by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Hatsan 85 Sniper rifle combo.
This report covers:
- Open sights were the baseline
- Mounting the scope
- Sight-in
- JSB Exact Heavy
- The scope
- Sig Ballistic Match Alloy target pellets
- Summary of this test
Today we look at the accuracy of the Hatsan 85 Mossy Oak Break Up with the scope and mounts that came with it. I find it’s best to test these scopes first before buying a replacement because I have received a few with package deals that really worked.
Open sights were the baseline
Part 3 was a test of the rifle using the open sights that came installed. That test provided a baseline for today’s test, because I know the rifle has to at least be as accurate as it was with open sights. Since I tested it at both 10 meters and 25 yards, I decided to start today’s test at 25 yards.
The open sight test also identified two pellets that were best, out of the several that were tested. So those were the only pellets that carried over to this test. But because reader Bulldawg (as I recall) had asked me to also test the Sig Match Ballistic Alloy target pellets, I decided to give them a try as well.
Mounting the scope
The scope came out of the box with the two-piece rings installed, so all I had to do was attach the rings to the dovetail on the rifle’s spring tube. That was easily done because each ring base clamps to the gun with a single slotted screw. The slot is cut to fit an American quarter coin, and a Euro is slightly too thick at the rim to work. The scope went on the rifle very fast and I hoisted it to my shoulder to check the alignment of the reticles. They were slightly off for me, so I loosened the cap screws on each ring and rotated them slightly until they lined up. This will differ from person to person, so it is impossible for the factory to align the scope for every shooter.
Sight-in
I started the sight-in at 12 feet and found the scope was exactly where it should be. So I backed up to 11 meters and shot again. This time the pellet climbed up to almost the center of the bull, which was the point of aim. So far, so good.
Next I backed up to 25 yards and fired three shots that seemed to hit high enough, if off to the left of the bull. But this was where the test grew difficult. I couldn’t see the bull clearly through the scope — no matter what I did with the focusable eyepiece. I ended up with a compromise that had me shooting on 3 power and seeing multiple crosshairs. If I squinted I could sharpen the image enough to shoot, but the bull was never entirely in focus.
Nevertheless, my first 3 sighters at 25 yards hit close enough to each other (maybe 1/2-inch) that I thought I could run the test. So next I shot 10 pellets.
JSB Exact Heavy
The most accurate pellet at 25 yards in Part 3 was the JSB Exact Heavy, so I chose it first. I couldn’t see the pellet holes through the scope, but I could hear them hitting the steel backplate in my heavy pellet trap, so I knew I was at least staying in the safe zone. When I went downrange to change targets, though, I was disappointed with what I saw.
Ten pellets were scattered across the target in a group that measured 2.362-inches between centers. The test was over! Obviously if I can put ten JSB Exact Heavies into 1.499-inches at 25 yards with open sights, I ought to be able to do at least as well with a scope at the same distance. Some of you wondered why I tested the rifle with open sights first. This is the answer. So I removed the scope from the rifle.
Ten JSB Exact Heavy pellets went into 2.362-inches at 25 yards when using the scope. The rifle is more accurate than this!
The scope
The scope that comes in the box is a 3-9X32 Optima scope that has no parallax adjustment. It’s obviously parallax corrected for somewhere beyond 25 yards, most likely 100 yards. It simply will not do at this distance. I always test the scopes that come with the guns, but in this case, the scope has to be replaced.
No sense shooting any more with this scope, so I will find a good scope and run another 25-yard accuracy test. I will also save the test of the clamp-on bipod for then, since we should know how accurate the rifle can be.
Sig Ballistic Match Alloy target pellets
Someone wanted me to test Sig Match Ballistic Alloy target pellets in this rifle, so I decided to try them after the scope was off. If they are accurate, we should get a good idea from a 5-shot group with open sights. But the first shot went out with a crack like a .22 rimfire cartridge! It was startling and I didn’t want to shoot at again. I compromised though and shot a total of 3 shots, getting a group that measures 1.753-inches between centers, but that’s where I stopped. Even if this pellet proves accurate in the Hatsan 85, it makes too much noise! I would never shoot it, and neither would any of you.
Three Sig Ballistic Match target pellets went into 1.752-inches at 25 yards when using the scope but they were supersonic. Too loud!
