John E
Member Extraordinaire
Took the 1907 BSA down the range for the first time today , the idea was to test it with a variety of pellets at 10m
and 20yards . Unfortunately the range was busier than expected so I was really pellet test and keep going downrange to change targets , just not fair to the other chaps .
It was however a very interesting shoot and great fun .
First 5 shots at 10m with Air arms Diablo Match , seated and rested at a 5 1/2 inch target , 6'oclock hold looked like this ;
Pretty happy with that and it looks like the barrel is capable of great precision .
The lighting was poor at the 10m target so went straight out to 20 yards with a 6 1/2 ich target and the same AADM pellets . Based on BSA trajectory info and the lower power of this rifle ( probably only 400- 450 fps) I opted for the bottom of the page as an aim point , it grouped quite well with the limiting factor the old git shooting it ;
For the next 5 shots I kept the same aim point and tried JSB RS 7.33gr , I also opted to shoot with my glasses on , this means I has a better view of the target but both the front and rearsight become less sharp . The result was quite surprising ;
Clearly the 117 year old rifle is indeed capable of great precision and that group surprised the other down the range . Naturally others wanted a go and together with it being busy today that was the end of the pellet testing .
I need to spend more time figuring out the glasses situation , that is not the first time I have shot better at distance with them on and that shouldnt be the case , the traditional view should be with the clear front sight . I also need to factor in how much was the glasses and how much was the pellet change .
I also need to figure out if I am comfortable with the low aim point . I was unaware this isnt the original rearsight (3rd type ), its from a rifle years later and as it is I dont have enough adjustment to have a 6'oclock hold , let alone if I wanted to use it point of aim , the BSA trajectory figures suggest the rifle is zerod for around 50 yards , but that doesnt factor in the lower velocity , either way the adjustment is not enough to lower the POI . Changing the rearsight wont impact on the precision of the rifle , but it may help with accuracy in terms hitting the bull . Unfortunately a rearsight would be costly . The BSA trajectory figures would suggest that
The other question is , do I buy another spring to get the power to where it should be ? At the moment this rifle shoots very sweetly , not twang and very little recoil . The trigger is great and its a delight to shoot and capable of precision . Having more power may negatively impact on the precision and accuracy and make the rifle less pleasant to shoot . It would seem logical to try it because it would be no great loos to change back to the current spring . Given the rifle is just for target shooting its tempting to leave it as is , would a more powerful spring put more stress on other areas of the old girl ?
Such a delight to shoot , great fun for me and the others that try it . I still cant quite believe the rifle and I did a group well under 5p at 20yards and with glasses on .
and 20yards . Unfortunately the range was busier than expected so I was really pellet test and keep going downrange to change targets , just not fair to the other chaps .
It was however a very interesting shoot and great fun .
First 5 shots at 10m with Air arms Diablo Match , seated and rested at a 5 1/2 inch target , 6'oclock hold looked like this ;
Pretty happy with that and it looks like the barrel is capable of great precision .
The lighting was poor at the 10m target so went straight out to 20 yards with a 6 1/2 ich target and the same AADM pellets . Based on BSA trajectory info and the lower power of this rifle ( probably only 400- 450 fps) I opted for the bottom of the page as an aim point , it grouped quite well with the limiting factor the old git shooting it ;
For the next 5 shots I kept the same aim point and tried JSB RS 7.33gr , I also opted to shoot with my glasses on , this means I has a better view of the target but both the front and rearsight become less sharp . The result was quite surprising ;
Clearly the 117 year old rifle is indeed capable of great precision and that group surprised the other down the range . Naturally others wanted a go and together with it being busy today that was the end of the pellet testing .
I need to spend more time figuring out the glasses situation , that is not the first time I have shot better at distance with them on and that shouldnt be the case , the traditional view should be with the clear front sight . I also need to factor in how much was the glasses and how much was the pellet change .
I also need to figure out if I am comfortable with the low aim point . I was unaware this isnt the original rearsight (3rd type ), its from a rifle years later and as it is I dont have enough adjustment to have a 6'oclock hold , let alone if I wanted to use it point of aim , the BSA trajectory figures suggest the rifle is zerod for around 50 yards , but that doesnt factor in the lower velocity , either way the adjustment is not enough to lower the POI . Changing the rearsight wont impact on the precision of the rifle , but it may help with accuracy in terms hitting the bull . Unfortunately a rearsight would be costly . The BSA trajectory figures would suggest that
The other question is , do I buy another spring to get the power to where it should be ? At the moment this rifle shoots very sweetly , not twang and very little recoil . The trigger is great and its a delight to shoot and capable of precision . Having more power may negatively impact on the precision and accuracy and make the rifle less pleasant to shoot . It would seem logical to try it because it would be no great loos to change back to the current spring . Given the rifle is just for target shooting its tempting to leave it as is , would a more powerful spring put more stress on other areas of the old girl ?
Such a delight to shoot , great fun for me and the others that try it . I still cant quite believe the rifle and I did a group well under 5p at 20yards and with glasses on .
Bet he had a lot of fun doing it too . I understand it's more important to seek out the larger head sizes with the .22 ?