H&N Baracuda Domed Airgun Pellets .22 Caliber / 21.14 Grains

Jump to latest Follow Reply
RandyTheHack

RandyTheHack

Member
Oct 3, 2023
18
6
Georgetown, KY, USA
Hey... bought my first air rifle, a Gamo Swarm Magnum 10x Gen3i in .22 cal. Man, I really like this rifle. My primary desire is for something silent so I can snipe squirrels, rabbits, and other varmints in the subdivision without making too much noise. So, my first concern was to make sure I was shooting subsonic. At the same time, I was looking for match-grade ammo with maximum downrange fpe. I'm still setting up my rifle... I have about 100 rounds through it at this point... swapped the stock scope for a UTG compact 3-9X32 1" BugBuster Scope w/illuminated mil-dot scope, and I picked up one of the trigger screws from Airgun Detectives, along with a set of bipods. Surgery on my left hand has me paused assembling and sighting in the scope, but with the stock scope, I had been shooting nickel sized groups at 15 yards, so I'm convinced this is a great, hard hitting rifle.

My question(s):
  1. Am I too worried about supersonic v/s subsonic ammo?
  2. Is the "keep it heavy" going to have negative side-effects downrange? I'm familiar with the downside of projectile weight v/s flat-shooting... I'm hoping with the mil-dot reticle, I can establish a good compromise from zero to 75 yards or less.
  3. Is there a better match-grade ammo than H&N out in the market without breaking the bank? From what I'm seeing, H&N seems to make some fairly consistent ammo.
  4. How critical is pellet lubrication to consistent, accurate shooting? I don't want to make a mess of what seems to be a good quality rifle.
 
Use whatever pellet shoots best in your gun. If those Baracudas are only managing nickle size groups at 15 yds then your range is realistically only about 20yds on small game. That grouping factors out to be a little over 5" at 75 which is unacceptable in my books for hunting purposes. With a little testing you should be able to find a pellet that can hold 1-1.5" at 50yds. Once you find that pellet you're golden at that range. 75yds is pushing it though. Most shots will rely on a good bit of luck to make a clean kill.

For what its worth, my Gamo Magnum could hold roughly 1" at 50yds CONSISTNTLY with one pellet and one pellet only. Th JSB RS 13.43gr. Your mileage may vary though.

As far as supersonic vs subsonic goes, you that is an important factor. Keep your pellets to roughly 900fps or less. I say roughly because I have had a couple of guns that could push 1000fps and maintain decent accuracy at 50yds. Faster than that and accuracy fell apart.
 
Upvote 0
My most accurate airgun, my P35 in 22 caliber, shoots H&N Baracuda Match (21 grain) the best of any pellet I've tried. Most people seem to think JSB pellets are better but in my 5 guns only one shoots JSB pellets better than H&N. But I feed them what they like. That can take awhile and some dollars to find out. Other people shoot nothing but Crosmans. My Prod shoots them pretty well but shoots H&N FTT copper plated better. I bought a sampler of JSBs when I got my P35 in that caliber but I don't now if they still offer that. It was a good way to try several weight of JSBs. The 18 grain shot well.

You probably do not have to worry about going supersonic if you do not diesel your gun and if you shoot lead pellets. You can buy a chronograph for about $20 and it is very worthwhile to have. Heavier pellets penetrate better and the trajectory may be OK but you need to know the velocity to know. I would want to see at least 700 fps. If it's slower than that I would try a lighter pellet like the H&N FTTs or one of the lighter JSBs. My Prod will only shoot about 750 fps even with the relatively light FTTs but it works fine for backyard sniping of squirrels. It's taken 15 so far.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nattboy and Sqwirl57
Upvote 0
JimD said:
My Prod will only shoot about 750 fps even with the relatively light FTTs but it works fine for backyard sniping of squirrels. It's taken 15 so far.
Click to expand...

That can't be stressed enough. Just yesterday I posted about a squirrel I took at 50yds.... with a 40yo, .177 6fpe 10m rifle throwing a 7.33gr at 600fps. That pellet was carrying under 3fpe on target and that squirrel barely twitched. Trading accuracy for power when it comes to small game makes very little sense in most cases.
 