Summary of this test
You might think this test was a failure, but it wasn’t. We learned a couple important things from it. First, we learned that the scope that comes in the box with this rifle isn’t suited for it. And in general we learned that if an air rifle has open sights you should test it with them first, before mounting any scopes. That way you have a baseline of accuracy to check against.
I’ll mount a good scope and we’ll try it again.
Hmm, I wonder what velocity the Sig pellet was running?
You may have stumbled on the new hyper light pellet every other airgun company will use to post their “claimed” velocity.
Not likely, they cost too much.
45Bravo,
At 5.25 grains I doubt it was going much over 1250 f.p.s. There are lighter pellets out there.
B.B.
BB
It was not me that asked you to test the Sig pellets at 25 yards in this gun it was GF1 but I did second his request and as we see it is shooting them way to fast to be of any use in this gun since they are breaking the sound barrier.
I did ask if you would adjust the trigger to a finer two stage setting by installing longer adjustment screws and if that is not possible with the current health issues you just had I understand. Hope you are doing better now as well as I have never had kidney stones but from all I have heard I am sure I don’t need to experience them first hand.
I believe you are right in that the scope provided is indeed set for 100 yards of parallax and could possibly be corrected to 25 or 35 yards by turning the objective lens with the end cap off as I am sure you are aware of how to do so but its really not worth the effort in my opinion.
Hope the groups work out better with a good scope on it at the next test session.
BD
BD76,
While BB may be aware of adjusting an objective, I am not. From the sounds of it, it screws in and assuming that someone could find a way to contact that lens edge, they could adjust it to work at closer distances?
If so, that sounds like a nice fix for cheaper scopes to work better at closer distances.
Chris,USA
You up late or up early as I did not expect a reply from you at this time of night.
On the cheap scopes like that if the objective bell cover will thread off the end of the scope where the lens is there are usually two slots 180 degrees apart about 1/16″ wide in the threaded lens ring of the objective end of the scope. You can use a pocket screwdriver or similar thin tool to rotate the lens ring in the scopes body in or out while focusing on an object at what ever distance you want the parallax to be focused for and then just reinstall the cover and it is adjusted to the closer parallax. You need to be careful not to turn it to far so it unthreads out of the scope housing or in to far so that there are no threads for the cap to be secured with but it generally does not take more than two complete turns at most to refocus. I cannot say which way you need to rotate it as it always just a turn and see if it get worse or better for me until I get it where the sight picture is clear at the desired distance.
When reinstalling the cover you may need to hold the lens from rotating with the cover by keeping the screwdriver blade in one of the slots while snugging the cover up so it does not rotate out of the position you just set it at to be focused clearly as the cover may try to rotate it with the cover as it snugs up to lock it in position. That’s all there is to it but some scope cannot be reset that way since the objective lens is glued in position and will not rotate.
BD
BD76,
Up early. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Still working on the 2nd. and the 1st. and 3rd. are fading the older I get. ;(
I looked at the 880 scope. Yup, about 4-5 threads in and about 2 up front. Looked through with a flashlight. 4 slots. I will try this weekend. Hopefully it is not glued.
Thanks, learned something new and maybe a good fix for those with cheap scopes that can now be restored to use for airgun ranges.
Chris,USA
Man don’t I know it about all three as once you no longer have to work it gets to where you lose track of time in that early to bed and early to rise can be any hour you decide to do either. I have given up on the rest except for getting wiser but the problem is while I may be getting wiser with age I cannot remember what it is I am wiser about. LOL.
As you saw you were up early and I had yet to go to bed although I did not get up till I PM either but then I had no reason to get up and have found that I sleep very little anymore even when I want/try to since my mind does not ever seem to stop turning or shutoff.
Yea that 880 scope I believe is one that you can adjust the objective lens to refocus at the range you need it to get a clear sight picture, just go slow and check for proper focus often and make sure the lens does not move when reinstalling the lens cover back on to hold it in place.
BD
BD76,
I found my snap ring pliers. They look like they will work fine on the “spread when squeezed” mode of operation.
Chris,USA
There you go as those will work real good to rotate the lens and hold it while reinstalling the cover to prevent it from turning once adjusted to the position you want, that’s multi tasking with tools.
BD
The procedure could be done but you run the risk of unscrewing the front objective too much and unsealing the nitrogen filled scope.
