Pellet expansion at slower speeds...for my notos

[ZekeZX10]

I was looking for a pellet that would expand at slower speeds and think I found one that expanded well.

I Shot these 15.43gn Gamo Swarm HP from my Notos at only 746 fps / 19 ft lbs and they still expanded nicely especially compared to dome pellets which is pretty much nothing.

There was about 35% increase in diameter so at 850 fps or more these should be some really good expansion.

The 5 shot group was pretty good although it was only 20 yards but good enough for my backyard plinking but I'll get out and see how they do at 50yds soon hopefully.

 

[MongooseV8]

The HN Crow Magnums do the same thing. The problem is they dont do that reliably in a breathing target. Water and gel will show you the best case scenario and often times something that is not attainable outside of the test.

 

[ZekeZX10]

The HN Crow Magnums do the same thing. The problem is they dont do that reliably in a breathing target. Water and gel will show you the best case scenario and often times something that is not attainable outside of the test.

definitely not at slow speeds...but my Vulcan 3 shooting never has this problem with expansion ...54gn @ 976 fps

 

[MongooseV8]

Yes speed is the key. There are a handful of pellets that have been shown to have some amount of deformation or expansion. They need lots of speed to do that on live targets. Thats why I hunt with Hades at 980-1050fps in both 22 and 25Cal. My good friend uses HN Hunter Extremes at similar speeds and they do a great job too. If you want to test this yourself you can try different speeds ~50fps spreads and see how expansion changes. Once you drop down to a certain fps expansion will basically disappear. But if you could recover a pellet after pesting you will probably find it doesnt expand nearly as well as in water/get. They can do a lot of damage without expanding under the right conditions.

But to play devils advocate, even a domed diabolo style pellet going fast enough can turn a critter inside out. There are lots of old timer hunters here that have learned long ago; expansion isnt as important with air as it is with powder burners. I still prefer every advantage I can get, so I hunt with soft slugs and Hades. Sometimes I want a little more pen so I will also use Nielsen slugs on the bigger pests.

 

[ZekeZX10]

Yes speed is the key. There are a handful of pellets that have been shown to have some amount of deformation or expansion. They need lots of speed to do that on live targets. Thats why I hunt with Hades at 980-1050fps in both 22 and 25Cal. My good friend uses HN Hunter Extremes at similar speeds and they do a great job too. If you want to test this yourself you can try different speeds ~50fps spreads and see how expansion changes. Once you drop down to a certain fps expansion will basically disappear. But if you could recover a pellet after pesting you will probably find it doesnt expand nearly as well as in water/get. They can do a lot of damage without expanding under the right conditions.

But to play devils advocate, even a domed diabolo style pellet going fast enough can turn a critter inside out. There are lots of old timer hunters here that have learned long ago; expansion isnt as important with air as it is with powder burners. I still prefer every advantage I can get, so I hunt with soft slugs and Hades. Sometimes I want a little more pen so I will also use Nielsen slugs on the bigger pests.

I'm limited with what I am willing to use in the back yard, neighbors are close so 19-20 ft lbs is most I will go because of that. Soooo, won't be relying on expansion

 

[MongooseV8]

My same buddy has my old Wildcat and it is tuned waaaaay down. I think its like 675fps with HN Hunter Extremes and it still smokes California ground squirrels. Im not meaning to be discouraging or anything. Just a caution the water and gel testing can give a hunter a false sense of confidence in ammo choice.

 

[nervoustrig]

Unfortunately I never found a barrel that would group the Crow Magnums well enough to put them to a real-world test. However the .22 cal Daisy hollow points have been accurate in a number of my rifles and they expand nicely.

Example taken from a gray squirrel shot at 30 yards, the pellet leaving the muzzle at about 770fps (20fpe):

 

[averagejoe]

Has anyone tried RWS Super H point? They seem to have a thinner lip so they could expand a bit at lower velocities.

 

[daddypaddy]

The HN Crow Magnums do the same thing. The problem is they dont do that reliably in a breathing target. Water and gel will show you the best case scenario and often times something that is not attainable outside of the test.

i was just out shooting pest chicken with those crow magnums at about 780fps out of my notos. shot them in the chest and the birds didn’t drop.
i switched over to 17.5gr nsa at 795fps and same POI and the chicken dropped on the spot.
expansion girth on bigger chicks is not always best, sometimes penetration is key.. gotta hit reach them guts.