There are a number of reasons and ways to fix barrel droop, it all depends on your specific problem. Barrel droop is one of the most frustrating, common problems that all airgun hobbyist and shooters have to deal with from time to time.

Barrel droop is much more noticeable when you look down a scope or site and sometimes it’s your scope that’s causing the issues. So, here’s what we think, a few ways to fix barrel droop and avoid it in the first place.

What is Barrel Droop?

You’ll notice that your pellets are curving down quite fast and the arc of travel is much lower than anticipated. In simple terms, you’ll shoot and your pellet arcs down and misses your target, sometimes drastically. You’re looking down your air rifle scope and have a perfect shot and then bam, completely misses and heads down.

It’s frustrating but it can be fixed and even avoided.

What Causes Barrel Droop?

All weapons experience some form of droop. Guns, arrows, air rifles, they are all playing by the same rules of gravity as everything else on earth. So barrel droop is inventible then right?

This is an interesting question. See, most of us might be quick to think that barrel droop is caused by wear and tear, faulty airgun barrel or a cheap air rifle. This is not always the case. Most common barrel droop is actually caused when a fully functional, straight barrel is mounted incorrectly, so that the barrel is pointing downward on its axis in relation to the scope.

Ha! So that can be fixed right? Yes, but it’s not that simple.

Here’s what’s actually happening - How To Fix Mounting Barrel Droop

1 – Your lining or bore does not run straight through the center of the airgun barrel. This will require replacement as a means to fix barrel droop moving forward.

2 – Your screws are too tight or too tolerant. All the screws that hold together your air rifle are made with a level of give and take on the screws, because a perfect fix is almost impossible. Check the tightness of your screws, especially at the barrels and airgun scope mounts. You may have to play with these slightly and adjust them until your barrel points straight.

3 – The grooves in which your scope and receiver and mounts are not aligned with the rifle.

4 – Adjust the scope. If this is a case of mounting, you will be able to adjust and site your scope to ensure that every shot compensates for the inevitable barrel droop.

Can You Prevent Barrel Droop?

Some high quality airguns are equipped to automatically deal with barrel droop that results from coking the mechanism.

Quality and price do play a roll in preventing barrel droop. For example, the higher quality and more expensive airguns like the Daystate Red State and FX Impact X Fixed Moderator tend to have fewer issues with barrel droop and that is related to price. Though not always the case, you can expect less barrel droop with higher quality and thus more expensive airguns.

That being said, here are some quick tips to avoid barrel droop in the first place:

• Keep your airgun in a climate-controlled space. Leaving it in a garage will cause it to expand and contract with the weather, which will cause barrel droop.
• Maintain your airgun as much as possible. If you know how to clean and maintain your gun, you will be less likely to miss little details, allowing you too see a loose screw before it causes issues.
• Use an adapter on your site which will compensate all barrel droop and can be consistency adjusted as the droop changes.

Need any other advice? Be sure to visit our airgun blog for more tips, tricks and hacks for your airgun!