qb78 question

[triry]

wondering...?

will a tuned .177 qb 78, using co2 powerlets have sufficient velocity to make a 40/50 yard shot on a squirrel ?

curious minds would like to know..........

[airgun/cuz]

I would say yes,especially at 40 yards! I recently picked-up a M.M. tuned QB .22, it's shooting 720fps,I'm pretty sure that I can take squirrels out at 40 yards,if you place your shot in the right spot,I don't see why you can't do it,,unless your gun is not pushing the power of a M.M. tuned QB.

[shadow]

I second what joe said, yes if you do your part and have the pellet for the job. Ed

[ribbonstone]

..have to work on accuracy. Doesn't take a massive amount of power to kill tree squirrels; generally 8 foot pounds at impact would eaisly do the trick if the pellet lands on the right spot.  Lets call that (in .22) something like 500fps/14.3 gr. pellets.  Working backwards. would need to start a poorly shaped wad cutter at some unreal co2 vel. around 950fps to have that much left at 40yards...or start off a well shaped pellet (like a Crosman Premier) at  about 630-640fps...or start off a heavy weight Kodiak at about  540fps.

gets harder in .177, but there are two pellets that seem to be most likely to be up for the task: the 10.6 Cromsan Prieler Heavy and the 10.6gr. Kodiak.  they'll need to land on the 40yard critter with something close to 580-590fps of speed to earn that 8 foot pounds.  Which means you'd need to start them out at about 725-740fps.

Can be done with a good tune up.

More power is never a negative, but remember that the limiting factor is hitting that small 'off switch'....doubling the power won't add one inch of range unless accuracy improves proportionally.

[ronbeaux]

Well said

[triry]

thanks guys,....future plans include a scoped and tuned qb78 for ryan,  using powerlets for convenience sake.  unsure yet as to .177 or .22..............more input from the forum would be appreciated. his target aquisition to date is excellent and keeping to a single shot will insure this.
once again,..the input is appreciated..!!

[ribbonstone]

Two of mine are kept running on 12gr.    You do give up some vel. and they are a bit more temperature sensitvive than running on tanks or bulk fill, but being able to just drop a few 12gr. in your pocket and head out the door makes up for it.

[triry]

ribbonstone, thanks, my thoughts are the convenience aspect outweigh the velocity of a tank orbulk fill...........i can always add a stock style saddle as on one of my shotguns to carry extra co2 cartridges.........

[longislandhunter]

I have  one in .177 and one in .22 cal  (tuned by MM) and I agree that with a good head shot and the right pellet, preferably a predator, you would certainly be able to take a squirrel at 40 yards,, perhaps even 50, but I would personally try to stay within the 40 yard mark if I could.....

Jeff

[lillysdad621]

I second that. I actually do not have a MM qb but i home tuned my 78 in .22 and it shoots hobbies at 550 consistenly. I will not feel comfortable shooting a tree rat at 40+ yards. at that distance you can clearly see the pellet arc so the chance of a consistent head shot diminishes.up to 30 yards... no problem. In fact with Daisy wadcutters (14.3) it knocks them clean off the tree. As per a .177 i do not have a 78, but a qb79 which i am running off of a 9 oz paintball tank. I get an entire tin of pellets (500 ct ) at a consistent 630 fps with 7.0 or 605 with 7.9 gr. I prefer the lighter pellets due to the use of the gun, which is small birds at 50 + yards. the pellet barely drops at 50 (1/4 to 1/3 of an inch) and it has no problem taking them down. It has downed a crow at 25 yards but that proved that the .177 is the wrong caliber at those speeds. It hit the head and the bird flew off 40 yards before falling down. It required a coup the grace (shame) but it was missing from his right eye up a piece of it's skull!. I do not think that the .177 carries enough energy (that was a beeman ft at 8.8 gr).

[ribbonstone]

Just to be clear: speed costs gas.  No free rides, to get one a .177 up to the 750-790fps range, it's going to use a lot of co2 per shot.  Back it down to the 700fps range and it really makes a difference in gas use.  Same holds true for .22, they get to be real gas hogs once you get up past 660fps.  Tuned up to the max., will eat about .7 to .8gams of co2 per shot....giving something near 25-30  "good" shots per 12gr. (24gr. total) fill up.  

The two I keep on 12gr. have been worked over a lot. Basically, got the full max. tune up, then REDUCED hammer weightt (lathe job), reduced the spring tension to the hammer (weaker spring), and used a more restrictive transfer port seal (but not quite as restricted as the factory transfer port seal).  End result is 35-45fps faster than factory, but honestly do get 55-65 "good" shots per fill up.

For most use, even out to 40yards, having a .77 start off at about 700 and a .22 start off at about 600 seems to do the trick for me and if using 12gr., can expect at leaqst a decent number of shots per fill up.
------
I'd contact Mike at flying dragons, tell him what speed you'd want it to shoot, and just let him make it happen.

[triry]

thanks guys for the ongoing advice, my 11 year old  son ryan and i have discussed this at length; and  between us, we've come to the conclusion that a qb78 will fit the bill for his "gas powered" hunter. ryan likes the idea of a .177 as it forces him to be more conscious of shot placement. the single shot breech of the qb doesnt phase him........"grins".........he generally hits what he aims at.
we're still undecided as to spend them money on one thats pre-tuned,...or to save the funds and tune it ourselves. ryan, like myself, loves to tinker and i think seeing the results gained from the readily available modifications would be a great incentive for him !!
now i have to build up my slush fund for a .22 disco for myself  

*
my youngest son !

http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=18581&mid=150130#M150130

[bigchap]

mine decimates rabbits at 30 yards so i don't see why not,it's a bog standard 177 but i must have a really good/illegal one.the legal limit here in the uk is 12 fpe but seeing as it'll put an rws superdome right through my garden shed which has 1/2" pine walls at 15 yards then it has to be way over that.