TargetTalk

my son was shooting his Anschutz 8002 s2 the other day at practice and for the prone and standing portion, everything seemed fine. When he started kneeling, 5 out of 10 bulls, he would drop a pellet to the low 2 ring (6 o'clock) He said it did not sound the same as the other shots. His tank was half or just below. The air rifle was purchased in July. Could this be a seal or something?

Today when he showed me what was going on....we could not duplicated the problem.

Best Regards,

Patrick

Something is wrong with his hold.

If the shot did not sound the same as the other shots, it could be he loaded 2 pellets or even loaded a pellet skirt first into the breech. I have seen both these done at my club. The sound does change and the point of impact drops. If he did not do this then there must be a problem with a breech seal or the regulator.

JSB

I had that same problem in smallbore. It turned out to be my sight picture (alignment) in that position.

Another possibility is that the pellet was defective. A slightly too-small pellet will sound different and hit lower. It's louder because so much air escapes around it.

thanks for the replies.....

Or a badly damaged pellet.

JSBmatch wrote:If the shot did not sound the same as the other shots, it could be he loaded 2 pellets or even loaded a pellet skirt first into the breech. I have seen both these done at my club. The sound does change and the point of impact drops. If he did not do this then there must be a problem with a breech seal or the regulator.

JSB

If he didn't double load or have bad pellets I would agree with that the assessment that the regulator or seals maybe going out. I have had some airguns that the regulators and seals failed slowly starting with a few dropping and then after awhile they all start dropping and others almost abruptly failing. I had a P700 start dropping a pellet here and there six months ago and just a few weeks ago then all started dropping and making the sound of a double loaded rifle. If it is the regulator or seals you can wait until they all start dropping then you'll now for sure.

If the regulator and seals are the problem be prepared to hold onto your wallet as the new Anchutz 8002's have probably the most expensive overhaul costs of all the other manufactures. The other manufactures you can replace the appropriate pieces, but not so with the 8002 as the regulator and seals come in a single module. The cost for that module with installation I think was around $250 when I had my 8002 rebuilt. A rebuild for my other airguns right now is around $150.

The OP stated that it only happens in kneeling. I don't think it is the gun.

Shooterer wrote:The OP stated that it only happens in kneeling. I don't think it is the gun.

Then the previous comment about his hold could be the problem. If the shooter is trying to muscle the gun (even slightly) to get his sight on targets could be a problem. I have seen a few shooters use muscle, but at the same time there follow thru was absolute. The kneeling position if done properly should be one of those positions where you should be able to get total bone on bone support.

Hey Patrick,

Few questions before I try to auto diagnose the problem without knowing some things.

A. How long have they been shooting?
B. Are they shooting with pants, jacket, etc.?
C. How long has the problem been going on?
D. You mentioned having the rifle since July, how long have they trained with it?
E. Up to you, but if there was a way to see their position, it might help find an answer. Maybe a picture or description would be great.

With all due respect, I don't believe jumping to some of the prior conclusions would be a great idea especially if they are not the problem. Worse thing to have is a junior shooter being corrected with things that might not actually be the problem. Next thing you know, he is changing things that did not need fixing while the real problem lasts.

Only advice I can give without knowing the above questions is to just reiterate the fundamentals. Fallow through, trigger control and giving the shot a 100% chance to be a ten.

Here to help,
Thatguy

A picture may help if there is gross position problem, but if the person is pushing on the rifle just slightly you probably wouldn't see this in a still picture. You might not even see it in a video. You might if the shooter was connected to a Rika or Scatt system. However, the next best thing is to ask your shooter questions, especially if you can't see the problem. One thing that has helped my shooters is to ask what there sights are doing before and after they pull the trigger. If they can't tell me what they are doing then they are probably not focusing on their sights.

Presently, I have a young 12 year who keeps losing his focus from the sights to the target and so he starts getting shotgun patterns. He also has a problem of getting off the rifle to soon which can cause his shots to go low or wide. When his hold is held long enough he can hit the center. These are only suggestions and not a diagnose of a diffident problem about your shooter as a previous post suggested. As a previous posts said we aren't there so you or the coach need to watch and ask questions.

that guy...


A. How long have they been shooting?
B. Are they shooting with pants, jacket, etc.?
C. How long has the problem been going on?
D. You mentioned having the rifle since July, how long have they trained with it?
E. Up to you, but if there was a way to see their position, it might help find an answer. Maybe a picture or description would be great.

a. 2.5 years
b.yes, pants, jacket, sling, roll....he shoots in our clubs traveling team.
c. it just happened....the rifle was purchased in JUNE new
d. he shoots twice a week since he got it
e. his prone scores are 100-98.... his kneeling is 96-97. Could it be the shooter, sure but he has a flyier now and then. but 5 times on one target.NOPE.....

Have you benched the rifle and fired a string of pellets? I use a simple B&D Workmate & clamp the rifle in it.
Fire 25-50 pellets w/o moving the rifle or target & see what comes about.

Also if you have a chronograph, you can add that ... if the regulator is an issue you should see some wide velocity swings.

Well... I had something written up, paused, and came back to see jhmartin posted the same advice as well. That is the way to rule out the rifle. Would be worth testing the cylinder is at high and low levels.

If this ends up being the problem come back and let us know. I'll see who I can talk to about trying to get you a cheaper fix for he reg.

If the rifle tests well then just go back to the last piece of advice in my last post. Obviously, with those scores he is shooting in prone and kneeling, he is a very competent shooter. With only 2.5 years under his belt, he may be letting some of those things slide. I grind it into the shooters I coach (fallow through, trigger control and not shooting on the move) because if their positions are great, they are comfortable, and their rifle shoots center, there are not many other reasons for the shots to be off call.

I hope this helps you guys out. One of the worst fellings is not knowing why shots are off call and I hope this can be kind of a "play book" for you if it ever comes up again.

Here to help,
Thatguy

It is possible for there to be something wrong with rifle.If the shot sounded different it could be a problem.

I would either group test or fire over a chronograph.

I would check it after firing a lot of shots and maybe with cylinder at same level as when he had problem.

I think it would take a lot of velocity loss to shoot a 2.

It would be good to prove that the rifle is good to shooter so he can have confidence in it. Or if it is bad you can get it looked at.

He said,

"Today when he showed me what was going on....we could not duplicated the problem."

It is the kid's hold, not the gun.