by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier
The Umarex MORPH 3X is many airguns in one!
Today, you’ll get a twofer — thanks to blog reader Les, who asked about adjusting dot sights and lasers. I said I would test the Umarex MORPH 3X with a dot sight, so I thought I’d combine that test with instructions on how to adjust the sight to hit the point of impact.
I hadn’t considered testing a laser on the Morph, but I can certainly describe how to do it. I’ll get to that at the end of the report.
The dot sight
What is a dot sight? Well, once you understand what it is, you’ll understand that adjusting one is the same as adjusting a scope. Because that is what a dot sight is — a scope without the magnification (usually) or the crosshairs!
HUH?
On scopes, the crosshairs or reticle are lines that you see through to see the target. By adjusting where the lines are, you can adjust where your shot strikes the target. I think most folks understand that.
All a dot sight does is substitute a glowing dot of light for the center of the crosshairs. In other words, the intersection of the crosshairs is replaced by a glowing dot of light. Put that over what you want to hit; and if the sight is adjusted properly, it works the same as a scope. No one other than the shooter can see the dot.
The glowing dot is different than the crosshairs because it isn’t a solid object. It’s a reflection on the surface of a lens that appears in your line of sight. You can see it because the reflection is physically there, but it isn’t anything that can be touched, anymore than you can touch an image in a mirror. But you can adjust where the dot is seen by adjusting the lens that reflects it.
Try this
If you have a dot sight, try looking through it and moving your head around from side to side and up and down. You’ll note that the dot moves against the target quite a bit. That’s because you’re moving your eye, and that changes where the reflection of the dot appears to be. You can do the same thing with the reticle of a scope, but not to the same extent. Where a scope reticle will appear to move just a little against a target, a dot appears to move more. That’s the difference between looking at something that is physically there and something that’s just reflected off a curved piece of glass.
That should warn you that dot sights have a lot of parallax problems and require consistent eye placement for every shot. The same is true with open sights, but open sights give cues when the alignment isn’t right. The front sight moves relative to the rear sight. But a dot sight is just a single point of reference, so you can’t see the misalignment as easily. Therefore, the placement of your head is extremely important if you expect to hit the target every time.
What I’m saying about dot sights applies to the older tube-type sights, like the one I’m using in this test. I suspect, like all technologies, dot sights have become more precise in recent years. But my experience is with the older style.
Don’t get the idea that dot sights are impossible, though, because they’re not. Though they are somewhat dicey to use. It’s not as bad as ice skating on stilts.
Dot sight adjustment
Now that you understand what a dot sight is, you should know that it adjusts in the same way as a conventional scope. One knob controls the up and down movement, and the other controls the left and right. Sighting-in a dot sight is no different than sighting-in a scope. You select a point of aim, which you hope will also be the point of impact and hold on it as you shoot. If the pellets strike the target low and to the left, the sight has to be adjusted up and to the right.
Like a scope, it helps to begin sight-in of a dot sight at a close target. I like starting at 10 feet away, and I adjust the sight until the pellet is striking the target on the centerline and as far below the point of aim as the center of the sight is above the center of the bore. Then, I know I can back up to 10 meters, and I’ll be on paper. I may need to refine my sight adjustment a little when I shoot at 10 meters, but this is the fastest way I know to sight in an airgun — especially one that cannot be boresighted.
But what if you’re at a public range and can’t shoot at 10 feet? That’s when I put up a 2-foot by 4-foot light-colored paper backer and staple my target in the center of that. Even at 50 yards, there’s a good chance my shots will land somewhere on that big piece of paper if I shoot at the center of the target. When even that fails, I enlist the help of a spotter to watch the berm. I shoot at a dirt clod we can both identify and he watches through the binoculars that I always carry to see where my bullet strikes relative to the dirt clod.
Tasco Pro Point
I mounted a Tasco Pro Point dot sight to the rail on top of the Morph and was ready to commence sight-in. The Pro Point is a dated design, but it was good quality 15 years ago and still works well today. The amount of parallax is small for a dot sight, but I still watch my head placement every time.
It was very easy to install the Pro Point on the Morph. The Weaver bases on the Pro Point clamp right to the Morph’s rail, and clamping pressure plus the keyed cross-slots hold the sight in place.
Tasco Pro Pont dot sight fits the Morph quite well.
Target setup
I think it was Victor who asked me how I stop the BBs from bouncing back, so today I thought I’d show you. I photographed my target setup, so you can see the light and the Winchester Airgun Target Cube with the Shoot-N-C target pasted on its front.
This is my target setup in the bedroom. The target cube is backed by a thick plastic cutting board, so nothing will hit the wall. The light is a 500-watt quartz incandescent camera light.
Absolutely no BBs bounce back using this setup. The target cube is starting to slough off small pieces of styrofoam, now that over a thousand shots have hit it, but nothing gets through it and nothing bounces back.
On to the shooting
At first, I shot the Morph in carbine form offhand at 15 feet (I’m using Umarex Precision steel BBs). I dialed the red dot intensity up to No. 8; because when the Shoot-N-C target turns green, it’s so bright that it masks the dot. Even at the 8 setting, I could barely see the dot against the target, once it changed from black to green (or yellow — I can’t tell…I’m colorblind.). Of course, when you shoot offhand, the dot seems to move all over the target — even at 15 feet.
