New M-Rod .22!!

[Old1]

It all finally came together this morning. The last piece to fall in place came off the Brown Truck last night: a Bushnell 4-12X40AO scope. I mounted it and squared up the crosshairs after an early breakfast. The rings were high enough for the objective to clear the barrel. The barrel had been cleaned per info in response to a previous post of mine, and the tank filled yesterday AM to 3000psi.

The first two shots were about 4" low at 10 yds. I used multiple layers of aluminum foil for a shim in the rear scope ring, and settled down to shoot a group. The first two shots were touching each other. On the next four, I could see the target move. but the group didnt get any larger!! Put up a new target just to verify what I thought was happening, and it does want to put consecutive shots in the same hole at 10 yds from a bench rest.       Then I got overconfident and sloppy and the group opened up.    

My sincere, humble thanks to all who responded to my previous posts and led me by the hand through my "start-up". I still have a long way to go, but feel I'm on the right track.

Another question: My scope is mounted using two individual rings. I need to shim it up some more. Is it better to place  shims in the bottom half of the ring, or should I place the shim between the ring base and the rifle reciever??

Joe

[longislandhunter]

Are you saying that you've run out of vertical scope adjustment and still need the POI to raise higher ?   If so you would place the shim under the scope tube at the rear mount.  Place the shim between the scope tube and the mount cradle.  I use 35mm film negative, works well for me.  I really don't understand why  you're having to shim the scope though ?

Don't shim based on a 10 yard test.  Move back to 25 or 30 yards and see how you fare.  You may be pleasantly surprised

Jeff

[only1harry]

Congrats on your new Mrod Joe!  What? no .25?  Just kidding!

With high rings it is possible you can run out of elevation adjustments and you don't want to adjust them to their limit either..  Like Jeff said, shim the rings, but you should really try zeroing at 25-30yds, or minimum 20yds, and you will see the pellets striking 1"+ higher and closer to the bullseye.

[dk1677]

Yes congrats on the new MRod!

[Old1]

No, didnt run out of vertical scope adjustment. Just wanted to get the POI in the ballpark, and then use the scope adjustments to zero the scope. Tomorrow, if I need more adjustment, I'll pull the aluminum foil and try film negative. Thanks for the tip. At one time I used brass shim stock, but that was a long time ago and the brass shim stock is long gone.

I had just moved the target back to 20 yards when it started to rain, so quit for the day. That will be tomorrows assignment. I'm like a little miserly kid with a new bag of candy .... a little for today and save the rest for later. No, in all honesty, I never did that. Id shoot the works and eat the whole bag at one time and turn green. The next day I would wish for more candy!   

[JonnyReb]

 I'll bet you ARE grinning old1, first group  shot with mine was at about 15 yards and every shot went through the same ragged hole. It was the most thrilling airgun moment i'd had in a long time to realize that i had a gun in my hands that could be shot offhand accurately just by touching that sweet trigger as you see the crosshairs skitter over the target for that millisecond... springers had me accepting 1" groups at 25 yards.. the mrod is having a bad day if all the shots don't touch at that same distance.. no way you can't grin when that happens. 
  Interesting also that you're trying to achieve perfect poi while leaving the scope at optical center.... i keep meaning to do that but in the end i always get lazy and start clicking dials...  hats off , let us know how that turns out..   J

[Old1]

I forgot to mention the trigger!! The trigger on this rifle, as recieved from PA, is SWEET. A very pleasant first stage and a very light second stage that is totally controllable. After the first stage, when the crosshairs settle on the target, all you have to do is think, "now", and it trips. Its in the same league as the Timney match triggers that I remember from 30 years ago. I'm very impressed after struggling with the Gamo Whisper contraption.

Went out this PM and got a .22 rimfire bullet trap. Shooting as tightly as this rifle does, I chew through 10" of newspaper packed in a box in no time at all. Not a cheap accessory, but well worth the money. What do you folks use for a trap/backstop?

[oldpink]

I'm jealous.
Once I can stash a bit of folding, I intend to get the exact same gun in .22 as well.
Should be fun.

[only1harry]

I use 2x8"s when shooting outside.  They will stop dozens of pellets into the same spot.  I print various targets papers from web sites.  I mainly use the ones that have many smaller targets all over the paper.  That way I don't keep shooting into the same spot.  I will then move the paper down (or up) so I can shoot into different places of the board.  I usually buy slightly bent 2x8" boards or unwanted (defective) ones that Home Depot has in a small section in the back.  They usually go for $0.99 cents and most of them are very hard pressure-treated outdoor wood (or you have to look for those).  With Springers and a 30fpe gun like the Marauder you can shoot many times in the same spot before the pellets start going through.  With the Condors I can only shoot 5-7 shot groups at 30yds before they start going through, but with your Marauder you will get many more shots.  Just make sure you use most of the 2x8's surface and it will last.  These boards are 6+ft long.  I have the Home Depot guy cut them into four (4) 17-18" long pieces. 

For indoor shooting (or outdoor) and "silent" shooting I have made myself a couple of couple of indoor traps using electrician's Putty or Duct Seal also sold at Home Depot in 1lb bricks @ $2.22 each.  You buy an electical outdoor junction box (mine is 8"x10" by 4" deep I believe) and stuff it with duct seal 2 bricks thick.  An 8.5x11" paper fits very well on it.  I just scotch tape the target paper on it.  This is good for up to ~30fpe guns, but not much more powerfull than that.  You can always add another layer of duct seal for 40-50fpe but it will weigh a "ton" and hard to transport (in and out of the house, etc.).  It also gets heavier over time with all the lead it traps.  I think mine has easily gained 3lbs over time.  The duct seal Silent Trap is very common and many people use them, especially indoors.  They are also good outdoors if you don't want your neighbors to hear the impact of the pellet on metal or wood, but like I said they get pretty have with 10+lbs of duct seal in them and they only get heavier as they trap more lead.  These traps are totally "silent" though which is the best feature.  You can also make a box or enclosure yourself out of wood.  Most people use 2x4" boards and cut them to their liking/size which usually conforms to the dimensions of a letter size piece of paper or 8.5"x11" which is what most people use on their home printers.

BTW, the big electrical junction box I use is not cheap at Home Depot. I think I paid $28 or $30 for it, but it was well worth it for me.  I use it all the time, especially when I chrony my guns indoors, plus the heavy steel construction of the box will prevent the pellets from going through it and damaging your house, in the event any pellets get through the duct seal, but it has not happened yet after over 1,000 pellets.  I also made a 7"x7" duct seal ball for when I use the 60-90fpe Condors indoors, mainly to test them through the Chrony.     

[Old1]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Only1Harry. I wont be shooting inside, and since it snows here about once every 5 years, I can leave my setup outside and shoot year round. So, based on your input, I plan to get some duct seal from Home Depot and build a box out of 2x8 to house it. I plan to use corrugated boxes for target backers. Should work out really nice, and be economical to set up. Many thanks!