Trail XL Hold That Changed Everything!

[SquirrelSniper25]

Hi Guys,
Using my Trail XL, I practiced my hold first across a bag . First the forehand then the pistol grip and trigger and finally the butt against the shoulder.
Attached is a picture showing the results I arrived at eventually at 25, 50 and 75 yds
At 25 yds you see the two 3 shot groups on the left target. I shot the lower group and then adjusted the scope for the 2nd group.
50 Yds group is on the right and 75 yds is above the 25 yard target which shows quite a spread.
Jim

When my trail shoots like that at 25 yards, I'll probably feint. I didn't know you could get that accurate with a springer/nitro piston. Is your trail tuned???

[bambazonke01]

Tuned?
I installed the GRT trigger and set it pretty fine. Not a hunting type pull.
I polisherd the heck out of the barrel but beyond tightening down the stock and scope screws several times I haven't done much else. My greatest gain apart from the GRT trigger was in how to squeeze te trigger "Straight back" without any sideways pressure to cause deflection when the piston fires.
I still have to clean out the barrel every 30 to 50 shots or the groups open up. I know this flies in the face of wht a lot of other guys say.
Jim

[Motorhead]

Same thing here .... having had a barrel break springer these past 25+ years never had an issue doing awesome shots with it.  Gun broke down fall of last year and sat idle waiting to get fixed by Mac1, then rebuilt the Diana 75 that had been down for years ....
Christmas time a PCP came into use and again between the RWS and PCP was shooting recoil-less for near 4 months !!

Got my FWB 124 back from the rebuild after 1st of the year and started shooting it again ... only fair accuracy as I fought trigger pull and all that recoil !! .... dang had gotten spoiled big time.

Shooting the RWS and PCP the HOLD is typically dead loose and UN-tensed up & relaxed.
Once shooting the FWB again my shoulder hurt and accuracy using an Artillery hold that had become the normal of late WAS NOT WORKING !!

So like others here are saying ... YUP, firm into shoulder, tight against fore grip with hold and it shoots GREAT !!
Funny I had near forgot how to shoot the springer after just 4 months away doing so ... Age is my excuse and sticking to it 

[SquirrelSniper25]

Tuned?
I installed the GRT trigger and set it pretty fine. Not a hunting type pull.
I polisherd the heck out of the barrel but beyond tightening down the stock and scope screws several times I haven't done much else. My greatest gain apart from the GRT trigger was in how to squeeze te trigger "Straight back" without any sideways pressure to cause deflection when the piston fires.
I still have to clean out the barrel every 30 to 50 shots or the groups open up. I know this flies in the face of wht a lot of other guys say.
Jim

What do you mean by "polishing" the barrel. Sorry, new to some of these terms here. haha. Whenever I clean mine it usually takes a while before it starts shooting good again.

[SAADE]

Trevor, your experience is the more common one, ie a shiny clean barrel doesn't shoot as well as a "seasoned" one.

"Polishing" is usually done with JB Bore Paste or equivalent polishing compound and... for many guns, like yours, it takes 20, 40, or maybe more shots after the polishing before accuracy returns or improves. It's just the microscopic leading of the barrel.

Keep in mind that AGs don't foul like PBs so, cleaning and polishing is not nearly as critical, and some would argue, necessary at all. Many Olympic 10 meter shooters never touch their barrels and they shoot 1000's of rounds just in practice.

[bambazonke01]