Ten shots offhand from 15 feet with the Morph carbine. That’s not too bad! Yes, I used flash.
Seeing the accuracy of the carbine made me want to shoot the gun rested. I brought in a kitchen chair, turned it around and used the back as a rest for my next group.
Ten shots rested from 15 feet. Obviously, the gun is shooting to the left — something that shooting offhand did not fully reveal. All the shots in the cardboard are part of this string.
Seeing this result made me want to see just how good the gun could shoot. So I adjusted the dot to the right and shot another 10 rounds.
Wow! The sight adjustment didn’t go far enough, but look at how small this group of 10 shots is! The Morph can shoot!
Let’s back up
Seeing how good the Morph could do at 15 feet prompted me to back up to 25 feet and try again. This was also a rested group of 10 shots. I adjusted the sight a little more to the right for this one.
I was running out of the smaller bulls, but with a dot sight that poses no problem. Since the BB goes where the dot is, the size of the target has no influence over where you hit, as it would with a peep sight or a post and notch using a 6 o’clock hold.
At 25 feet the group opened up a bit, but it’s still respectable. There’s a single BB above the bull in the cardboard. This is a larger bull; but with a dot sight, that doesn’t pose a problem. The sight is still not far enough to the right, and notice that the impact point has climbed just a little. The orange dot in the center of the bull was the aim point.
A laser
I don’t have a laser that will fit on the Picatinny rail of the Morph, so I can’t mount one, but let’s talk about how a laser differs from a dot sight and a scope. A laser actually shines a light on the target. What you see is reflected from the target — not from a lens inside an optical device. The laser dot can be seen by everyone — not just by the shooter — the way a dot sight can. And because the laser dot actually hits the target, there can never be any parallax. What you see is actually there, on the target.
With a laser, there’s nothing to look through. Think of a laser as a very powerful flashlight. It isn’t actually a sight. It’s more of a designator.
A laser is adjusted just like a scope or dot sight, except you’re adjusting where the light actually falls. So, the procedure is to use a separate sight to sight-in the gun, then adjust the laser so it’s on the target when the other sight is.
Adjusting a laser is usually different than adjusting a scope or a dot sight. There aren’t click adjustments, as a rule, but there are screws that push the laser tube in the direction you want it to go. This may be backwards of how a scope’s adjustments move, so read the laser’s manual before you start adjusting.
Distance is limited
Lasers can’t be seen very far on bright days, so they’re limited in distance. You can look at them through a scope which increases the distance at which the dot can be seen, but even then the laser is a limited-range sighting aid. A 50-yard shot is very far for a laser. Most shooters set them up for very close shots, like 20-30 feet. They use their other sights for longer distances.
Les — I hope this helps you with the sight-in procedure for dot sights and lasers. Let me know if you have more questions.
Final evaluation
The Morph 3X rifle and pistol is a unique airgun that’s accurate and powerful at the same time. The double-action trigger-pull may take getting used to, but it poses no problem as far as accuracy goes.
I find the Morph accurate, conservative of gas and trouble-free to operate. If you want an accurate BB gun that also has power, check this one out.
I’m going to have to test my red-dots (presuming I can even stand to touch the one I had mounted on a shotgun — it had a rubberized surface coating which seems to have reacted with various gun oils, silicone coated clothes, etc. to result in a very gummy surface leaving black marks on my fingers).
Most of my experience with red-dot sights is actually on telescopes… (I think the Orion & Celestron red-dot finders ARE the same as the Daisy red-dot with a custom mount base). And since those are “focused” on infinity, the markings effectively move with the sky as one’s head moves. (The other was a Telrad, which is a big bulky thing but had semi-calibrated rings — a template for a star chart was available).
I’d not noticed any real parallax on my other red-dots — the dot would appear to move with head motion, yes, but not that much relative to the target. My understanding was that the dot is “projected” at infinity, which is also what the front optic was commonly defined for — whereas scope cross-hairs have to be focused by the adjustable ocular to appear in the same plane as the image from the front lens.
Okay — Wikipedia does state that they do have parallax up to the tube diameter (I presume because after that one is outside the tube and can’t see the dot at all) Maybe mine were collimated for the distances I was using (Ruger Mk-II at 50 yards)
Excellent report, B.B. Now that Christmas is long over, I’ll have to come up with some sort of excuse to order a Morph!
I have no experience at all with red dot sights (and I use scopes rarely as I’m an iron sight guy), but I seem to recall reading somewhere that an advantage of red dots, in particular with pistols, is that in addition to the forgiving relief, they also are supposed to be used with both eyes open. True or false?
(If that were true, it’d be great for me. I wear my prescription specs under big safety glasses, and I also use a clip-on blinder for my off-eye.)
Michael
Yes, use both eyes open. That goes for scopes and iron sights too. It just takes some getting used to.
You can see better and it’s faster. You may get a double image at first but your brain will get rid of that fast. Don’t use the blinder, after a while you won’t need it and won’t miss it.
Mike
Michael,
As Mike says, use both eyes open. It’s like looking through a picture window, with the dot just floating in space. Put it on your target and if it’s adjusted correctly, you’ll connect. They are very easy to use.
B.B.
Michael,
If you plan on trying a dot sight here’s a couple of things that work for me.
