The Gauntlet 2 precharged rifle from Umarex.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Meopta MeoPro Optika5 2-10X42-PA: Part 1
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
This report covers:
- The test
- The pellets
- Meopta scope
- JSB Exact King Heavy
- JSB Exact King Heavy Mk II
- The Benjamin dome
- What these tests tell us
- Still to come
- Summary
Today I test the .25-caliber Umarex Gauntlet 2 precharged pneumatic rifle for accuracy at 25 yards with the single shot tray. Let’s get started.
The test
I shot indoors from a benchrest at 25 yards. The rifle rested directly on the sandbag. I shot 10-shot groups and loaded all pellets using the single shot tray.
I tested three different pellets today. Since there aren’t as many .25 caliber pellets available, I decided to check something out. I’ll tell you about it as we go.
The trigger still pings before it breaks and that lets me know when the shot is ready to go. I am getting to like that “feature” very much.
The pellets
Last time when I tested this rifle for accuracy at 25 yards it was with JSB Exact King Heavy pellets, Predator Polymag pellets and Benjamin domes. I shot 8-shot groups because that’s how many pellets fit into the rotary magazine.Today I shot 10-shot groups because I was loading each pellet singly.
I decided not to shoot the Predator Polymags today because in the last test they finished last by a large margin. Instead I shot 10 JSB Exact King Heavy Mk II pellets. I wanted to see if there was a noticeable difference between them and the regular King Heavys like I saw in the test of the RAW HM1000X, when I shot the .22 caliber JSB Monster Resdesigned pellets, as opposed to the regular .22-caliber Monster pellets.
This is the tin of King Heavy MkII pellets. The Pyramyd AIR website doesn’t show this image (with the MKII on the label) — though they do list and sell these pellets.
Meopta scope
I have scoped the Gauntlet 2 with my Meopta MeoPro Optika5 2-10X42-PA scope. Even though it tops out at 10 power I can still see the dot in the center of the reticle against the 10-dot on the 10-meter target. I will be able to use this scope at 50 yards with no problem!
JSB Exact King Heavy
First to be tested were JSB Exact King Heavy pellets. I didn’t bother to sight in because the scope was still on target from the last test at 25 yards. Remember — I am purposely not trying to hit the center of the bull so my aim point is preserved! The scope is adjusted that way.
This time loading with the single-shot tray the Gauntlet 2 put 10 King Heavys into exactly 0.40-inches at 25 yards. In Part 5, shooting from the rotary magazine the Gauntlet 2 put 8 of the same pellets into 0.468-inches. One test is not conclusive, but it seems to me that today the single shot tray won out.
The Gauntlet 2 put 10 JSB Exact King Heavy pellets into a 0.40-inch group at 25 yards!
JSB Exact King Heavy Mk II
Now for the big test-within-a-test. I loaded and shot 10 JSB Exact King Heavy Mk II pellets into a 0.52-inch group at 25 yards. Once again, one group in a test doesn’t establish much, even when there are 10 shots in it. But it does indicate that this pellet doesn’t exceed the standard King Heavy pellet in my test Gauntlet.
The Gauntlet 2 put 10 JSB Exact King Heavy Mk II pellets into 0.52-inches at 25 yards.
The Benjamin dome
In the last test with the rotary magazine, the Benjamin dome was the most accurate pellet tested , by a slim margin. Today it was second to the JSB Exact King Heavy, by a somewhat wider margin. Ten of them made a 0.498-inch group at 25 yards.
Ten Benjamin domes went into 0.498-inches at 25 yards.
What these tests tell us
In many of my 25-yard accuracy tests I talk about the smaller 8 or 9-shot group within the 10-shot group. I even did that with this rifle in Part 5 when the rotary magazine was used. But I didn’t do that today. All the pellets went to the same place, pretty much. That tells you a lot about the Gauntlet 2, right there. This is a hunting rifle that puts them where you want them — at least out to 25 yards.
Still to come
I want to do a 50-yard test with this rifle for sure, but I am backed up on 50-yard tests right now. I think I have six or seven others waiting their turn. The problem is if I go out to the range to test at 50 yards there isn’t enough time to write that report for the next day. So I wait for a Friday, and then the Texas weather has to cooperate.
