2 pics of new Meisterschutze and initial impressions.

[timegoat]

She scares me and I like it!

Looks great, feels great. Trigger is different from my previous 34. The second stage is soft and will take some getting used to. I might want to shorten that up a bit in the future. A bit heavy, but I like slightly heavier guns. Dunno about pulling a steroid with this just yet, but time will tell. 3-9x40 scope is nice, but will take some getting used to. I've been using a 4x32 or open sights up till now. Had no idea how much my heart beat made it move.

The only thing I don't like is that she is firing everything supersonic. Is that part of the break in period? Lightweight RWS SHPs up to 10.5gr CPUMs are all cracking the sound barrier. One of the reasons I got into air rifles was so I could shoot and not freak out the neighbors. Is it too much to hope that the spring will soften a little bit during the break in time? I don't remember this with my other 34, but there's a lot I don't remember anymore. I'm kind of assuming the spring will start out a little tight and then soften down to it's rated velocity for the long haul. There ain't a lot of wiggle room between 1,100fps for sound and the roughly 1,000fps she should be shooting at, so I'm hopeful.

Seems to be shooting fine, but I've only put a couple dozen pellets through her and they are going a bit wild (once again I'm assuming it's the crazy fast velocity). The last 5 I shot were RWS SHPs and if I remember right they were hitting off a few inches from each other, but I'm not a steady shooter right now either. I can't tell how much it jumps or how loud the spring and piston are because every time I squeeze the trigger I jump outta my chair from the crack of the pellet.

One thing I really like is how much better the pellets seat into this rifle. There was always a little skirt overhang with the older one, but they seemed to have countersunk the breach a little better for this one. All 5-6 different kind of pellets I tried sat snug and flush (even a fraction of an inch deeper than flush in some cases).

Cocking it is a little tougher but smoother than the older 34. And it catches nicely. The muzzle break seems functionally useless but looks really cool so I'm gonna keep it on. It also serves to protect the barrel from my titanium wedding ring.

All in all, I like it a lot so far. And as long as she settles in a little quieter all should be right with the world.

I hope The Red Menace (red squirrels) heard me shooting and took the hint. This thing is gonna be devastating.

[dk1677]

Nice one ! Congrats!

[Brutuz]

Looks great !

[Jay]

I'm glad you like your new toy ,hope she get's softer in the noise department for ya. Is all the grease around the latch/breech an all been removed while cleaning?It only take's a small amount in chamber area to cause a detonation .

[timegoat]

Thanks guys! 

I have not removed the grease but I will do that before my next shooting session. Glad you said something, I was wondering about that.

[Jay]

Yeah Mark just getting a tiny bit on you finger's or it making it's way some how near the chamber area an "BANG" big time!!! It's kind of rough on the seal's also.Give that stuff the bye bye an your new baby will go to sleep for ya (I HOPE).....JAY

[Rickster]

Doesn't that seem kind of odd, that you are breaking 1100fps with 10.5 gr pellets?
I think I ordered my 52 from AOA about the same time you ordered your 34.
I think the 52 is suppose to have more power, and this is what I am getting.
The 2 most accurate pellets so far:
JSB Exact Heavy 10.2gr @ 893fps
Beeman Crow-Magnum 8.8gr @ 961fps
Which is pretty close to the chart on SSPA
This is what the 34 should be doing: http://www.straightshooters.com/ourtake/ottest34.html

I would think the groups would be tighter, if the velocity was between 800 and 900fps.
The word is that these take 500 shots to break in. I'm getting pretty close to that.

Rickster

[timegoat]

Well, I finally got a chance to shoot her with m'lady as an ear witness. Her words, "It's not that loud." Maybe I'm just being a little sensitive. Perhaps it wasn't cracking the sound barrier after all. My experience is limited to my original 34 and the 37 pellets I've shot through the compact so far.

Getting a chance to break her in some more today (yesterday was a rainy washout). Shooting from the windowsill in the back room that overlooks the range to help absorb some sound. Plus the windowsill is much sturdier than the deck railing I have been shooting from, and it's out of the sun.

Oh! I cleaned off the excess grease too. After I pump a few hundred rounds through her I'll come back with another update. Of course, now that I can shoot again, I won't be here at the board as often as I was a few days ago.

As always, thanks for all the information. The more I know, the better I'll take care of her.