Assuming your dot sight has adjustments for the size of the dot keep it as small as possible but still visible on your target. Focus on the dot not your target (just like you focus on your front sight when shooting with iron sights).
kevin
Thanks, Tom. I was waiting to see how the accuracy is on this Morph. I have seen a couple of other reviews on it as videos, and they both seemed to get excellent accuracy for a smooth bore BB gun. I wouldn’t mind picking up one of these.
Very timely for me about the dot sights also, as I am having eyesight issues at 59 years old. I have a Leapers rifle scope that, no matter how hard I try to adjust both the objectives and the eyepiece, I just can’t get both the crosshairs and the target in focus, with or without my eyeglasses.
I have a Crosman 357 CO2 air pistol with open sights that I can get nice groups with without my progressive eyeglasses. I just got a Crosman 1377 that is a great shooter stock with open sights.
For years I competed in 200 meter IHMSA and 100 meter NRA Hunter Pistol. I won a lot of matches with an old Aimpoint dot sight and a TC Contender in .357 Magnum shooting reduced load in .38 Special brass with Winchester 110 grain JHPs. I may have to go to a dot sight on my scoped air guns.
Jon,
I would say that your are definitely a candidate for a dot sight. People with vision problems use dot sights all the time for the reasons you have indicated.
Don’t delay. Give it a try!
B.B.
The Morph looks like everything you could want from a BB gun and more besides, however my experience with dot sits are not too good in the past. I received one when my wife bought me a 80 lb crossbow pistol and had to put it on when the rear sight snapped off, which was a shame as it was deadly accurate at 20 yards with open sites and target acquisition was almost instantaneous.
The dot site however was so cheap the on/off switch fell off and i couldn’t find a makers name anywhere it is an all in one unit and at it’s furthest vertical adjustment the bolt would hit at about a foot higher at 20 yards, but at 40 yards would hit the mark. Using it on an old Relum it would fall short by an inch or so at about 30 yards, this was obviously messed up at the factory and you could plainly see the red dot projector had been glued in at the wrong angle. It was an open designed dot sight and would make any rifle look hideous with it mounted upon it, and with it adjusted to its limit the lens and the dot plate tilt to one side.
I found with this sight that there was a lot less parallax than with a scope, maybe it was something to do with it being an open design as opposed to a tubular design. So I’m going to take it apart again to see if i can get the plate a little extra adjustment and put it back on the crossbow as it does actually suit it funnily enough, then at some point in the future purchase a nice tubular designed one to go on my Crosman 1077. I think dot sights a ideal for pistols and lower powered rifles for closer target shooting though i would be reluctant to use one for hunting unless it was for rats.
TTFN
best wishes, wing commander Sir Nigel Tetlington-Smythe
Sir Nigel,
I have a cheap dot sight on a crossbow, too, so I know what you’re talking about. But the sight I used on the Morph isn’t a cheap on. In today’s money it would cost around $200.
I think it’s the quality that makes all the difference.
B.B.
Tom,
Thanks for showing your shooting set up. Time just went back 40 years for me. I have a fairly well lighted shooting area. But when I saw yours ( the light went off) I have a 500-watt quartz incandescent camera light. I set it up and the peep sights on my Daisy 853 look fine now.
Thanks again Steve
Steve,
Yep! Having enough light on the target can make all the difference. And don’t think it’s just for older folks, either. The kids at the national airgun matches each have a 500-watt light on their targets in about the same arrangement that I show. Everyone needs that light to see things well.
B.B.
Howdy Mr. B.B., Ms. Edith & the Gang, gota suggestion for an easy squeezy blog or two. Pics of the Gangs indoor shooting set ups. My “Jr. Sniper training range” can vary from 5ft to 20yrds w/out moving my targets. Shot outdoors for a year & a half (not a real challenge here in the desert) before I figured out how to ta take it inside the “Hooty & the Beazt Bed & GYODB (old Indian word for Get Your Own D*** Breakfast, again, desert, lotsa winter “visitors”). Now that ya dun teached us howta take beutumus pics all I’d need is some learnin’ on how ta upload a couple pics. Might give others an idea or two. ‘Course Ms. Edith’d hafta scope the pics for reflections of nearly nekkid bodies. For some of us that could be considered felony assult & get us busted in 38 states!?! Just a thought. Thanx ya’ll & have a great weekend, shoot/ride safe.
Beaz
Beazer,
I don’t pretend to understand everything you’ve written, but what I do understand brings a smile to my face 🙂
I’m feeling better today. Tom & I went out to lunch at On The Border, a local Tex-Mex restaurant. Life is slowly getting back to normal.
Thanks for thinking of me!
Edith
I think I posted pics of my shooting range a long time ago. I had thought it was the smallest in the world at 5 yards (offhand shooting only). It sounds like you’ve got me beat at 5 ft. but perhaps not. When I practice prone with my Anschutz, the target is inches away from the muzzle. But the target is sized proportionately. 🙂
Matt61
Howdy Matt61, All I was sayin’ amidst all the wise cracks & bs was, sometimes seein’ someone elses shootin’ set up can give ideas that can work for us that we didn’t think of. When I first stared seriously shootin’ airguns, I hadta be outside, as my my shootin’ style was what I called, ready, fire, aim or sprayin’ & prayin’!?! But when I got ta the point that I could consistently hit in the general direction of where I was aimin’ I figured out how to take it inside. By gettin’ creative with table/target placement I can vary my distance from 0-20 yards w/out having to move my targets. My trap is a steel milk crate layin’ on it’s side across 2 plastic fold up sawhorses with shop lights clipped to the legs facing up at the traps. The horses are against a 5/8″ sheet of plywood with a packing quilt attached to it. The trap is full of card board, phone books etc. and targets are clipped to the milk crate so changing targets & backing is easy. I have a cheapo BB trap that sits on top of the crate as well as a nice wood trap w/electrical putty that I won’t use until I get a little more consistent wih my shooting. Thanx again for respondin’ ta my babblin’ Shoot/ride safe.
