First Bench Rest of 2015

 Michigan's COLD February temperatures didn't stop the guys from attending Precision Airguns first indoor bench rest event of 2015 on February 12th.  Shooting indoors at 56 feet. The event brought varies guns to the range.  A good time was had by all. If your wondering or noticed the antique Benji that Dave L is holding, no that is not the gun he actually shot.

Mark show Dave his latest acquisition the MTC Viper Connect 

Jim Stanis - RAW BM

Jim Hutchison - RAW TM

Mark Maher - Steyr LG110 FT

Victor Valentino - Daystate Regal

Name	First Card	Second Card	Third Card	Total
Jim Stanis	250  16X	250  16X	250  10x	750  42x
Ryan Parks	250  12X	250  13X	250  15x	750  40x
Dave Lovio	250  11X	250  10x	250  9x	750  30x
Jim Hutchison	250  9X	250  5X	250  10x	750  24x
Mark Maher	250  7X	250  11X	250  3x	750  21x
Rod Parks	249  7X	250  7x	248  2x	747  16x
Ray Hatfield	248  8X	248  2X	249  6x	745  16x
Dave Gray	247  3X	244  3X	247  1x	738  7x
Victor Valentino	246  4X	244  3x	246  4x	736  11x

Shooting Event April 26, 2014

Michigan's unpredictable weather caused us to move our Postal Bench Rest Competition indoors on Saturday April 26, 2014.  Actually worked in our favor, as the indoor ranged  with zero wind allows us to bring out the accuracy these rifles truly have, however we were not able to shoot a sanctioned Postal Event.  Postal Bench Rest Competitions are required to be shot at 75' and the indoor range only allows for 50'.  Just a year ago, we were excited to see a fellow shooter obtain a 250 card. These days with top notch rifles like Steyr, FX, Daystate and RAW, 250 cards have become more of the norm,

with high X counts becoming the new challenge.

Shawn shooting his RAW TM1000

Jim shooting Steyr LG110 stock out of the box
Mark shooting Steyr LG110
 Ryan shooting Steyr LG110

 Rod Parks was our recent shop record holder shooting a 250 with 22X.  For those who follow my blog, you will notice that I like to shoot a different brand/model for each event.  This Saturday I chose a new 2014 model Steyr LG110 FT 24J/18FPE with the new Kahles K1050 Scope.  Shooting JSB 8.4 right out of the tin.  This turned out to be a winning combination for me.  It actually set a new club record of a 250 with 25X - it doesn't get any better than that.  I believe the 50X magnification of Kahles really helped achieve the precision necessary to zero in on these pin size targets.

1st Place: Jim Stanis  250 22X, 250 21X, 250 25X = 750 68X

2nd Place: Mark Maher  250 16x, 250 20X, 250 16X = 750 52X

3rd Place: Ryan Parks  25017X, 250 16X, 250 9X = 750 42X

4th Place: Rod Parks  250 17X, 249 14X, 250 16X = 749 47X

Rod switched on his last card to a .22cal Lother Walther barrel that he had machined to fit his Steyr

5th Place: Shawn Henn  250 14X, 248 13X

Shawn was not able to finish as he was called away early

Shawn and Mark were playing with their higher powered .25cal sporters, having a shot count competition.  Both the Daystate Air Wolf Extreme and Regulated FX Royale 500 have proven to be capable of 90 -100 shots at 40+FPE.

Top: Daystate Air Wolf Extreme
Bottom: FX Royale 500 Reg'd

Thank's to Shawn's pulled pork and Dave's bundt cake,

these have become the shooters favorites at the events.

The day continues with a random Fun Shoot Event.  This week it was decided to use our bench rest guns from the shoulder - off hand.  This was challenging due to the fact that these guns are not designed for off hand shooting. You will notice some rifles do not offer rear stock assemblies attached.  To make these more difficult/fun? the target was a very small rifle primer.  Some decent groups were fired at the 50' range, however only one shooter Ryan hit one of the primers and took home the $10.00 cash prize. Good Shooting Ryan!  Mark Maher built the metal back stop that held the primers.

