Distance and pellet choice

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Bittershooter

Member
Dec 11, 2021
8
1
Montana, United States
First post here and a relatively new shooter

I was wondering if anyone has shot enough pellets over varying distances to decide that for a given gun and distance they will use "pellet X", where for a longer shot they opt for "pellet Y" (based on the relative groups of each). Or, is the tendency to go for a general do-it-all pellet that handles any range that you normally shoot and just figure the nuances for each shot?

I haven't done any long distance shooting, but have noted that several pellet brands/weights perform acceptably at shorter lengths, but often see spreading (should I say missing?) at longer shots using different pellets.

Main shooting: plinking and pesting, with some future hunting in mind.
 
Bitter,

Might want to try sampler packs, like these, they're made so you can try without having to buy a whole tin. Got these on Amazon.

WM
IMG_20211217_212527.1639794741.jpg

 
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Bittershooter,

As others have said, each airgun/barrel will usually perform best, yielding the best accuracy(can you hit what you aim at) and precision(consistently tight groups, with few "flyers"), with 1 particular pellet at most distances, so stick with that single pellet.

A time to consider different ammo would be if you needed better resistance to the effects of wind OR if you were shooting at really long distances. The answer to both is to use ammo with a much better ballistic coefficient, such as slugs. 

I like to shoot pellets on calm days target shooting/plinking/pesting at most distances(under 100 yards) because they will almost always outperform slugs(with respect to accuracy and precision) and are cheaper. But if it's windy out(and I want to have a chance to hit what I'm aiming at) OR I'm shooting over 100 yards, I use slugs. I prefer to find THE pellet and THE slug that perform best(yield the best accuracy and precision) out of a given gun/barrel, so that I have the flexibility to enjoy shooting in all conditions.

If you have the means, it would be ideal to have one gun set up for calm days/sub-100 yds(pellet shooter) and another for windy days/over 100 yards(slug shooter). Not exactly what you were asking, but I hope this helps. Welcome to the obsession, lol.
 
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I always use the pellet my rifle shoots best with. I have used 16 gr. .22 pellets past 100 yds and they kill just as good as heavier pellets in .22 at extended range. If you use a heavier pellet because its heavier and its not as accurate the weight means nothing a bad hit is a bad hit. Use the most accurate pellet and make good hits and the pellet will cleanly kill the target.
 
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I can see myself now with my old fishing vest that has about 8 or so different pockets on the front. Each pocket is labeled for different ranges and those pellets needed for that range.. Instead of forgetting to set my elevation turret or using the wrong mildot, I can say I used the wrong pocket and pellet !!! Sounds a bit confusing to me, guess I will just practice more with the same pellet my gun likes. 
 
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What I've not seen mentioned here really is cost. With my Red Wolf w Heliboard , it's so simple to switch between presets, I DO change to different pellets for distance. Shooting mainly offhand at 10 to 30 yards, no reason to burn up MRDs at 980 when 13.4s at 800 will do the same job for MUCH less cost and MANY more shots per charge. I went on a prairie dog hunt with a friend where I chose 18.1s over MRDs because of much greater shot count and possibly a little more safety for the area we hunted. My long confirmed was 196 yds, lasered, but there were many over 80 yards. MRDs would likely have yielded slightly better results on the long ones but I was quite happy to burn up 18.1s instead for the previously mentioned reasons.

It's really nice to have a rifle that shoots a lot of pellets well and is easy to switch.

Just my $0.02.

Bob
 
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It's kinda dependent on the gun and its design. Nearly of my airguns are one pellet wunders. They only ever shoot one pellet, at one speed. That is mostly due to how I use that particular gun and/or its design limitations in regards to changing power outputs. 

The only one that I flip back and forth between two different pellets is the Veteran Short in .20. I use the 13.73grainers for sub20 fpe field target and pesting when I need to keep the power down. And 1.5 turns in on the hammer tension bumps it up to just under 30fpe and I switch to the 15.89gr JSBs for long range. The slightly heavier 15.89s have an inordinately higher BC than logic would dictate so they're a much better option for 60+ yards than the 13.73s. 

At these particular power levels, 30 yard zero for the lower power pellet is about a 45 yard zero for the heavier/faster pellet. 

Of all my guns, this Vet Short in .20 gets shot the most, and a big part of that is the utility of the two different tunes/pellets/fpe. 

As long as a gun likes two different pellets, all it takes is knowing the details (zero distance and fps and BC and pellet weight) to put shots on target at whatever range (realistically for power and pellet) you want, with whatever pellet you want.

Best part of having a long range/high power config as well as a low power config is air conservation, and in some examples, the financial implications. 
 
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