Beaz
For me if it was the US version it would be a definite YES to the Morph but since the watered down version we’re getting here is so weak I’m gonna have to pass… sadly.
J-F
The “ice skating on stilts” comment cracked me up, and kind of sums up my experience trying to master springers. : )
I have the same model sight currently mounted on an M4-177, but I find the dot size hinders any real accuracy. If my eyesight were better I’d go back to the stock sights but unfortunately….well, you know how that goes.
I remember when dot sights hit the market they were not very well received by the shooting public, although now they’re all the rage amongst the self-defense types and action shooters. As far as I’m concerned their only practical use is for quick acquisition-the guys at the range with their heavily modded AR’s leave me rolling when they start complaining about huge groups with their high-dollar EO techs.
The Tasco certainly looks right at home on the Morph though, almost like it was made for the gun. And, for that application, it makes sense.
Thanks for another great review BB!
B.B.,
I smiled when I read that you used a reversed chair back as a shooting rest. When I shoot in my backyard, I sit on the patio in a chair and place a second chair right in front of me. I firmly grasp the back of the forward chair, and place the springer’s forearm on the back of that hand. My other hand touches the rifle only with my thumb, trigger finger, and middle finger — no palm or ring finger, no pinkie. I steady the side of the buttstock against the side of my chest, roughly a quarter inch in FRONT of the crook of my shoulder. I do not touch my shoulder with the buttpad! I’ve just started to do this, but already I call it my “Heavy Artillery Hold.”
With my .177 HW50 at 40 feet I regularly get one-hole 5 shot groups too small to pass a .25 pellet through. And I am a lousy shot in general.
Michael
How are quality, well-made red dot sights when it comes to handling springer air rifle recoil? Compared to scopes are they more or less prone to recoil-induced death?
Michael
Michael,
I don’t know that dot sights ever had the recoil problems that scope did, but if they did, all optics makers now know how to make scope that spring guns cannot destroy. Leapers decided years ago to built all their optics to withstand springers, and I think any quality optics maker has probably done the same by now.
The Pro Point scope shown here has been on numerous recoiling spring guns over the years, though never for very long. I would say it has lasted very well.
B.B.
BB,
Thanks for the explanation. I’ll try your ideas and let you know how it works out.
I have a Daisy 15XT, which is pretty inaccurate anyway. I mounted a Daisy dot sight on the top rail, and a BSA laser on the bottom rail. I would like the dot, the laser dot, and the POI to all converge at 15′.
Thanks again for your quick reply.
Les
BB,
I took my Daisy pistol down to the basement where I set up a target box. Both sighting systems had plenty of power in their batteries.
The gun had been stored for several months with a CO2 cartridge in it, but not pierced. I screwed it down, and all the gas ran out. Well, maybe it needed more Pellgunoil (that cured a seal problem in my wife’s Gamo P23 after it sat unused for a couple years).
I put a couple drops of Pellgunoil on the cartridge seal and put another CO2 cylinder in it. Again, all the gas leaked out. Then, I put in a third fresh cylinder. Again, all the gas ran out.
I now had gone through three CO2 cartridges without firing a shot. I put the gun away.
I like shooting CO2 pistols, although it is an indoor activity this time of year. I’ve worn out my first PPK.
Any ideas on what it will take to fix the Daisy? The thing is so cheap, I can’t justify putting much into it. The dot sight and laser together cost more than the gun did.
I still have my second PPK in good condition, but I’m trying to save up for a powder burning PPK.
Les
Les,
A seal is gone, obviously. Replace the gun. It isn’t worth fixing, if it can be fixed.
B.B.
BB,
That’s right. Today I removed the electronics, unloaded the gun, and threw it away.
Les
I would love to own this gun. But the main thing stopping me from buying it. Is I don’t know if you can turn this gun to attach bulk CO2 like the Umarex Steel storm? If its possible I will definately will buy it TODAY!! This gun looks so bad a$$!!!!
Ricardo,
After examining the design of the Morph, I doubt very much that a bulk adapter will ever be offered for it. It would entail too much reengineering for a gun that doesn’t cost much money. Besides, the Morph already gets two full magazines of shots from one cartridge, so the bulk attachment wouldn’t add any benefit, since you will always be slowed by how the magazine is filled.
B.B.
I posted on the wrong reply:
Wow I appreciate the fast reply!! So to verify, this gun gets 2 30round out of one cartridge? So 60bbs in total? I think I missed that part.
I do understand that it is not an expensive gun to add upgrades to. So my next question is, I would love to own a pistol that turns to a rifle, that’s the whole excitement with this one, so do you know of any other gun that is like this one, pistol and rifle in one? Doesn’t matter pellets or BBs and price is not an issue either, I want ONE!! hahaha
Ricardo,
I’m not sure I mentioned it that clearly. It would have been when I tested the velocity in Part 3. I said I guessed that the gun would get over 100 shots in low power and I didn’t say what it would get on high power. But I think 60 is about right.
