Project Appleseed

 
September 12, 2015 at North Berwick Rod and Gun, North Berwick, ME

"Well, Cycling Bob made rifleman with that Benjamin. What an exotic rifle with the large scuba diving tank attached. Nine .22s banging away and one rifle going "boink"! When Bob is dialed in there he can shoot dime size groups. He made Rifleman with that rifle. The second day he made Rifleman about four more times with his beautiful 10-22." The Old Guide

Thanks to TOG post  #40:   http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=42428.30  and a bigger thanks to TOG for allowing the BM PCP at the line. A great learning experience.

The purpose of this post is to discuss the plain fun of shooting air rifles, their addition to our riflemen skills and specifically the the logistics of firing Crosman Benjamin Marauder .177 PCP during a staged AQT. I have been thinking of the logistics over the last 2 years and I must say did not consider all of the issues until  the day of the shoot. I am still working on the logistics.

That's the fun of Appleseed - Life Long Learning. 

For other links to PCP on the Forum see http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=37239.0

Getting Started with Air Rifles

I started shooting a Gamo Whisper November, 2009. I shot this rifle for about 3 years until replaced with Marauder below. A good starting rifle that needed about 200 shots to zero. Excellent accuracy. In November, 2012 the spring broke. Unfortunately Gamo is not big on customer service. Still waiting for Gamo to return numerous calls made in November, 2012. I could not buy parts from Gamo.  A FFL friend ran the Gamo gauntlet to obtain parts. For the fun of it a very talented gun club friend Pete did the heavy lifting to fix the spring. I watched. To sum up: Gamo is inexpensive, accurate, customer service an "F" and nearly impossible to fix unless you are in it for the challenge.

Starting with some  air rifle vocabulary this Gamo is a basic "spring-piston" powerplant, breakbarrel, single shot. The next level in powerplant is "gas-piston" and the next level is "pre-charged  pneumatic" (PCP).  I have no experience with CO2.  Pyramyd Air is the best resource to get up to speed on anything "air."

Before making the PCP investment it makes sense to start with the a spring piston or gas piston powerplant. These are very capable rifles at a reasonable cost and makes the step up to a PCP even more impressive.

Crosman Benjamin Marauder

Crosman Benjamin Marauder .177 PCP  bolt action pellet air rifle with 10 round magazine. Leapers UTG 30mm SWAT 3-12x44 AO Rifle Scope with Sidewheel. Sidewheel is very cool for adjusting the AO while in the standing position.  Benjamin Scuba Yoke K Valve Adapter.  Purchased from Pyramyd Air February 23, 2013. Other accessories: 80 Cubic Foot Scuba tank plus  Scuba Tank Pressure Checker.

At the time of purchase I was not close to considering using the Marauder in a staged AQT. Several times during the run up to the shoot I would ask myself if the challenge was worth it.  Scuba tanks are heavy. The air rile is no lightweight either at 8.0 lbs and scope at 23.2 oz.

PCP's are not inexpensive but once you get past the initial costs plus accessories the shooting costs are modest. Tank refill about $10 plus 1200 pellets about $35. I can shoot a full season once a week for about $50.

See comparison picture of Marauder and Ruger 1022 Target below.

MARAUDER LOGISTICS AT THE FIRING LINE OF A STAGED AQT

Shots limited

After 20 shots need to refill reservoir. Not so easy with a scuba tank and a bit pressed for time between stage 2 and 3. My talented friend Pete from the Gamo repair above provided me with a 2 wheel dolly and with the judicious use of sand bags I was able to level both the tank and rifle to refill reservoir.

Mags cannot be loaded quickly so you need 6 mags loaded before the start of staged AQT

Stage 1 - One Mag.
Stage 2 - Two Mags.
Stage 3 - Two Mags.
Stage 4 -  One Mag.
Total Mags. = 6

Standing Stage -  Hasty Sling with Target Style - Helps with Extra Weight of Marauder

For a great post on the target style see "dond" posting at Reply #10: http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=37413.msg301246#msg301246
A big thanks to dond. After a few hours of practice in adjusting the sling, dry fire and range time I will only use the hasty/target style for standing.


Rapid Fire AQT - Work in Process

I have not shot Rapid Fire AQT with the Marauder but I will work on it this winter.
My initial thought was the Rapid Fire AQT with Marauder was not possible due to the requirement to refill reservoir every 20 shots. However, since Rapid Fire lets you start anywhere on the AQT  the strategy is  start Prone at the bottom of AQT and work up to Standing. I will use the most accurate first 20 shots at Prone.  I am optimistic I can compensate for the fall off in accuracy with the larger targets at Seated and Standing..
I will practice this at our indoor range in North Berwick ME this winter at 10 meters and next spring outdoor range at 25 meters.

CONCLUSION

I hope this post starts a robust discussion of air rifles.

As a side benefit, my wife is a gardener who views my air rifle as a gardening tool to keep down the varmint herd.

The Appleseed Forum is a great resource and I appreciate  everyone's input.

Cheers,

Bob