It Did It Again!
This afternoon I had a squirrel in my sights just as pretty as you please. I squeezed off the shot and not much happened. The gun expelled just enough air to blow the pellet out of the barrel, but it didn’t even make it to the target. The squirrel didn’t even know that I was shooting at it!
The last time that it did this Adam recommended that I lube the hammer, or breech? Where, and how much? Any and all suggestions are welcome including possible operator errror scenerios.
Oh the squirrel, well my second shot must have missed by milimeters because he jumped straight up and tried to hide in the tree. The third shoot went through the left shoulder and out the right ear. This is my first Talon SS kill. Thanks Cyg for the tip about the sunflower seeds. I am looking forward to getting the bugs out of this gun.
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I filled my ss to 3000 psi to see what it would chrony at…. hardly shot at all untill some of the pressure bled down, now I keep fills at 2600 or below, may be part of what you had happen.
I find I have to hold high on close in shots due to scope height and the pellet trajectory, as much as 3″ high at 7 yards. I have it zereod at 21 yards with JSB’s.
my next purchase is a laser rangefinder so I can get my hold over / under right.
I took a squirrel off of a branch in my yard last week and it fell into the alley, by the time I walked around the fence to pick it up I watched a feral cat haul it off…. feeding the homeless I call it.
I never shoot my Condors freehand. Not even once that I can remember. I use the bipod or some rest (Caldwell sandbag) or just about anything else. I shoot to kill. I sight my guns in and then I’m aiming at somehing live. And I don’t like missing. “Steady as she goes boys”
DH
I called BSA, (Gamo), today. They told me that there was not a recall on my model, (3-12X50mm AR scope), but that they have had several with “machining problems”. The customer service rep told me that she was authorized to replace my scope with a new next generation of the same scope. So off to Fedex I went and it is now speeding its way across the country with every other holiday package.
The cheap Daisy scope from Walmart is performing well. So, again, I am confident that precision shooting is comming soon to a squirrel near me! 😀
I didn’t know about TAF when I purchased this BSA. I would have gone with your recommendations if I had known. Ya, I know, hindsight and all of that.
Thanks again everybody.
Update: I tried my SS today with the cheap Walmart/Daisy 3X9-32mm scope, (it could be made by Leapers for all we know). It shot just a little high. I needed to lower the elevation by four clicks. This doesn’t alarm me as I had pressurized the tank to 2800 psi just before my test today. So, I am pleased with the results and look forward to finding my final scope, or scopes for this SS. I say scopes because I wonder if I need a short range model such as a Bug buster, and a longer range model such as a Centerpoint? No biggie. I’ll get there. The journey can be half of the fun if you don’t let the frustration get to you.
How did I know that was coming as i typeed the words, shouldn’t we have an emoticon with just the hand flipping the infamous “V”. It would come in handy right about now. 😀
And where do you get those quick mini windows?? You’ve got one for every occasion.
It takes a big man to admit his mistakes….Now I must say I told you so and mock you…. 😆 😆 😆 😆 …All in good fun
My Walmart doesn’t stock the Centerpoints. I’ll check again.
I haven’t tried this scope on another gun. Actually I tried this scope on a Beeman R-9 with the same results.
I am not gorilla gripping my SS.
Thanks for the suggestions everybody. 😀
Depends if he is cranking on the gun when its shouldred, a one piece mount is a help as well. I have seen some poorly machined tri rails. A relaxed grip on both foregrip and hand grip will help. Airgunner is saying you may be flexing the frame. As i recant my words it does happen right at the brech cutout.
Hey Steve,
Just to let you know. Walmart stocks the Center Point Scope for $69. And if you have any problems with it just take it back. The center point scopes appear to be the same as Leapers with maybe a tad better quality.
Hmmmm, if the scope works perfect on another weapon, I would assume that it is the SS that is having an issue…I have read about using the tri-rail to make the issue go away…
just a thought…
Thanks for the recommendation. After X-mas I will begin to think about spending money on this problem. For now I must focus on the kids. But, I do appreciate the information.
Thank you, have a great day!
Get a Leapers scope, lots of scope for the money. Never had a problem with mine.
Misery loves company! Thanks, I was begining to believe that it was just me. I am going to send my BSA back to them for an inspection as they have a lifetime warranty. I have taken a $30 Daisy 3X9-32mm scope that I bought at Walmart and mounted it on my SS. It has always worked well on 2250 that I bought it for. It zeroed quickly and produced great accuracy at my test distance of 17 yards…yesterday. Today I will try it again and see where it hits.
I have complete confidence in my SS. It produces the renouned one hole accuracy. I am sure that it is either the scope, or me. There could be something wrong with the BSA, or I might not be using it correctly. I also might not be holding the gun the same every time, (although I am concentrating on that part of the equation).
