Like we need an excuse to shoot eh? I also enjoy testing for the best pellet... almost as much as tuning for best performance
Nice selection of ammo!
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Like we need an excuse to shoot eh? I also enjoy testing for the best pellet... almost as much as tuning for best performance
just because it works in his barrel does not mean it will be best in your barrel . it might work ok and your getting 1.25 inch groups and you think well that is the best my gun shoots (bummer) . so you at a range and i have the same gun but i am shooting an 13,2 grain (same brand ) but the guy told you 10 .5 grain shoot the best . so i let you ty the 13.2's and holy crapNo, it doesn't make sense. That's why I come to the forum to see what works in my current pcp. Least that makes more sense to me. Or, I ask the previous owner.
Yeah, pellet testing could (possibly) save some time and provide a starting point by identifying particularly good or bad pellets.Testing is still useful as a starting point, even if results vary by gun. It saves some trial and error, especially with tunable guns. Each airgun is different, knowing which pellets others have had success with can help narrow down the options.
The only pellets i gave up testing /sorting were the Eley Tenex as the variation was negatable . Size was consistent and weight was all within . 02 grain's .Yeah, pellet testing could (possibly) save some time and provide a starting point by identifying particularly good or bad pellets.
I spot-check (sort 25 or so pellets) each tin just to confirm that the manufacturer still has their process under control. Some manufacturers are consistently good and some not.
I think that instead of testing pellets in some gun that it would be more useful if people would sort a tin and report what variance in weight and head-size the found.
Cheers!
small variations or no variations on paper is my thing so , nicely written post , thankyouI've found (through firing a lot of shots) that weight makes MUCH more difference in accuracy than brand. A pellet in the appropriate weight range will always shoot well. To heavy or too light and things open up.
Sure there are differences in quality, consistency etc. And shooting for groups the details matter more. But when testing pellets in a particular air rifle weight range is what you are trying to establish.
Yes there are tiny differences in pattern size between brands. Yes one head size may shoot better. For target shooters that are focused on CTC spread this makes a difference. For the rest of us it simply does not.
In my rifles anything between 14 and 16 grs. In weight shoot well. A 3/4" hole at 25 yds with very few outside that pattern. Some pellet brands will reduce that hole to 1/2". Some brands or lots have more "fliers" than others. Conversely pellets that hold a bit wider pattern at 25 are often a bit tighter at longer ranges.
Does this matter to me? No. I'm not shooting competition nor trying to wring top accuracy out of my rifle. Fretting over sorting and sizing to shave off a few thousandths in group size is unimportant to me.
When a guy buys a new air rifle and is told to "try different pellets to see which one your gun likes" it's much more about weight range than brand. Once that is established the groups are pretty small. From there on out it takes hundreds of comparative shots to really see which pellets are "better". The reduction in group size is often less than shooter error and changes in the equipment.
I'm not bashing guys who get fussy over pellets trying to shoot the smallest pattern. That's all a part of your game. But when a guy "tests pellets" in a new rifle he isn't looking for a particular brand that shoots well. He's looking for WEIGHT RANGES that shoot well. From there he can further test between brands, head sizes, skirt thickness, weight consistency etc... if that's important to meet his goals.
In my experience for my purposes there isn't a nickels worth of difference between (most of) them. Sure an H&N pellet will shoot "better" than a Crosman on paper. And if that's important to the shooter then groovy. But weight range is much more critical to a springer than differences in brand or variations in head size. And determining the actual difference in pellets will take MUCH more shooting and experimentation than simply shooting one against the other and measuring the pattern.
A reloader will shoot hundreds of shots in comparative testing to determine the best bullet for accuracy. Hundreds more to determine the best seating depth. Hundreds more adjusting neck tension and shoulder fit. Simple comparative targets simply don't tell you much unless you repeat the tests MANY times with all other variables eliminated. It's no different testing airgun ammo in that respect.
After many thousands of shots and a hundred test targets I still can't tell you what pellet my air rifles "like best". The jury is still out on that. It has revealed that the weight range of the projectile is much more important than brand. And that some brands may have more "fliers". Digging deeper than that is only important when shooting for groups on paper targets.
