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FIELD TARGET TECH EPISODE 20 HEAVY WEIGHT PELLET TESTING FOR 12 FT.LB

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Back in the day when the Brits were killing us in FT with their 12 fpe rifles vs. our 20fpe models, the pellet of choice for them was the .177, 10.5 gr. Barakuda a/k/a Beeman Kodiak at about 720 fps. They were very accurate and the Brits knew their rifles. We Americans also started using them and John Giles (famous 1911 .45 acp gunsmith and ardent FT competitor) created a sizer for this pellet that was called the "Giles roller" .The Barakuda/Kodiak became the pellet of choice until Bob Holz of Crosman designed the CPL and CPH pellet which were, IMHO, the best production, FT pellets ever manufactured. Bob brought sample packs to major FT events to be field tested, with shooter input becoming an important part of final product development. They were produced on only a single die with .0001 tolerance and hand inspected and packed in brown cardboard boxes. Pellets of the same quality soon came in.22 and .20. Long story short, these perfect pellets were allowed to devolve to their sorry state at the present time through corporate sloth and box store, big sales mentality.

But the point is that heavy for caliber pellets have been shown to work well in the past. Given todays technological advantages and proper barrel twist, there is no reason why they should not produce long range accuracy for the accuracy seeking rifleman.
 
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JW652,

Interesting story. It seems, recently the Brits are using the 10.3 JSB'S to good effect once again.

The quality of pellets over the last few years is horrible, for most brands. The only company that I see that has stepped up their quality and game is H&N. They have been my go-to pellet for the last 2 years or so.

The quality issue is proven in your story, as the best pellets came from one die, and one die only. I can safely say that from some of the production pellet rooms that I have seen, they all use a series of dies, not one. Up to 8 dies are used, depending upon the company. Speed is also a large factor. A machine that pumps out 300 pellets a minute, will have a greater weight range than a pellet machine producing 100. The whole thing with pellet accuracy and consistency is slowing down, I learned that the hard way.

I was making my own pellets with a swaging press, and dies. I was making about 5-8 a minute, and couldn't figure out why the weights varied so much, almost by a half a grain. Contacted the designer and manufacturer of the press and dies, and his simple answer was.......... just slow down. Go slower, let the lead bleed out for several seconds before ejection. I was now only making about 3 pellets a minute, but they all weighed exactly the same, never had to weigh them again.

I'll have to put out another part 2 video on the above subject, I have about a dozen more different projectiles to test out, plus my own when my dies come. Can't wait!!

Thanks for your comments and insight,

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech 
 
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I too was fooling around with my WFTF rig earlier this spring where it typically is shooting +/- 8 grain pellets 800ish , tried some 10.3 in the 720's shooting at 50 yards.

ABSOLUTELY the 10.3's were more accurate, moved less in the wind too ..... issue being the VERY loopy trajectory and the need to be as Dead Nuts accurate as possible in ranging accuracy. Sadly i no longer own a BIG Sightron 10-50 and scope i do have is just not up to the task of such accurate distance measuring via parallax.



Now the .20 cal ( Typical 13.6 JSB ) at >20 ft lbs for FT work .... 4 state championships, Nationals & High score & Gran Prix win, I'm sold !!! Will never shoot a .177 in FT at the >20 ft lb level again.



Scott S 
 
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Have you tried the JSB shorts ?? , Its an 8.44 but shorter so is less affected by wind . I run them in my HFT 12 ft/lb and top be honest they work a treat . They group at 50 so well . I can send you groups if you would like ? I know its an b.44 but they are tight in the barrel and thy perform ! They work so so well in both my TM 1000's and every other gun I have tried .





Rog




 
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Rog,

I've tried them in every rig I have at 12 ft.lb,.....Steyr LG 110 FT, RAW TM 1000, Crosman Challenger, Benjamin Marauder, Air Arms EV 2 Mark lV, and in zero wind, I couldn't get less than 1" groups at 30 yards with any of them. Goes to show, what one gun likes, another of the exact same make and model might not. I've found that in the Field Target competition world, not a lot of guns/competitors like them, they just don't group well in a variety of rigs.

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech 
 
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Rog,

I've tried them in every rig I have at 12 ft.lb,.....Steyr LG 110 FT, RAW TM 1000, Crosman Challenger, Benjamin Marauder, Air Arms EV 2 Mark lV, and in zero wind, I couldn't get less than 1" groups at 30 yards with any of them. Goes to show, what one gun likes, another of the exact same make and model might not. I've found that in the Field Target competition world, not a lot of guns/competitors like them, they just don't group well in a variety of rigs.

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech
Click to expand...

Well cover me in a flour and bake me for 14 mins .. That's nuts , I have tried them in RAW TM1000's , BSA Goldstar's FX IMpact's , AA S400 and S410's and they have worked ( not straight away ) and grouped really well. The TM took at least 50 pellets to get on song but when it came on it worked a treat ? That's so strange ? Mu buddy tried them in his FT set up and to be honest I thought we had found a gun that they'd not group in, We shot a bunch through it and then it came on . I don't get it buddy ??? How strange ?? I did have to clean my older TM lots before they worked but boy did they work . Its so strange buddy ?? They are the pellets I will be using for the World HFT Championships in two weeks and also a couple of my Team will be using hem too . Lets hope they get on well .





Rog

Love the vid's by the way ! 
 
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Rog,

That is strange......I'm in the USA on the East Coast, and out of all of the WFTF FT shooters, I actually can't think of one that actually uses those pellets in competition. Probably goes to show how pellet picky ANY barrel from any brand gun is. In fact, I can't even name one US shooter that uses them, including elite shooters that have attended several world championships. It is kind of odd........

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech 
 
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Rog,

There is no JSB Short, with that name, here in the States.

What we DO have, as John said above, is what JSB calls their Exact Premium pellet. It is an 8.44 grain pellet, redesigned, and put into a shorter, more compact pellet, with the same size as a JSB Express (7.9 grain) pellet. They come packed individually in 200 count boxes.

https://images.app.goo.gl/czTW755EF9mxjrDC8

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech 
 
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