HW/Weihrauch Hw95 pellet testing.

Today it's gorgeous outside so I did some shooting. I started pellet and scew torque testing with my Hw50. Then I broke out my big dog Weihrauch. My Hw95. It was my first Weihrauch.

All targets are 5 shots at 25 yards. The numbers are AVG velocity- Extreme spread- Standard deviation respectively.

20250225_132749.jpg

I started with Air arms 8.4 which are made by JSB in a single JSB die. The first group is not great, but that's fresh off the rack. Besides the flyer on #3 the rest were good by me.

20250225_132836.jpg

Next two are regular JSB 8.44 Exacts that will come from multiple dies. This tin and the other 9 that I bought at the same time print poorly in my other guns as well. The generic unsized JSBs tend to run small and comparatively inconsistently sized. This is why I don't buy more than ten tins of regular JSBs. The JSB specific sized tins like 4.53s are better.
20250225_132932.jpg

The next two were FX 8.4 which JSB also makes. I suspect these are single die packaged as well. Very uniform fit. Good accuracy and top energy.
20250225_133029.jpg

Next up was FX 10.3s. I don't normally shoot heavy pellets in my springers because they generally aren't efficient and can be tough on springs. I tried these 10.3s because so many people have had good results with the JSB (and rebrands)10.3s. The first group blew my mind. The next three were good as well.
20250225_133127.jpg

Next up was H&N FFTs 4.52. These started fast and continually slowed with shot count. This is typical of running H&Ns on a barrel seasoned with JSB lead. Notice the wide Extreme spread and low energy. The velocity and energy eventually stabilizes but always lower than comparable 177 JSB pellets. Except for the third group accuracy was good. That third group might have been me losing concentration. I pulled myself back together on the next group.
20250225_133212.jpg

To show the effects of barrel seasoning I went back to the FX 10.3s they started slow on the H&N lead and slowly picked up velocity as they seasoned the bore with their own lead. Notice the increased energy and tighter extreme spread on the second ten shot string. These groups were good again. I'll have to pick up more of these 10.3s and do some actual BC testing on them. The way they hit the spinners harder than the 8.44s at 35 yards I suspect they have a considerably better BC.
20250225_121802.jpg

That's it. I'm so glad the weather finally broke. Friday morning it was -1f and didn't break 32f all day. Yesterday was 24f in the morning and 70f and sunny in the afternoon. Crazy. It's good to be outside and shooting again.

20250225_124422.jpg


Be well
Ron
 
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How did you end up on the screw torque?
Inconclusive. Yesterday my 50 was shooting poorly and I remembered that the groups went bad once when I tightened the the small trigger guard screw only for good measure. Turning it back to where it was and the gun went back to shooting well. Yesterday and today i didn't realize I had a bad tin of JSB exacts so testing was pointless. I'll do the test again with better pellets. I'm fairly certain overtightening screws has a negative effect on accuracy. That and breaking tuff😅. A Fat Wrench is a wonderful tool for these things. The only more important tool is a good chronograph
 
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Today it's gorgeous outside so I did some shooting. I started pellet and scew torque testing with my Hw50. Then I broke out my big dog Weihrauch. My Hw95. It was my first Weihrauch.

All targets are 5 shots at 25 yards. The numbers are AVG velocity- Extreme spread- Standard deviation respectively.

View attachment 542166
I started with Air arms 8.4 which are made by JSB in a single JSB die. The first group is not great, but that's fresh off the rack. Besides the flyer on #3 the rest were good by me.