Mark Maher

Ryan Parks

  Shaw working on fine tuning his FX Royale 500 Regulator

Shoot Safe - Shoot for Fun - Shoot An Airgun
Jim Stanis

February Indoor Bench Rest Results

                                          The Top Three Shooters

1st/Jim Hutchison - 2nd Shawn Henn - 3rd/Rick Broughton

February 21, 2013 Precision Airguns hosted an Indoor Bench Rest.  We always look forward to the great group of guys that show up for a fun filled evening.  Typically local area shooters join in the event.  Shawn Henn usually receives the long haul award coming from the Lansing area which is approximately 80 miles away. This particular Thursday, Shawn was beat out by Phil Eakley who drove in from the Chicago area, a mere 5 1/2 hours each way.  Thank you Phil, we were glad you could join us!

Jim Hutchison accomplished Center Fire Bench Rest Shooter took first place with his AirArms .177 MPR with a score of 750/25X.  A close second was Shawn Henn with a 750/21X shooting his FX Royale 400 .22.  Rick Broughton takes third place with a 750/18X shooting his Steyr .20 Hunter.

I like to experiment and try to shoot something different at each event.  This time I used a stock Daystate Air Wolf MCT .22 with Huggett System.  JSB's out of tin were working very well, until I loaded two in the barrel at the same time and didn't realize it until it was too late.  The shot made a nice hole, but obviousness hit a little lower that I anticipated.  A 248 put me out of the running, but the rifle was still able to shoot 26X's, which shows with the proper jockey, this horse had the ability to win the race.

Phil Eakley finishes with a 748/18X shooting his FX Royale 400 .22cal

Mark Maher and his Daystate Grey Shadow finish with a 747/13X

Adam Denz with his .25cal Marauder takes home a score of 737/12X

Dave Goldstein shooting his Steyr .22cal Hunter, starts with a first great card of 250/7X, went to a 247/5x, however, hand cramps left him unable to finish his third card.

Dave Goldstein

Adam Denz

Phil Eakley

Mark Maher

                                           

                            Thank you to everyone who came out that night.  

Shoot Safe - Shoot for Fun - Shoot an Airgun

January - Indoor Bench Rest

Precision Airguns hosted their first Indoor Bench Rest Event of 2013 on Thursday, January 31st.  Michigan's cold and snowy weather bought in eight dedicated airgun enthusiasts.  These are non sanctioned events with benches set at 50 feet giving individual shooters a chance to proof out various rifle, scope, pellet and rest combinations.  Thank you to everyone that came out.

With all the Great Choices in High End Air Rifles these days, I try to shoot a different rifle at every bench rest event we host. Steyr, FX, Theoben, an older ZM2002 Anschutz have all proved themselves to be Bench Rest Match Winners in previous events.  This month I chose a RAW TM1000 12fpe .177 laminate stock. What a wonderful rifle to shoot, stable, quiet, accurate.  Topped with a Leupold 6.5x20 EFR and using 7.9 JSB's  I was able to shoot a 750 35X.  

First time Bench Rest competition
for Adam Denz & Shawn Henn

Jim Hutchinson - Air Arms MPT

 The guys are smiling as they placed in the Top Four of the nights event.

1st Place - Jim Stanis/RAW TM1000 .177 12fpe
2nd Place Rick McKean/Steyr LG110 .177cal
3rd Place - Rick Broughton/Steyr Hunter .20cal
4th Place - Jim Hutchinson/Air Arms MPR .177

To view all the pictures from the nights shoot
visit at:

Precision Airguns Photo Gallery
or
Precision Airguns FaceBook Page

July 5th Bench Rest

Back Row: Dave Goldstein, Jim Stanis, Ryan M, Steve Joseph, Zach Joseph
Front Row: Mark Maher, Rick Broughton, Jacob Goldstein, Rick McKean

When Michigan temps reach a heat index of 111* on July 5th,
our outdoor non-sanctioned bench rest shoot soon became an indoor bench rest.
All the shooters were thankful for the A/C.
Targets were set at 50 feet to allow more room for the competitors and their gear.
Thank you everyone for attending.

