Best sight in range for QB78Deluxe w/LeapersUTG 3-9X32 New Gen.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Okay, I've modified my Mountain Air tuned QB78 Deluxe from Mountain Air in .22 caliber. I added a picatinny rail adapter to the Leapers/UTG 9-9X32 New Gen Compact Scope w/mildot reticle scope I have. This one:

http://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/UTG_3_9x32_AO_Bug_Buster_Rifle_Scope_EZ_TAP_Illumi nated_Mil_Dot_Reticle_1_4_MOA_1_Tube_Weaver_Picati nny_Rings/4721

I've gotten the scope attached to the new rail and am ready to sight it in again, but have a question on my mind. I originally sighted it in at 30 ft/10 yards and got reasonable decent groups with it, at least minute of squirrel. But I've done some research since I first sighted it in related to .22 caliber pellet ballistics, so I want to optimize the zero for the ballistic arc of a .22 caliber pellet in this particular air rifle and the ranges I'm shooting grey squirrels in.

Yes, Granny is still PO'ed about a squirrel zapping one of her tomato plants and she's on the warpath and turning up the heat. The only reason she hasn't taken her CZ 452 youth model with that monster scope she has on it to them is she can't find any .22 shorts/caps to buy and I've hidden the long rifle cartridges from her so she doesn't rile the neighbors. They're lucky, that rifle is deadly accurate and she's a crack shot with it. 10 into a dime at 50 every single time. Time after time.

I'm only shooting in my back yard, which is bordered by woods in the back and neighbors on each side, so the deepest section to the woods is about 45 feet. The vast majority of pest targets (grey squirrels) are appearing on the right hand side of the back yard because there is a tree on that side midway between my neighbors house and mine. They love that tree and whatever nuts it's making. I think the maximum distance I'll be shooting is 60 feet/20 yards based on the situation/backstops/safety/etc. I will not be shooting in my neighbor's house direction. The woods to my rear are pretty thick right now with underbrush, so I doubt I'll shoot into them

What I'm hoping for is you guys have a good idea and suggestions on the best distance to sight in to take advantage of the ballistic arch/scope combination so that at 95% of my engagement ranges, I'm basically aiming dead on with no elevation adjustment. Based on the very short ranges I'm dealing with, I'm thinking this could easily be done assuming I pick the right sight in range.

This will enable me to place the pellet in the kill zone for a humane kill. I prefer a DRT as often as I can get them, realizing squirrels are tough critters.

I'm assuming and please let me know different if I'm wrong that this rifle tuned up should have enough fpe to take down grey squirrels.

Thank you for your help,

Dave

[WILCO]

I sighted in a Crosman Fury .177 at 50'.
At 50yds. it'll shoot point of aim when I do my part.

[rking22]

I'd sight it at 20 yards , your longest distance and it will be pretty flat to about 25 yards. I shoot a similar pellet/velocity an at 22 yards is my zero, but I am not scoped. That will change your trajectory some. It's an air rifle, sight it at 20 then shoot it at 5 yard intervals out to the woods in back. It'll be fun and educational! Then you can modify your zero range as necessary to best fit your needs. They are just plain fun to shoot, more shootin = more fun!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Dave: typically a .22 cal air rifle which is shooting at around 650 fps should be zeroed at 10 yards or meters. The pellet should be back on at 40 yards. This is what my HW77 does.

My R1 is a different story it is dead on at 10 yards and again at 50.

Yours' will do something similar, and the only way to know for sure it to shoot it, but your basic zero should be at 10 yards. Then you shoot it at 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards to see what the trajectory is going to be. There probably won't be any more than a couple of inches high at the midrange so you've got a good chance at connecting with Mr. Squirrel from in your face out to 50 yards.

You have to shoot them in the head! or they just flop around until they find a hole to fall in.

