thisnewday

A couple of months ago, I finished the modifications on my Crosman 2240 CO2 air pistol with a Bushnell red-dot sight mounted on the custom, multi-shot breech that I'd fitted to it earlier.

The breech is designed with an 11mm dovetail for mounting whatever optic might be desired, and I'd first mounted a cheapo Centerpoint 2X pistol scope which had come with a Crosman 2300KT which I'd had built in their custom shop.

I hadn't liked the 2X scope on the 2300 because I'd decided to configure it as a carbine and the long eye-relief required for a pistol scope just wasn't possible. So I'd boxed up the 2X and mounted a 3-9X32 I'd had on my Benjamin Trail instead.

Then, after I'd gotten the bare-bones 2240, I figured I'd just throw on the 2X since I'd be using it as a pistol. But it turned out that an optical phenomenon called "parallax" was making the 2X very difficult to use at the short distance I have available in my basement. And so I opted for the Bushnell which, with zero magnification, would present no problems in short-range situations.

And, once zeroed-in, I LOVED it. I'd go down nearly every day and shoot 30 rounds at three different "splatter targets" and end up with half-dollar size groupings, including some shots right on top of the others. Not bad for an old guy with bad eyesight and not very steady hands!

THEN, I got the bright idea that I'd tweak the sighting just a bit by resting the pistol on the Bog-Pod tripod that I'd gotten for the Benjamin Trail.

Of course, the whole point of using the 2240 in pistol configuration was to have something  that I could shoot "free hand." But it's also true that pistols are often zeroed-in on a bipod or other rest. And so I figured I'd try to tighten my already satisfactory groupings.

But, using the Bog-Pod, BIG surprise. And not a happy one. My shots were suddenly all over the paper and mostly very low. WTF?!?

However, because I mostly believe what I see, I went ahead and adjusted the red dot--quite a few clicks, to be honest--and actually tightened my already-good groupings. Cool! Still inexplicable, but cool.

And, because the whole point of having the pistol was to shoot free-hand, I ignored the voices, set the tripod aside, breathed in, exhaled, held, and... hit the target well above the bullseye. Pulled back the cocking arm, breathed, held, fired and... same result. Double WTF!?!

Next target, went back to the tripod and BINGO, on the money. Ten good shots, one full rotary mag, in the bullseye. After which, I ditched the CO2 cartridge, reloaded the 2 mags, turned off the lights, and came upstairs.

And now sit here pondering whether to repeat the whole process by re-zeroing free-hand in hopes of a better result when doing the type of shooting I'd originally intended.

But also still puzzled as to what factor, what law of optics, might yield these results...

LPK
Dreamwidth
5.12.2019 

Over the past several days, I've intensified my efforts to get the basement airgun range finished for my daughter and myself. So that, you know, we can go down there and "shoot holes in things."

Which is our code for "letting off steam" in a way that does no harm to ourselves, our commitments to others, or anything beyond the 12-inch block walls of my basement. (We're careful to capture and recycle the lead we expend in this not quite "aimless" activity of ours.)

I finally settled on a method of backing targets for the Benjamin Trail, in the upper compartment of the refurbished target box, and have done likewise with the lower compartment, although for a different purpose.

I still have to settle on the material to be used directly behind the target in that one but, pending further testing, I think I've got that figured out as well.

A major part of this, after deciding on backing materials, has been how to secure them in the box and the answer I've arrived at has involved cutting, drilling, and fastening about 12 to 16 feet of aluminum angle and figuring out the best hardware arrangement for quick and efficient replacement of expended materials. You know, the stuff that has holes shot in it.

Some of the aluminum was also used to cover the previous damage that I've alluded to and to protect from accidental damage in the future. It also has the effect, I think, of "dressing it up" in a sort of cool way. Actually, it has the visual effect of having nearly as much chrome as a Ford Edsel, but without the lemon, lol.

(For those not familiar with that particular chapter of American automotive infamy, the Edsel was a full-sized addition to the Ford lineup during the ostentatiously-ornamental late '50s to early '70's--just before the oil embargo which, along with the Japanese invasion, threw Detroit into a decades-long swoon.

Because of a gold-colored, elliptically-shaped ornament inexplicably planted in the center of its massive grill, the Edsel was said by its detractors--and there were many--to look like "a Mercury sucking a lemon." As for me, I was happily colluding with the Japanese, working as a line mechanic for Toyota dealerships in Central NY and Houston over the next 13 years.)

Anyway, with that part of the project out of the way, I've spent the last couple of days working intensively on a gun rest to aid with zeroing-in of optical and laser sights. I went into the shop with just a bare-bones concept two days ago, finished building it yesterday, then tore it apart and rebuilt it today.

The rebuilding part was actually done this afternoon and earlier this evening because I was VERY busy watching the younger two of my daughter's three girls while their mom attended an estate auction in the morning.

(Talulla, the younger of the two, is not quite three and, ever since she could walk or even crawl, she's been known as "The Busy Girl," lol. And she happily reaffirms her right to that title every single day, including today.)

So, it's been a productive couple of days and, some family matters aside, I've been mostly happy with how they've turned out.

Right now, I'm gonna make one more trip to the basement to, you know, admire the finished product, lol, and then call it a night...

LPK
Dreamwidth
4.21.2018