Air Venturi Avenge-X classic wood.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
This report covers:
- Big deal!
- Don’t worry
- Filled the rifle
- The test
- Conditioning the bore
- Fill quirk revealed
- EXCEPT — first group
- Adjusted the scope
- Group 2 — day one
- Saturday’s shooting
- What does this prove?
- Summary
Today is Memorial Day in the US. It’s the day we honor the fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who have fallen in service. To those who gave their last full measure of devotion, we salute you!
Today we also find out whether tuning the Air Venturi Avenge-X precharged pneumatic (PCP) rifle for consistent velocity had any effect on the accuracy. I normally don’t run reports back-to-back like this, but since the point of tuning is to improve accuracy I figured this one should be done that way.
As you recall, On Friday I reported about tuning the .177-caliber Avenge-X to get the most consistent velocity. I then selected the Benjamin Bullseye pellet for today’s accuracy test because we already know it is very accurate in this rifle. In Part 6 I shot a 10-shot group that measured 0.271-inches between centers. Now a good five-shot group can be a fluke, which is why shooters shoot many of them. A ten-shot group is extremely unlikely to be good by chance. It’s just as telling as 5 five-shot groups. That has to do with statistics and probability and I have learned over the years that it’s too difficult to explain in print. You either get it or you don’t, so I’m asking you to trust me on this.
Big deal!
Today’s test is a big deal because we already know from Part 6 that the Avenge-X likes this pellet. So, can it do as well or perhaps even better that it did in Part 6, now that the velocity is more consistent? It was tested in Part 6 on High power. Today I’m shooting on Low power. What will that do? I have never tested this rifle with this pellet at 25 yards on Low power.
Don’t worry
Instead of worrying about all the things that are different today, let’s concentrate on what we are trying to do. We are trying to make the Avenge-X more accurate with this pellet. That’s all. The question will be answered when we see if that has been done.
Filled the rifle
Since I had shot the rifle many times after refilling it during Friday’s tuning procedure, I filled it again before starting today’s test. And there is something I need to tell you about the fill that I had noticed on Friday and again today, but let’s wait until we get there.
The test
I shot the rifle from a sandbag rest at 25 yards. I shot 10-shot groups with just one pellet — the 10.5-grain Benjamin Single Die pellet that I call the Benjamin Bullseye. I shot using the single-shot tray because the one .177 rotary magazine I have for this rifle has a slightly misaligned chamber that has thrown the pellet in previous tests. If I did shoot with it the misalignment would eventually correct itself through wear, but I don’t shoot the Avenge-X enough to make that happen and I’m certainly not going to use that magazine today!
Conditioning the bore
Many airgunners believe that a rifled barrel needs to be “conditioned” with several of the same pellets before the best accuracy can be achieved. Well, in Friday’s procedure I shot 88 Bullseyes through the barrel, so I figured it was about as conditioned as it was going to get.
Fill quirk revealed
The rifle was already sighted in for 25 yards, but I handled it a lot on Friday, so I figured I might have to refine the scope setting. That proved to be the case. The pellets were hitting low and to the right of where I aimed. But they were in the black so I didn’t make any adjustments for the first group. And that was a good thing because that quirk about the fill that I mentioned previously revealed itself.
On Friday I discovered that about the first 10 to 12 shots after a fill behaved differently than those that followed. If you look at my test you will see that after I refilled the rifle with air the first several shots were 10-15 f.p.s. faster than they were later. It seemed like the rifle was not handling the fill very well until some shots had gone out.
I also noticed that after the fill the regulator pressure that I had set at 145 bar had now crept up to about 180 bar. I fired two dry-fires and the pressure dropped back to 145 bar on the gauge. What I’m saying is that this rifle needs to be filled to a lower level from now on. I will adjust the RovAir Portable Air Compressor’s shutoff to adjust for that and hopefully things will work out. This is more of a note to myself than it is a test remark — EXCEPT.
EXCEPT — first group
I shot the first group and the first seven pellets all went into a tight hole. It looked like less than a tenth of an inch between centers. Then shot number 8 dropped below and outside the group. It was not a called pull and it looked like it opened the group to the size of the comparison group from Part 6, or even larger. I thought it was just a wild shot but then shots 9 and 10 went into the same hole. Now I had two groups that were side-by-side, or rather one on top of the other. Even with that the widest centers were only 0.311-inches apart.
When the regulator “burped” the Avenge-X put ten pellets into 0.311-inches at 25 yards. The first seven pellets made the top hole and the last three made the bottom.
Adjusted the scope
After seeing this group I adjusted the scope up and to the left. But had my rifle settled down or would it shift the point of impact again? Only a second group would tell.
Group 2 — day one
The second group had no anomalies. Ten shots went into 0.194-inches between centers at 25 yards. That is clearly better than the 0.271-inch group I shot with this pellet in Part 6!