Randy

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I'd sight it at 20 yards , your longest distance and it will be pretty flat to about 25 yards. I shoot a similar pellet/velocity an at 22 yards is my zero, but I am not scoped. That will change your trajectory some. It's an air rifle, sight it at 20 then shoot it at 5 yard intervals out to the woods in back. It'll be fun and educational! Then you can modify your zero range as necessary to best fit your needs. They are just plain fun to shoot, more shootin = more fun! Thank you for this post. I did something very similar to this. I first sighted in at 15 feet, then 30 feet and finally at 60 feet. All I need to do now is to go back and test at the five yard intervals.

Now that I've had a few days to observe the squirrels, the vast majority of my "targets of opportunity" are between 55 and 60 feet, right at the edge of my neighbors yard on the "right" as I'm standing on the back patio facing rearwards. There's a tree between the two of our houses in "no man's land" that produces a small round nut. Not sure what it is, though my wife could identify it. It's not an acorn.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Randy, some answers in the post. You've given me some more real good information.
Dave: typically a .22 cal air rifle which is shooting at around 650 fps should be zeroed at 10 yards or meters. The pellet should be back on at 40 yards. This is what my HW77 does. This rifle has been tuned and I just got a Beta Chrony. With the cartridges that were already in it, it shot a maximum of 670 FPS. I think it could have done better with brand new cartridges. So you HW77 and this rifle may very well have similar ballistics. How much rise over line of sight are you getting in the "middle range" with the HW77?

My R1 is a different story it is dead on at 10 yards and again at 50. Is the R1 a break barrel springer? I'm guessing, as I'm new to air rifles, but this is an area of firearms I'm going to be doing more of. I'm seriously debating buying a large "nitro" (gas) piston break barrel cocker like a Hatsan 125 Sniper Vortex piston or NPSS. I like the simplicity, size and weight. This little CO2 copy of a Crosman 160 is nice, but it's a bit too small and I am having a little trouble with "wandering" sight picture. Partly due to rust shooting and partly due to the rifle is a bit too small/slick for me.

Yours' will do something similar, and the only way to know for sure it to shoot it, but your basic zero should be at 10 yards. Then you shoot it at 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards to see what the trajectory is going to be. There probably won't be any more than a couple of inches high at the midrange so you've got a good chance at connecting with Mr. Squirrel from in your face out to 50 yards. Good information. I've actually zinged a couple since I first posted this.

You have to shoot them in the head! or they just flop around until they find a hole to fall in. I"ve noticed that. I'm beginning to think I'd like a larger caliber (.25) and the highest velocity I can get. I much prefer DRT as often as I can get it. When I was younger and hunted squirrels with a .22 cal. powder rifle, a head shot with shorts or a "just behind the shoulder" heart/lung shot with longs is all I would take. Most squirrels didn't go very far, as in anchored. I hated chasing a wounded/dying squirrel back then in the woods and at my age and physical shape after 2 1/2 years of taking care of my dying father, I'm just not able to chase them very far. Too fat and slow.:/

Randy

[DougGuy]

My yard from my back door is 47'6" or 16yds across. That's the longest shot. I purposely chose a Leaper's scope with AO adjustable down to 10yds. I sighted in at 16yds, and then sighted in again shooting the target from a window which is closer, and I needed 5/8" hold-over at the closer distance, which is correct because the pellet is still underneath the line of sight.

When you sight one in for multiple distances, you have the pellet underneath the line of sight at short distance, then it's arc carries it above the line of sight at a longer distance, then it is dead on again at an even farther distance, and farther out than that, it keeps dropping farther and farther below the line of sight. You would either hold over or hold under depending on the distance to your target, *unless* the distance is one of the two that the pellet is crossing line of sight, in which case you would hold dead on with no compensation.

The way you describe your most likely shots, they are in your back yard at one given distance, so I would say to zero the scope on a target at that distance and call it good *unless and until* you take the gun out of the back yard and will be shooting at longer distances. If you have to shoot a shorter distance, then put up a target and see how much lower the pellets strike, and you would then compensate with this much hold-over for a closer shot than what you are zeroed at.