View attachment 542167
Next two are regular JSB 8.44 Exacts that will come from multiple dies. This tin and the other 9 that I bought at the same time print poorly in my other guns as well. The generic unsized JSBs tend to run small and comparatively inconsistently sized. This is why I don't buy more than ten tins of regular JSBs. The JSB specific sized tins like 4.53s are better.
View attachment 542168
The next two were FX 8.4 which JSB also makes. I suspect these are single die packaged as well. Very uniform fit. Good accuracy and top energy.
View attachment 542170
Next up was FX 10.3s. I don't normally shoot heavy pellets in my springers because they generally aren't efficient and can be tough on springs. I tried these 10.3s because so many people have had good results with the JSB (and rebrands)10.3s. The first group blew my mind. The next three were good as well.
View attachment 542173
Next up was H&N FFTs 4.52. These started fast and continually slowed with shot count. This is typical of running H&Ns on a barrel seasoned with JSB lead. Notice the wide Extreme spread and low energy. The velocity and energy eventually stabilizes but always lower than comparable 177 JSB pellets. Except for the third group accuracy was good. That third group might have been me losing concentration. I pulled myself back together on the next group.
View attachment 542174
To show the effects of barrel seasoning I went back to the FX 10.3s they started slow on the H&N lead and slowly picked up velocity as they seasoned the bore with their own lead. Notice the increased energy and tighter extreme spread on the second ten shot string. These groups were good again. I'll have to pick up more of these 10.3s and do some actual BC testing on them. The way they hit the spinners harder than the 8.44s at 35 yards I suspect they have a considerably better BC.
View attachment 542175
That's it. I'm so glad the weather finally broke. Friday morning it was -1f and didn't break 32f all day. Yesterday was 24f in the morning and 70f and sunny in the afternoon. Crazy. It's good to be outside and shooting again.

View attachment 542177

Be well
Ron

Today it's gorgeous outside so I did some shooting. I started pellet and scew torque testing with my Hw50. Then I broke out my big dog Weihrauch. My Hw95. It was my first Weihrauch.

All targets are 5 shots at 25 yards. The numbers are AVG velocity- Extreme spread- Standard deviation respectively.

View attachment 542166
I started with Air arms 8.4 which are made by JSB in a single JSB die. The first group is not great, but that's fresh off the rack. Besides the flyer on #3 the rest were good by me.

View attachment 542167
Next two are regular JSB 8.44 Exacts that will come from multiple dies. This tin and the other 9 that I bought at the same time print poorly in my other guns as well. The generic unsized JSBs tend to run small and comparatively inconsistently sized. This is why I don't buy more than ten tins of regular JSBs. The JSB specific sized tins like 4.53s are better.
View attachment 542168
The next two were FX 8.4 which JSB also makes. I suspect these are single die packaged as well. Very uniform fit. Good accuracy and top energy.
View attachment 542170
Next up was FX 10.3s. I don't normally shoot heavy pellets in my springers because they generally aren't efficient and can be tough on springs. I tried these 10.3s because so many people have had good results with the JSB (and rebrands)10.3s. The first group blew my mind. The next three were good as well.
View attachment 542173
Next up was H&N FFTs 4.52. These started fast and continually slowed with shot count. This is typical of running H&Ns on a barrel seasoned with JSB lead. Notice the wide Extreme spread and low energy. The velocity and energy eventually stabilizes but always lower than comparable 177 JSB pellets. Except for the third group accuracy was good. That third group might have been me losing concentration. I pulled myself back together on the next group.
View attachment 542174
To show the effects of barrel seasoning I went back to the FX 10.3s they started slow on the H&N lead and slowly picked up velocity as they seasoned the bore with their own lead. Notice the increased energy and tighter extreme spread on the second ten shot string. These groups were good again. I'll have to pick up more of these 10.3s and do some actual BC testing on them. The way they hit the spinners harder than the 8.44s at 35 yards I suspect they have a considerably better BC.
View attachment 542175
That's it. I'm so glad the weather finally broke. Friday morning it was -1f and didn't break 32f all day. Yesterday was 24f in the morning and 70f and sunny in the afternoon. Crazy. It's good to be outside and shooting again.

View attachment 542177

Be well
Ron
Nice groups, yours seems to like the heavies. I've never had much luck with the heavies in mine, but that was long ago. Mine does group the 9.57 badacuda FT pretty good though.
 