  • Like
Reactions: oledawg
Upvote 0
A 14.66 grain FTT going 750 fps is 18 fpe at the muzzle. It takes squirrels fine but usually doesn't shoot through them and they often take a few steps before dropping. But it's a long ways from a 6fpe 177. I shot a squirrel with a 5 fpe pump up 177 and the pellet did not make it through the shoulder. That was at about 10 yards. The squirrel couldn't climb due to the broken shoulder but took several days to die. I don't use that gun on squirrels any more. Killing a squirrel at 50 yards with such a lightly powered airgun is an accomplishment but it not something I am going to try. Too much chance of a slow death for the squirrel.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sqwirl57
Upvote 0
JimD said:
A 14.66 grain FTT going 750 fps is 18 fpe at the muzzle. It takes squirrels fine but usually doesn't shoot through them and they often take a few steps before dropping. But it's a long ways from a 6fpe 177. I shot a squirrel with a 5 fpe pump up 177 and the pellet did not make it through the shoulder. That was at about 10 yards. The squirrel couldn't climb due to the broken shoulder but took several days to die. I don't use that gun on squirrels any more. Killing a squirrel at 50 yards with such a lightly powered airgun is an accomplishment but it not something I am going to try. Too much chance of a slow death for the squirrel.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recommend it either. My point was more or less that very little is actually needed. Stressing about which pellet "carries more power" is sort of a moot point when dealing with a respectfully powerful gun already. Go for accuracy.
 
Upvote 0
BSJ said:
I wouldn't call that a 75 yard gun. 50 would be pushing it.

My 32 ft/lb PCP is, in good conditions.

Are you truly a 75 yard shooter?
Click to expand...
I doubt it at this point (at least with me as the shooter); I'm trying to determine the effective range of the rifle. My back yard is probably 50 yards max anyway, which would put an effective hunting range under that; most of the game will be under 20 yards. Putting a decent scope on it should help. Thanks for the intel...
 
Upvote 0
RandyTheHack said:
I doubt it at this point (at least with me as the shooter); I'm trying to determine the effective range of the rifle. My back yard is probably 50 yards max anyway, which would put an effective hunting range under that; most of the game will be under 20 yards. Putting a decent scope on it should help. Thanks for the intel...
Click to expand...
If you're worried about your skills as a shooter go with a lighter, faster pellet that your gun likes. The differnece in holdover between a 700fps pellet and a 900fps is pretty significant. I'm not just talking about long range either. You will have a significantly longer PBR which means all you have to do is point and shoot, no holds. Both options will carry more than enough power for small game though, I promise. The fact that my little .177 carried enough power to do it at less than 1/4 of the muzzle energy your Gamo has is kind of proof of that. You have all the power you need with that gun already. At this point accuracy trumps all else.

As far as your effective range goes, nobody here will be able to tell you that. Your gun will drop a squirrel or rabbit in its tracks with a well placed shot at over 150yds. The limiting factor? Accuracy. A good rule of thumb for effective range on small game is how far out you can maintain a 1" group consistently. My guess there is with the right pellet, 50yds.
 
Upvote 0
Yep. H&N makes good pellets. They are my goto brand. My PCPs even like the 21s.

I'd recommend 18 or 14gr pellets next. But only the gun will be able to tell you what it really likes. As your skills improve you should be able to discern what it wants.

The important thing now is working on your skills.

A clean trigger pull. Steady sight picture and most importantly, follow through, are what you should be working on. Pellet brand is way down on the list...
 
Upvote 0
BSJ said:
Yep. H&N makes good pellets. They are my goto brand. My PCPs even like the 21s.

I'd recommend 18 or 14gr pellets next. But only the gun will be able to tell you what it really likes. As your skills improve you should be able to discern what it wants.

The important thing now is working on your skills.

A clean trigger pull. Steady sight picture and most importantly, follow through, are what you should be working on. Pellet brand is way down on the list...
Click to expand...
Understand on the pellet brand; I had to start somewhere, and the H&N Baracuda's seemed to be a good place to start, and I opted for heavier rather than lighter pellets. Thanks for the recommendation on the 18's; I'll probably give them a shot after I'm confident with the new rifle.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu