HW30s pellet testing continued

[Oquossoc]

I received more pellets so today I continued testing pellets in the new HW30s. It has a Vortek PG4 tune kit and seal in it. The gun has about 500 shots through it, about 300 since the tune. I think it is just beginning to settle in. It has a Bugbuster 3-12x on it. Today was 28 degrees, no wind, sunny. I put up the standard Gamo pellet targets at 20 paces, but when I set up the shooting table in the garage it turned into a 23 yard distance. Close enough. Because it was cold, I decided to shoot 5 shot groups. I used a dime, a penny, and a quarter to measure the groups. A dime = 7/16"; a penny = 3/4"; a quarter = 7/8". I shot with the gun in my hand on a rest, sitting. I am an average shot, fairly steady, still getting used to the gun, have not adjusted the out of the box trigger.
Here are the results of two, five shot groups of each pellet.
JSB 7.3 exact dime, dime
RWS 7.0 wad cutters Quarter, quarter
JSB 8.4 Exact premier dime & called flyer, dime
H&N 8.6 FTT quarter, quarter
JSB Exact 8.4 4.52 head penny, penny
JSB exact 7.3 4.52 head dime, dime
JSB exact heavy 10.3 4.52 head dime, dime
JSB Stratton pointed 8.3 4.50 head larger than a quarter, quarter
AA Falcon 7.3 Dime and a ten shot group penny

The 2, 5 shot groups of each pellet were remarkable consistent.
The 7.3g AA Falcons and 7.3 JSBs shoot very well, the surprise was the JSB Exact Heavy 10.3g. They shoot very well, and really ring the pellet trap!! The JSB Stratton 8.3 and the RWS 7.0 wadcutters shoot the poorest, but still hold an inch at 23 yds.
Since I got the gun about a month ago, it has taken 11 red squirrels at 9-11 yds with JSB 7.3g pellets. All but one were clean kill head shots, the dog had to chase one down that I winged. I have fed them to our local fox and fisher cat. They have all been complete pass through shots, so no lead poisoning worries for the wildlife.
I am curious about the JSB exact in 7.8, so may try them next.

 

[readyfisher9]

Shooting from my Beeman R7 with a mounted Athlon Talos scope 4X16X40, the 7.33 AA Falcon pellets were awesome. Basically one hole at 25 yards. The scope was a great addition.

 

[peaceful_ruler]

Thanks for the info! I also found the 7.33 JSB's to do quite well from my HW30 at 20 meters. Might I suggest the FTT Green 5.71 grain? They are the most accurate out of my HW30 so far and really flatten the trajectory of the low power springer. I've not tried them past 25 meters but I'm sure they lose their energy really quickly via low mass.

 

[beerthief]

wonderful write up , Thanks
I am planning on a HW30 and a Blue streak at the Air Gun show at the end of April .

 

[Oquossoc]

Thanks for the info! I also found the 7.33 JSB's to do quite well from my HW30 at 20 meters. Might I suggest the FTT Green 5.71 grain? They are the most accurate out of my HW30 so far and really flatten the trajectory of the low power springer. I've not tried them past 25 meters but I'm sure they lose their energy really quickly via low mass.

Will give them a go, out to 25 they should do quite well on paper, not sure I'd want to shoot a squirrel out there with one, now those 10.3g JSB have my interest for 25 yd squirrel.

 

[jps2486]

My Beeman R7 is still box stock and shoots JSB 8.4 gr very well at 595 fps.

 

[Frogy]

Shooting from my Beeman R7 with a mounted Athlon Talos scope 4X16X40, the 7.33 AA Falcon pellets were awesome. Basically one hole at 25 yards. The scope was a great addition.

View attachment 336024

so about that gun rest what is it ? is that what you shoot off of? I've seen that in other pictures has me intrigued

 

[Mycapt65]

Will give them a go, out to 25 they should do quite well on paper, not sure I'd want to shoot a squirrel out there with one, now those 10.3g JSB have my interest for 25 yd squirrel.

10.3s in Hw30?

 

[Oquossoc]

My Beeman R7 is still box stock and shoots JSB 8.4 gr very well at 595 fps.

View attachment 336030

That is SOME GOOD shooting!! Inspiring me to keep on getting trigger time!!

 

[Oquossoc]

10.3s in Hw30?

I know it sounds odd, but they were one ragged hole, after all some folks shoot this gun in .22!! I understand, the 10.3's would be a rainbow much beyond 25.... but they are driving tacks inside 25 and hit like a little hammer.

 

[Mycapt65]

I know it sounds odd, but they were one ragged hole, after all some folks shoot this gun in .22!! I understand, the 10.3's would be a rainbow much beyond 25.... but they are driving tacks inside 25 and hit like a little hammer.

10.3s in a Hw30? Don't do it. They may be accurate but it's hurting the gun and you're losing a lot of muzzle energy with them. Usually the greater BC never makes up for the initial power losses.

Hw30s shine in the 7-8 grain area. Much over 8 grains they lose a lot of energy. I shoot my Hw30s out to 100yds with 7.33s occasionally 8.44s. That's as heavy as I go.