Nice groups, yours seems to like the heavies. I've never had much luck with the heavies in mine, but that was long ago. Mine does group the 9.57 badacuda FT pretty good though.
A few years ago I tried the 9.57s they killed the power too much. IIRC it pulled the gun down to 10 or 11 fpe. That was unacceptable for me. If a gun loses that much power its not operating efficiently which means its getting beat up inside. Typically 177 H&Ns have thick skirts and tighter fitting heads. They almost always make less power in my 177 Weihrauchs than most other brands of equal weight. The tighter H&N fit is too reluctant to budge and the piston bounces more than a thin skirt looser fitting JSB.

In 22 Weihrauchs the results are typically reversed. The JSBs are too soft and start moving down the pipe before peak pressure can be made. JSBs seldom make as much power as other brand with stiffer skirts and tighter fitting heads. Fit is at least as important at weight when it comes to maximum efficiency.
 
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A few years ago I tried the 9.57s they killed the power too much. IIRC it pulled the gun down to 10 or 11 fpe. That was unacceptable for me. If a gun loses that much power its not operating efficiently which means its getting beat up inside. Typically 177 H&Ns have thick skirts and tighter fitting heads. They almost always make less power in my 177 Weihrauchs than most other brands of equal weight. The tighter H&N fit is too reluctant to budge and the piston bounces more than a thin skirt looser fitting JSB.

In 22 Weihrauchs the results are typically reversed. The JSBs are too soft and start moving down the pipe before peak pressure can be made. JSBs seldom make as much power as other brand with stiffer skirts and tighter fitting heads. Fit is at least as important at weight when it comes to maximum efficiency.
A few years ago I tried the 9.57s they killed the power too much. IIRC it pulled the gun down to 10 or 11 fpe. That was unacceptable for me. If a gun loses that much power its not operating efficiently which means its getting beat up inside. Typically 177 H&Ns have thick skirts and tighter fitting heads. They almost always make less power in my 177 Weihrauchs than most other brands of equal weight. The tighter H&N fit is too reluctant to budge and the piston bounces more than a thin skirt looser fitting JSB.

In 22 Weihrauchs the results are typically reversed. The JSBs are too soft and start moving down the pipe before peak pressure can be made. JSBs seldom make as much power as other brand with stiffer skirts and tighter fitting heads. Fit is at least as important at weight when it comes to maximum efficiency.
That makes sense.
 
Can you explain why a heavier pellet would be harder on the spring ?
my opinion it is just the other way around because a heavier pellet is harder to "launch" and reduces the speed the piston hits the "end off the compression tube" slower
First. Running heavier (or tight fitting) pellets undeniably shortens spring life. Its been verified several times. So it's not a matter of conjecture. It's truth.

I'll be happy to explain. I'm not sure what you meant by
the piston hits the "end off the compression tube" slower
The piston moves forward and the combination of the pellets resistance to move and the transfer port's restriction creates enough back pressure that the piston bounces of a pocket of compressed air before it hits the end of the compression tube. The higher that combined resistance the harder that piston hits and bounces off that pocket. In fact it can bounce a few times with the right pellet. It just bounces sooner and harder when there's higher resistance. That bounce is what hurts spring life.

If you dry fire a spring gun the resulting detonation reverses the piston direction so abruptly that it's usually not long after the spring sbreaks. Any rifle I've accidentally dry fired had the spring break shortly there after. Oddly Detonation comes from the lack of resistance.

Some people assert that the highest energy comes from the pellet that moves with the greatest amount of piston travel. I'm not sure that's true because a loose fitting light pellet would slide down the barrel so easily and early in piston travel that it would consume the swept volume before peak pressure would be attained.

I believe that the highest energy comes from a pellet that creates enough resistance through weight and fit to develop peak pressure at the right point of piston travel so that the piston bounces the least amount of times. Tight fitting and or heavy pellets bounce the piston harder and more times. This is reflected in lost efficiency (low energy).