Thanks for that detailed comment!I've found (through firing a lot of shots) that weight makes MUCH more difference in accuracy than brand. A pellet in the appropriate weight range will always shoot well. To heavy or too light and things open up.
Sure there are differences in quality, consistency etc. And shooting for groups the details matter more. But when testing pellets in a particular air rifle weight range is what you are trying to establish.
Yes there are tiny differences in pattern size between brands. Yes one head size may shoot better. For target shooters that are focused on CTC spread this makes a difference. For the rest of us it simply does not.
In my rifles anything between 14 and 16 grs. In weight shoot well. A 3/4" hole at 25 yds with very few outside that pattern. Some pellet brands will reduce that hole to 1/2". Some brands or lots have more "fliers" than others. Conversely pellets that hold a bit wider pattern at 25 are often a bit tighter at longer ranges.
Does this matter to me? No. I'm not shooting competition nor trying to wring top accuracy out of my rifle. Fretting over sorting and sizing to shave off a few thousandths in group size is unimportant to me.
When a guy buys a new air rifle and is told to "try different pellets to see which one your gun likes" it's much more about weight range than brand. Once that is established the groups are pretty small. From there on out it takes hundreds of comparative shots to really see which pellets are "better". The reduction in group size is often less than shooter error and changes in the equipment from day to day.
I'm not bashing guys who get fussy over pellets trying to shoot the smallest pattern. That's all a part of your game. But when a guy "tests pellets" in a new rifle he isn't looking for a particular brand that shoots well. He's looking for WEIGHT RANGES that shoot well. From there he can further test between brands, head sizes, skirt thickness, weight consistency etc... if that's important to meet his goals.
In my experience for my purposes there isn't a nickels worth of difference between (most of) them. Sure an H&N pellet will shoot "better" than a Crosman on paper. And if that's important to the shooter then groovy. But weight range is much more critical to a springer than differences in brand or variations in head size. And determining the actual difference in pellets will take MUCH more shooting and experimentation than simply shooting one against the other and measuring the pattern.
A reloader will shoot hundreds of shots in comparative testing to determine the best bullet for accuracy. Hundreds more to determine the best seating depth. Hundreds more adjusting neck tension and shoulder fit. Simple comparative targets simply don't tell you much unless you repeat the tests MANY times in several sessions with all other variables eliminated. It's no different testing airgun ammo in that respect.
After many thousands of shots and a hundreds of test targets I still can't tell you what pellet my air rifles "like best". The jury is still out on that. It has revealed that the weight range of the projectile is much more important than brand. And that some brands may have more "fliers". Digging deeper than that will take more comparative testing than most shooters are willing to do. Certainly more than I'm willing to do.
small variations or no variations on paper is my thing so , nicely written post , thankyou
Stan in KY
Well I agree with Bob to a point. When I get a new gun I shoot various weights of pellets through it to see which go 800-900 fps. On my Prod the practicle answer was 0 so I just kept them fairly light and tested to see which is more accurate. On my P35-177 and Caiman X I discovered quickly that it could launch light weight pellets faster than I want to shoot them, well over 900 fps, so I shot fairly heavy for caliber pellets and both are accurate with them. If I wanted to shoot lighter I would need to turn down the regulator. But I disagree with Bob relative to what I think as his assertion that pellets of equal or similar weight all shoot the same. I do not find this to be true. My Caiman X does not shoot JSB 18.1s nearly as well as it shoots H&N 18.1s. The H&N are smaller head size and may be a different lead alloy. JTS 18.1s also shot worse than H&Ns. I see the same thing in my P35-25 with JSB 33.95 grain pellets. MK IIs shoot noticably better than MK 1s. No alloy difference but there is some shape difference. I start by shooting to see how fast they go and then test further once I decide what weight range is appropriate. If they like a lighter or heavier pellet than what I want to shoot I would change the regulator and then test. I could use any 18.1s in my Caiman to shoot a squirrel in the head at reasonable range but to get the best 30 yard challenge score I only want H&Ns.
I logged in to say that I no longer think I need to sort H&N Baracuda 18s for my Caiman to get the best scores with it. I shot a whole 30 yard challenge target with it with the 18.3s I was worried about and the last 10 shots were all 10s. That's the short story but there is a thread in the projectile tab where I posted todays target and a long explanation.