.25 STX superior, your experiences

[$p00kygH0ST]

Have the perfect birding/ratting ammo,
FX 25.4/exact king 25.39 at 885-895 same hole groups out to 70 1± moa @100

Been experimenting with slugs and velocities.

This is the 600mm 1:24 stx superior

HYBRIDS hold really tight but only 60y and in. 1.25-1.5moa at best @ 100 .. for rabbit or beaver sure.

SLUG HPII 30gr so far best results I've had with a slug. 0.25mil groups at 25-65 about the same at 100. That's at 880fps which is where my barrels sweet spot seems to be.

ZAN 26.5 just no. Everywhere. 1" @35
Zan 28. Better but about the same to marginally looser grouping than Hybrids
Zan 30 at 840 sure.. but what's the point at that speed? I can shoot heavy mk1 at 890 with superior results
NSA .249 26.8. DISH no no all over
NSA 28 .249 Dish. All over.
I realize stx superior isn't meant for heavier slugs so I've kept it under 34.

JSB SLUGS worth it? Anyone have anything else they've had surprisingly good performance with?

I wish Hybrids worked better, if I was within 70 for everything that'd be amazing because those things almost always leave rabbit, squirrel, beaver SUPER DRT, ESPECIALLY at 925 ±5

 

[Vetmx]

When I played the .25 600mm liner game with my MKll’s, 935fps was always where I wound up with Hybrids. I could shoot walnuts off a tree all evening with either gun at 125 yards. Then two days later it wouldn’t do it. I messed with heavy liners and heavier slugs but still wasn‘t impressed. I came to the realization that if shooting slugs wasn’t almost 100% beneficial over pellets, why do it. So I changed my approach with my .25’s. I build barrels for them. Life is much better now. The .25 is a stinker with those liners. But it’s amazing with several pellets.

 

[25Cal]

I’ve had good luck with H&N and the KO MK2.

 

[$p00kygH0ST]

When I played the .25 600mm liner game with my MKll’s, 935fps was always where I wound up with Hybrids. I could shoot walnuts off a tree all evening with either gun at 125 yards. Then two days later it wouldn’t do it. I messed with heavy liners and heavier slugs but still wasn‘t impressed. I came to the realization that if shooting slugs wasn’t almost 100% beneficial over pellets, why do it. So I changed my approach with my .25’s. I build barrels for them. Life is much better now. The .25 is a stinker with those liners. But it’s amazing with several pellets.

920-930 got me there. Crab apples and walnuts. The velocity retention and terminal effect are incredible. But pellets are so much more accurate than them past 60-70y. 1.5moa isn't tight enough to guarantee I don't horrifically maim or outright miss my quarry. Which 80% of the year is sparrows and starlings, and the heads of muscovy ducks.

I appreciate the slugs ability to reach further. I had all but given up, then I got an email "use your $22.75 Shop app credit". So i did. And a new flame of hope ignited after I saw the groups of the H+N 30gr. 1 uniform hole on my best group., the rest fingertip tight. 25,35....45......50.......70. If it retains that at 70 it's not going beyond a minute at 100. And that's OK. BC +.11 yes, please.

The .25 is a stinker with those liners.

(I specifically got my crown continuum in .22 for this reason)

 

[Vetmx]

You might be surprised. I’ve had plenty go from hero at 75 to crap at 100. But the main part of the slug game to not get caught up in is the long bomb hype. As long as they work and are good and consistent at the distances you plan to use the gun for, you’re good. The last one I built I only did my testing out to 155 yards. Why didn’t I try 200 or 250 yards? Simple, I don’t ever plan to try to kill something farther away than that with that gun.

 

[$p00kygH0ST]

I'm not trying to get kills at 200 or play the LR game. I want to put the most energy possible at the ranges I most encounter targets.

My no.1 plot I have a 14ft high perch.
To my east treeline at 55-58y at eye level, southeast a 40y wide gap with a field and treeline 144y out and a butterfly bush and small willow at 123 between that treeline and I. My direct south treeline at 20 extending quite a while southwest maxing at 87y at eye level. My dead west i have buildings and a dying white oak at 61y very popular with wildlife,, north west barns, dead north, massive oak 30y behind me. I want as much energy as possible at all distances. Slugs do that better.

(For sparrows and starlings, pellets every single time)

 

[Vetmx]

Well the good news is with the platform and caliber you chose, you might be busy with a testing and spending hobby for a long time. The one thing you have going for you is the lack of tunnel vision about speed. You found your best results at low speeds and that’s says something.

Sometimes no matter what you do, the gun will never meet your expectations. You didn’t fail, the gun and its available components did. Then it’s time for plan B. You made enough people money with plan A.

 

[$p00kygH0ST]

Well the good news is with the platform and caliber you chose, you might be busy with a testing and spending hobby for a long time. The one thing you have going for you is the lack of tunnel vision about speed. You found your best results at low speeds and that’s says something.

