Managing Air Rifle Recoil

[nitroex700]

I normally shoot my air rifle over distances more suitable for firearms. My shooting technique is correct afaik, windage & drop assessment is also good.. The biggest challenge I mostly come across is 'managing' the recoil as the slightest amount of disturbance from any hard surface or even slight muzzle bobbing sends shots flying between the sun & the moon!

I usually shoot prone with a small cloth rest, then rest the gun on my palm in arty hold. Gun is shouldered very lightly, grip & trigger is as soft as possible. Every attempt is made to insulate the gun from ground recoil. Most of the time the gun still picks up some disturbance from the ground due to 'recoil nodes' that are generated on contact with any hard surface.

I would like to know what tricks, techniques & contraptions the IFGian airgunners might have evolved to deal with airgun recoil.

Another question is how well an airgun scope will hold up to abuse on the field?
(Since I shoot in natural surroundings, I haul my gun on my bike to the riverside, then drag it through hills & ravines to finally reach my destination...)

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[Basu]

Dear Nitroex,
The place in the foto seems to be on some river bank.
More often than not , the flight path will be affected by flow of wind.
I think , if you fix a scope on your gun then you will surely get more pleasure of shooting.
I donot think , handling the AR in different situation is going to affect scope's life.

Basu

[nitroex700]

My shooting spot normally has winds from 2-3kph to 25-30kph depending on weather. In bad weather long range accuracy obviously goes for a toss as expected. On days with less wind the accuracy can range anything from 2"-8" at 100yds. I mostly use an 8"x8" plywood board covered with newspaper for my target.

I want to get a scope primarily to improve my POA & windage assessment. I guess I would need something like 6x magnification for shooting accurately at that distance. I intend to get a high power scope just so I can increase the zoom & check out the groupings from where I am than having to do a compulsory morning walk every 15mins!

Scope's weight is not much of a problem - since I shoot prone or sitting mostly. What I am concerned about is damaging the scope on the bumpy ride I must take on my bike to reach the spot. I picked the ruggedest Indian gun in market I could find for this very purpose - to survive rough field usage. With those dandy finicky hypersensitive lenses I'm not sure how much banging it can take while being hauled through neelgai tracks on the river side...

The challenge I am facing is the disturbance I keep getting from 'ground recoil' - the gun picks up vibrations even through my palm rested on cloth kept over wood blocks.. This doesn't happen when sitting or standing but then its hard to keep the POA inside a 0.5 MOA area like that! Would you suggest any hacks for the purpose Sir?

[Basu]

"Ground recoil"
I just could not understand this........

Two issues I have seen in scope , too much vibration loosens the objective lens and also cross hair gets tilted one side or the other.
Remedy is , tighten the objective lens holder adequately and glue the skirt of cross hair , let it dry , and then put it back.

Basu

[nitroex700]

Sir by 'Ground recoil' I mean the gun picks up some amount of rebound from the ground below even though I cushion it with some cloth & then rest it on my palm. This throws the muzzle off target as the pellet is travelling through the barrel, limiting long range accuracy.

If wire reticles get dislodged then perhaps I should consider buying etched reticle scope instead?

[Basu]

The gun has to have back and forth movement.
Next to that is lateral movement, it occurs due the main spring and loosening of side screw.
"Ground recoil" as you are referring to.....is generally caused by softness of the support , like pillow , soft cushion etc.
For that reason , sand bags are recommended.
I invite other shooters to put some light in this subject.

Basu

[nitroex700]

The gun has to have back and forth movement.
Next to that is lateral movement, it occurs due the main spring and loosening of side screw.
"Ground recoil" as you are referring to.....is generally caused by softness of the support , like pillow , soft cushion etc.
For that reason , sand bags are recommended.
I invite other shooters to put some light in this subject.

Basu

I'm able to manage the axial recoil fairly well. Lateral recoil due to powerplant or stock is virtually non-existent. Earlier it had a hard trigger which disturbed long range shots but the new one is a beauty, eliminating lateral movement due to hard grip or trigger.

Problem lies in the gun picking up 'ground recoil' when shooting prone. Sandbags would be about the same as my current cloth cushion.. I was thinking of starting a DIY airgun shooting bag thread for this purpose. What kind of bag-filling do you guess would act as the best recoil 'manager' in this case? The needs to have minimal vertical movement & retarded axial recoil during the firing cycle in order to achieve best long range accuracy IMO..