Do this at your own risk.
Securely bed the rifle in a cradle and aim at desired target distance (usually 10 meters). Unscrew the protective cap of the front objective. This will reveal the front objective lens which you can then proceed to carefully unscrew while looking through the scope until the image becomes sharp. Sometimes clarity can be achieved by only a half turn. Once the image is to your satisfaction replace the protective cap of the front objective. Please check the lens when returning the the protective cap of the front objective as that it has a tendency to screw back down also losing your focus, you can either make a tool to hold the lens in place or give the lens a quarter turn beyond to compensate its screwing back.
Siranko,
Thanks. We are talking bottom of the barrel scope here. I would be surprised if it has nitrogen in it. If it does, I would be quite surprised. Still, very nice advice and a good caution for those with nitrogen.
Thanks, Chris
Siraniko,
Too much trouble. I would buy a UTG 4×32 AO scope from Pyramid air for $60 bucks.
Pete
Pete
I had one of those scopes.
They are excellent scopes. Very sharp and clear bright picture. Plus they have a wide feild of veiw.
GF1,
I have the cheaper version with parallax fixed at 100 yds on my springer and on a good day I can still put 5 shots in 1/2 inch at 20yds using JSB Exact RS. Good enough to take out pests at that distance. On the days when I have had too much coffee the shots are all over the place, more like 1″ or 11/4″. Then I say to myself, it has to be that darn parallax setting. LOL!
Pete
Pete
Noth’n wrong with that.
The groups without the coffee.
😉
Pete,
🙂 Good point. I do the same. (darn scopes!) Some of the best groups I have ever got were after a big breakfast or dead tired at the end of the day. Ok, maybe a brew or two,…”at the end of the day”,… of course. Still,…. caffeine and good groups do not seem to be a good mix.
So would I if it were available to me at that price. By the time it gets here that $60 scope is probably on the north side of $120. To give you an idea of the burden of taxes and tariffs, one of the main stores here sells the Discovery (gun and pump) for the equivalent of $900! Yes, it can be argued that they mark it up to make some money but they also had to pay to get it imported to our shores first.
As somebody once said (I think it was BB), “Save twice and pay only once.”
Siraniko
That’s why I said to not unthread to far and only go about two turns as that usually gives the clarity you need without releasing any nitrogen that may be in the scope. The cheaper scopes in most cases are not nitrogen filled anyway so its not a big concern since if it is not a quality scope of which none of the scope combos that come with airguns that I have ever got are worth the glass and metal or plastic they are made of so I highly doubt they are filled with anything but air. But are likely in a vacuum so yes you don’t want to break the seal regardless.
All you said is completely true and needs to be observed.
BD
I’ve re-parallaxed several scopes ranging from throw-away bundled scopes, to some higher end scopes. Some scope objective lens retention rings are actually threaded precisely enough that the objective lens carrier can be adjusted on the fly (like an AO scope), and not secured each time by the objective’s bell end piece, and still hold zero nicely. In fact, when I was a little kid (8 or 9) with a fixed 4x on my Ruger 10/22 I had never even heard of an adjustable objective. I owned the only gun with a scope that I had ever seen in person, and the internet didn’t exist. So, I fiddled around with the scope and discovered that I could turn the objective lens carrier ring out (counter-clockwise if looking through the scope from the “wrong” end) and make it focus at much closer ranges. Sure made knocking empty rim-fire cases off a fence post a lot easier at 50 feet.
Re-parallaxing can work wonders with a cheap bundled scope. If you are going to go with a nicer scope anyway, then just get one that is adjustable, but for a cheap plinker or for an indoor range with limited distance and little magnification needed, it can be a pretty good solution. I have a reduced power Gamo Rocket that I set up for my girlfriend (clipped 2 coils and tuned for 715 fps with Crosman Premiers) that I wanted to keep as light and simple as possible, so I put an 8 ounce Simmons 4×32 that was set to 30 yards on top, and had a great little setup. Good luck finding an ao or side focus scope that is 8 ounces and under $30. The optical quality isn’t bad for the price either.
BD,
I meant to include a remark about the trigger screw. I just haven’t gotten to it yet.
B.B.