B.B.
I apologize I must of missed that. That sounds pretty good though 60-100 from high to low power, sounds good.
So my other question,
Do you know of any other pistol/rifle air gun available?
I think I just might buy the Morph today lol
Ricardo,
Are there other pistol and rifle BB combination guns? Yes, there is! In fact, one that did NOT cover in my SHOT Show report comes from Umarex and is nothing but an extension to any of six CO2 guns already in existence. It’s called the TAC and it can come either as a complete gun or as an adaptor that converts any of six CO2 BB pistols into a long gun.
I guess I need to get going on this one. I’ll see if I can get one from Umarex to test for you. No promises though.
B.B.
I tought you’d never mention that one! I know it can be fitted to a few pistol but didn’t know exactly how many and more importantly which ones.
Can you tell us which pistols can be fitted to this thing and how it works? Do they all incorporate a longer barrel?
J-F
J_F,
I’m checking with Umarex right now. I wasn’t very impressed at SHOT, but now I see there is some interest I will take a closer look myself.
B.B.
B.B.,
LOTS of interest from me! I have more Umarex pistols than I care to . . . oh heck, I have seven of their pellet pistols and about that many of their BB pistols.
But when I get my Morph, thanks to the picture you posted, it will remain in Ned Buntline configuration. Because they’re cheap and plastic, I might even hide a small engraving somewhere on it that says, “Ned”! (LOL)
And Ricardo, if you are patient and look on ebay or any other big internet auction site, occasionally an all-metal one piece skeleton shoulder stock for Benjamin and Sheridan pistols will come up for sale. Like the wood shoulder stock I have for my Beeman P1, it mounts underneath the grips with machine screws.
Michael
Perfect!! This is te info I was looking for.
Can you name a few guns that this would fit? And some that the barrel can be extended?
Thanks a lot for sharing the information you know. Thanks again!
Any Crosman pistol from the 13XX/17XX/22XX series will accept a shoulder stock to turn them into carbines. The pump up 2289 that was just put back on the market comes with the shoulder stock and so does the Marauder Pistol.
The Beeman P1/Weihrauch HW45 can be fitted with a shoulder stock but these stock can be hard to find as they aren’t being made anymore.
There is the Hatsan AT-P2 that should be coming soon, you can have a look at it in the 3rd SHOT show report if I’m not wrong
and there’s a UZI and H&K MP5 both with foldable shoulder stock available.
I’m also a big fan of those, I turned a Crosman 1701P into a small carbine with a custom wood stock I had made for it. If you’re in the US or if shrouded barrels are legal where you live I’d look at the Marauder pistol, it’s my dream gun that I can’t own as shrouded barrels aren’t legal here.
A 2240 with the 1399 shoulder stock would be the cheapest option to get a pistol/rifle combo.
J-F
JF!! Thanx a lot brother!! This is what I needed some different choices and combinations. Thanks again and I will begin my search and shopping. As of now, I’m into pistol/rifle now. Thank bro!!
Wow I appreciate the fast reply!! So to verify, this gun gets 2 30round out of one cartridge? So 60bbs in total? I think I missed that part.
I do understand that it is not an expensive gun to add upgrades to. So my next question is, I would love to own a pistol that turns to a rifle, that’s the whole excitement with this one, so do you know of any other gun that is like this one, pistol and rifle in one? Doesn’t matter pellets or BBs and price is not an issue either, I want ONE!! hahaha
Just to add my 2 cents, as Victor and a few others know, I joined a 25 yard Bullseye league this past year with my .22 High Standard. We meet at night at an outdoor range with covered ports. I found that I had problems with my iron sights, it being difficult to tell when my sights were exactly centered (front blade evenly centered in the rear notch) even with the target fairly lit. I had a red dot installed on the pistol (a Bushnell Pro – one step up from what PA is selling – mine has adjustable sized dots)
/product/bushnell-trophy-1×28-red-dot-sight-30mm-tube-6-moa-weaver-rings?a=3859
and it makes a BIG difference. It also shows me, as BB said, just how much movement there is in your hand as you aim at the target. Yikes! My scores have been slowly improving and Victor has been a great help in his cross country coaching.
Fred DPRoNJ
Fred,
Don’t know why your post ended up in the spam folder. It’s odd that real spam can get posted, but the good stuff gets stopped. Go figure!
Edith
B.B.
How is Edith doing today?
twotalon
TT,
Thanks for asking.
I’m still alive & kicking. I can’t remember the last time I was hit so hard that I couldn’t work thru it. Yesterday was the first day I was able to last without taking a nap. So far, I’m able to do the same today. Tom has been getting my food and doing whatever I need. One of our cats enjoys playing nurse and sleeps up against me to warm me and lick me (which is how cats comfort each other).
Pyramdy Air is very understanding. They have a number of people who’ve been out due to the same crud.
I was so exhausted that I literally didn’t have the energy or wherewithal to comb my hair for 3 days. It looked like that rascally AirForce squirrel had made a nest in it 🙂
Edith
Edith..
The best I ever got over things like the flu was to stay in bed. That worked best when I started feeling it on a Friday. A weekend in bed pretty well did the job.
The times I started getting something earlier in the week and had to go to work did not work out too well. Took a lot longer to get rid of it.