Sometimes no matter what you do, the gun will never meet your expectations. You didn’t fail, the gun and its available components did. Then it’s time for plan B. You made enough people money with plan A.

I'm under no illusions. I know what the dreamline can do. I'm limited to about 62fpe, and I've had no issue doing damage with pellets at "best speed". What's Important to me is surgical precision and on that many pellets deliver from 25.4-34gr. I just find that at 865-890 I get MUCH tighter more consistent groups than trying to push exact Kings at 930, not to mention 6 mags before needing a fill. 26gr Hybrids at 925 ish and now 30 HP slugs at 880. I've got a tune where I can push the exacts at 887 at 125bar pw:15 5.5-6 mags from 250bar-150. And if I crank the wheel up to 20 I'm pushing 30gr slugs at 880-3.5 mags till fill, or 23(max) for 33.95 Mk1@ ~875. I'm just trying to see if anyone has any experience with any other projectiles. I'm liking the slug HP. $11-120Ct isn't bad for something I'm only going to shoot at living targets. 25.4s are for plinking or pulling probe and swapping barrels to .22 is much more economical.

Plan B is a toss up between HM1000X, Veteran 2, or Huben K1. Haven't made my mind up.

Also recently acquired a crown mk2 continuum in .22
I

 

[Vetmx]

In my experience if a .25 likes a HP 30gr, there’s a good chance it will like a Zan 30gr.

 

[$p00kygH0ST]

In my experience if a .25 likes a HP 30gr, there’s a good chance it will like a Zan 30gr.

It worked. But 40fps slower Gave me best results. I'm pretty sure I'm at the point where I've got my loads. I'm always looking anyone else who's had good experiences with a projectile at 50-65~ fpe. Would try maybe something a little heavier or some different nsa offerings. The nsa economics aren't bad either. $16-100 of Hybrids isn't worth it. But 19-22 for 275 IS.. but hell .7-1.1 MOA is pretty damn good. Only 3FPE LESS At 100y than Exact Kings at the muzzle. Should be good enough. I'm a tinkerer. But I do always leave good enough alone after enough trial and error.

I love my dreamline. The trigger, the sound, the accuracy, the feel... the efficiency... I've taken so many pest birds off the planet. It's a new addiction that took the place of a very bad one I ditched some time ago. I don't mind spending on a few different projectiles every so often to experiment.

 

[$p00kygH0ST]

What in God's name did this phone do to my message?

The economics of NSA slugs isn't bad compared to Hybrids.
But maybe I should just stop here 40fpe to 100, .7-1.1MOA at 100, and at 10.99 a tin. Maybe this is it.

 

[VneMC2]

Have the perfect birding/ratting ammo,
FX 25.4/exact king 25.39 at 885-895 same hole groups out to 70 1± moa @100

Been experimenting with slugs and velocities.

This is the 600mm 1:24 stx superior

HYBRIDS hold really tight but only 60y and in. 1.25-1.5moa at best @ 100 .. for rabbit or beaver sure.

SLUG HPII 30gr so far best results I've had with a slug. 0.25mil groups at 25-65 about the same at 100. That's at 880fps which is where my barrels sweet spot seems to be.

ZAN 26.5 just no. Everywhere. 1" @35
Zan 28. Better but about the same to marginally looser grouping than Hybrids
Zan 30 at 840 sure.. but what's the point at that speed? I can shoot heavy mk1 at 890 with superior results
NSA .249 26.8. DISH no no all over
NSA 28 .249 Dish. All over.
I realize stx superior isn't meant for heavier slugs so I've kept it under 34.

JSB SLUGS worth it? Anyone have anything else they've had surprisingly good performance with?

I wish Hybrids worked better, if I was within 70 for everything that'd be amazing because those things almost always leave rabbit, squirrel, beaver SUPER DRT, ESPECIALLY at 925 ±5

Yes indeed I am still waiting for the "HOLY GRAIL" of slug world to appear

 

[$p00kygH0ST]

Yes indeed I am still waiting for the "HOLY GRAIL" of slug world to appear

Is it really so much to ask? Lol.

I don't get why not same premise as hybrid, in 25.4 with a closed hollow tip. I don't care about heavy slugs I want the same energy to fly further. A 34gr pellet vs a 34 gr slug at the same velocity, the slug is superior... the slug isn't AS prone to err as diabolos from minor issues such as a tiny imbalance and GP turning it into a whirly bird. My 890 in a slug will hold the same energy/velocity at 120y as a diabolo Will at 25y. So far the light ZAN and NSAs HATE my barrels yet heavier slugs up to 34. Do better, but my damn near 90 shots turns to 40 real quick when I'm giving the required HS and preload to hurl 34gr at 860+.

Anyway. Decision is made to cap it at 30gr with slugs and stick with the hps for 80 and further on larger than crow/squirrel game. Hybrids within 80 are the tool. Winged friends get pellets.