In follow up to a previous post I made, comparing the measured BC's for two of the most popular pellets for the FX Wildcat, I went ahead today and retested the pellets, expanded the lineup tested, and used my new chronograph. Below are the details...
Some of you may be familiar with a couple of my posts that I've done testing the BC's for several pellets for my gun (RAW HM1000x) in .25 and .30 caliber. Well, I finally got my son his 'dream gun', and worked past all the initial issues (Gun is a FX Wildcat, Mk II in .25 cal). The gun has a Huma reg installed, the HS has been cleaned up to allow adjustments, a DonnyFL Sumo mod is installed and the gun has been tuned to shoot the JSB Heavies at @ 840 fps. Here's his gun:
Today I had the house to myself, so I got out the gun and set out to map the BC's of the several common pellets he'll shoot, as well as trying to capture the BC's on two Ratsniper slugs. The pellets tested are shown in the top row below, and include the following: the JSB Lite (25.4 grain), JSB Heavy, Mk II (33.95 grain), H&N Baracudas (31.02 grain), H&N Baracuda Hunter Extremes (28.40 grain) pellets, and the Ratsniper slug (36.0 grain). All were shot through the stock barrel liner that comes with the FX WC, Mk .25 cal (perhaps one of you can fill me in on which variant that is?). All pellets were not measured and were taken straight out of the tin without sorting for weight. No sorting for head sizes was complete either-so accuracy and variability are what you will typically experience shooting straight out of the tin.
Muzzle velocity, near was taken with the rear window of the chrony at 1 yard (3') from the tip of the moderator. Distance to far measurement, was taken with the rear window of the chrony at 50 yard from the tip of the moderator Delta (distance) between locations: 49 yards (measured with a Nikon laser rangefinder with angle compensation). The closest Chronograph is a Caldwell Ballistic Precision Premium Kit (includes the lights and tripod) that includes a cord to plug directly into the headphone port of a smartphone and record the data automatically. The newer chronograph (just arrived yesterday so I can do this testing for ya'll) is a Caldwell G2 Ballistic Precision which has a bluetooth connection to any smartphone for automatic recording of data (sweet!).
Here's a photo of the near Chrony setup:
Setup @ 1 yard:
Setup at the target (@ 50 yards, a 49 yard delta): Caldwell G2 Chronograph with Bluetooth link to iPad for data recording
I opened up Chairgun (Mac version) and adjusted the environmental conditions, altitude, etc. I then went to the BC calculator app, plugged in the data, and calculated the following results (below).
The weather today was beautiful: average temp today was 68F, with low winds (7 mph out of the SE, which is a slight tail wind), 50% Humidity, pressure at 30.27 in Hg.
Tested gun: FX Wildcat Mk II in .25 caliber with Huma reg installed, HS tension adjusted, stock barrel liner. DonnyFL Sumo Installed. Tuned to shoot Mk II heavies around 840 fps.
Test notes: Two different Chronographs were used (they have been carefully compared to find the offset in velocity readings between the two): the 1 yard chrony used is the 'Caldwell Ballistic Precision' Chronograph with the data link to the iPhone app to automatically record the shot data. The 50 yard chrony used is the newer Caldwell Chrony: Caldwell G2 Ballistic Precision which has a bluetooth connection to any smartphone for automatic recording of data-making my life MUCH easier for gathering the data. The offset between my two chrony's has been determined through painstaking testing to be 'Caldwell (Corded) Velocity = Caldwell G2 Velocity + 3.63 fps' (in other words: you have to add 3.63 fps to the G2 to equal the velocity measured by the Caldwell corded unit). These two distances have become my standard for recording BC data for airguns as the 1 yard 'muzzle' distance allows most of the exit dynamics to settle down and the 50 yard gives a good indication of typical target distances at longer range for which the guns will be used.
Velocity data is shown below for each pellet tested.
Shooter today is me...
