Rick Rehm got into the 100-yard Benchrest finals with an out-of-the-box RAW Mini Hunter.
This report covers:
- Adjustments
- Hunter
- Lightweight
- What does he wish was different?
- Right out of the box
- BB — get to work!
- Summary
Today’s report is about trick shooter Rick Rehm (shooter1721) who took a .25-caliber Raw Mini Hunter out of the box and made the 100-yard Benchrest finals at the 2024 Northeast Airgun Classic. To make it into the finals is an achievement. To make it into the finals with a .25 caliber air rifle is even better. To make it into the finals with a factory-standard rifle you took out of the box a week before the match is unheard of!
I interviewed Rick at the 2024 Pyramyd AIR Cup and was floored by what he told me. He actually took the RAW Mini Hunter out of the box, put on a scope, moderator and bipod and competed in a 100-yard Benchrest match with no modifications or even adjustments to the rifle!
Adjustments
I specifically asked Rick about the adjustments on his MiniHunter. From the 6-part series I have written about the MicroHunter we know that the hammer spring has some potential for adjustment plus the BarkStripper air stripper adjusts a little. But Rick told me he did nothing to his rifle but sight it in.
He did discover that the hammer spring can boost the velocity 10-15 f.p.s. but he didn’t do that. He shot 33.95-grain JSB Exact King Heavy Mark II pellets at 825 f.p.s. The velocity varied from 821 to 825 f.p.s. He had an FX chronograph on the bench and saw a standard deviation of 1.0 across 30 shots. He told me that he got six 5-shot groups, each measuring a half-inch or less between centers at 100 yards from a single fill of the 210cc air tank. He did all that with the rifle that you see in the picture above.
Rick Rehm’s 100-yard scorecard from the 2024 Northeast Airgun Challenge.
And that is a group on his sighter target at 100 yards.
Hunter
Rick is a hunter. He wanted to see just how well a hunting rifle could do in a 100-yard benchrest match when competing against the world’s best shooters who all shot the finest benchrest rifles available. Those rifles were tuned to perfection and their shooters had learned their fine points over months of practice. Rick just opened a box, mounted a scope and went to work.
The Mini Hunter is made for hunters. It’s not a benchrest rifle in any sense of the term. And .25 caliber is considered on the small side for 100-yard matches. Yet in Rick’s hands the lightweight little carbine shone like gold.
Lightweight
Competition benchrest air rifles are large and heavy. In fact, the heavier the better. They can reach 14 pounds with all their additional equipment. Nobody cares though because they are only shot from a solid bench. The Mini Hunter weighs 7.8 pounds and is only 34-inches long. Compared to the large benchrest rifles, this one is a derringer! It’s perfect for the hunter to carry in the field but it was not made to shoot off a bench. But it can. And it can beat other air rifles that are purpose-built to do just that one thing.
What does he like best?
Rick likes the Mini Hunter’s accuracy best. He said it’s number one. After that he likes the rifle’s light weight and the trigger. He never adjusted the trigger — just shot it as it came from the box.
What does he wish was different?
When asked what he wished was different he struggled with the question. He said the Mini Hunter shoots so well he really would not change a thing. Once sighted in he took it to three different matches and the zero never changed. I asked about the rifle’s pull because Rick is a big man. He said it fit him perfectly, and he has the scores to prove it. He now has about 6,000 rounds on his rifle and has only good things to say about it.
Right out of the box
Rick is impressed that the Mini Hunter can do so well right out of the box. He went to the Northeast Airgun Classic competition knowing he was up against the best in the world. He wanted to see how this little guy could do against them. And he did!
BB — get to work!
In researching this report I see that my last report on the .22-caliber MicroHunter I’m testing was almost a year ago. I never mounted the more powerful scope I had intended. It’s now time for me to do that.
Summary
This week we have looked at the finest airgun shooters in the world. We have discovered that there is an equipment race underway, but it still takes a top shooter to win. In this report Rick Rehm has shown us just how true that is!
Tom,
What a statement! “Rick just opened a box, mounted a scope and went to work.” A week of practice and the competitions and he already has nearly 6,000 rounds through it already? That’s a lot compressed in a week!
Siraniko
Siraniko,
We are in September. The Northeast Airgun Classic was in April of this year. I guess I should have said that. Rick didn’t shoot 6,000 pellets in a week. He shot them over 6 MONTHS.
BB
That is still a lotta pellets! Very impressed by both rifle and shooter; a PCP so accurate even FM might hit something with it at 100 yards.
Once upon a time I had an HM1000X here at RRHFWA. Rick and BB are right. It is boringly accurate. You really have to try to miss.
When I first shot mine, I pulled it out of the box, mounted a Hawke 2-7X32 IR AO scope on it, shot about two magazines to zero it and familiarize myself with it and then put five shots in one inch at one hundred yards.
Martin Rutterford knows what he is doing with these things. If you can afford one, I would recommend you owning one. I am not saying Rick is not an excellent shot. He most definitely is. He also knows a good thing when he sees it.
B.B.
Well I guess not all PCP’s are fiddly?
