An observation on "scope shift"

by Tom Gaylord

The title suggests I don't believe in scope shift, but that's not true. I do believe there is such a thing - I just don't think it happens as often as some shooters believe.

In fact, I know a number of reasons you'll get a blown group and they may all look like scope shift, but none of them are. AND - they are the most common things that go wrong with scoped airguns. One of them, however, is head and shoulders above the rest as the leading cause for blown groups.

Elevation or windage knob adjusted too far!
This occurs in more than 90 percent of the cases I troubleshoot at AirForce. I've also had it happen to me. Here's what happens. The adjustment knobs work by pushing against a metal tube inside the scope. That tube, called the erector tube, houses the fixed reticle. On one side the adjustment knob presses against the tube. A coiled spring pushes against the other side of the tube.

Let's take the elevation knob as an example. When you want more elevation, you screw the knob in the "UP" direction. The knob moves outward and the coiled spring pushes the erector tube up. To go down you do the opposite. You can actually feel the spring getting tight when you adjust the elevation as low as it will go. When you adjust it up as high as it will go, you can feel the clicks get mushy and indefinite. And THAT is where the trouble lies!

When the spring is fully extended it doesn't press against the erector tube as tightly and the tube can move more easily. The result - you'll shoot to different places with the same sight picture. Because the reticle always looks centered to our eyes, we blame the scope for "shifting." It actually IS shifting, but not in any mysterious way. Because you can feel this sloppiness in the adjustment knobs, you can avoid it.

The best solution
The BEST way out of this problem is to use an adjustable scope mount, so the scope can have its adjustment knobs in the center of their range, where they are most accurate. The best (and one of the only) adjustable scope mounts if the B-Square AA. It's harder to install than a fixed mount, but the payback is the range of adjustability it returns to you scope.

Shimming is another way to fix this problem. I don't like to shim unless I can do nothing else because the scope tube gets out of alignment with the rings and can be bent during clamping.

If you are having problems with a blown or open group, examine your scope knobs and see if this is happening to you.

Where to get your airguns fixed

by Tom Gaylord

If there is one thing a collector of vintage airguns needs, it's the number for a good repair shop. Over the years I've dealt with quite a few shops. In my role as a writer, I tested hundreds of airguns for "The Airgun Letter" and had occasion to view the work put out by dozens of airgunsmiths. Some of them weren't worth talking about, except in warnings. A few, however, were really good and careful workers. I've listed four names here who can do a good job on most CO2 and pneumatic airguns.

George Pena
George is a Texan who fixes American pneumatics. His business card says "Benjamin, Sheridan and old Crosman model 140/1400 pneumatic air rifle repair." He puts them back to factory specs.

I've shot a vintage Sheridan he resealed, and he did a great job. Not only does the gun shoot like new, he didn't mess up the vintage finish on a significant collectible while he did the work! George is at heligun1@msn.com or 512-863-2951.

Mac-1
Tim McMurray in California has been fixing CO2 and pneumatic guns since 1964. He has the parts to fix the old guns, and he makes the parts he can't buy.

He also has several modified models of guns, such as the Crosman Mark I, that he turns into a bulk-filled long-barreled super shooter called the LD. There's also the Steroid Streak, which is a very powerful Sheridan pneumatic. Contact him at tim@mac1airgun.com or call 310-327-0238.

Dave Gunter
Dave lives in Oregon and rebuilds vintage Crosman, Sheridan and Benjamin guns. He can reseal the S&W 78G and 79G. One of his specialties is making valves more efficient, and his Crosman 600 "Buntline" pistol is a legend. It gets close to 100 shots per fill and almost 500 f.p.s.!

Dave is a perfectionist who strives to get the most out of a vintage gun without changing its looks or operation. Contact Dave at dgunter@ados.com or call 503-556-1439.

Rick Willnecker
Rick is in Pennsylvania, where he repairs vintage and modern Crosman, Benjamin and Sheridan guns. Rick is another guy who has been doing this for several decades, and he's very methodical in his work. He will restore airguns to operational specs, but he won't increase power in guns beyond the factory levels. Contact him at airgunshop@aol.com or call 717-382-1481.

I recommend these guys on the basis of their work. Tim and I don't get along very well; I don't know George Pena at all and I've lost contact with Rick Willnecker, though he was a good friend when I used him 10 years ago. Only Dave Gunter and I are still in contact on a semi-regular basis. Nevertheless, I do recommend all four men as good repairmen for vintage CO2 and pneumatic airguns.

Why do we need silencers?

by Tom Gaylord

I have never understood the need or fascination for silencers – for airgun especially! Airguns are already quiet, except for the big bores like Dennis Quackenbush’s Bandit and some of the more powerful smallbores like the AirForce Condor and the Career 707.

Most airguns are quiet enough to shoot without wearing hearing protection, so why would anyone want to make them even quieter? I seems to me that the drive for a quieter gun is pushed by the desire to do things covertly, and that implies that some of those things shouldn’t be done al all! If that’s the reason everyone wants a silenced airgun then I’m against it.

If, however, the attraction is simply because silencers are controlled items here in the U.S., then I understand. People will always want what they can’t have. Just the other day an airgunner pleaded for the address of a company now making the GAT air pistol. You should know that the GAT is a wimpishly weak gun, about like a Marksman 1010, yet here was someone panting after one because they are so hard to find, now that the original company has stopped making them.

I recently bought a legal firearm silencer, just to see what all the hooplah is about. There will be an article about my experiences in one of the September issues of Shotgun News, where I write a monthly airgun column. Although I bought the silencer to mount on .22 rimfire guns, I plan to install it on an AirForce Condor, to see what it can do for the loudest smallbore air rifle in the world. If it improves the muzzle report, perhaps airgunners can stop bitching about the legalities of silencers on airguns and just get a legal one!