For this comparison, I used data for 12 shots of teach pellet. I set off to capture the BC's from the two Ratsniper slugs, but had trouble getting them to record at 50 yards (I later realized the POI was shifted laterally and it was missing the chrony at 50 yards). I did map the velocities, shot by shot, in groupings, then averaged the bunch from both locations to use as inputs to calculate the BC's using Chairgun.
[Note: for those inclined to ask: yes, I have done it the other way in the past mapping the BC-shot by shot-since I have the data for a single pellet across both chronies. What I end up getting is a chart that shows some variability in the BC results and, when averaged, end up matching the results of simply averaging the data from the near chrony, averaging the data from the far chrony, and then using those two velocities with the delta distance to calculate the BC. They end up being the same either way...]
First up: JSB lites (25.39 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Next up: JSB Heavy, Mk II (33.95 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Next: H&N Baracuda's (31.02 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Next: H&N Baracuda Hunter Extremes (28.40 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Lastly, I did manage to get one, single shot to register across both chronies for the 36 grain slugs...
Last: Ratsniper Slug (36 grn): (yep, that's NOT a typo-they have crazy high BC's! Same slug in my RAW HM1000x with polygon barrel comes in at 0.0888!).
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Note: In the past I've included photos of the shot groups, measured for group size, etc. Today I simply shot to measure the ballistics and kept the point of aim on the same spot. Another time I will shoot groups to post a comparison (above) for further info for the comparison.
And the raw data, summarized in chart form :
So what do you do with the BC numbers now that they're shown for the combo above? Good question. What I do is feed that info into the Chairgun Pro App and create a ballistics card (range card) that goes on my gun for reference while out shooting. I shoot a MIL-MIL combo so all I have to do is rangefind, dial in the correct compensation, and shoot straight on. Here's a sample card, and what it looks like on my gun:
Which is really just a handy reference for the plot shown below:
Please ask if you have any questions (or point out any typos). I hope you find this info helpful? Is so, please consider taking a second and simply leaving a '+' with a nice comment for me-it let's me know my time and effort is appreciated and keeps me going with this kind of work for the community. I've spent a bunch of money on Chronographs now, lead and time so it's a pretty small way of saying 'thanks for the efforts'. Enough said- Enjoy!
Sean
Some of you may be familiar with a couple of my posts that I've done testing the BC's for several pellets for my gun (RAW HM1000x) in .25 and .30 caliber. Well, I finally got my son his 'dream gun', and worked past all the initial issues (Gun is a FX Wildcat, Mk II in .25 cal). The gun has a Huma reg installed, the HS has been cleaned up to allow adjustments, a DonnyFL Sumo mod is installed and the gun has been tuned to shoot the JSB Heavies at @ 840 fps. Here's his gun:
Today I had the house to myself, so I got out the gun and set out to map the BC's of the several common pellets he'll shoot, as well as trying to capture the BC's on two Ratsniper slugs. The pellets tested are shown in the top row below, and include the following: the JSB Lite (25.4 grain), JSB Heavy, Mk II (33.95 grain), H&N Baracudas (31.02 grain), H&N Baracuda Hunter Extremes (28.40 grain) pellets, and the Ratsniper slug (36.0 grain). All were shot through the stock barrel liner that comes with the FX WC, Mk .25 cal (perhaps one of you can fill me in on which variant that is?). All pellets were not measured and were taken straight out of the tin without sorting for weight. No sorting for head sizes was complete either-so accuracy and variability are what you will typically experience shooting straight out of the tin.
Muzzle velocity, near was taken with the rear window of the chrony at 1 yard (3') from the tip of the moderator. Distance to far measurement, was taken with the rear window of the chrony at 50 yard from the tip of the moderator Delta (distance) between locations: 49 yards (measured with a Nikon laser rangefinder with angle compensation). The closest Chronograph is a Caldwell Ballistic Precision Premium Kit (includes the lights and tripod) that includes a cord to plug directly into the headphone port of a smartphone and record the data automatically. The newer chronograph (just arrived yesterday so I can do this testing for ya'll) is a Caldwell G2 Ballistic Precision which has a bluetooth connection to any smartphone for automatic recording of data (sweet!).