I have had some things that made me feel like I would have to die to get better.
twotalon
Edith,
I was recently hit with probably the same thing. I can’t remember being sick for so long. I’m still struggling with it. The worse part for me is not being able to think clearly. Can’t sleep the night.
Good luck with this!
Victor
Edith,
Glad to hear you’re feeling a little better.
I’m sure you’re not one to keep score on the marital front. Since I’m not above keeping score B.B. still owes you 342 days of “getting your food and doing whatever you need.” 😉
kevin
Oh, baby…I keep score…going back 30+ yrs 🙂
Edith
Edith,
Just in case you didn’t know……………..you qualified for Sainthood 15 years ago. Sorry Tom, but it’s true. If you doubt me, look at those 8 rooms full of guns that surround you.
kevin
That means Edith would have to be cannonized. Which means that they’d have to switch to bigger caliber stuff.
Saint Artillerous of Howitzer?
Actually, cannoneers and artillerymen (and Naval ammunition handlers) already have a patron saint – St. Barbara.
St. Gabriel Possenti is the patron saint of handgunners, but riflemen have none (oddly enough).
So there’s room for one more….
The FeastDay can be celebrated on 30/06.
Vince,
Cannonized, eh? I’m game 🙂
Edith
Don’t you have to be dead to be a saint? That wouldn’t be a lot of fun would it…
J-F
Well, strictly speaking, only to be “canonized”. But “cannonized” is another matter entirely.
Ms. Edith, verrry interestink. In the biker cultures of ancient Egypt, they useta do the same thing. Seems the threat of a snuggle & a lick from a long haired, greasy scooter tramp & a shota Jack’d cure whatever ails ya REAL quick!?! Git ‘er back up ta crusin’ speed, soon, miss/need ya.
Beaz
What in the world happened? I gather you weren’t literally in an accident but got sick. Well, best wishes for recovery.
Matt61
Matt61,
Yes, it was the flu…but it doesn’t feel like any other flu I’ve had. Lasts longer. But I’m on the mend and hope to be fully recovered some time this week.
Edith
Pretty good accuracy for a bb gun. But I’ll still pass on it. I need my guns to be much more powerful and larger caliber. Might make a good christmas present though for somebody this year though.
Hm, time to revisit my assumptions. I somehow got it into my head–and I seem to remember from the blog–that the hierarchy for accuracy was scopes, red dot sights, iron sights. Now it sounds like that’s not the case. Perhaps red dot sights are better than open sights but not as good as aperture sights which, in target form, can almost equal scopes. So what exactly is the relationship between red dot sights and iron sights? And how do holographic sights fit in? I was watching another YouTube video claiming that holographic sights “stay on target” whatever that means.
It also worth asking what the intended purpose of the red dot sights is. My understanding is that they are for quick target acquisition. I believe they were invented in WWII for the B17 gunners to shoot down attacking fighters. On the one hand, I would have guessed that they wanted long range accuracy with their heavy machine guns against airplanes. But perhaps with the speed at which things were moving and the limited field of view that rapid acquisition was at least as important.
Mike, you have all the guns I want! 🙂 Victor, you sound like Jack Dempsey, the heavyweight great, who writes in his fabulous boxing manual that “anger is an unwelcome guest in fighting.” This sounds paradoxical, especially for a ferocious fighter like himself, but it is consistent with what you say. One of the great prizes of shooting for me is the magnificent sneering indifference to results I achieve when I’m shooting my best.
Ryan Cole, if you’re worried about the noise of the Discovery, I believe there is a sound suppressor that others could advise you about better than me that eliminates most of the noise. Otherwise, weighing in with what I would buy which I am always glad to do, I would vote for a special version of the Ruger 10-22 called the Ruger Light/Target Varmint. I believe that it was within your budget a couple years ago. Like the name says, it has target accuracy in a medium profile barrel to retain the gun’s excellent handling characteristics. I believe a conventional bull barrel for the target version loses that, and the new tactical version with the tiny chopped barrel and the bipod just looks strange to me. The handling looks long gone on that one. I hadn’t thought that this gun was being considered for any regulations but whether it is or not, B.B. has stoked a deep fear of mine. You can’t count on the great guns being around forever, and this is one.
BG_Farmer, I was wondering if you were reading. I’ve been wanting to ask you to remind me of what targets you shoot on your cool blackpowder walking shoots in the woods. After my 3D archery with the styrofoam animals (and some dinosaurs), even with the 20 lb. bow, I was exulting. I don’t mind saying that my best shot was of a deer target concealed behind a mound of earth so that only the side and back of its head was showing. Got a solid head shot although I missed with the other nine arrows.
While roaming about on YouTube, I learned that the Coast Guard has its own sniper service. They ride in helicopters and their job is to shoot out the engines of speedboats used by drug smugglers. I don’t believe they’ve shot any people yet. Their weapons are the Barrett 107 50BMG as primary and the Mk14 EBR as back-up. Now is that a cool job or what. That would be quite the challenge with the helicopter bobbing and the boat bobbing and the two moving relative to each other. They say that when these guys are not out on missions, they are training which would be fine with me. Incidentally, this is the show that said that the holographic sight keeps up with its targets; this sight is used on their rifles. I believe that the principle of leading for these scenarios is not difficult. You make yourself the reference frame and lead based on the relative motion of the target to you. So a target moving away gets led in front while one that you’re overtaking is led behind. But obviously this could get very complicated. One of the snipers was a woman–a nice-looking woman. It was like Ljudmila Pavlichenko reborn.