My tests posted earlier in this thread confirm that. The FTTs made considerably less energy than the JSBs because they fit much tighter and created more resistance than the heavier 10.3s. Remember it's not just weight it's overall resistance which is weight and fit combined. They made less energy simply because they put up too much resistance. Both in inertia and drag down the barrel.
image.jpg

Here's a tune test on a 22 caliber Hw95 I just did that will illustrate what I'm talking about. First it needs to said that 22s are more efficient than 177. Because of the increased area behind the pellet a 22 requires something like 60% less starting pressure than a 177. Look at the energy. Remember energy is efficiency (providing there's no considerable dieseling).

First row H&N -FTT 5.53 = Avg 726fps, ES 5, SD 1 & 17.2 fpe
Second row--- FTT 5.54 = Avg 708fps, ES 10, SD 2 & 16.3 fpe
Third row------FTT 5.55= Avg 706fps, ES 7, SD1 & 16.3 fpe
Fourth row JSB RS 13.43 = Avg 691fps, ES 21, SD 5 & 14.2 fpe
Fifth row JSB Exact 15.89= Avg 659fps, ES 17, SD 4 & 15.3 fpe

A couple interesting things with this. First look how much difference head size made in energy between the FTTs. Almost a full foot pound. Just shows how small differences in resistance and can make big changes in efficiency.

Next look at the JSBs the lighter 13.43s made the least energy and the 15.89s made more than the 13.43s but still less than the FTTs. This is because the JSBs have a looser fit and softer thin skirts. These pellets don't offer enough resistance and start their way down the barrel earlier in the stroke than the FTTs. The JSBs are more or less pushed out the barrel exhausting swept volume without reaching a high enough peak pressure. Where as the tighter fitting FTTs create a higher peak pressure that pops them out at a higher velocity. I call this the pop gun effect.

Also the higher the pressure, the higher the compression heat. Air expands when heated so there's likely some additional energy added by thermal expansion of the minimal amount of available air. How much? I'm not sure because it's not alot of air and it only lasts milliseconds. That's really getting in the weeds but it's a possible source of additional energy. After all there's enough compression heat to combust petroleum greases.

Also notice as efficency drops, extreme spread grows. ES can be a sign of mechanical problems with a gun. In this case it's just another sign that the gun isn't operating smoothly inside. When it's not operating smoothly inside its tougher on springs.

Everything is a very fine balance of resistances. Energy is efficency. Its best to find a pellet that is accurate while being close to peak energy. Finding the right pellet can be a chore. Smarter people than I tune guns to pellets by altering transfer ports and other things. Messing with things like transfer ports can radically change these balances so I just try to work within the guns design.

In short springs are consumables and if you get better accuracy from heavy pellets go for it. Just be prepared to change out springs a little more often. If you want to get the most life from your spring find an accurate pellet that creates close to max power. This is ALL only relevant to healthy clean running guns. Guns that don't seal well and diesel need to be fixed before any of this even remotely matters.
 
Last edited:
First. Running heavier (or tight fitting) pellets undeniably shortens spring life. Its been verified several times. So it's not a matter of conjecture. It's truth.

I'll be happy to explain. I'm not sure what you meant by

The piston moves forward and the combination of the pellets resistance to move and the transfer port's restriction creates enough back pressure that the piston bounces of a pocket of compressed air before it hits the end of the compression tube. The higher that combined resistance the harder that piston hits and bounces off that pocket. In fact it can bounce a few times with the right pellet. It just bounces sooner and harder when there's higher resistance. That bounce is what hurts spring life.

If you dry fire a spring gun the resulting detonation reverses the piston direction so abruptly that it's usually not long after the spring sbreaks. Any rifle I've accidentally dry fired had the spring break shortly there after. Oddly Detonation comes from the lack of resistance.

