondering…Well if He’s going to report on the guns accuracy shouldn’t he vice the pcp guns and make a jig that can hold the springers. Basicly just take the whole human element and sighting device out of the picture. Not trying to take the fun out of your job!!!…It would be a dry test but just seems….better.
the rig for the springers could incorperate the gel bag…and a more tratitional “vice could be used for the pcp’s.
I’m pretty sure theres a reason your not doing it, just curious why?
Turtle
How does it shoot with open sights?
B.B.
That’s an interesting twist to the artillery hold although only relevant to bench-resting it seems.
Disaster has overcome my airgunning. My Crosman 1077 has performed flawlessly for a couple months with the accuracy of a target rifle in disguise. But the other night, I slid in the powerlet, locked and loaded as usual, and it shot all over the place–within a 1 foot radius at 20 feet with no pattern at all. I don’t see how a pellet could deviate that much after going down a rifle barrel. Pellet instability certainly had something to do with it; the pellets were cutting inch long slashes in the paper. Then the power started dropping, and by the time I had finished trying to shoot through the problem, I probably had several pellets jammed up the barrel. The gun is screwed up but good. I can’t believe it! What have I done to deserve this since I don’t tinker but just shoot…. Anyway, I can see at a glance that this problem is way over my head, so I’m shipping the gun out to Crosman. Have you ever heard of anything like this or suspect what is causing the problems?
Hm, what is this “most reliable semiautomatic”? >:-|
I also had a look inside the Crosman 850 pellet trap and there is total carnage in there–no doubt from the hurricane of lead I’m pouring in every night. Of the three “ballistic curtains,” all that’s left of the first red one is a few wisps that I discarded. The plastic rod for holding the curtains is all shot to hell with pieces scattered inside the trap. The remaining two white curtains which seem to have been just one big one folded in half are intact but not doing much good leaned up against the steel plate. What about layering impact putty like this
/product/air-venturi-impact-putty?a=1017
onto the plate to reinforce it and quiet the trap? Will the putty adhere by itself or do I need an adhesive? What would that be? Super glue, “duct seal” whatever that is?
If that wasn’t enough, I took off my earmuffs and realized that the IZH-61 is making a loud ratchety sound upon cocking. Based on what I’ve read, it sounds like I need to oil the spring. According to the manual, it’s time anyway. I remember that you take off the butt by removing the thumbscrew and washer, then apply oil to the spring. Is there a special oil that you need? I have pellgunoil and the bore cleaner that came with the Otis maintenance kit that I bought with the Walther Nighthawk. Will either of these do or do I need something else? Thanks.
Matt
Hi BB, I didn’t see a reply to this in my 11/30 post, so I’ll include it here if I may…
I have a couple of 909s questions please…
1) How long does it take to refill a 909s? Start to finish? (connect through disconnect, assuming the gun has shot about 6 shots from a full charge.)
2) On low power setting, what’s the max FPE, and about how many shots before that FPE really starts to drop off?
Thanks!
Tedd
MATT,
Your experiences with the Crossman 1077 air rifle and this Crossman pellet trap mimic my experiences with the same products. To prevent frustration with airguns that cost under $100, expectations are key. I expect such a gun (especially with the added complexity of it being a repeater) to last about 500-1500 shots before serious malfunctions begin occuring. When the gun breaks, for me it is not worth the time/effort to talk with the seller, package it, go to the UPS store – rather, I simply throw it away. Anything more than 1500 shots on these cheap air guns is a gift. I view these more like disposable cameras, and then there is no frustration when they break “so quickly.”
The Crossman pellet trap says in its description that it should be used with low energy airguns (I don’t remember exactly, but my guess would be under 500 fps). Mine got torn up exactly like yours, but I can still use mine to “catch” the pellets (viz., prevent richochets) even though the cloths are all in a bunch and not really hanging, just sort of stuck in there. Actually, the metal back will be dented by my 28 ft.lb. rifle pellets but has not become punctured yet, and so the trap looks ugly but DOES still work.
– Dr. G.
Hello BB,
I recently bought a Diana Mod. 20 classic, and a 9×32 Bushnell scope.
The whole for a 260$, right out of the factory.
The question is, have I bought a good gun?
bb, A pellet query please, are jsb exacts the same pellets as air arms fields. Also in theory should .22 pellet in 5.51 work better than 5.52 in a sub 12,lbs TX200 mk3. .22, GED.
Dr. G.
Thanks for your feedback. I have read such good things about the gun and enjoyed it so much while it was working, that I’m sending it off to Crosman to see what they can do. But maybe my cheapness is catching up with me. The next guns will be over $100. Heh heh.
Matt
does anyone know what happened to the TOG blog and forum?
It has been hacked by someone and will be down until 2008 according to the home page.