There is also what is illusive and confusing for me, parallax. Parallax: when the recticle and the target are not in the same plane. Ok…so which plane? Or to put it another way, the recticle appears to be on target, but in reality it is not. Hmmm. It looks like it is! I have followed all instructions of how to adjust it. The parallax demon. 😈
I confirmed that this was happening by mounting a laser on my SS. Then in my garage, at 20 feet, I lit up the target and looked through the scope and sure enough as I moved my head/eye around, I could watch the laser dot move around…errr, um or did I see the crosshairs move around? According to an essay that I found on parallax, both are happening, but it is your brain that perceives one or the other to move. The result is the same. I understand that my scope can only be corrected down to 30 feet, (10 yards), but it was the concept that I was trying to get a handle on and my garage gave me an opportunity to control many parameters.
OK, so I have the wrong scope for the distances that I am shooting? Let me see, 17 yards is greater than 10 yards, so I should be able to adjust my BSA scope to that distance…right? Hmmm, but that’s not working. So, send it in for a check up. Yes, truly a crazy making process.
I have confidence in my shooting skills. Just like your CFX, my 392 has taken too many rats, a pretty small target, for me to believe that I don’t know how to shoot. Therefore I am not giving up at all! I love the power and accuracy of my SS and I am going to figure it out.
It has been driving me crazy. I feel like I am chasing a wild goose. I practice and get them all going into a circle the size of a nickle. Then when I return later, the POI has shifted right, left, up, or down. So I shoot 5-10 shots and the all make one ragged hole, but where I had the scope set the last time I was shooting. Hmmm. I think that my SS is consistant. I believe that my scope is doing its job. That leaves me. There is something that I do not understand about scopes. The learning curve.
If your scope is the trouble, then mine (both of them) must also be bad.
After a lot of tinkering with my gun (condor) i settled for a velocity of about 880fps (14.3g crossmans), and it makes 1 hole groups!!! 🙂
Wonderfull right? the only small problem is…
those 1 hole groups, shift place on a daily basis! 👿
i zero the scope at X range, i get the impacts EXACTLY on the center of the reticle. I can fire 10 shots, and they all go thru the SAME HOLE, exactly at the center of the reticle. So i say “Great!, now im zeroed in”, and put my gun down.
1 Hour later, i grab the gun, load THE SAME pellets, place myself in the EXACT same spot, to fire at THE SAME TARGET, AT SAME RANGE, and i get the same “wonderfull” 1 hole groups! 2 INCHES TO THE LEFT (or right), AND 1 or 2 INCHES BELOW OR ABOVE MY ZERO!!!
so i say, “mhhh, i must have done something wrong before!” so i zero in again…
And, (again) a perfect zero, with 1 hole groups right at the center of the reticle.
Next time i grab the gun..
(You guessed it), same 1 hole groups, at a diferent place 😯
I even came to belive that my scope was the problem. so i switched scopes with my other rifle (Gamo CFX). And belive me, that scope works PERFECTLY on my CFX.
On the condor? POI changes place more often than a hooker´s underwear. 🙁
Wanna hear something “funny”?
my cheapo $200 buck Gamo CFX, with its cheaper scope, is my favorite hunting rifle (over my condor). Why?
Because it gives me 1000% ABSOLUTE Confidence, that whenever i see a bird, rat, or what ever, i just grab that thing (the CFX), put a pellet on it, and, if the target is below 70meters, that target DIES. As simple as that.
If i grab my “wonderfull” condor instead, load a pellet on it, and take my shot, (even at ranges way shorter that 70 meters) i will miss 80% of the time. If after missing the shot, i do a test shot to see what went wrong, the result is ALLWAYS the same…
im off zero.
If anyone figures out this “mistery” i would be EXTREMELY thankfull to hear the solution.
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I am new to all of this so you might want to confirm it with more seasoned veterans. I was told to charge my tank to 2800 psi. Something abot the stock hammer not being heavy enough to give reliable strikes at the highest pressures. Also I have read that if the pellet is seated so that its skirt protrudes beyond the end of the breech, it can cause a rapid, and uncontrollable release of pressure. Also there is the infamous tophat adjustment. Do a search for “tophat adjustment” and I am sure that you’ll find plenty of info about this part and its adjustment. An improperly adjusted tophat will reduce the number of shots you get per fill as it wastes air. “Waste not, want not”, I always say.
Congrats on the squirrel! Cats really dig it when something falls by them. Espicially if it is still wiggling. They think that they caught it on their own, and they are a blast to watch with “their” kill.
Good luck, and enjoy.