against the stock, but didn’t push for- ward into the rest. If I watched closely, I could see
the pellet flash in the light as it traveled down range. I used the Beeman Kodiak Match pellets for this initial run, and the groups were “eh” in terms of size. The groups were about the size of a quarter at 30 yards, round in shape, but I wasn’t terribly impressed. Following Jim’s advice, I loaded
up some JSB pellets and started work- ing on a group. After the third pellet slipped into the same oblong hole the other two pellets made, I was beginning to feel some relief. At first I thought I was going to be sending this rifle back to Jim with a stern note about accuracy and such, but it appears that there may be something to this pellet selection thing after all. I continued shooting the JSB pel-
lets, and they continued to produce tiny little bug-holes on the target, with just a hint of vertical. I backed off a little pressure on the barrel from an allen screw that pushes down on the barrel from the top, and like magic the groups became round. With my confidence now restored
in the rifle, I worked my way through a number of different pellet selections, and quite frankly, some of the pellets I shot produced groups which were somewhat disturbing. At one point I was more worried about blowing holes through my target frame than producing round groups. The RWS Hypermax pellets just about demol- ished the wooden sides of the frame when they veered wildly off to the side. Granted, the ultra-light 9.9-grain pellets were traveling at 1,220 fps, but with 6" groups at 30 yards, I’m not confident they would have accuracy for anything smaller than a garbage can. It took most of the afternoon to
sort out which pellets performed best, and the JSBs clearly dominated in terms of accuracy. PELLETS OUT IN THE FIELD Once I had the pellets picked out
and the scope dialed in for the trajectory of the pellet, I headed out to do a little pigeon control work at a top-secret loca- tion. I had an air cylinder fully charged and brought along a tin of the JSB 18.1 grain pellets. The LG 110 was sighted in for a 50-yard zero. Arriving at the hunting grounds,
Page 40 Spring 2013
I was presented with a few husky- looking pigeons starting their day with an early morning stretch in the sun. They must have felt pretty secure two stories up on the large barn, with a complete view of the area below and around them.
Pulling up under a tree and taking
a bit of shade, I eased the LG 110 out of the case and quietly got the rifle into po- sition. The pigeons didn’t seem overly concerned with the 45-yard gap between them and the muzzle of the Steyr, but as I closed the bolt and took careful aim, one of the pigeons paused for just a moment to take a close look at what I was doing. At that moment, I pulled the trigger and the 18-grain JSB pellet flashed across the distance, slamming into the chest of the curious pigeon. The sharp bark of the muzzle sent
the remaining pigeons flying off in all directions while their thunderstruck compatriot took a half step before embarking on a rapid descent, straight down onto the dirt parking area. Walking over to survey the dam-
age, this pigeon was struck just left of the breast bone, with the pellet exiting out the back, high on the right side. Ob- viously this rifle has plenty of power to take even the largest pigeons effectively. The remainder of the afternoon was similar, with each pigeon dropping to the ground after being struck. None of the pigeons was able to take flight after being hit. NOTES ON RIFLE MODIFICATIONS Like any firearm, there is a carnal
drive to change or modify an air gun to somehow better suit the needs of the shooter, whether it is real or imagined. As with most discussions, there are two sides to this issue. One side is the probable outcome
of making your rifle shoot worse than before and possibly permanently damaging the rifle. These are complex machines if you are not familiar with them, and much of the technology from powder burners does not directly trans- late to air rifles. To further illustrate this point, one of the Steyr representatives was telling a story where his service technicians spend about 75 percent of their time fixing rifles that have been “improved” or “adjusted” outside the factory. On the other side, there are some very talented gunsmiths who know
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