Range Day, Mixed Feelings

Well, I finally got out to the range again last Saturday (May 24, 2014) and I must report that I have mixed feelings about the results.

Long story short: the Hatsan performed great, for the first 25 shots or so, then it became incredibly hard to cock. I suspect a broken or cracked mainspring.

The Diana P5 performed great, no spring issues, however, I noticed that at the end of the cocking cycle, the automatic safety failed to engage about 7 times out of 10.

Both guns have been returned to the gunsmith, and I hope to have them back soon. Hopefully, both repairs will be quick and easy.

But in the meantime, let's look at the visuals from Saturday's shooting fest:

This is what I had in the Hatsan.

This is what I had in the Diana.

Saturday's Fresh Target.

The view from the bench at 10 meters.

The Hatsan started out great; I began by trying to sight in the new red dot at a distance of 10 meters. I shot groups of 5 from a bench rest. This Tru Glo 2x Mag red dot scope was awesome! I really enjoyed shooting it.

First 3 shots were high, so I adjusted down for the last two.

After shooting those 5 shots, I taped the hole so that I could re-use the aim point.

Another decent grouping.

Again, covered up for re-use.

Quite an improvement on the second try.

Again, I was really happy with the second time around.

Even those 3 shots that were high had a good grouping, measuring 1 inch.

Worst group of the day, at the center of the target. Measurement: 1 and 2/16 inches.

Best group of the day; if you measure true center to true center (A-B) it's 7/16 of an inch. If you
measure between outer edges (1-2) it's half an inch. Either way, an excellent performance.

At this point, the Hatsan become really difficult to cock; I was in the middle of a 5-shot group, and the first two shots were great. But shots 3, 4, and 5 were WAY off. After this occurrence, I put the Hatsan down for the day, and switched to the Diana.

Shots 1 and 2 were SPOT ON. Shots 3, 4, and 5: Not so much.

The first thing I did with the Diana was a little 10 meter sighting-in with the new (1x Mag) red dot. Here are the results: (5-shot groups)

Not bad for a first attempt.

Let's cover 'em up, make some adjustments, and try again.

Not bad at all! This was the best group of the day for the Diana.

I had intended to shoot some of the Ed Canoles targets, but my printer ran out of ink, and I was unable to print them. So I drew my own version on a sheet of graph paper. I call them my "Quasi-Canoles" targets.I drew them with a fine-tip pen (the only thing I had available at the time) and they ended up being REALLY hard to see. Check it out:

Boy, was I ever optimistic! 10 meters indeed! LOL :D

Let's change that to 5 meters.

My Quasi-Canoles targets, plus a few orange bullseye stickers, which turned out to be
much easier to see, even at 5 meters.

I had a little trouble making adjustments on the red dot; but it was my fault. I forgot how large the adjustments have to be for short distances. But I had fun, at any rate; I have color-coded the groupings, to make them easier to follow. By the time I got down to the orange stickers, I stopped adjusting the scope, and started using a different aim point. The orange stickers were shot "lolipop style," i.e., aiming just below bottom center-edge of the sticker. (On a clock, imagine aiming at the 6, while expecting a POI of dead center of the clock face.)

First go around, all 6 shots were low.

Final results (color coded) all 5 meters from bench rest, using 1x Mag red dot. I plan to do 
a lot better next time, because I will have this fiasco fresh in my memory! Ha ha!

AFTERMATH: Our "fresh target" isn't so fresh anymore. This is what it looked like
at the end of the day's shooting. You will notice other groupings that I didn't bother to post,
because this post was getting really pic heavy to begin with.

Well, folks, this concludes another range day for the Scientific Airgunner. Please let me know what you think in the comments section, even if it's severely critical. The only way we learn and improve is by making mistakes. Cheers!