Name	Rifle	Card 1	Card 2	Card 3	Total
Jim Stanis	Anschutz 2002  .177	250   11X	250   6X	250   9X	750   26X
Steve Joseph	Air Arms S400 12 ft/lb .177	250   4X	250   4X	250   5X	750   14X
Rick Broughton	Steyr LG110  FT  .177	250   6X	250   5X	248   3X	748   14X
Rick McKean	Daystate Air Wolf .25	250   3X	249   6X	246   3X	745   12X
Mark Maher	Daystate Grey Shadow .22	244   5X	248   3X	248   6X	740   14X
Ryan M	Steyr LG110	249   1X	241   1X	249   6X	739   8X
Zach Joseph	Air Arms S410 .22	247   1X	242   2X	247   6X	736   9X
Dave Goldstein	Daystate Air Ranger .25	246   3X	247   4X	242   7X	735   14X
Jacob Goldstein	Daystate Huntsman Classic .22	219	241   2X	226   3X	686   5X

 

With Wind and Bench Rest the Wind Always WINS

Saturday June 2nd brought in the wind and Steve Joseph.  Steve currently lives in Ohio and is a long haul trucker. He is also an avid airgunner and friend.  We were glad to see him in town for the weekend, and we knew there was going to be some airgunning no matter what the weather conditions happen to be.  

There was a great selection of air rifles.  Daystate, FX, Steyr and Theoben all had their chance at bucking the wind and attempting to hit the 10 ring.   

Rickey B. another local airgun  buddy was also able to join us. Typically when the three of us are together, we shoot 50 yards, tightest group for bragging rights, however in these high wind conditions, we all agreed it was pointless to try.  So instead, we set up bench rest at 25 yards.

Rickey B highest score 244 3X was achieved with his newest acquisition the Daystate's Grey Shadow with JSB 18G.  Shooting at high power just under 40 ft/lb  the extra muscle seemed to really help in the brisk wind.  His Steyr Huner .20cal obtained a similar 244 2X.

Steve's FX Royale 400 performed best for him with 243 6X.  Steve played with some of his other rifles including his Theoben Rapid .20cal and his Theoben MKI 12 ft/lb .20cal   Steve's personal favorite that day was his Royale 400.

My highest score was shot with a Daystate Air Wolf also on high power 246 7X shooting JSB 18G.  Amazingly enough my little 12 ft/lb Steyr Hunter shot a similar 246 4X.  Having a larger scope 6.5 - 20 other than 3-9's that I shot on the other rifles that day, plus really focusing on doping the wind allowed for a very respectable card considering a lower powered rifle and high powered winds.

Looking forward to our next get together and much less wind.

Steyr vs Steyr Bench Rest

BENCH REST - It can be easy and difficult at the same time.  It can be very fun and very frustrating at the same time.  It   also can be very addicting.  That in a nut shell is my personal opinion of Airgun Bench Rest.   What got me addicted, was how I could pick up a new gun, in this case a Steyr LG110, drop it on a single front bag, supported by a chunk of Styrofoam underneath and shoot a perfect  250 - 5X card?

Rick B - Shooting his Steyr LG110 Hunter

This is what happened last Sunday, shooting against my friend Rick B. also shooting a Steyr LG110 Hunter in .22cal, he managed a 249 - 6X, again using a forward single bag.  With our confidence high, we started trying different shooting positions and different ammo.  Each of us shooting three additional cards, I averaged in the 245 range, while Rick out shot me with his LG Hunter averaging 247, seems the harder I tried and lower my scores became, hence the frustrating part.

I'm finding that being able to take an accurate airgun and shoot nice little five or even ten shot groups is much different then hitting the same pin head size target 25 times in a row. There are so many factors involved. Position of the gun on the bag, consistent grip or lack of grip in some cases allowing for constant shot sequence, weather, temperature,  (some of the range is non heated), ammo quality, barrel harmonics, the list can go on and on.  

Rick B made it back out to the shop this Sunday for some more bench rest challenge.  Other than using a different pellet JSB 8.4/4.53 head size this weekend, I started out with my mono bag styro foam set up that gave me the 250 card the week before.  245 - 3X was all I could mustard.  Rick with his .22cal Stery Hunter beat me with 246 - 5X.

Rick was complaining about his cheek piece being in his way, so I suggested that he remove it, which he did, and he also quit using his pellet seeding tool, last time I give him advice.  He jumped up to a 250 - 3x!  I moved up to a 248 - 6X.  Perhaps it was the JSB 7.9's or the fact that I went to a improvised rear rest, yes, feel free to chuckle at the set up, as I said it was improvised.