Some people assert that the highest energy comes from the pellet that moves with the greatest amount of piston travel. I'm not sure that's true because a loose fitting light pellet would slide down the barrel so easily and early in piston travel that it would consume the swept volume before peak pressure would be attained. I believe that the highest energy comes from a pellet that creates enough resistance through weight and fit to develop peak pressure at the right point of piston travel so that the piston bounces the least amount of times. Tight fitting and or heavy pellets bounce the piston harder and more times. This is reflected in lost efficiency (low energy).

My tests posted earlier in this thread confirm that. The FTTs made considerably less energy than the JSBs because they fit much tighter and created more resistance than the heavier 10.3s. Remember it's not just weight it's overall resistance which is weight and fit combined. They made less energy simply because they put up too much resistance. Both in inertia and drag down the barrel.
View attachment 542416
Here's a tune test on a 22 caliber Hw95 I just did that will illustrate what I'm talking about. First it needs to said that 22s are more efficient than 177. Because of the increased area behind the pellet a 22 requires something like 60% less starting pressure than a 177. Look at the energy. Remember energy is efficiency (providing there's no considerable dieseling).
first row H&N -FTT 5.53 = Avg 726fps, ES 5, SD 1 & 17.2 fpe
Second row--- FTT 5.54 = Avg 708fps, ES 10, SD 2 & 16.3 fpe
Third row------FTT 5.55= Avg 706fps, ES 7, SD1 & 16.3 fpe
Fourth row JSB RS 13.43 = Avg 691fps, ES 21, SD 5 & 14.2 fpe
Fifth row JSB Exact 15.89= Avg 659fps, ES 17, SD 4 & 15.3 fpe

A couple interesting things with this. First look how much difference in energy between the FTTs almost a foot pound. Just shows how small differences in resistance and can make big changes in efficiency.

Next look at the JSBs the lighter 13.43s made the least energy and the 15.89s made more than the 13.43s but still less than the FTTs. This is because the JSBs have a looser fit and softer thin skirts. These pellets don't offer enough resistance and start their way down the barrel earlier in the stroke than the FTTs. The JSBs are more or less pushed out the barrel exhausting swept volume without reaching a high enough peak pressure. Where as the tighter fitting FTTs create a higher peak pressure that pops them out at a higher velocity. I call this the pop gun effect.

Also the higher the pressure, the higher the compression heat. Air expands when heated so there's likely some additional energy added by thermal expansion of the minimal amount of available air. How much I'm not sure because it's not alot of air and it only lasts milliseconds. That's really getting in the weeds but it's a possible source of additional energy. After all there's enough compression heat to combust petroleum greases.

Also notice as efficency drops, extreme spread grows. ES can be a sign of mechanical problems with the gun. In this case it's just another sign that the gun isn't operating smoothly inside. When it's not operating smoothly inside its tougher on springs.

Everything is a very fine balance of resistances. Energy is efficency. Its best to find a pellet that is accurate while being close to peak energy. Finding the right pellet can be a chore. Smarter people than I tune guns to pellets by altering transfer ports and other things. Messing with things like transfer ports can radically change these balances so I just try to work within the guns design. In short springs are consumables and if you get better accuracy from heavy pellets go for it. Just be prepared to change out springs a little more often. If you want to get the most life from your spring find an accurate pellet that creates close to max power. This is ALL only relevant to healthy clean running guns. Guns that don't seal well and diesel need to be fixed before any of this remotely matters.
Great explanation Ron!
 
Today it's gorgeous outside so I did some shooting. I started pellet and scew torque testing with my Hw50. Then I broke out my big dog Weihrauch. My Hw95. It was my first Weihrauch.

All targets are 5 shots at 25 yards. The numbers are AVG velocity- Extreme spread- Standard deviation respectively.

View attachment 542166
I started with Air arms 8.4 which are made by JSB in a single JSB die. The first group is not great, but that's fresh off the rack. Besides the flyer on #3 the rest were good by me.

