Yesterday was an absolutely brilliant day. Sunny; low 70’s; very light breeze. A perfect day for taking off from work a little early. I got out of the office at 4PM; but hey, I will take it. After picking up a few cold ones (see thread below), I cruised by the park and headed home. Lovely day for a walk. Everyone, including the dog, had a great time, really soaking in the wonderful spring weather.
After having a delicious supper of homemade salsa and delicately spiced shrimp fajitas, it was time to take the Beeman R1 .20 Carbine out for a plinking session. It took me a few warm-up shots and after a few windage adjustments (shots were off to the left), the Carbine showed its true colors. I spent about 30 minutes knocking down beer cans and putting dime, nickel, and quarter sized groups in the bottom of old Coors Light cans.
I am biased, but to say the shooting session was fantastic would be disrespectful to the Carbine and the understatement of the day. Time and time again, the Carbine put the Benjamin Cylindrical pellets wherever I pointed the gun. This was the perfect example of the gun being more accurate than me. The R1 is an interesting gun because proper technique is a must in order to get decent results. There are lots of topics on various boards about hold sensitivity, and to some degree I buy into the hype, but at the same time I think it is really all about learning how to use your airgun. To get the most out of an R1 (or any airgun for that matter) you must learn its tendencies.
The R1 is known to be hold sensitive, and for the most part the pundits are probably right, but to some degree I think “hold sensitive” is a code for “learn some technique” or be disappointed. I have learned that my best results come from a sitting position, with the gun resting on the palm of my left hand, and my hand resting on my knee. Yesterday at about 60 to maybe 66 feet I achieved some of the best results to date with the Carbine. I should have taken pictures, but I was enjoying myself too much to bother stopping to snap some historical reference points. Maybe next time.
I think the difference yesterday was that I further refined my shooting technique. I really concentrated on follow-through, doing my best to keep my eye (via the cheap Center Point scope) focused on the target. I think it really helped. I have found the Carbine has a tendency to really “jump” after a shot, and my first instinct to correct this behavior is to really clamp down on the gun preventing it from moving. The “jump” also causing a blinking reflex to kick-in; both result in poor follow-through technique. I guess you can call that hold sensitivity, but I digress.
Yesterday it all came together for the perfect shooting session. I am not saying that it took me this long to get decent results with the Carbine. Instead I am saying that Friday’s session was by far the most rewarding to date, and gives hope for many more to came as I further refine my technique. Here’s to future days!
The rest of the weekend promises more of the same. It is 40-ish right now, but 72 is the predicted high, with Sunday being almost the same. My wife has inquired about shooting some, so getting out the R7 will be a priority. Of course, as is always the case when fun lurks around the corner, work (the office kind), soccer (middle son has a game today), and a ton of indoor and outdoor honey-do items need to be knocked out first.
Happy Saturday!