BB
I figured you had not gotten to it or had it planned for a later test so not meaning to bug you about it and as I said if its more work than you can take on right now its not a big deal as I know how nice the triggers can be with some TLC. I was just hoping it may help improve your ability to produce the best groups this gun can provide by not having to fight a stubborn trigger in the process as well.
BD
B.B.,
Yes, that was a good test. On scopes, I recently bought a 880 and the scope that came with it was cheap as one would expect. At 24′, it was tuff to use. Point it out the window and the sight picture looked pretty good. Someone mentioned that the parallax was most likely set at a fixed 50 yds. I thought to myself,….what a mis-match. While I won’t go on a rant about all that, my thoughts were, “how sad”,…. as that could have been someone’s first experience with a scope or airgunning in general.
On dovetails, a 760 that I just bought is all plastic. What jumped right out was how much taller and deeper the dovetail was. Much better in my opinion as many 11mm. mounts do not have sharp points that would better grab a shorter and shallower steel 11mm. dove tail. Yes, they will grab on the 2 nice steel springers that I have, but it sure would be nice to have that extra “grab” or bite.
Oh well, just 2 comments that your article inspired me to make. Good luck with the next test and a different scope.
Chris,
It is quite sad. The real sad part is the manufacturers don’t care. Most scopes that are sold with air rifles have a 100 yard parallax setting. Really? That is because they are bought en masse from Wang Po Industries who does not know or care whether it is going to be mounted on an air rifle or a Mattelomatic. The purchasing agent probably does not know much more and could care less. All they are concerned with is the price per unit.
This is why experienced airgunners usually do not even open the scope box when it comes bundled with an air rifle and just stick it in the yard sale pile and hope they can get five dollars for it.
Yes, some of them you can adjust the fixed parallax setting, but keep in mind that the reason that particular scope was selected is that it was the cheapest one the purchasing agent could find.
Chris USA
I mentioned the parallax setting about your scope.
And by the way did you check out your eye relief on your Tx and LGU. Like I was saying about shouldering your gun with your eyes closed then opening them and seeing if the sight picture popped in.
Then I mentioned that if the scope is mounted closer to the eye it works better than scope farther away from the eye.
If you back your head up just a bit after you have your sight picture and it goes away when you back up. You probably have your scope mounted to much forward.
I think you brought up eye relief on your Hawke scope and the other one you have not being the same as the Hawke. Then I suggested that test to see. Did you try it?
GF1,
No I have not tried it yet. Notes are made and I will re-check. You like those Hawkes for a reason.
Chris USA
I do like the Hawke scopes for a few reasons.
Just thought it was odd when you said it was hard to get your eye relief right on the Hawke scope and not your other scope.
That’s why I mentioned to you before what I just said again above. Never heard back and was wondering what you found out.
GF1,
Most of my gunplay is on the weekends. I guess that qualifies me as a “weekend warrior”. ;(
Throw in shopping and visits to my aging parents to help out with whatever they need, and even the weekends get cut short. Plus, I like to cook.
Notes made, will do. Now,….. if I can just find those notes!!! 🙂
Chris USA
You know you don’t have to shoot the gun for the test I just suggested.
All you have to do is shoulder the gun and move your head backwards. That will tell you if the scope is mounted to much forward if you sight picture goes away. Takes about 3 seconds to do the test.
But I do know what you mean about no time. See what happens when you throw the kids in the mix of all that stuff and more. Free time is short that’s for sure.
GF1,
Spot on. I like to have a good bit of alertness when shooting. And yup on the 3 seconds, plus a few more if adjustments are required. The eye’s need to be “fresh” too. In other word’s,… I got to “feel it” or be “in the mood”.
Oh yea,….the comb on the TX and LGU is a bit “vague”. High, yes,… but a bit hard to get a repeatable cheek weld, other than simple muscle memory. After shooting for an hour or so, it does seem to come more natural, cheek weld or not.
Chris USA
Yep you got to do what you know works for you.
Alert and fresh? Don’t remember what that feels like anymore. Never seem to get enough rest.
Fido3030,
Please try the password recovery system.
/recover-your-password
You are in the system.
B.B.
I have a Hatsan 95 Vortex. I tried to adjust the parallax on the cheap OEM scope. I got the lens to turn, unfortunately the wire reticle turned too! These scope are so bad and so inappropriate for air gun shooting, that you really wish they would not be included! Bad scope = major frustration!
-Y
Yogi
The your suppose to do the front lens.
I did the front lens. Worked perfectly at 20 yards, tightened the lock ring down. I did also hear gas escape. 5 shots through, the reticle rotated about 20 degrees. I assume the crosshair intersection is still pretty well centered. Gauging holdover, however, gave me a headache!
-Y
Yogi
I have had the reticles turn before. But if t did just happen to be on a cheaper scope.
I would have to say that is a good thing to spend a little extra money on to get a better scope. And look into the etched reticle scopes that also have the side adjusting parallax on the scope turret. Those tend to be better scopes.
BB
I figured those Sig pellets were going to crack when you shot them.
And that’s probably not good on the gun too. Probably similar to not having a pellet in a spring gun and dry firing.
And that’s another reason I like a heavier pellet. Easier on the gun internals I would say.
And considering the gun. The group with open sights was only around .300″ bigger than the other pellet.
Maybe that Sig pellet would be good in a pump gun where the velocity could be controlled. Maybe would only need 4 or 5 pumps to shoot at 900 fps.and don’t have all that silly recoil from a springer.
I do think I will try the Sig pellets. Think I will try them in that 1377 that I converted into a long gun with the Discovery components and stock. That gun has turned out to be very accurate. I would just like to do try it to see. Could be good. Could be bad. Never know until I try. So we’ll see.
It bothers me when the wrong people are left to make important descisions. Companies frequently loose sight of the fact that saving a buck might cost them big time!
Prime example…
I had designed a complex multi-layer printed circuit board and had the fabrication quoted by a capable shop. Fifty PCBs were made and assembled and there was an 95% failure rate during testing. When I was examining the boards I noticed that the manufactures logo was not from the shop that I had selected. Seems that the purchasing agent had saved $3 per board by going to another shop.
So the cost of the $150 saving on the PCB purchase was the cost of the failed boards (not repairable); the cost of the components (about $500 per board!); the cost of the assembly; the time lost in testing; and the time lost is attempting repairs.
Because the market window was missed, the customer cancelled the contract (major $$$) and was suing for loss of revenue. Additionally, 2 man-years of engineering development costs were also lost.
The crazy thing was that the $150 was totally insignificant compared to the value of the whole project. Go figure eh?
Saving a couple of bucks on one scope could cost the industry hundreds (thousands??) of dollars if it turns the customer away from airgunning.
**rant off**
Vana,
Good example! I love hearing stories like that.
B.B.
Vana2
Welcome to the world of bean counters running a company instead of the engineers that design the products to work correctly as cheap as possible with reasonable quality and durability being part of the equations.
The years I worked at Harley as a research and development mechanic I saw many a design that we tested to find it was durable and functioned as designed get changed in the final production phase because they could save 5 or 10 cents per part only to find that when released to the public on production vehicles it failed miserably and created huge warranty claims of which the bean counters never see or are required to take into account when they choose to source parts from the cheaper supplier.
One huge cost disaster for Harley was the left side crankshaft bearing that had been a Timken tapered roller bearing set up for 50 years that never failed in those 50 years of use and in 04 Timken raised there price by 10 cents a bearing so Harley decided it would not pay that cost increase and went with a cheaper INA straight roller bearing instead and in testing we had engines that had over .100″ of up and down as well as side to side play that when hot sounded like they had a 8 pound sledge hammer banging away inside the engine. it took 3 years and countless more dollars to refine the bearing roller tolerances to keep the free play under a minimum tolerance so that the engines did not sound like rock tumblers rolling down the road. So that 10 cents per bearing ended up costing in excess of 5 dollars per bearing in design and engineering cost to perfect the design so it would not make any noise when they had a bearing design that had worked for 50 years without fail.
Its the old saying ” if it aint broke don’t fix it” means a lot more than is realized in this day and age and the main reason I buy old used items instead of new when possible since the build quality of the old far exceeds the quality of the new.
BD
Was that during the AMF days?
-Y
Yogi
No that was in 2004 that they had the left main bearing change from a Timken tapered roller bearing to a INA straight roller bearing design.
The AMF days ended in 1982 when Willie Davidson and other share holders bought it back from AMF and was the release of the evolution engine that brought them back from near bankruptcy.