View attachment 542167
Next two are regular JSB 8.44 Exacts that will come from multiple dies. This tin and the other 9 that I bought at the same time print poorly in my other guns as well. The generic unsized JSBs tend to run small and comparatively inconsistently sized. This is why I don't buy more than ten tins of regular JSBs. The JSB specific sized tins like 4.53s are better.
View attachment 542168
The next two were FX 8.4 which JSB also makes. I suspect these are single die packaged as well. Very uniform fit. Good accuracy and top energy.
View attachment 542170
Next up was FX 10.3s. I don't normally shoot heavy pellets in my springers because they generally aren't efficient and can be tough on springs. I tried these 10.3s because so many people have had good results with the JSB (and rebrands)10.3s. The first group blew my mind. The next three were good as well.
View attachment 542173
Next up was H&N FFTs 4.52. These started fast and continually slowed with shot count. This is typical of running H&Ns on a barrel seasoned with JSB lead. Notice the wide Extreme spread and low energy. The velocity and energy eventually stabilizes but always lower than comparable 177 JSB pellets. Except for the third group accuracy was good. That third group might have been me losing concentration. I pulled myself back together on the next group.
View attachment 542174
To show the effects of barrel seasoning I went back to the FX 10.3s they started slow on the H&N lead and slowly picked up velocity as they seasoned the bore with their own lead. Notice the increased energy and tighter extreme spread on the second ten shot string. These groups were good again. I'll have to pick up more of these 10.3s and do some actual BC testing on them. The way they hit the spinners harder than the 8.44s at 35 yards I suspect they have a considerably better BC.
View attachment 542175
That's it. I'm so glad the weather finally broke. Friday morning it was -1f and didn't break 32f all day. Yesterday was 24f in the morning and 70f and sunny in the afternoon. Crazy. It's good to be outside and shooting again.

View attachment 542177

Be well
Ron
What a great shooting day Ron! Good info too! 👍
 
First. Running heavier (or tight fitting) pellets undeniably shortens spring life. Its been verified several times. So it's not a matter of conjecture. It's truth.

I'll be happy to explain. I'm not sure what you meant by

The piston moves forward and the combination of the pellets resistance to move and the transfer port's restriction creates enough back pressure that the piston bounces of a pocket of compressed air before it hits the end of the compression tube. The higher that combined resistance the harder that piston hits and bounces off that pocket. In fact it can bounce a few times with the right pellet. It just bounces sooner and harder when there's higher resistance. That bounce is what hurts spring life.

If you dry fire a spring gun the resulting detonation reverses the piston direction so abruptly that it's usually not long after the spring sbreaks. Any rifle I've accidentally dry fired had the spring break shortly there after. Oddly Detonation comes from the lack of resistance.

Some people assert that the highest energy comes from the pellet that moves with the greatest amount of piston travel. I'm not sure that's true because a loose fitting light pellet would slide down the barrel so easily and early in piston travel that it would consume the swept volume before peak pressure would be attained.

I believe that the highest energy comes from a pellet that creates enough resistance through weight and fit to develop peak pressure at the right point of piston travel so that the piston bounces the least amount of times. Tight fitting and or heavy pellets bounce the piston harder and more times. This is reflected in lost efficiency (low energy).

My tests posted earlier in this thread confirm that. The FTTs made considerably less energy than the JSBs because they fit much tighter and created more resistance than the heavier 10.3s. Remember it's not just weight it's overall resistance which is weight and fit combined. They made less energy simply because they put up too much resistance. Both in inertia and drag down the barrel.
View attachment 542416
Here's a tune test on a 22 caliber Hw95 I just did that will illustrate what I'm talking about. First it needs to said that 22s are more efficient than 177. Because of the increased area behind the pellet a 22 requires something like 60% less starting pressure than a 177. Look at the energy. Remember energy is efficiency (providing there's no considerable dieseling).