Summary
The Umarex Gauntlet 2 seems to be a very accurate rifle in .25 caliber. I remember the original Gauntlet was also accurate but had the barrel shifting problem that the 2 doesn’t seem to have. Stay tuned for more.
Well,
Good morning, everyone.
BB
BB,
Wouldn’t want to make a comment to push your plate from full to overflowing. How many airguns do you have to test at the 50 yard line?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
6-7?
BB
BB,
I sure hope the weather will cooperate for the weekends so that you can make progress. Can’t rush accuracy.
Siraniko
Siraniko
Been usually windy here this month and cold. Down in the single digits (Fahrenheit).
I can do 15 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit for a bit and even some single digits. But not with wind. I don’t like the wind even if it gets warmer.
I’m here.
Just send me the ST-1 when it comes in. I want it. I will even do the tests for you. I have noticed some intergalactic feral soda cans running amok around here.
RidgeRunner,
Are those the BIG brown hairy one’s? I think those are called Wook-CANS…Lol!
Must be the fever has broken from this Omicron “breakthrough” infection my wife and I have been dealing with (well so far) for the past week
God is good!
.shootski
Knock on this solid walnut kitchen table, Mrs. RR and I have been pretty isolated and so far, have missed out on all of this fun and games. My working from home has been a blessing also. With USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Walmart, yadayadayada. I go “foraging” every couple of days in the local County Seat…
Good morning BB,
I’m impressed. It seems to be a very accurate and powerful airgun. I hope you will do the 50m test. To be honest I would die to see the 100m test. Is it possible BB? I think this piece of machinery deserves it 🙂
tomek,
One-hundred yards is possible, but I am horribly backed up at present.
BB
B.B.,
I’ve heard hot green tea helps.
Michael
Michael,
Thanks for the LOL moment to start my day.
Dan
B.B.,
Re: Horribly backed up
Glad to see and hear that you made it back safe and sound to the cats.
Must assume that you are no longer worried about the number of topics available to keep a blog going forward on airguns?
Kevin,
I think I have topics for the forseeable future. 😉
BB
BB
I know you got a tuff schedule but that’s a bummer that it hinders your blog reports.
Definitely want to see a 50 and 100 yard group with the Gauntlet2 your reporting on today.
That’s OK. Whenever you can work it in.
I already own two PPPCP’s (a Gamo Urban and an Avenger, both in .22). Both are accurate and I am impressed with the better (vs. the Urban) power+accuracy of the Avenger. But you just have to be impressed with a gun like this – 55 FPE, 1.5 MOA at 25 yards, and a huge number of shots on a charge.
Jerry
Have you tried Air Arms 16 grain Diabolo Field pellets in your Urban? Mine competes favorably with my FWB300S at 25 yards. Only the wind factor keeps me from declaring the winner.
Deck
I have not. I have dad good results with JSB 18.13 grain. Will look for some AA’s.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Air Arms pellets are well nigh identical to JSB’s. I have used both brands in an Air Arms Pro-Sport, and I found no discernible dissimilarity in their dimensions and appearance, nor much difference in the accuracy of comparable weights. Both are manufactured in the Czech Republic, and additionally, I seem to remember seeing Tyler Patner refer to them as basicly the same pellet (therefore presumably manufactured by the same company).
Daniel
Daniel,
As I understand it the pellets are very similar, but Air Arms pellets are made on dies they own. JSB makes their pellets.
BB
B.B.
When shooting for group size does an .05 inch make any difference? I would think this is just “statistical noise”, unless one shoots a thousand groups.
How many Meopta scopes do you have? smiling of course…
-Y
Yogi,
You’re right. Five hundredths of an inch is so small it can be measuring error.
I have three Meopta scopes.
BB
Yogi
Seriously that depends on the distance your shooting at. Definitely it makes a difference at 10 yards. Probably not so much at 100 yards. And of course that depends on if your shooting competion or not.
Yea, GF1,
But these are 25 yards targets. Where do sight your guns at?
I sight my springers at 27 yards, do darn close to “perfection/normal/bingo”, call it what you will. FWIW-I call it Bingo.
-Y
Yogi
Some guns I sight at 25 yards and some at 50 yards. It depends on the distances I’m going to shoot a paticular gun.
Yogi,
When the groups get to be mostly one holers (Pinwheels) is when Extreme Spread (ES) fails us. Even though B.B. is shooting 10 shot groups it turns out he is just reporting two data points instead of 10.