-Y
Yogi,
Some days (hours) aren’t as WINDY as others¿
shootski
Congratulations to Rick, well done!
It does appear that Rick added the palm rest to the bottom of the grip (I don’t see one on the photos of the rifle on product page). I plan to look for one of the palm rests for myself.
Also, it appears that there is an adjustment knob on the cheek rest that would interfere with a left-handed shooter. Is it possible that that knob could be relocated to the other side for a left-handed shooter?
Elmer,
This rifle accepts AR-15 grips, so anything that fits them also fits the Mini Hunter.
BB
Thanks!
Elmer Fudd,
The shelf (typically only used by target pistol shooters) is a good way to quickly get your hand back in the same spot on the grip on a rifle in my opinion. Of course you could also use the RAW Mini Hunter as a pistol with the collapsible stock removed or replaced by a wrist brace.
Looks like he added a level to the scope as well; at least i think that’s what the blurred green glow is from.
shootski
PS: the cocking lever can be installed on either side if i remember Tom’s blog correctly.
Yes, Shootski, there is an adjustable palm shelf on the Baikal 46M pistol that I have. Once it is adjusted for one’s hand size it definitely helps with obtaining consistent grip and trigger squeeze.
Thanks for pointing out the apparent level on the scope. I saw that but it didn’t register in my brain that it might be a level. Just from what we can see in the photo, it appears that perhaps it can be seen at the top of the scope when looking through the scope. I wonder if BB got any information on that scope.
On second look, it appears the level is out to the side of the scope. Perhaps it is built in to the mounting ring? My mistake, please disregard the above remarks about it perhaps being built in to the scope itself.
I can add to that as well. I had an HM1000x, full length chassis model, built by Martin Rutterford. RIght out of the box, I took it to the range and sighted it in. A week later, shot in a 100 yard BR match and came in third. Oh, did I mention that this is in .177 caliber? Most other shooters were using .22 or .30 cal rifles and our scores were only a few points from each other.
jps2486,
That is some impressive shooting in .177 caliber; regardless of the platform and who built it. I’m going to guess it was shot outdoors as well which makes it all the more remarkable.
shootski
I have more targets just like this. This rifle is awesome. I’m shooting Zan 13.4 gr slugs at 1010 fps. It isn’t affected by the wind as much as I expected. Yes, it was shot outdoors.
jps2486,
I suspected hollow point bullets (slugs) since they typically leave a very distinctive halo of Lead and sharp edged hole.
So far the only airgun i have shot .177 hollow points from is my SIG SSG ASP20 out to 50. I need to see if my Discovery will shoot them well.
Most of my other bullet (slug) shooting has been With .25 up to .58 caliber.
Enjoy!
shootski
B.B.,
Impressive.
Rick Rehm’s rifle looks way different than your’s.
It looks like, at a minimum, the barrel or shroud is changed in the RAW link: https://www.rapidairworx.com/product-p/r-mi-25-a-rh.htm
It also appears to only be available (for now/currently) in .25 caliber.
shootski
PS: the Micro and the Mini Hunter also have different breeches (Receivers) so are they actually substantially different builds? Very confusing for me.
How about the rest of you readers?
You are correct that Rick is shooting a RAW Mini and that is different than a RAW Micro Hunter. The RAW Mini uses an HM1000X action with a 15″ barrel. The RAW Micro uses an HM1000 action with an 8.5″ barrel and an integral shroud and air stripper. Both of these airguns are almost like the full-size RAW airguns in that they use the same action, trigger, regulator, bottle, and aluminum chassis, but they are different in that they use a shorter barrel. That’s the only real difference.
Cloud 9,
I laughed out loud…
“…but they are different in that they use a shorter barrel. That’s the only real difference.” Depending on twist rate 8.5″ vs 15″ might not matter at shorter ranges but getting under on revolution in the barrel might have some effect on the longer range precision.
I realize that observation opens up a Can of Worms debate potentially.
Thank you for the information on build delta!
shootski
These have the same twist rate. 1:17.7
Southeastern USA Readership,
Hopefully all of you and your loved ones are safe in the aftermath of the Helene Hurricane.
I hope not all too many irreplaceable airguns were lost to the destruction but sadly we all know at least a few were probably lost.
If you were directly impacted may the recovery be a smooth and quick one.
shootski
BB,
Wow! This is a case where the man is as impressive as the gun…way cool! 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
Hope the storm did not mess you up too much, Dave. We have friends and family who’ve been affected as far N as North Carolina – fortunately no one hurt that we know of; as for loss of property, this can always be replaced, to some extent, on our “rock” – not so with people. Hope any in this group on the path of that wind are ok.
Thanks, FM; we were scheduled to get hit hard, but the storm jogged to the East of us, which put us on the West side, where the wind velocity is less, thank God! 🙂
Dave,
Lucky here for the same reason, it turned away from us. We got a ton of rain but not much wind which was very good. The latest says that 60+ folks were killed by the storm, not a good thing.
Mike
Mike, yes, this was a bad one! You and I were blessed not to be hit with the worst of it!