Even the bigger Weihrauchs that I've tested lost a lot of power with heavy pellets. This weekend I tuned a Hw95 which is a considerably bigger power plant it made 14.9 fpe with 8.64 FTTs and only 12.49 fpe with 10.65 Barracuda Match. Every Weihrauch platform I've tested and tuned suffered large losses in power as pellet weights increased past normal. Even my R1 dropped from something like 17+fpe with 8.44 to 13+ with 10+grain pellets.

 

[Mycapt65]

Get a chronograph and you will see

 

[Sqwirl57]

10.3s in a Hw30? Don't do it. They may be accurate but it's hurting the gun and you're losing a lot of muzzle energy with them. Usually the greater BC never makes up for the initial power losses.

Hw30s shine in the 7-8 grain area. Much over 8 grains they lose a lot of energy. I shoot my Hw30s out to 100yds with 7.33s occasionally 8.44s. That's as heavy as I go.

Even the bigger Weihrauchs that I've tested lost a lot of power with heavy pellets. This weekend I tuned a Hw95 which is a considerably bigger power plant it made 14.9 fpe with 8.64 FTTs and only 12.49 fpe with 10.65 Barracuda Match. Every Weihrauch platform I've tested and tuned suffered large losses in power as pellet weights increased past normal. Even my R1 dropped from something like 17+fpe with 8.44 to 13+ with 10+grain pellets.

I've noticed basically the same thing as you have with the HWs and heavier pellets. Almost all of them lose a pretty decent amount of muzzle energy going to the heavier pellets. My 30S seems to disagree with the usual train of thought though for some reason. Mine loves the 10.3s and doesn't get the expected buzz/bounce out of the spring and piston when using them. Its worth noting that mine is also running a PG4 kit with the Vortek piston seal. Here are just some quick chrono numbers that I ran an hour ago:

JSB 8.44gr @ 8ftlbs

JSB 10.3gr @ 7.9ftlbs

 

[EMrider]

All of my guns shoot the AA 10.3s very well and it is the most accurate pellet in my Vortek hw50s (11fpe), hw97k (12.5fpe) and pro sport (12fpe). With these guns muzzle energy is only 0.2-0.4fpe less than the AA 8.4s, so not a big deal. But with my R7s I lose about 1fpe with the AA 10.3s . I also prefer the AA 7.3s with my R7s.
R

 

[Mycapt65]

I may have to retry the 10.3s it's been awhile since I've tried them. The last two tins I had, one the AA rebrand and one JSB had a lot of bent skirts that turned me off. Still I did loose some energy with the unbent ones. So I just wrote them off.

Other brands of 9+ grain 177 pellets always costs me considerable energy so I stay away from them. I've had similar experiences with my 20 and 22 caliber Weihrauchs with heavy for the caliber pellets. Maybe there's something special about the 10.3s that I should revisit them.

 

[Oquossoc]

10.3s in a Hw30? Don't do it. They may be accurate but it's hurting the gun and you're losing a lot of muzzle energy with them. Usually the greater BC never makes up for the initial power losses.

Hw30s shine in the 7-8 grain area. Much over 8 grains they lose a lot of energy. I shoot my Hw30s out to 100yds with 7.33s occasionally 8.44s. That's as heavy as I go.

Even the bigger Weihrauchs that I've tested lost a lot of power with heavy pellets. This weekend I tuned a Hw95 which is a considerably bigger power plant it made 14.9 fpe with 8.64 FTTs and only 12.49 fpe with 10.65 Barracuda Match. Every Weihrauch platform I've tested and tuned suffered large losses in power as pellet weights increased past normal. Even my R1 dropped from something like 17+fpe with 8.44 to 13+ with 10+grain pellets.

Once again, thanks for sharing your experience. I don't want to mess up the gun by shooting heavies. Did not realize that could be an issue! That is what makes this a good forum, you folks are generous with your knowledge.

 

[davelarson]

I didn’t realize that either! My HW30 has an indoor shooting kit installed that is slower than a stock rifle.
I chose .22 because the pellets are easier to handle for an old guys hands, and the indoor kit because it cocks so easily.
At 10 yards it shoots one ragged hole with 14.66 grain H&N Field Target Trophy pellets, but it’s just as good with the lighter stuff.
And now that I know it can damage the rifle I’ll stop with the heavy stuff.
This forum and it’s members are awesome, thanks guys.

 

[beerthief]

ME TOO !!! thankyou i did not realize i could damage the rifle . (springer rifle )

 

[readyfisher9]

so about that gun rest what is it ? is that what you shoot off of? I've seen that in other pictures has me intrigued

I shoot off a bench at the gun club with a bag. Here is my HW97K off the same rest.

 

[Mycapt65]

ME TOO !!! thankyou i did not realize i could damage the rifle . (springer rifle )

There's a difference between a 10.3 in 177 and a 14.66 in 22. The 14.66 is not a heavy for caliber pellet so it doesn't hurt the gun. Over 16 grains is when 22s become heavy for caliber. It has to do with start pressure. Not actual weight. 22 has more surface area and has a lower start pressure. It's why they are generally more efficient and smoother than the same platform in 177. Keep shooting the FTT in your 22 Hw30s. It's totally fine. I wouldn't go any heavier though.