- Mark (one of many)

[gene_sc]

Typically your Meisterschutze .177 should be shooting in the mid 900 fps range at best with 7.9 gn pellets. I know mine does and shoots the H&N 8.64 gn at around 920 fps. You may be pushing some lube up past the piston seal and getting a little boost from detonation.

[timegoat]

I think you might be right. After I cleaned off the grease and took a few shots I gave the breach a smell. Definitely a little 'cooked' smell after the first bunch of shots, but that quickly faded.

Then she put 5 Meisterkugeln into a 0.75" circle at 25m. That makes me very happy!

[timegoat]

87 shots into break-in and I just wanted to share something. Take a look at the bottom Right target. I know I took 5 shots. I always line my pellets up next to me so I don't lose count. (I've started talking to them too but that's another issue, "Ok #3... you know what you need to do.")

Did that 5th shot sneak between the 10s or between the 6 & 7? I guess it could have been a total flier, but I haven't shot a Meisterkugeln through the new rifle yet that's landed further than 1.5" from where I thought I was aiming. So far, she seems to like those best. The Super-H-Point are in second place with Superdomes... eh. Not so hot so far. I'll probably just keep using the Ms or SHPs although I only have a small tin of Meisterkugeln. SHPs it is! 

[tjk]

Excellent!!!!! Just go easy on her!!! tjk

[timegoat]

Oh yeah, slow and steady. 5-10 shots per session 30 shots max per day... then she sleeps.

[tjk]

Hey TG, I didn't mean you have to limit your shooting sessions to a certain pellet count,....you can shoot it all day long,...and you still won't wear her out!!!! Just take it easy on the cocking and closing of the barrel. I would advise you shoot pellets at a minimum 7.9 grains. That Diana is too much gun for the light-weight stuff, and during the break-in, you don't want to cause any undue stress on the seal and piston slamming the end of the comp tube end. But it sounds like things are coming along nicely. Bet you're all grins shooting that rifle,.....most people get that effect with the 34. I know I did!!!! keep us up to date on her!!! tjk

[timegoat]

It's all good. The pellet limitation is my own. The more I shoot in a session, the less patient and more aggravated I get. If I keep it low and slow I stay low and slow. It's a weird thing I learned about myself playing video games online. Besides, popping 5-10 shots out the window a couple times a day makes for a nice relaxing break. But even at this rate I should be well on my way for the next match(s).

7.9gr Super-H-Points are the lightest I got and the Superdomes are the heaviest I plan to use. I'll stick in that range for... at least the next (...mentally counting tins...) 1,500+ pellets. If one of them proves a consistent standout I'll probably just shoot it forever and ever. I like to keep things simple, my ideal is one rifle & one pellet, done and done.

I love the 34, I've never owned or shot anything else. The only thing I wanted on my old rifle was a shorter barrel and the compact is already proving herself. Things do seem good so far (knock on wood). As long as I stay in control, I'll stay in control. 

I'll keep ya updated. I'm keeping good track of the whole break in period just outta curiosity. Gonna start keeping and recording actual scores pretty soon. Then it's spreadsheet time!

[gene_sc]

Both of my 34 Carbines have less than 100 shots through them. Maybe you or Thomas can swing by and shoot them all day long for me.....

[timegoat]

*(&^ yeah! Let's see, the google tells me that SC is only 17 exhausting hours away!

[VINNY]

A thing of beauty!!

[tjk]

You kno TG. Now that you have a new 34, you've another one to dig into and try your hand at "tinker'n" a bit. That's when the addiction really sets in!!!!He He He.....'one gun one pellet',...Yeah right!!! It's probably too late for you already. Get a pellet sampler from SS and start going for groups after the manditory first 1K rounds. I've had my new R1 carbine (.20 cal) for about three weeks and man, I am still amazed how much better it continues to get in both accuracy and shootability.Your 34 will do the same I'm sure.  I feel your happiness Bro'!! tjk

[timegoat]

You got it! When the old one first broke I figured I'd send it off for tinkering and tuning, but the more I think about it, the more I want to see what I can do myself. I'm not completely without mechanical ability. Just gotta figure out which spring kit is the right one and come up with some form of spring compressor.

I don't know if I'll ever get  really tight groups. I'm happy just hitting a 1.5" circle... 1" would be better (@25-30yds). If I can pull that off on a regular basis I'll be happy.

And I'm gonna keep dreaming my "one rifle, one pellet" dreamy little dreams!

Yeah, it's too late for me, I'm done for. There's a Beeman on my future list too... yeah, I got it bad.