Matt61
Matt,
Targets range from a “bear” with a 6-8″ plate in his middle, chains (horizontal, vertical, draped, zigzagged), horizontal bar, paintball on a golf tee, crossed rubber bands, playing card on edge, a spike, various spinners, tacks stuck into cardboard, 1″ or smaller hole in a steel plate (FT style popup target) etc. I’m a little busy for the next couple of days, but if you want to know any more, write me an e-mail (so I’ll see it when I can) and I’ll tell you as much as you want to know.
I don’t think there is any one “secret” to shooting or even just one way to do it, but follow-through is at the top of the list of key components. Keeping control of the rifle and yourself until the projectile exits the barrel (or hits the target even) is key.
I have a gunsmith friend that was a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17 during WWII. He’s 90 but still with us. He said that the Ball Turret had a computing gun sight. You had a frame that you would center the fighter in, keep it there, and fire. The sight took care of the lead. Of course, that was easier said than done with a moving bomber and a fighter going 400 mph. He said you most often would spot the fighter a mile or two out but they got close very quick!
Mike
All right, sportsfans, I have something to report that will really blow you away–a real Jurassic Park to the usual iguana. So, there I was the other night having a good shoot. After a mini-slump, I was back in form, feeling aggressive and engaged on the targets and not faltering and second-guessing myself. Then in a flash of daring, I decided that I would not just run out the string and finish a good night. What I would do instead is try out some ideas that Victor mailed to me. I had seen these thoughts before which Victor has posted here and was familiar with them. So, I did this partly in a spirit of magnanimity and a sense that if I was really doing that well, my techniques should stand up in a test against another method. I allotted one five round clip of the IZH 61 to this experiment. That clip was followed by another and then another. I don’t believe I’ll ever go back to my old methods. It was deja vu like the time I was shooting well with my airsoft spring rifle, and I thought that I would try the artillery hold for fun. It seemed that B.B. Pelletier knew a thing or two…
What happened the other night was ridiculously tiny holes over and over again. It felt like some kind of higher being had taken over. Forget all that other stuff I said about the approach to target, the trigger press, the Jaws of the Subconscious. All wrong, wrong, wrong. Or at least very inferior to the new way. Victor is the man, and rather than me describe his advice, you should just ask him to repost it here as I have. I will say that what stood out for me were the combined ideas of wobble area and trigger squeeze/control. I had understood these intellectually but had not really put them together and tried them out. Basically, I just held the sights on target, ignoring the slight movement. Then I started the steady trigger squeeze, making sure that nothing on God’s earth was going to prevent me from passing the release point within three to six seconds–the surprise break. That’s pretty much it. And I see that conflict between the surprise break and follow through that I cooked up is not really a conflict at all. I just let the intention of my shot follow my inevitable trigger squeeze, and when the shot came, I just looked through it like I had the wobbling sight picture until the gun settled back.
Another odd feature of this experience is how the secret was explicitly stated right on the surface waiting for me to give it a chance. It was not like Johannes Lichtenauer, an obscure German from the 12th century who basically invented the Western longsword tradition. For some reason, he wrote down his instructions in cryptic verse that is just about impossible to understand. Nor is it like Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of the Five Rings about samurai swordsmanship which is just about as impenetrable. You just follow the directions. B.B. and all you longtime shooters are probably having a good laugh over how long it took me to get this. Well, it’s on me. 🙂
And clear as Victor’s directions are perhaps they have managed to vault me to Level Five of Musashi’s scheme. His Fifth Book is the Book of Nothingness. It’s very short and one of the few statements that is comprehensible is that you accept the void of the universe and realize it is full of love–not what you expect from a manual of swordsmanship. Well, I can’t speak to any direct experience of that. But I can say that it is quite astounding that if you just try to hold the rifle on target without any superhuman effort or unusual state of mind as it is moving around, the round will land accurately to an astounding degree. It’s like your body really wants to shoot if you give it a chance instead of fighting it.
Anyway, the message here is that you all have to try this out. My IZH 61 feels like a new rifle after 90,000 rounds. I feel like I went to sleep as a beggar and woke up a prince.
Matt61
The surprise break does keep people from flinching. That can be a big problem with new shooters. The “Trick” is to only apply pressure to the trigger when the sight is on target. Properly done, it’s not a slow process. The press starts slow but quickly builds. Kind of like, Press….Press..Press,Press, bang. If the sights go too far off the aiming point, you quit pressing. When back on target, you start pressing again………from the point where you stopped. If you have to teach a new person, that has never shot a rifle before, in three days of training, to shoot qualifying scores……this works.
I did this for 23 years.
Mike
B.B. and others,
Off-topic, but what was it about the Air Arms TX200 SR that prevented it from being great?
Thanks,
Michael
Michael,
It took an extra 10 pounds of effort to cock the SR. So instead of 40 pounds, it took 50. And for that you got 12 foot-pounds. And it was no more accurate than the TX 200 Mark II.
B.B.
B.B.,
Ah, thanks.
50 pounds of cocking effort for 12 fpe is inexcusable, but in Air Arms defense “no more accurate than a TX200” is maybe true of any non-pcp, except for the best of the old springer 10 meter rifles, but even then, only at 20 yards or fewer. Beyond 20 yards, I suppose it’s the TX200 on top again.