After the reservoir pressure dropped and the regulator settled down, the Avenge-X put ten Benjamin Bullseyes into a 0.194-inch group at 25 yards.
I adjusted the scope up and to the left after seeing where this group was centered. And then I did try to shoot more groups this day (last Friday) but I was worn out and starting to throw fliers. So I stopped and decided to shoot another group the next morning.
Saturday’s shooting
The rifle was still charged enough to shoot several more groups, so I just set up the 25-yard indoor range and resumed my shooting. The first group is okay, but not for an Avenge-X. I threw shots 6 and 7. Six went high right and seven went low right. Even with that the group measures 0.345-inches between centers.
My first group on Saturday has two called pulls — one high right and the other low right. Even with that this group measures 0.311-inches between centers.
After this group I settled down and shot one of the better 25-yard groups I have shot. It’s certainly the best I’ve shot with this rifle. When pellet number two went through the same hole as pellet one I stopped to photograph it for you.
The first two shots of the second group. Will shooting out the aim point bother me?
Then I shot the remaining eight shots. The ten shots at 25 yards are in a group that measures 0.079-inches between centers. That is DEFINITELY smaller than the group shot in part 6! I used the gold dollar coin for comparison because I couldn’t find the silver Chuckram.
The tuned Avenge-X put ten Benjamin Bullseyes into 0.079-inches at 25 yards. I used the gold dollar comparison coin because I couldn’t find the silver Chuckram coin.
What does this prove?
Part 8 and today’s report don’t prove anything. I agree with Steve Scialli that you need to shoot at least 50 yards to determine whether any tune makes your rifle shoot better. However I disagree with using five-shot groups as proof. Five-shot groups are an indication. It takes ten shots to prove the accuracy of the rifle.
What the last two reports do is demonstrate how to tune the Avenge-X and any other PCP that can be tuned.
Could I have done just as well in Part 6 before this tune if I tried harder? Possibly. That’s something that can never be determined. Was today’s last group caused by luck? Maybe. The Avenge-X just makes it easier to get lucky.
Summary
In these nine reports we have learned that the Air Venturi Avenge-X rifle in .177 caliber is accurate, adjustable and gets lots of shots. I’m now finished with the .177 Avenge-X. The next report will be on swapping the barrels to .22-caliber. Then I’ll test the rifle again in that caliber.
“The tuned Avenge-X put ten Benjamin Bullseyes into 0.079-inches at 25 yards.”
BB, that’s some pretty sweet shooting. 🙂
By the way, I just wanted to thank you, and everyone else who served in our military, for your service, and to wish everyone a blessed Memorial Day!
And I want to thank everyone who currently serves, of course!
(I tried to edit that in, but couldn’t get it to take. =>)
Dave,
I like your banner.
Thanks, man; my wife bought that; her high school sweetheart never made it back from Vietnam.
Hence, she is a huge supporter of Memorial Day.
Being a vet, I have never understood so many of the “celebrations” of this day. To me, it is a day of mourning.
I hear you; my wife doesn’t celebrate it so much as she uses it as a day to thank other vets, and that’s how she honors her sweetheart who never came home.
I do understand.
Knew you would *thumbs up*
Very impressive!
With that last group, you know you just convinced Ridgerunner to buy one of these right?
Ian.
Ian,
No, not likely. But others will at least give it serious consideration.
BB
That group is a screamer! Even a robot couldn’t match it.
All gave some and some gave all which is why we are free. Having a strong military and a willingness to use it is the only way to keep it. Thank you and all other veterans current and past.
Deck
Sweet! I have read that consistency is the key to accuracy. So, I would think that consistent velocity should definitely be considered a key part of that key. And this test certainly proves that it is. That is some amazingly great shooting.
P.S. This also shows that the low velocity setting of this rifle is plenty fast enough for great accuracy at 25-yards. It might be interesting to see if this holds true at 50-yards (or if the higher velocity setting is needed for the greater distance). I certainly see what you mean regarding not enough time to fully explore all the variations this rifle is capable of.
Thoughts, prayers, love for all our veterans, past, present and future – may there be no need for the ranks of veterans to increase in future because that will mean world peace has become reality. For the ones who gave it all, this is why we must honor them and never forget – “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
And that is some fine shootin’ with that there (air) rifle-gun, sir! FM salutes it and thanks you for your reports. Now the mission – for FM anyway – becomes “resist enablement, at all costs!” For now…for now.
Despite what others may think, this air rifle is easy for me to resist. That is one very accurate air rifle though. If accuracy was one of the predominant requirements for allowing an airgun to move into RRHFWA, there would most definitely be a reserved spot for this air rifle. That is a most impressive group.
My thanks goes out to those who remember and honor the purpose of today.
