My chronograph should come in today and I hope to do some tuning this weekend. I have watched dozens of videos on YouTube about tuning and watched reviewers make their first shots with rifles they have acquired. They generally have a wide selection of pellets of differing weights and brands. Is there a logical way I could approach collecting a selection of pellets to have on hand? In this case I will be shooting my new Zelos.
Pellet selection for tuning
- Thread starter Rickstwowheels
- Start date
I used to go with JSB's as my go to starting point and usually ended up finishing with them if even bothering to try another brand.
I also tended to stick with their heavier offerings in a given caliber.
That being said, JTS has by far passed them up in my book.
I also tended to stick with their heavier offerings in a given caliber.
That being said, JTS has by far passed them up in my book.
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Okay, that sounds good, you only have to buy one pellet. What pellet? I assume some are better than others.
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pellets are made for different end results . and perform at slightly different tunes . so the pellet you choose should match the shooting you intend to do . OK enough throwing a wrench in the question
I would suggest a quality brand H&N or JSP and a simple dome middle weight pellet .Upvote 0
The JSB Jumbos she be good in that gun, but try some CPHP's for plinking, they might surprise you. I have scope settings for both on my PCP's.
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Lol.... Well my saying is
" I don't mind a pellet picky gun as long as it picks cphp".
If not it don't hang around here long ...
Personally I prefer guns that shoot to my convenience not the guns.. so what pellets are affordable and local ( Walmart crosman fills that perfectly)
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Just thought about this yesterday. Wanted to tune one of my .22's and ran out of JSB 18.13's. Thought I'd tune using some hollow point hunting pellets of a similar weight. A waste of time chasing the hammer spring. I ordered some good dome pellets and will tune with them.
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You may want to put a couple of hundred pallets through the barrel before you get into any serious tuning. A new rifle needs a little break-in before you can actually fine-tune it.
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+1 on take the rifle out of the box, clean the barrel and start slingin' some lead. Try the JSB 18.13's (Jumbos?) first, see how you like the rifle.
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I'm not claiming my way to be superior than any other but here goes what i do now.
Either choose the projectile you want to use and tune to it, or shoot some different weights to see what the valve/hammer/spring can accommodate with the pressure you are presenting it via regulated or unregulated pressure. Depending on caliber, twist rate and air use that is acceptable too.
I re tuned my impact yesterday for the 100th change, so I tuned for more power than I wanted with the adjustments wide open(no change to my final regulator settings today) , then I start to reduce the adjustments to get consistent spread, tight groups, and a harmonious tune that just sounds like the gun is working smoothly. For the impact it's was spring tension and valve travel adjustments. For my dreamline it was just achieving 850-865 fps at 150 bar. For unregulated guns I tune for efficiency and find a pellet that is precise while efficient and stays sub 930 fps. It's a process, take notes. The notes have allowed me to go back do different tunes later.
This process allowed me to shoot 23 grain slugs really fast at my lowest power setting and 31 grain slugs at my desired speed and precision at max power with minimal mid range trajectory difference between them.
There's some known good projectiles to start with too. If 22, 18 jsb, h&n cudas, monster redesigns, hades, heavy hades. If 25 cal, jsb kings, or hades do not dissapoint. My favorite lately have been heavy hades in 22 since they blur the performance curve between pellet and slug
Best of luck on your adventure.
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When setting up for a tune using a chronograph while also shooting at a target I use the cheapest pellets closest in grain weight to the final and more expensive ammo I will settle on. For this reason I keep the Hatsan strike pellets on hand, mainly for 25 and 30 caliber as good quality ammo in those calibers are costly.
Once I get to my desired speed and also on paper, it is at that point I switch over to the choice pellets for the final sight in and tune. Then I’ll go reclean the barrel to get rid of lead mixes and do a final check to see if I’m still good
Once I get to my desired speed and also on paper, it is at that point I switch over to the choice pellets for the final sight in and tune. Then I’ll go reclean the barrel to get rid of lead mixes and do a final check to see if I’m still good
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I know my recommendations are all on the heavy side, but over the years I've learned a slower heavier pellet that shoots the same every time(as long as it's stabilized correctly) is worth more than high speed to me. A couple fps or ft lbs arent really noticed by whatever you're shooting at, but precision is. Cphp are cheap and if your gun will shoot them, shoot those. The round nose version (crosman premier magnums?) have shown better flight characteristics for me but are harder to find. I was able to send anything I wanted at 1000+, but i tuned it down to the precision speed. As others have asked...what do you want to do with it?
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I have never tried them. I will get some on the way. Thank you.Lol.... Well my saying is
" I don't mind a pellet picky gun as long as it picks cphp".
If not it don't hang around here long ...
Personally I prefer guns that shoot to my convenience not the guns.. so what pellets are affordable and local ( Walmart crosman fills that perfectly)
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That is definitely the hard way to make life easy. What percentage of airguns that you buy stay around?Lol.... Well my saying is
" I don't mind a pellet picky gun as long as it picks cphp".
If not it don't hang around here long ...
Personally I prefer guns that shoot to my convenience not the guns.. so what pellets are affordable and local ( Walmart crosman fills that perfectly)
For less than the price of shipping a rifle one way, you can buy a small variety of pellets that are likely to perform well in the gun. Shoot them, adjust the tune and shoot them some more if you want (optional) and buy more of the pellets that work best.
I suppose I understand the attraction of CPHPs but it seems arbitrary to judge the value of a rifle based on how it shoots a pellet that is known for being dirty and inconsistent on size.
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Cphp have a higher percentage of antimony in the alloy iirc. Makes them harder and less damage prone but dirtier too. The only guns that shoot cphp worth a darn are my crosmans, and my aea hpss turned way down to 750 fps. Even then it took a lot of work to MAKE it shoot those. Seems like a bit of a counter productive endeavor imho. I can spend a couple bucks more get a jsb with a better bc and put them all in the same hole.... Which makes me happier.
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I really want a professional to tune my AA s510 to shoot 25 gr pellets, but I'm scared of shipping it. UPS has broken things before.
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It's not something anybody should really be paying for imho. I paid for a tune on my impact when i bought it because I was scared. I got a gun with the springs cranked all the way up, valve adjuster wide open and the final reg at 130 bar. Anybody can do that. Just get it to chrono what somebody asks for. I'm happy to be here to help. Don't make big jumps, follow the instructions on what not to adjust when... Its a cake walk if you pay attention to signs and sounds it gives you.
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