Pretty high-class problem, being unable to top your own almost perfect rifle.
Thanks again,
Michael
Michael,
Don’t be so quick to dismiss potential accuracy of low powered springers beyond 20 yards.
Yes, wind will have a greater affect on a slower pellet but on a calm day I have a few 6-8fpe springers that I would be happy to use in head to head competition with any TX200. On calm days, I’ve put 10 shots into sub 0.80″ groups at 50 yards many times with my fwb 300 rt and I’m not a great shot. I have an old lg55 tyrolean dst that shoots almost as well.
Harry (posts as yrrah) is a better shot than me and has a fwb 300 that shoots a little hotter than my rt. He’s put 5 shots into sub 0.71″ groups at 71 yards (he’s in australia and they have a weird way of measuring LOL!) many times. Here’s a post with some photo’s of his groups shot with his fwb 300 at a variety of distances including 147 yards (his photo’s are about midway down in this link):
http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537/thread/1314648301/FWB+300s+trigger+pull+weight
kevin
Kevin and B.B.,
I, unfortunately, live in a VERY windy area. Probably only one in 10 days is calm.
I have a 601 and 300s that shoot Hobbys in the low 600 fps range. I just picked up a 150 that still has its original seal. Haven’t been able to chrony it yet, but it’s going to need a Maccari spring and blue seal eventually.
B.B., answering with your best educated guess, could Randy Bimrose probably get a Feinwerbau 150 up to 750 fps or so? Then I could probably shoot CP heavies outside at 20 yards or even 20 meters. As it is, my FWB rifles are for my basement 12 meter range only.
Michael
B.B., Clarification: that would be an FWB 150 souped up to shoot Hobbys at 750 fps?. I figure the CP heavies would be what, 625 fps?
Thanks much,
Michael
Michael,
I would not use Randy Bimrose if I were you. He has a kept a number of people’s guns and their money and isn’t returning emails.
As for the soup up, I don’t really need that much velocity in a target rifle like the 150/300. 650 seems about right to me. I understand what you are trying to do, but you can do it so much easier and better with a new TX 200, don’t you think?
B.B.
B.B.
B.B.,
A TX200 would be great, of course, but there are three downsides for me. First, I don’t really need all of the power that a TX200 provides. Second, while I have slowly saved up to accrue a small collection of first-rate, classic airguns, for the time being a TX200 is a bit too rich for my blood. Finally, I’m a leftie, and used left-handed TX200s rarely come up for sale, and new ones are more expensive than the already too expensive righty ones.
It has taken me a loooong time to collect left-handed versions of the 601, 300s, 124, and 150. Yeah, I know, I know, I own a 124. I rarely use it, though, because I’m spoiled by the 10 meter guns, and the 124, at 840ish fps is about 100 fps (and a half dozen more decibels) more than I’m looking for.
A hot-rodded 725-750 fps 150 (or 300 non-s) would be perfect for my backyard shooting.
Michael
Michael,
I don’t know why some enterprising fellow hasn’t set up a lefties-only section on gun sale sites. That way, anyone who has a lefty gun can attract lots of lefty buyers.
Edith
Edith,
BRAVO!
Roughly 15 percent of the population is left-handed, and for any righty who thinks, “Big deal,” I simply suggest he or she tries to shoot left-handed. First, make sure the gun is unloaded and uncocked, because gosh only knows where it’ll be pointed when you pull;l the trigger! Same with a lefty trying to shoot righty. And while some stocks are truly ambidextrous and others are righty but not too bad when shot from the left-handed position, many are neither.
And charging EXTRA? That’s no more right than charging women more for a haircut/style, especially if she wears her hair short, as many do. That’s discrimination, IMO.
There, rant over, LOL.
Michael
“He’s in australia and they have a weird way of measuring LOL!”
What did you expect? They’re walking upside down! 😉
J-F
Just posted this in part 4 by accident… so posting here too 🙂
Hello,
My Morph seems to have 2 issues. Would like to know if anyone else has experienced this 1) The trigger pull is EXTREMELY hard…. like tire your finger out in 5 shots hard. I don’t notice a two stage trigger pull either. And… 2) The accuracy goes out the window when I attach the extended barrel. Like grouping of at least half a foot. It becomes impossible to sight in! I am going to buy a cleaning kit to see if I can scrub or clean the bore/barrel to see if that helps, but any ideas?
Thanks!
Wingcutter
B.B. I curious if the Morph could “out shoot” the EBOS. Just by looking at the pictures on the blog, I can’t tell. I know neither can quite touch the Avanti. But I’d like to know which shoots best of the two. Thank You, Bradly
Bradley,
Well, I still have the Morph, but the EBOS is long gone. By outshoot, I assume you mean which is the more accurate?
I looked at the accuracy results for both and I think the EBOS wins.
B.B.
B.B. Yes, I meant more accurate. Thank You. For some strange reason I like BB (Smooth bore, round ball) guns. I’ve looked at both of these. I would have thought the Morph would have been more accurate. Maybe just because I wanted it to be? Am I to assume you still have the Morph but not the Ebos because you like it better? Thanks again, Bradly
Bradly,
The reason I still have the Morph is because I haven’t returned it to Pyramyd AIR yet. I don’t keep the guns I test, unless I buy them.
B.B.