BD
Buldawg76
I have a theory about that active brain situation at night. Seems when you have an analytical mind that thrives on finding solutions to problems your sub conscious tends to create thoughts to keep it active. Retirement is like being placed in a mental deprivation situation. I honestly believe my subconscious is sabotaging my life so I live in a constant state of crisis with all kinds of problems to solve immediately. Problem is I enjoy solving them when I do ! I tend to put a lot of stuff off. May be a widely shared situation with analytical air gunners ?
Always said a Harley foot peg designed for 300 lbs. would hold 600 lbs. If it was made in Japan it would snap at 301 lbs. Those days may be gone…
Bob M
Have you been lying awake at night figuring how to get into my brain and shut it off for me because its not working. I believe you hit the nail on the head ( or should I say on my head ) as that sounds very much like exactly what is happening. I lay down to sleep because I am exhausted but my mind is still solving problems from the day and future ones from the days ahead that I know I will have to deal with and have put off in procrastination for another day.
So how do we stop our minds from sabotaging our thoughts and sleep patterns. Even before I retired I cannot tell you how many cars and bikes I fixed in my sleep or slumber at night that were giving me fits during the day and I would bolt straight up out a dead sleep and know exactly what the problem was and go to work the next day and within minutes have the problem fixed. I think for me know anyway is I don’t have enough problems that seem urgent enough to keep my mind occupied during the day so my mind makes up ones at night to keep me awake. If I could just find that switch to turn everything off it would all be better except then I would forget how to turn it back on. LOL
I am sorry to say but Harley parts are made just about everywhere but the USA anymore and like everything else merely assembled here in this age of outsourcing to suppliers worldwide. There is more Japanese and Chinese parts on a Harley than you really want to know about.
BD
BD76
I hear ya, I keep telling everyone I’m thinking a year in advance on everything, especially when I’m caught not paying attention. It’s not a bad way to be, made me somewhat successful, but leads to living a life somewhat off the wall… I hoard all kinds of ‘Good Stuff’ that I may need to use …Some day. Others ask themselves, Do I need this?, No, and throw it out. I ask myself, Could I possibly use this in the future? Yes, and keep it. They say it’s border line Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and I reply Yes, that’s what caused me to hoard money too.
My solution… get the best recliner, a warm comforter and watch TV till you pass out. Just remember to set your TV ‘inactivity’ timer to a reasonable time ! Otherwise try concentrating on something pleasurable when you close your eyes. You should just drop off. Keeps wild thoughts from creeping in.
BB…seems the stones are ‘mostly’ caused by a lack of sufficient fluids passing through. I’ll have to add that to the list of symptoms #14 of Chronic Dehydration 😉
Bob M
Bob M
I think we are related as I am borderline OCD with keeping things that I might need one day and always have ever since years ago I used to do the same ” do I need it , no throw it out thing ” until when fixing one of my old hot rods I needed a particular part I knew I had but was unable to find it only to realize I had thrown it away two week prior to that day it was needed.
After that day I have had the phobia that if I throw it away I will need it in two weeks or less and so my OCD with not being able to throw anything away began and has stuck with me ever since. But to my defense it has saved me a good bit of money and made me some as well over the years by having the part I need to fix that special item I hung onto all these years or provide a friend with that part that is no longer in production for their prize baby.
I have old dirt bike and Chevy parts still that to a collector trying to restore a bike or car back to numbers matching original condition vehicle are priceless since yes they can be bought as reproduction items but they will not have the original production numbers stamped into them that makes the difference between a 6 or 7 on a car restoration experts check sheet or a perfect 10 since every part has the correct numbers stamped onto it like it did when it left the factory.
I try the recliner, comforter and TV trick but I can get a quick cat nap that way but its inevitably short lived since my arthritis does not allow me to remain still and pain free for any length of time so just as I get comfortablely asleep my joints remind me that ” A body in motion tends to stay in motion and a body at rest tends to hurt like the dickens if at rest to long “.
The price I pay for living on the edge for so many years on my dirt bikes when I was still ten feet tall and invincible. LOL.
I would not change a thing though as it was the best times of my life and enjoyed every day like it was my last since most days I truly thought it may be just that living on the edge the way I did.
BD
BD
Would enjoy sharing ‘motorbike’ stories, have a 68, 650 BSA & 71 Harley FL but I think we used enough off topic blog space already. Might try one of those ‘heated’ pads you lay on with built in remote programmable massage patterns. They are a few feet long, fairly thick, and may be a little hard to find, but it put me in 7th heaven when my back was out for a week.
