Slipped while cocking lgv-barrel slammed shut

[Datasponge]

Immediately afterward all shots were about 8 in. High. At 20 yards.

I had to really crank my hawke sport elevation to get back down and on paper.
The CPHP's which had been grouping the other dayno longer were. 

However the JSB exacts were grouping very well if I was very consistent.

Note: gun is 4 days old...so pellet preference is probably just the gun breaking in yes?

Anway..what are the odds the barrel bent? To the naked eye it doesnt look bent. Although if i stare at it i can convince myselfnit miiiiight be. Or is it more likely something with the scope (that's what I'm hoping)?

[Rico14]

If it's shooting that high after the barrel slammed shut, your barrel is bent.

[shootist]

Not only is your barrel bent, cranking your scope like that, you're going to break the scope also. The scope should remain as centered as possible to keep the springs within the scope working. Offhand, I'd say the gun is cooked. Keep shooting it with the scope jammed in one direction and the scope will join it, if it hasn't already. Don't know as replacing the barrel will fix it because slamming shut like that probably tweaked other parts also.If you return it, as soon as the factory gets it back, I'm sure they will know what happened. But maybe, just maybe, if you explain what happened, they will be very nice and give you another one. Lee

[Datasponge]

Well...upon further inspection I can see it's bent upward.

$%$%&@@#% !!!

Guess I'll be calling umarex and begging for mercy.

[Dockey 454]

      Do a search here on the forum. There are some guys that have bent them back.
               Tom

[ezman604]

http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=49873.0

[Be Ready]

Dang that's sux.. Hope you get it straightened out.

[Bentong]

Don't forget to check the wood where the two screws upfront secures it. Might have a crack or hairline fracture just to be safe. Bending the barrel back is easy as long as you go easy doing it.

[nced]

Anway..what are the odds the barrel bent? To the naked eye it doesnt look bent.

I've been deliberately bending the barrels of my HW springers for years to keep the poi within 1/2" at 30 yards with an optically centered scope (final adjustments are done with turrets) and can verify that a bend so slight that it's not noticeable to the eye can move the poi several inches at 30 yards.

For tweaking my R9 barrel I use this hokey arrangement.......
Uploaded at Snapagogo.com
Uploaded at Snapagogo.com

As mentioned, very little bending is necessaryso "go slow" when removing the "droop or snoop" from your barrel!
 

[Geoff]

You are not the first to have this happen.  I admit to losing control of one of mine and bending the barrel.  With a few parts from the garage I did manage to straighten it up.

When I bent mine back I went just a little past the level point, then let it stay in the clamp for an hour before letting it off.  I didn't notice an ill affect on accuracy from have it bent and rebent.   

My POI was off by a couple feet at 20 yards, so yours is not bad compared to what happened to mine.

[jus Tom]

Very interesting Ed.  As you said...."hokey",, but effective !   I like it.

[Datasponge]

I was thinking of shimming the front of the scope and leaving the barrel as is for now.  The JSB's grouped really well yesterday after the bend, so I'm thinking that accuracy wasn't negatively impacted, just POI.

[Datasponge]

Also, thanks for all of the responses.  I went to bed last night feeling like it was nearly the end of the world... woke up and re-read through the responses, and am thinking today it's not so bad, and could have been worse.

[Datasponge]

Shimmed the scope.... scope is nearly on its optical zero and POI has returned.   Yay!

[MikieG]

A few months back while shooting in the rain, i had a slip. The barrel was only about half cocked. So when it hit, the force was not enuf to snap the action shut and lock.
I noticed the impact point was very high afterward. I suspected the upward force jarred the $100 bsa scope in a very unnatural way.
So i went home and disassembled the whole gun for inspection and relube. I also ran the dials on the scope from end to end. After which i mechanically zeroed the optic. Upon reassembly, the rifle zeroed up as normal and there were no effects of what happened.
I think something that allowed this to happen was the fact that i had no front sight or muzzle device installed.
The flip side of that coin is, because there was no extra weight at the muzzle, the effects of the mishap were lessened.
Moral of my story, the optic took the abuse it was never designed to take, hence the sudden shift in zero.

[Datasponge]

My UTG rings arrived this weekend but I haven't put them on. I was going to hold off until I get a 4-12x scope. When I do I'll try without the shim first and see how it goes. I feel fairly confident now though that my barrel bent up. But that'll be interesting to try.

[tomykay12]

Search barrel bending on any of the airgun forums and you will find a number of ways to do it. It's really quite easy and makes for a good, sound setup with an optically centered scope. Glad you didn't get hurt; that barrel could really whack you, tk

[ezman604]

No need to search other forums. I posted a link with everything needed. And so did nced.

[Datasponge]

Yup...I checked those links out. I really appreciate the info. I feel like I could handle it.

But I'm curious..any reason why just shimming my scope wouldn't be acceptable if I never plan on using open sights?

[Datasponge]

Side, but related, note... put 7 JSB exacts 8.4g under a nickel at 47 yards in 13-15 mph wind gusts today. I was seeking extra reassurance that I didn't do any other badness to the gun.