However, my scores were moving in the right direction, so I stayed with it.  Our third cards tied with a 249 each, but my 4X to his 2X gave me the win on this card.  Fourth and final card, Whoop there it is! 250 - 7X with my 12ft/lb .177cal LG110, Rick threw 5 bad pellets which placed him at 245 - 6X.  

Rick and I both decided that we are totally hooked on Airgun Bench Rest.  Now we need to acquire the proper bench rest equipment, build some sturdy benches, and practice, practice, practice. With long Michigan winters, FT not yet an option and small game season over,  Indoor Bench Rest has proven to be another great alternative Airgun option.  

**To Clarify our range building is 25 yards long, which means actally indoor shooting distance is approximately 24 yards. The last six yards of the range on unheated.

** Ricks LG Hunter has been reduced from 30 to 22 ft/lbs, shooting 18g JSB's.

**Rick's gun scoped with Nikko 10-50x60
** Jim's gun scoped with Leupold 6.5-20x40 Dot Reticle

For those of you who would like to try Airgun BenchRest, join us this Thursday March 1, 2012 from 5:00pm - 9:00pm.  $5.00 for 3 cards.  RSVP's always appreciated. 248-969-0377 or precisionairguns@gmail.com  This is a non sanctioned event, where the focus is on fun.  Targets set at 50 feet, indoor range.

February Indoor Bench Rest

Dave Lovio, Jim Stanis, John Marotzke, Rich Mendyka, Rickey Broughton

Thursday, February 9th Precision Airguns hosted it's second Indoor Bench Rest Event. Typically we shoot three cards at 50 feet. This is an informal shoot with the emphasis on Fun.  The event brought some familiar faces and some new ones.

John Marotzke, a dedicated firearms bench rest shooter showed up with an HW97 that Precision Airguns tuned and installed a Vortek Kit in.  John pulled out a quarter from his pocket and threw down a challenge. It was going to be Springer vs Springer  I said, "John, your on, let me pull my  HW77 off the rack".  Seriously this gun has to be at least 26 years old, has a 3x9 scope on it,  it does have a Vortek Kit in it also.  I was just not prepared to use this old squirrell getter in a bench rest competion.  Jim Hutchison helped set me up on his bench using a front and rear bag.  I've never done this before with a springer, but with the Votek Kit installed this gun is very forgiving.  I was actually pleased with how the HW77 shot, only dropp'ed one and it was all me.  I ended up with a 249 4X. John had some problems with the seat on his bench, he shot a 245 5X.  So the quarter he challenged me with is now on a shelf at the shop for future bragging rights, or until John wins it back, which I'm sure he will.  Johns scores progressed up, his 3rd and final target was a 249 3X.  Good Shooting John.

Top: Long Barrel HW77
Bottom: Jim Stanis' same model 26 years later, still a Top Shooter

HW77's on Special starting at $525.00

Jacob Goldstein with
Daystate Huntsman Classic .22cal

Father and Son shooters, Dave and Jacob Goldstein were using multiple guns. Huntsman Classic .22cal,  .22cal MRod Pistol, and Crosman Discovery Rifle.  Toward the end of the evening, it was clear they were both trying to hold onto the Huntsman Classic.
Dave finished with 727 12X and his son Jacob 637 1X

Steyr LG110 Hunter

Rickey Broughton shooting his Steyr LG110 Hunter had a loose muzzle break that he had custom made and installed which caused a weak first card.  His second 250 12X was actually the high target of the evening.  Rickeys third card was a 249 4X, would have had a good shot at the lead, if he wouldn't have had an issue with his muzzle break. When his first card was a 235 3x, that's hard to come back from.   You'll get um next time Rickey...

Dave Lovio and Rich Mendyka arrived later, they shared Dave's .22cal Daystates Tactical Air Wolf with Hawke 6.5 - 20 tactical scope.  Dave only shot one card but shot a 249 4X.

Left: Dave Goldstein, Right: Jim Hutchison

Overall High Shooter with a score of 749.22X was Mr. Jim Hutchison, a competitive firearm bench rest shooter.  Jim was shooting an AirArms MPR .177.  Congratulatons Jim!