Bob M
Bob M
Yea we could take up a whole page here and I have my old 74 Yamaha SC 500 dirt bike still, a 77 KZ 1000 street legal 9.5 second quarter mile drag bike, a 76 FXE shovel that will outrun Evo’s and Twin Cammers all day long.
The heated pad would work if I could lay in the freezer otherwise I would be ringing wet with sweat so any heated blanket or pad is not an option for me since I generally sleep without covers at al or I sweat to bad to sleep. Its a no win situation for me with heating pads, now ice works well but then it melts and you have to get up for more ice.
BD
Vana2,
Good comment. The very fact that they ARE adjustable, if not glued,……. it would seem they would adjust them to a closer focal point. Say,….. 10-25yds. I will be trying it on mine. IF it works, I will be happy and REAL mad at the same time. Well,…. not real mad, but you know what I mean. I imagine they are turned in a fixed # of turns, even jigged with a stop. Another 2 turns and the end customer would have something that they could actually use.
**rant off** 😉
I found Parts 1 & 2 of the pellet oiling series, but it feels like there was supposed to be more. Maybe it didn’t get written. Maybe I just can’t find it?
/blog//?s=oiling+pellets&btnGo=
Thanks, BB! Hope you’re feeling better!
Motorman
Motorman,
It looks like those are the only two parts I ever did. Maybe I need to look at doing more. I said I intended to.
B.B.
Not related to this particular topic today, but I have a question regarding 10 meter sporter air rifle. I took my daisy 953 and put an 853 barrel and 887 receiver (single load) into it. I am trying to make it a legitimate entry level sporter 10 meter gun. I have done the pilkington trigger mod and the trigger breaks at exactly 1.6 lbs with great consistency. I was wondering what the better competitors are doing to their rifles that doesn’t violate the rules. I assume they add a lot of weight since my gun is only 6 lbs. Do they fill the stock, or add most of the weight to the barrel? If so, how are they adding it? I have the 953 weight that is the same as the 753 barrel weight. Also, what is a decent score for a new 10 meter sporter shooter? My 10 meter pistol scores started in the 480’s the first time I shot 60 shots for score, and went into the 500-510 range after a couple of months of practice. My first run with the rifle was a 454. Are scores for pistol and rifle fairly comparable? Am I just a better pistol shot than with a rifle. By the way, both guns are capable of shooting much better than my scores. From a rest, the Daisy will shoot a 0.133″ c-t-c group, and the gamo compact will shoot 0.23″ at 10 meters with a scope. I am impressed with both guns for the money. Now I just need to learn how to shoot them. 🙂
DMTT,
You asked a lot of good questions. Sorry no reply. I am not a competitive shooter. Please come back and ask again. Maybe a few at a time. There is a bunch of good stuff here, and people,… including those that have shot in competition.
Your comment was on my mind the last couple of days,…. so I checked back.
Chris
An airgun scope that can’t operate within 25 yards is worthless. Thank goodness for Leapers scopes that adjust to 5 yards distance.
Matt61
Matt61
You know the Hawke scopes will get in pretty close as long as you turn the magnification down.
My Hawke scopes will still work down to about 8 yards as long as I have the magnification set at 3 power.
Oh yea and I do have a Bugbuster scope that is a Leapers if I remember right. It’s pretty equal to the Hawke scope. Ok maybe I can get up to 4 magnification with the Bugbuster at 8 yards verses the 3 magnification with the Hawke.
But the trick to shooting in close is turn your magnification down. You will be surprised how clear your scope is. Oh and of course if your scope has adjustable parallax. That does make the Leapers and the Hawke work nice. And the lower magnification allows you to see more of your target too or feild of veiw. And also at longer distances with low magnification. Lot of ways to use a scope if you start messing around with them too see. And no pun intended. 🙂
Buldawg 76
You mailed it in “hoarding.” i have lots of old electronic parts and books from the tube era. People keep telling me to clean out that junk but some of it’s irreplacacable or would be very expensive if you could find it. In my spare bedroom i have probably the best collection of books on vacuum tubes in the state, many thrown out by public and college libraries. Why should i toss it? The tragedy is it will all be landfilled when i go and a lot of knowledge will be lost. Now people are starting to appreciate how good tube amplifiers sound…..oh well, that’s progress
Fido3030
Fido
My dad was a TV repairman and I used to help him by using his tube tester to check them out. I still have an AM/FM wood Magnavox table top radio…someplace !
