FX Panthera 500, 177 Accuracy with Slugs. All comments welcome.

Not an FX'er ... but do & have built several High Output .177 heavy pellet or slug shooters.

:oops: Wish to shoot slugs and make the speed / power required IMO to make it worth while .... 500mm barrel IS NOT ENOUGH length and would do so with 600 min and best being a 700mm length.

Again ... JMO ;)
Yea everyone I talk to says the same thing, just love the speed and flatter trajectory of the 177... Was hoping to go with a Panthera 500 but not looking good...
 
Yes that is the general consensus I have gotten, .177 just to light and even with the speed the lightest wind will blow to BFE...
Don't mistake the barrel suggested length for .177 performance !!
I absolutely LOVE 🥰 the high output .177's I've put together in recent years.
While they won't hang with the larger calibers at 100++ yards, within there realistic range they are Flat shooting, Fast & can be Very Very accurate even in modest winds :p

Interesting read https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/177-cal-ideal-thinking-vs-reality.1008332/post-1008776
Post #26 some personal experience with a heavy pellet
 
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Don't mistake the barrel suggested length for .177 performance !!
I absolutely LOVE 🥰 the high output .177's I've put together in recent years.
While they won't hang with the larger calibers at 100++ yards, within there realistic range they are Flat shooting, Fast & can be Very Very accurate even in modest winds :p
100 yds is the max I was going for but my goal was to have a shorter hunting type rifle, max a 500 barrel. I was wanting to use slugs for the extra hitting/killing power on small prey. Guess I will just have to settle for Pellets☹
 
100 yds is the max I was going for but my goal was to have a shorter hunting type rifle, max a 500 barrel. I was wanting to use slugs for the extra hitting/killing power on small prey. Guess I will just have to settle for Pellets☹
Get a m3 600 fits in a 36” case and has the power!
 
100 yds is the max I was going for but my goal was to have a shorter hunting type rifle, max a 500 barrel. I was wanting to use slugs for the extra hitting/killing power on small prey. Guess I will just have to settle for Pellets☹
Maybe you are a fan of the traditional rifle platform, but if you want short, a bullpup is going to deliver more power per linear inch of gun, not barrel length, overall gun length.
I have a 600mm Panthera and next to my M3 600mm it looks ridiculous and one of the reasons it sits at home on most outings.
 
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Maybe you are a fan of the traditional rifle platform, but if you want short, a bullpup is going to deliver more power per linear inch of gun, not barrel length, overall gun length.
I have a 600mm Panthera and next to my M3 600mm it looks ridiculous and one of the reasons it sits at home on most outings.
Not a fan of traditional at all, love the bullpup setup. Yes starting to look like one of my only options, the Epoch and Red Wolf also shoot very good with slugs.
 
Ya watch him all the time, to be honest a one inch group at 100yds with that Panthera is not all that impressive. Unless you can chalk it up to wind?
For .177, I think a 1" group is great at 100 yards. But of coarse, I too would like to see better.

I did have high hopes that the Panthera would get more like 1/2" groups at 100 yards under great conditions. Time will tell if the magic tune is viable with this platform for such results.
 
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94 yards 700 mm Maverick - 13 gr Zan slugs
If we ignore both #5 shots ( that be the high and left hole ) not bad 4 shot groups.

That is 2" targets.

86M.jpg
 
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Well you can always go longer barrel, my Maverick came as 600 mm and was a nightmare with just about any pellet, upping 100 mm changed the pellet situation but i had to go DIY as the FX factory parts to cover the 100 mm longer barrel is shamefully expensive, so i made my own shroud out of 3 carbon fiber pipes ( inside each other )
Very stiff but a side effect is i have to clock the " shroud " if it have been off and get put back in the worst possible orientation at 50 M the hole appear 1-2 feet from where i am aiming, but a small issue just something i have to be mindful about, and it is rare i pull the " shroud " alone.
I either pull it all, or i pull the barrel removing the end knob CUZ i do have both the regular barrel and the heavy liner.

My 530 mm long barrel AGT Vulcan 3, it can hold its own against the Maverick at the same distances, though i have never really 100 % dialed that rifle for slugs, one things for sure i would not like to be a little tweedy bird or a rat up there ( 82 - 86 M away ) in the back end of the field.
But i generally shoot shorter and pellets with that rifle,
But it at least prove you can also push things as fast out of a shorter barrel.

My 700 mm Maverick i can turn the REG pressure down to 60-70 BAR and still push 13 gr slugs at the 950 or so FPS, but its not the most accurate maybe due to harmonics, 90 BAR or so give better results.

5ea7a52cb5181f31debc613b118da8277f796519.jpg
 
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Seriously considering a new Panthera 500, in .177, BUT I am only interested in shooting slugs. Anyone out there have experience with this or know how accurate this gun can be with slugs??

Panthera is really made for slugs and contrary to some people's opinions FX 177 barrels shoot slugs very well. My crown with "short" 500mm barrel can shoot 12.5g NSA 900+ fps. Go for it, no reason not to. Just don't try to tune for slugs with low reg pressure like 90 bars, generally speaking I leave my regs at 140-150 bars on my FX guns. Sadly the 15 grain NSA only has BC of 0.075 vs 0.07 of 12.5 grain so I didn't bother with the 15 grain NSA.

Also contrary to some people's opinions you don't need 1000fps to shoot slugs accurately. If the wind isn't bad I was plinking soda can sized steel targets at 220 yards......with a 380mm 177 barrel on my lowly crown.
 
Well you can always go longer barrel, my Maverick came as 600 mm and was a nightmare with just about any pellet, upping 100 mm changed the pellet situation but i had to go DIY as the FX factory parts to cover the 100 mm longer barrel is shamefully expensive, so i made my own shroud out of 3 carbon fiber pipes ( inside each other )
Very stiff but a side effect is i have to clock the " shroud " if it have been off and get put back in the worst possible orientation at 50 M the hole appear 1-2 feet from where i am aiming, but a small issue just something i have to be mindful about, and it is rare i pull the " shroud " alone.
I either pull it all, or i pull the barrel removing the end knob CUZ i do have both the regular barrel and the heavy liner.

My 530 mm long barrel AGT Vulcan 3, it can hold its own against the Maverick at the same distances, though i have never really 100 % dialed that rifle for slugs, one things for sure i would not like to be a little tweedy bird or a rat up there ( 82 - 86 M away ) in the back end of the field.
But i generally shoot shorter and pellets with that rifle,
But it at least prove you can also push things as fast out of a shorter barrel.

My 700 mm Maverick i can turn the REG pressure down to 60-70 BAR and still push 13 gr slugs at the 950 or so FPS, but its not the most accurate maybe due to harmonics, 90 BAR or so give better results.

5ea7a52cb5181f31debc613b118da8277f796519.jpg
That is my plan as well I have seen and confirmed several people shooting slugs accurately from the Compact. So it can be done I was hoping to go .177 but its looking like I am going to have to move up to .22 to accomplish what I intend to do.