Here's a photo of the near Chrony setup:
Setup @ 1 yard:
Setup at the target (@ 50 yards, a 49 yard delta): Caldwell G2 Chronograph with Bluetooth link to iPad for data recording
I opened up Chairgun (Mac version) and adjusted the environmental conditions, altitude, etc. I then went to the BC calculator app, plugged in the data, and calculated the following results (below).
The weather today was beautiful: average temp today was 68F, with low winds (7 mph out of the SE, which is a slight tail wind), 50% Humidity, pressure at 30.27 in Hg.
Tested gun: FX Wildcat Mk II in .25 caliber with Huma reg installed, HS tension adjusted, stock barrel liner. DonnyFL Sumo Installed. Tuned to shoot Mk II heavies around 840 fps.
Test notes: Two different Chronographs were used (they have been carefully compared to find the offset in velocity readings between the two): the 1 yard chrony used is the 'Caldwell Ballistic Precision' Chronograph with the data link to the iPhone app to automatically record the shot data. The 50 yard chrony used is the newer Caldwell Chrony: Caldwell G2 Ballistic Precision which has a bluetooth connection to any smartphone for automatic recording of data-making my life MUCH easier for gathering the data. The offset between my two chrony's has been determined through painstaking testing to be 'Caldwell (Corded) Velocity = Caldwell G2 Velocity + 3.63 fps' (in other words: you have to add 3.63 fps to the G2 to equal the velocity measured by the Caldwell corded unit). These two distances have become my standard for recording BC data for airguns as the 1 yard 'muzzle' distance allows most of the exit dynamics to settle down and the 50 yard gives a good indication of typical target distances at longer range for which the guns will be used.
Velocity data is shown below for each pellet tested.
Shooter today is me...
For this comparison, I used data for 12 shots of teach pellet. I set off to capture the BC's from the two Ratsniper slugs, but had trouble getting them to record at 50 yards (I later realized the POI was shifted laterally and it was missing the chrony at 50 yards). I did map the velocities, shot by shot, in groupings, then averaged the bunch from both locations to use as inputs to calculate the BC's using Chairgun.
[Note: for those inclined to ask: yes, I have done it the other way in the past mapping the BC-shot by shot-since I have the data for a single pellet across both chronies. What I end up getting is a chart that shows some variability in the BC results and, when averaged, end up matching the results of simply averaging the data from the near chrony, averaging the data from the far chrony, and then using those two velocities with the delta distance to calculate the BC. They end up being the same either way...]
First up: JSB lites (25.39 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Next up: JSB Heavy, Mk II (33.95 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Next: H&N Baracuda's (31.02 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Next: H&N Baracuda Hunter Extremes (28.40 grn):
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Lastly, I did manage to get one, single shot to register across both chronies for the 36 grain slugs...
Last: Ratsniper Slug (36 grn): (yep, that's NOT a typo-they have crazy high BC's! Same slug in my RAW HM1000x with polygon barrel comes in at 0.0888!).
Shot group:
(Picture may be added later)
Note: In the past I've included photos of the shot groups, measured for group size, etc. Today I simply shot to measure the ballistics and kept the point of aim on the same spot. Another time I will shoot groups to post a comparison (above) for further info for the comparison.
And the raw data, summarized in chart form :
So what do you do with the BC numbers now that they're shown for the combo above? Good question. What I do is feed that info into the Chairgun Pro App and create a ballistics card (range card) that goes on my gun for reference while out shooting. I shoot a MIL-MIL combo so all I have to do is rangefind, dial in the correct compensation, and shoot straight on. Here's a sample card, and what it looks like on my gun:
Which is really just a handy reference for the plot shown below:
Please ask if you have any questions (or point out any typos). I hope you find this info helpful? Is so, please consider taking a second and simply leaving a '+' with a nice comment for me-it let's me know my time and effort is appreciated and keeps me going with this kind of work for the community. I've spent a bunch of money on Chronographs now, lead and time so it's a pretty small way of saying 'thanks for the efforts'. Enough said- Enjoy!
Sean