Of topic, but of interest. How CO2 cartridges are made from Youtube…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7FgKkPHc1E
Gazza
Dr. G, I think you’re selling cheap airguns short if you’re expecting only 500-1500 rounds through them. The Crosman Quest (and variants) are under $100 – and there’s no reason in the world it shouldn’t last 10’s of thousands of shots. There are other budget models by IZH, Mendoza, BAM, Gamo, and (believe it or not) Shanghai that should last for years with no more than normal maintenance.
I know that the 1077 has a lot of cheap-looking plastic parts in it, but I doubt it would be as popular as it is if 500-1500 rounds were all one could expect out of it.
I hope we hear how Crosman resolves this. I suspect they’ll take care of the problem.
Gazza,
thanks, thats neat! Thats just how steel scuba tanks are made.
-sumo
Hello all. I was expecting the 1077 to last for generations although maybe that was pushing it. But I’ll let you know what happens. The Crosman rep told me that repairs this time of year take about 2 weeks (depending on what’s wrong), and I’m getting the gun out for repairs immediately.
Of more concern in the meantime is the type of oil one can use for the IZH 61 mainspring. The manual, naturally, is vague and doesn’t specify anything. I don’t suppose that the IZH 61 needs oil that is different than for other springers. Any suggestions for what to use? I have only pellgunoil and the bore cleaner for the Otis maintenance kit. I don’t want to shoot the rifle with the spring sounding the way it is, but not to shoot it sends me into withdrawal. Let me know of any suggestions if you can. Thanks.
Matt
Vince,
Yes, I am selling cheap airguns short. The point of my message was not so much a factual reflection of the state of all of these under $100 airguns, but rather a useful mindset to have when buying cheap products (whether airguns, bedroom furniture, or bicycles) so that when they break or perform poorly one is not frustrated. Becoming frustrated is not a reflection of the product’s performance, but is a reflection of the user’s expectations. If you expect little and get medium, then you are pleasantly surprised, whereas if you expect medium and get little, then you are frustrated; and if you expect little and get little (which happens to me with these cheap airguns), then you get what you expected and are “satisfied.”
– Dr. G.
There are a couple of “spring cylinder oils” out there, but I believe that a few drops of 30wt non-detergent would probably do about as well. If you can get a little moly paste or powder to mix in it, so much the better.
Thanks Vince.
Matt
Dr. G,
Because of advances in manufacturing technologies, and the weak dollar, we now have access to many inexpensive items that are of very reasonable, though often variable, quality. Take the Leapers scopes for example.
But as you say, we should expect a certain amount of dropout in the low budget items and not expect them to perform or last like their more expensive cousins. Its unfair to beat a company up because their $50 dollar item didn’t hold up like the $200 item we weren’t willing to pay for.
Just my opinion.
Pestbgone
For Parallax adjustment I’d always assumed that the distance markings on the Objective were close, but not exact.
I’d adjust the Objective so it was close to the yardage I’m shooting, then get into shooting position and fine-tune the adjustment.
I do this by putting the crosshair on target, and then slightly moving my head up/down and/or side to side a little bit. While NOT moving the rifle/pistol.
If the adjustment is off, the crosshairs will move off of the point of aim.
When adjusted to be Parallax free the crosshair will NOT move off of the point of aim.
Move the Obj adjustment while looking through the scope, and moving your head. It takes just a few seconds to dial it in.
Hope that makes sense.
If the scope has an adjustable Obj, why not take full advantage of it ?? 🙂
Stock weld is very important, and required for consistency, in addition to minimizing parallax.
The tape trick is neat, and definately worth trying! Thanks!!
B.B. and Don,
re: parallax
I’ve always just assumed that if I adjust the A.O. for best focus that that would give the minimum amount of parallax shift. But I’ve also noticed that the distance markings on the scope don’t agree with the measured distances, and that they also vary with the magnification setting. I’ve seen tapes around the big parallax wheels and thought the better shooters did testing and wrote the true focus distances on those tapes.
All my scopes are less than $100. Do more expensive scopes have these same characteristics/limitations?
Thanks,
Pestbgone
“parallax”
n. apparent difference in object’s position or direction as viewed from different points.
“Parallax error” in a rifle scope is caused when the target image is not focused in the same plane as the reticle. This does not necessarily mean that no parallax error exists when the image is in focus as perceived by the viewer’s eye. eg. the ocular lens may be improperly adjusted.
Don in Indiana is correct that parallax error is best detected by moving the eye off center of the scope’s optic center and observing shift of the target relative to the reticle.
Pestbgone, I’ve not been able to get parallax free by focus alone.
Maybe it’s my eyes, maybe the quality of the scope?
I thought that the big side-wheels were used by Field Target shooters to determine range, using focus.
From what I’ve read, that is the only means of determining yardage that is allowed.
I think that the larger wheel allows for a finer adjustment/resolution, than a smaller wheel?
I’ve only got a couple of “nice” scopes. (burris) and havn’t shot them enough at various yardages to know how accuratley the the Objectives are marked.
Don and anonymous,
Thanks for the additional info. I will try some experimenting to see how I can reduce the parallax effect on my scopes.
Pestbgone