JSB Grain Comparison - How to decide which one?

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WN0912

Member
Dec 7, 2020
66
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Ohio, United States
One more question about pellet selection.

I'm looking at the JSB options specifically for 22 caliber.

Without going into the discussion of the different pellet configurations; dome, hollow, pointed, etc., I'm totally confused as to how to make a decision on the weight (grain) of the pellet.

Just in the JSB brand, I've got a choice of:

  • 13.43
  • 14.35
  • 15.89 (This is what I use now in my Benjamin Maximus)
  • 18.13
  • 25.39
  • 33.96

Wow. So help me understand what the difference is between shooting these different pellets. I'm guessing there must be a technical reason to choose a certain weight but I have no idea what it is.

If it helps, I typically shoot varmints and paper at anywhere between 30 and 50 yards. My scope is zeroed at 30 yards.

I get good accuracy from the 15.89, but like most of us here, I'm always wondering what the other 'options' would provide.

Thanks. 
 
Generally it will be the power level of your airgun that will inform the best weight. For example, choosing something too heavy will cause your trajectory to be so arced that you may have trouble with vertical stringing or missing the bullseye if your rangefinding is slightly off. However if you will only be shooting at modest distances, say no more than 20 – 30 yards, or only at precisely known distances, it may not be a problem to use a slow, heavy pellet.

Conversely, using pellets that are too light could cause your velocities to be too high, up in the trans-sonic range (over 950fps) where accuracy may suffer. The ballistic coefficient also goes to pot and it will shed its velocity very quickly anyway.

The 15.9gr is often an excellent pellet. It works well in a lot of guns. It’s one of my go-to pellets for velocities anywhere from about 700fps up to 930fps (17 – 30fpe). The 18.1gr is another perennial favorite. Meanwhile the 25.4gr and 33.9gr are reaching broader use as we attain ever higher energy levels.

The lighter ones don’t seem to get as much fanfare but I think that has a lot to do with the simple fact people don’t get all that excited about low energy backyard plinking. For example, the 13.4gr surprised me a few times how well they did in CO2 rigs or downtuned PCPs.

Like all generalizations, there are exceptions. Part of the fun is in the experimenting.
 
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No intention of highjacking a thread, but the subject matter here sounded appropiate. Over my many years of shooting pellets I have found the pellets never meet their advertised weight. In years past they were closer than they have been in the past few years. In past years when the Crossman Premere was king most of my pellets weighed in at 7.7 gn rather than the advertised 7.9 gn. Todsy they are 7.4 to 7.6 gn. My older JSB were 8.2 when advertised at 8.4 gn but today they have been as low as 8.0 gn. I recently switched over to the Air Arms version of those pellets, so far they have held around 8.1-8.2 gn rather than the 8.4 advertised. I am using a precision mechanical grain scale that has been tested for accuracy. The only pellets I have tested that seem to be as advertised are the wadcutter paper punching pelkets like the RWS 10 and other high end 10 meter pellets. Anyone else find this false advertisement?
 
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If it were me, shooting at 50 yards or less, I would choose a pellet in the order of accuracy, trajectory, shot count.

Say I'm shooting the 15.89, 18.13, and 14.35. Let's say the 15.89 and 18.13 shoot the same accuracy, better than the 14.35. Then let's say the 18.14 are 700 fps and the 15.89 are 750 fps. I'd choose the 15.89 for the flatter shooting and better shot count, rather than try to bump the 18.13 up in speed. 

Of course this would all change if I was shooting 50+ yards. 

Choosing the best pellet, like @nervoustrig said, is a combination of a lot of factors. Accuracy is my number one priority, regardless of pretty much any other factor. 
 
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Guess it alsod depends on how tunable the gun is, or if you like to adjust it or not. Using different weights can be a way to try differnent velocities, and change of harmonics. If a gun is tuned for a particular weight, it may not like lighter pellets, as it might start to waste air. But it can shoot heavier pellets with better, or worse grouping, without adjusting the gun.

If you want to adjust the gun for a particular weight, lighter pellets will usually give you more shots, if adjusted for the same velocity range as heavier ones. The ligher or medium weight ones also might be a litle less expensive, than the heavier ones
 
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