Right now, I have a bait station set up at night, 12 yards, and have sighted in on a target at that distance so I have no compensation needed. When I draw down on a critter, it's going to hit within 1/2" at that distance, and I need to be concentrating on my stance, breathing, and steadying the crosshairs, not how much compensation I need to figure in.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

DougGuy,

Thank you for that information. I was starting to think along those lines when you posted that. By chance have you ever been to Nahunta, NC?

Dave

[DougGuy]

As a matter of fact, I -have- been to Nahunta! I have been to the Daffodil Festival in Fremont (lol) and to the pork center in Nahunta as well as making some Valentine's Day deliveries on some of the back roads in the area.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

As a matter of fact, I -have- been to Nahunta! I have been to the Daffodil Festival in Fremont (lol) and to the pork center in Nahunta as well as making some Valentine's Day deliveries on some of the back roads in the area.

I used to coach little league baseball at the Nahunta field when my son played little league and lived near there. I worked in Fremont at the old TV repair shop there when going to Technical College at Wayne Community College.

Next time you're in Fremont, there's a gas station grill heading out of town on 117 towards Wilson. If you're there in the morning, they serve some of the best country ham and other biscuits I've ever tasted. Tall, fluffy and their cheese biscuits are stuffed with cheddar cheese from a cheese wheel and then baked. The biscuits are huge and so if you buy one, that will be enough for a grown man unless he's working in the field. I used to get their country ham, cheese and egg biscuit. They are to die for.:redneck:

[DougGuy]

I have eaten at that station many times! GOOD country cooking and LOTS of it on the plate!

I was seeing a girl who ran a florist shop in Fremont for a while so I hung out there quite a bit. I did a lot of her deliveries to residents all around there, from Goldsboro to Wilson, Nahunta, all the outlying areas and all the funeral homes in the area. There was another local place right in town across the street from her shop, Capitol Cafe it might have been called, but they had seafood on Fridays, it was to die for, and all the locals knew it! Had to wait in line to get fed there on Friday but oh so worth the wait!

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Doug, in red in the quote:

I have eaten at that station many times! GOOD country cooking and LOTS of it on the plate! Small world, isn't it? I wish I could get a biscuit from there now.

I was seeing a girl who ran a florist shop in Fremont for a while so I hung out there quite a bit. I did a lot of her deliveries to residents all around there, from Goldsboro to Wilson, Nahunta, all the outlying areas and all the funeral homes in the area. There was another local place right in town across the street from her shop, Capitol Cafe it might have been called, but they had seafood on Fridays, it was to die for, and all the locals knew it! Had to wait in line to get fed there on Friday but oh so worth the wait! My Father, son and I used to eat there all the time on Fridays. Son and I ate there other days, but Dad, he just liked the shrimp and fish. Good tea, good service and good people. Last times I ate there, I saw half the little league coaches I used to coach with and against in the area. We played Fremont quite a bit and they were about half of our all star team.

That's a good town to run around in. Not sure if I'd want to live there or not though.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Dave: My favorite Uncle taught me to shoot ground squirrels when I was 8 or 9 years old. I had to rest the rifle on the window sill of his 1952 Nash, because I couldn't hold the gun up.

First order of business was shoot'em in the head.

He worked on an oil lease near Ventura CA and they had several dumps on the property that were infested with Dirt Rats and Field Rats. We had literally hundreds of targets and after you shot a few they all would hole up. 10 minutes later they were back out, and the shooting resumed.

WE had one Saturday when several guys showed up at one dump and we shot so many we got tired of doing it. I was 9 or 10 at that time and by the time we were done that day I had shot up 2 boxes of ammo thru the Uncles prized Mossberg Bolt Action Rifle. After about 25 shots I hit every single shot afterwards. More than a few got missed head shots and the result was always the same. They would flop around until they found a hole to fall into, unless you got a second shot in them and anchored them.

I bet we shot 300 squirrels and rats that day between us.

The Coyotes and Bobcats ate well that weekend !

One of the best times of my life!

Randy

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Randy,

Now that sounds like some real fun. I used to shoot rats for my grandfather down on a dump/mulch pile he had at the back of the farm. It's good practice for sure at hitting moving targets. I never could get enough of it though.

Dave