First row H&N -FTT 5.53 = Avg 726fps, ES 5, SD 1 & 17.2 fpe
Second row--- FTT 5.54 = Avg 708fps, ES 10, SD 2 & 16.3 fpe
Third row------FTT 5.55= Avg 706fps, ES 7, SD1 & 16.3 fpe
Fourth row JSB RS 13.43 = Avg 691fps, ES 21, SD 5 & 14.2 fpe
Fifth row JSB Exact 15.89= Avg 659fps, ES 17, SD 4 & 15.3 fpe

A couple interesting things with this. First look how much difference head size made in energy between the FTTs. Almost a full foot pound. Just shows how small differences in resistance and can make big changes in efficiency.

Next look at the JSBs the lighter 13.43s made the least energy and the 15.89s made more than the 13.43s but still less than the FTTs. This is because the JSBs have a looser fit and softer thin skirts. These pellets don't offer enough resistance and start their way down the barrel earlier in the stroke than the FTTs. The JSBs are more or less pushed out the barrel exhausting swept volume without reaching a high enough peak pressure. Where as the tighter fitting FTTs create a higher peak pressure that pops them out at a higher velocity. I call this the pop gun effect.

Also the higher the pressure, the higher the compression heat. Air expands when heated so there's likely some additional energy added by thermal expansion of the minimal amount of available air. How much? I'm not sure because it's not alot of air and it only lasts milliseconds. That's really getting in the weeds but it's a possible source of additional energy. After all there's enough compression heat to combust petroleum greases.

Also notice as efficency drops, extreme spread grows. ES can be a sign of mechanical problems with a gun. In this case it's just another sign that the gun isn't operating smoothly inside. When it's not operating smoothly inside its tougher on springs.

Everything is a very fine balance of resistances. Energy is efficency. Its best to find a pellet that is accurate while being close to peak energy. Finding the right pellet can be a chore. Smarter people than I tune guns to pellets by altering transfer ports and other things. Messing with things like transfer ports can radically change these balances so I just try to work within the guns design.

In short springs are consumables and if you get better accuracy from heavy pellets go for it. Just be prepared to change out springs a little more often. If you want to get the most life from your spring find an accurate pellet that creates close to max power. This is ALL only relevant to healthy clean running guns. Guns that don't seal well and diesel need to be fixed before any of this even remotely matters.
This perfectly matches my experience with most of the pellets you've demo'ed
 
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So, in my limited experience, I have found that my most accurate springers have a favorite pellet (or two). Interestingly, most "favorites" have a smaller standard deviation for fps (as expected) but also a higher fpe. My thinking is that fpe is a proxy for efficiency and correlates directly with accuracy. Your results basically agree with that assumption. Spring life is a long term variable that I haven't taken into consideration. Thanks for your experimentation!
 
My thinking is that fpe is a proxy for efficiency and correlates directly with accuracy.
I believe efficiency goes a long way to help accuracy. However good chronograph numbers (including ES &SD) and accuracy aren't directly linked. Barrel fit and believe it or not harmonics also has alot to do with accuracy. I've had pellets with bad chronograph numbers print better than pellets with good ones. 177 H&N FTTs and the old brown box 177 CPLs come to mind.

There are certain pellets that some rifle models usually prefer but every barrel is different and testing is aways required. In general I try to find a pellet that's efficient and accurate. Sometimes the most efficient isnt the most accurate. Then once you figure it all out, you open another tin of the same pellet that printed great and this tin doesn't. The cheaper the pellet the more often that happens.

Edit. Also distance has a great deal to do with pellet selection too. Sometimes your best pellet at 25 yards wont be at 50 yards. Mathematically the groups should only double. In practice they will at least double. Some pellets lose stability at longer ranges. Some pellets have better ballistic coefficients and move less from wind. There's so much to figure out. It's never ending. Frankly I find shooting groups at 50 yards frustrating. Especially with my lower powered 177s. I much prefer plinking at 50-100 yards. That still requires checking your poi on paper at 50 yards.
 
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