As I said that works much of the time and keeps B.B. from having more work/time on target readout.
Standard Deviation (SD) on the other had excels at Pinwheels because it measures every shot and the group’s relationship to the true center of the group.
ES and SD normally are measures of precision. Target scoring is a measure of accuracy.
Note neither ES or SD technique measures relationship to Point Of Aim.
shootski
shootski
I would say that with the winning scores one see in the “big league” of air gunning (olympics and such), accuracy AND precision are equally measurable.
For me, now that my eyes have removed me from competition, making something move,, spinner or can, sometimes the odd dandelion I might see in the yard,, is the only measure I have.
Ed
edlee,
As long as you get joy from what you are doing with your airguns that is all that matters Ed.
I can’t say I dislike skiing out of the range (CLEAN) after dropping all 5, but even when I do penalty laps (for each miss) I find joy in just the fact that at 73 I’m still out there doing something I love.
shootski
BB,
My “solution” for the shooting out the aim-point problem is to use my 8×10 matrix of small (1/2″) bullseye targets and set the POA to the target below the POI target.
This 8×10 is the target that I use when testing pellets or checking my deltas (I measure the delta between POA and POI for my stats).
Rather than shooting 10 pellets at one target and wondering exactly where each pellet went I usually shoot 4 targets with 3 pellets per target.
Hank
Hank
I draw 9 circles on my copy paper and sometimes shoot one shot at each circle. Sometimes more like you do.
And remember when your pesting there are no refrence lines for cant like with the targets you posted.
I like to practice how I’m truly going to shoot.
GF1,
Yeah, practice like you are going to shoot! Good advice, a lot of people forget that.
The accuracy you can get when bench shooting doesn’t apply when you are out in the bush squirrel hunting …unless you brought your bench with you
I practice off-hand and leaning shot most of the time ’cause that’s what I do when hunting/ pesting.
Been using those self-adhesive “reinforcing grommets” that are used to repair pages in loose-leaf binders for targets. They are about 5/8″ diameter with a 1/4″ hole and come is fluorescent colors. Like that they show up well on a cardboard backing. Find them to be convenient as a stick-on aim-point on soda cans as well. My granddaughter gets lazy and shoots at the whole can, having an aim-point to concentrate on fixes that!
Hank
Hank
I have used those stickers.
And when I shoot at cans I always aim for the top or bottom of the can and at the edge of the can. I like to make my cans spin or jump when I hit them. And power to distance makes a difference too. If you get that right it will really send a can flying. Fun stuff.
Vana2,
Hank your target certainly solves the shooting out of the Aim Point issue.
I will point out like most things we try it has the con of stacking measurement errors as we build those groups…the more, the WORSE, potential.
I think we will all eventually go to electroacoustic target traps as their price is continuing to drop even as the accuracy keeps increasing to well beyond skilled manual human target scoring.
shootski
Shootski,
I see tight groups as a “hardware indicator” …gun is well tuned, optics well mounted and pellet are consistent. Tight groups are good but they don’t mean much to me.
When shooting I’m concerned with my technique and how close I can (consistently)
keep my POI to my POA.
On the target sheet I attached, my “target” is actually the white circle in the the dot in the middle of the 1/2″ reference circle… aim small, miss small – right?
Might be weird but I “score” each shot by measuring POA the POI deltas. To determine how well I did for a session I’ll total the deltas and average them.
A fairly typical days’ results in my notes would read: “.25/48/40/bench/date”… .25 average delta, 48 shots, 40 yards, bench rested, on this date.
So a 48 shot group might measure 1/2″ diameter if one shot went north 1/4″ and another south 1/4”. Doesn’t really matter to me as I know that I can keep my POI within 1/4″ of where I’m aiming.
Don’t need an electroacoustic target trap, this works for me
Hank
Hey Hank,
In my best imitation of a Canadian:
You are the exception that makes the rule!
You should give the shooter (concentration skills) at least a minimum of credit for tight groups. Lol!
I agree that you are barking up the right tree with your approach to shooting. CEP is another name for it.
shootski
BB, off subject, but will there be a Texas airgun show this year? Really missed it the last two years.
Oldkid,
I don’t know. I hope so.
BB