Well what I have found is that when I polish with JB paste I still go at it with Maas or Flitz. Prefer Flitz because that is what I have.
I then clean out the gunk and polish with Hoppes #9 and dry it out with a bore mop.
Next step is to treat the bore with a stuff called Lansinoh which is a Lanolin lube. Lanolin is used on 22 rimfire target ammo a lot. lanolin is a lube extracted from Sheeps wool.
Its available from most drugstores and is used by nursing mothers for sore nipples. I apply a small amount of the Lanolin into the bore and then push it through with a fresh mop trying to get a good distribution through the whole bore.. Don't saturate the mop with the LAnolin but try to have very little left in the bore when you are done. If you have too much in there it will just shoot out and the rifle will take longer to settle down.
It only takes about 10 shots to get it to settle down  and start to shoot tight groups. My barrel is relatively new  so after about 50 shots it starts to open up and the groups spread a bit to maybe 3/4" at 25 yds. I merely push the Lansinoh clean out mop through the bore a couple of times and the accuracy returns. Incidentally the pellets I use are CPHP's and I believe they have some sort of lube on them. I don't wash my pellets.
 I must stress that there is only the barest trace of LAnolin spread in the bore .
 When you do your initial clean with the JB paste. Put a short length of 1/4" or 5/16"dowel into the front opening of the shroud and stand the rifle on its muzzle to hold it in place.
If your rifle doesn't have a shroud and just the open muzzle, then just stand the rifle on its muzzle on a piece of board or cardboard. This is to stop the cleaning mop or jag coming right through the muzzle. The mop or JAg bangs against the cardboard.
Short stroke the mop loaded with the JB paste through the barrel at least 100 times from the breach end. By short stroke I mean short 6 inch strokes as you advance through the barrel. Standing the barrel on its muzzle prevents the mop and JB paste coming out of the muzzle so the polishing ends at the muzzle but doesn't come out any further. This prevents wear on the crown.
Do the same with Flitz polish then follow up with the Hoppes clean and the Lanolin treatment.
I presume that some pellets leave a trace of lead in the bore and that causes fouling and destroys accuracy.
A lead-fouled barrel is an inaccurate barrel despite what others will tell you.
High scoring Target shooters have already got their barrels so conditioned that they don't need to clean as often as we do but then they have high priced air rifles with highly lapped polished bores and we don't.
I hope you can make sense of these instructions.
Jim

[SquirrelSniper25]

Well what I have found is that when I polish with JB paste I still go at it with Maas or Flitz. Prefer Flitz because that is what I have.
I then clean out the gunk and polish with Hoppes #9 and dry it out with a bore mop.
Next step is to treat the bore with a stuff called Lansinoh which is a Lanolin lube. Lanolin is used on 22 rimfire target ammo a lot. lanolin is a lube extracted from Sheeps wool.
Its available from most drugstores and is used by nursing mothers for sore nipples. I apply a small amount of the Lanolin into the bore and then push it through with a fresh mop trying to get a good distribution through the whole bore.. Don't saturate the mop with the LAnolin but try to have very little left in the bore when you are done. If you have too much in there it will just shoot out and the rifle will take longer to settle down.
It only takes about 10 shots to get it to settle down  and start to shoot tight groups. My barrel is relatively new  so after about 50 shots it starts to open up and the groups spread a bit to maybe 3/4" at 25 yds. I merely push the Lansinoh clean out mop through the bore a couple of times and the accuracy returns. Incidentally the pellets I use are CPHP's and I believe they have some sort of lube on them. I don't wash my pellets.
 I must stress that there is only the barest trace of LAnolin spread in the bore .
 When you do your initial clean with the JB paste. Put a short length of 1/4" or 5/16"dowel into the front opening of the shroud and stand the rifle on its muzzle to hold it in place.
If your rifle doesn't have a shroud and just the open muzzle, then just stand the rifle on its muzzle on a piece of board or cardboard. This is to stop the cleaning mop or jag coming right through the muzzle. The mop or JAg bangs against the cardboard.
Short stroke the mop loaded with the JB paste through the barrel at least 100 times from the breach end. By short stroke I mean short 6 inch strokes as you advance through the barrel. Standing the barrel on its muzzle prevents the mop and JB paste coming out of the muzzle so the polishing ends at the muzzle but doesn't come out any further. This prevents wear on the crown.
Do the same with Flitz polish then follow up with the Hoppes clean and the Lanolin treatment.
I presume that some pellets leave a trace of lead in the bore and that causes fouling and destroys accuracy.
A lead-fouled barrel is an inaccurate barrel despite what others will tell you.
High scoring Target shooters have already got their barrels so conditioned that they don't need to clean as often as we do but then they have high priced air rifles with highly lapped polished bores and we don't.
I hope you can make sense of these instructions.
Jim

Thanks! Think I may of figured out the changing POI. One of the stock screws was only in about half way and the other was almost out! DUH! haha I turned em in all the way and then backed em off a hair so the gun would cock.