I believe there are some specialty shops that deal in tubes, and there must be some radio museum someplace that would love to take your collection off your hands. I’m trying to pic a future year when I should unload some of my collections the kids don’t want…including airguns.
Had a big garage full of muscle car parts that I kept holding on to for years. Finally got rid of them some time back.
Definitely made some muscle car people happy when I sold them. Can’t even begin to recall all the make and models and type of parts I had.
Sometimes you just got to let go.
GF
Glad you broke free. I think my desire to keep stuff started when I returned home from an overseas tour of duty and found my mother got rid of everything I owned figuring I was never returning again to live there. She was always totally free from clutter, and never touched a tool.
The only thing she kept of mine was my Daisy 1894 and Plainsman pistol….and my step brothers had left the 1894 broken ! They probably kept her from getting rid of them. Years ago I decided to repair it and ordered the new ( discontinued ) ‘wood stock’ version of it but the parts I needed were not there. I eventually found a parts source, fixed it, and actually converted the new version 1894 to original model operation. I believe it renewed my interest in airguns. That and moving to the country. Still have it an two more.
The other thing was having to let go of my custom BSA motorcycle I rode all over England and Florida for years. My first bike. Needed the money to start a family.
I regret that decision to this day. ( Not the family part !) I have three like it now but it’s not ‘That one’. May try to track it down.
Bob M
I know what you mean about the motorcycle.
Done that with the muscle cars. But did manage to keep messing with them after I got married and had kids. Always had a muscle car around. When I got sick and in the hospital about 7 or so years ago is when things changed for me. Then just kind of let that part of my world go. The muscle cars that is.
But I guess I’m lucky though still. At least I still can air gun shoot. And that’s a good thing. Just ain’t got the time or money to mess with the cars anymore. Plus don’t really feel like crawling around one. All good though. I’m happy with air gunning.
Any chance we could get an article on the Daisy 853 and its role in 10 meter CMP and NRA competition? More people compete in this than all other airgun sports combined so it only follows that there must be a huge audience for this information. I, for one, would like to see what kind of results to expect from an 853 and what techniques and modifications the better competitors are employing. Your series about 10 meter pistol competition drove me to pick up the sport, and I’m loving it, even with my little budget Gamo Compact (which I adore). A similar series for 10 meter rifle would be amazing.
I just want to say that I am inspired by your tremendous efforts in this blog (that’s really become a forum as well) and your contribution to airgunning and shooting sports in general. Your exhaustive attention to detail and your researching, testing, exploring, and sharing of all things airgun is a great gift to us all. When I request a particular subject, I hope you see that it is not because I greedily want information instead of searching for myself, but instead I request it because I have come to trust your knowledge and I feel that you are my go-to guy for well-written and thoughtfully researched information. Thanks for all that you do. It can’t be said enough.
DMTT,
I was shocked to discover that I have never formally reviewed the Daisy 853! I felt sure I had done a full review on it, but I can’t find it.
It will go on my list.
B.B.
DMTT,
Way to go,…. you got on the “list”. For quicker answers, post questions on the daily blog. Weekends (Friday) are best as you have 3 days to get responses. There is people here that have shot competitively and can give you enough info. to keep you busy for a long time.
Good luck, Chris
I have a different Hatsan rifle so i cant speak to the mod 85. I quite like mine but should also state that I have done quite a bit of tinkering with it. If i had to judge air rifles based on out of box experience my opinion in the last 10 years or so would be dismal for the most part due to triggers. I have had 2 of the Hatsan scopes and both failed and i can say with confidence they are the worst scopes i have ever encountered. The first one would not adjust and felt as if it was binding up somehow and the second one just worked erratically not holding zero until it failed and went 100% right with the adjustment no longer having any effect and i was using good UTG rings in both cases. Rather than drift into my usual rant about the industry i have a love hate thing going on with Hatsan, Crosman & Gamo, but without a doubt the Hatsan 3-9×32 scopes are the worst and the most frustrating aspect is that the glass looked pretty good.