Tom,
I believe that is the longest drumroll ever in the history of this blog before revealing the group size of a ten shot group.
I would have thought that Memorial Day would be a holiday for you.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Don’t I wish Memorial Day was a holiday for me! But alas, it’s not.
BB
I, too, want to acknowledge my brothers and sisters who have and are serving. And, I, too, hope that it becomes unnecessary in the future. It doesn’t appear, at present, that mankind has sufficiently taught itself the futility of war, but I still hope.
As to this rifle,, and BB (the enabling is strong with this one), I have to admit that both have been impressive. I am struggling mightily to keep my credit card in my wallet right now.
Ed
B.B. and Readership,
For those who celebrate Memorial Day may it be a true celebration of the Fallen and their lives.
Hand Salute
The Gardens of Stone were peaceful and misty at first light.
shootski
B.B. and Readership,
Airgun Sporting Association HEADLINE NEWS of interest to all:
Ed Schultz – becomes Airgun Sporting Association President/CEO
I wish him a highly successful tenure and expect that he will accomplish great things for our sport.
For those of you who aren’t members what on Earth are you waiting for? Individual membership is only US $25.00!
Are you an Airgun Enthusiast? Or are you just a pretender?
https://airgunsporting.org/membership/
shootski
AIRGUN SPORTING ASSOCIATION – MISSION STATEMENT
The Airgun Sporting Association has been formed as a non-profit business league as described in section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to promote the common business interests of its members.
The mission of the Airgun Sporting Association is to market, promote and serve individuals, companies and corporations involved in the manufacture, importation, wholesale and retail sales and distribution of airguns and related hunting and airgun sport shooting equipment, products, goods and services.
A primary focus of the Association will be the strengthening of relationships between the state wildlife agencies and representatives of the airgun industry. The Association’s work with the state wildlife agencies will target the development of regulations legalizing the use of big bore airguns for big game hunting. Also, the Association will work with state wildlife agencies to help clarify existing airgun regulations for small game hunting.
I’ll be signing up. Hopefully, chipmunks will become fair game with airguns in Pennsylvania.
Roamin Greco,
Chipmunks are covered in Pennsylvania under:
Squirrel Between .17 and .22 caliber — no BB ammunition.
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of Sciuridae, the squirrel family; specifically, they are ground squirrels (Marmotini).
Obviously check current local ordinances and with your local Game Warden (DNR, F&W, Hunting license requirements, etc) for specifics; don’t forget to get and record badge numbers and/or names of the individuals you talk with.
Then go get Alvin!
shootski
In Pennsylvania, “Chipmunks are not classified as a furbearer nor a game animal. In Pennsylvania, chipmunks are a protected mammal.”
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Education/WildlifeNotesIndex/Pages/Chipmunk.aspx
🙁
But there’s this….
Getting Involved – Landowners have a right to protect their property from damages caused by wildlife. With the exception of deer, bear, elk, beaver, bobcat, fisher, wild turkey, migratory birds, threatened species and endangered species, landowners may take action when personal property – other than an agricultural crop – is being destroyed, or when a sick or diseased animal poses a threat to humans, farm animals or pets. Only the property owner or person in charge of the property may take steps to capture or kill wildlife.”
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Pages/NuisanceWildlife.aspx
🙂
Roamin Greco,
Thanks for digging that up.
I guess that is why i always ask the local representative(s) of the controlling organizations and get names and badge numbers.
I would have started from the position that they are squirrel by definition and then been told that Pennsylvania Game Commission (not Federal Law) protects them. I have looked for the written statute(s) but have NOT found the basis in Pennsylvania Law!
Which Commissioner(s) are guilty of the pronouncement of rodent protection for a wildly over represented bunch of squirrels without making it clear in hunting regulations that in Pennsylvania Chipmunks are NOT SQUIRRELS but Protected individuals. Lol!
shootski
PS: My statement that they have better Publicist must hold true in Pennsylvania.
A salute and my thoughts to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice for peace, and by extension to all those who served or are serving our country. Although the idea of peace on earth is a lofty one, a quick view at the world situation will demonstrate that we are not there yet. Until that happens, our men and women in uniform are standing guard. Thank you!.
This is not new. From the 4th century AD (probably taken from much earlier works by Plato): “Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war”.
Henry
Henry_TX,
One of the US Navy Squadrons i flew with had this motto: Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty
Holidays…what are those…
shootski
Wow! What a performance from a fairly affordable air rifle! Congratulations for your shooting. The tune that you clearly explained in the previous blog seems to have improved accuracy by a noticeable margin. I do not know about stretching the distance with a 0.177 – though with this platform it would be worth trying.
As a result of this series you have done it again. I do not need it, but I will get me an Avenge-X. The only thing missing before I place the order is to decide between bullpup, tactical, plastic or wood. Argh!!! Too many choices!
Henry