Easy question. I inherited a few thousand Norma 9.1 grain pellets and am wondering if they are on the high end of what my Beeman R7 can safely handle. I don’t want to over-work or strain it’s power plant. Thanks, Tom
HW/Weihrauch Pellet Weight for Beeman R7
- Thread starter TomJ
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No question your R7 can safely shoot 9.1g pellets, so if they are accurate, fire away. I often shoot JSB 10.3s with mine, and the gun uses the same powerplant in .22 where pellet weights get up to 18g+. It may be the case that your spring could wear out faster, but those are easy and cheap to replace, and no big deal if you get 5k instead of 6k shots.
R
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I mostly run wadcutters through my HW30, it likes em all from 7.0 to 9.2 Supermags.
For domes the AA7.33 the favorite long range pellet.
For domes the AA7.33 the favorite long range pellet.
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My observation is there's a sweet spot for velocity/accuracy and most rifles are happiest in that range. Maybe 750-800fps matching pellet weight to power plant? Shorter range 10m being lower. Your mileage may vary......
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And I'll expand, the R7/HW30 is at the lower end of the power spectrum. I really can't fathom a heavier pellet than an 8.4g regardless of tune. 7.33-8.4 is the spectrum for that platform. And it can be an absolutely fantastic shooter in that range.
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Thanks for your comments. I love the rifle and don’t want to tax it unnecessarily. I get excellent accuracy with RWS 7.0 grain wad cutters and H&N 8.2 gr. domed pellets. Tom
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You can't use pellet weight comparisons between two different calibers. Because of the physics of the larger bore's cross section, a 22 cal has ~60% less start pressure than 177. Its why the same power plants typically make a little more power and have somewhat milder manners in 22.
Start pressure is the amount of pressure required to break the pellet free from the leade. Start pressure is also greatly influenced by pellet fit and skirt thickness. A fairly good indication if a pellet is too heavy or "hurting" the gun is the power drops. Power drops because efficiency drops. Efficiency drops when higher start pressures cause the piston to bounce earlier, harder and more frequencies. That is hard on a spring. How much harder? It depends on the spring material and design. The additional cycles from abrubt changes in direction (bouncing) undeniably fatigues springs. How much, and whether or not its acceptable varies by application and user.
Any spring I've had go bad noticeably prematurely was dry fired or detonated. Although it doesn't manifest right away. That's a death kiss to most springs. I somehow accidentally detonated my newly kitted 77 recently. I'm ordering a replacement spring from Vortek with my next order because I know it will fail prematurely.
Use whatever pellet you want. As far as I'm concerned springs are consumables and replacing springs is a by-product of shooting. There's no avoiding it. If you want your spring to last forever, don't shoot it. If you want it to last longer try to shoot accurate pellets that run close to peak efficiency.
This is a highly misunderstood subject so I figured it'd be helpful to explain. But EM's right, in the end it's not a big deal.
Be well
Ron
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You are thinking backwards as far a straining the powerplant. Light pellets will be closer to a dry fire. Heavier pellets should soften the impact for the piston.
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My thinking is exactly correct. I agree that you can go too light though. Too light a pellet will give you a quicker, harsher shot cycle. Too light is a very ambiguous term because, again weight isn't the only factor in start pressure. Non lead tin alloy pellets are much lighter but I believe they make them slightly tighter than lead pellets to compensate. Still H&N labels their alloy pellets "PCP Only" because they can be too light for some piston guns.
If you put a 13.73gr 20 caliber pellet in a 22 it will detonate because the pellet fits too loosely and creates no back pressure. Ask me how I know
. On the flip side a proper 22 caliber 13-14 grain grain pellet works just fine because it creates enough back pressure. So you're partly right. Too light or loose is closer to a dry fire.You're also right in that heavy/tight pellets do soften the impact for the piston but it can still hurt the spring. It works like this. The higher start pressure of heavy/tight pellets causes an earlier bounce, which reduces maximum piston speed. That earlier reduction in maximum speed reduces piston impact and sometimes can even reduce felt recoil. BUT it doesn't soften the negative effects of bounce to the spring. The spring is still affected as I described earlier. The best way to test efficiency is with energy output as l also the described earlier.
Be well
Ron
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I wasn't directing towards you. Had not scrolled down the entire thread yet.My thinking is exactly correct. I agree that you can go too light though. Too light a pellet will give you a quicker, harsher shot cycle. Too light is a very ambiguous term because, again weight isn't the only factor in start pressure. Non lead tin alloy pellets are much lighter but I believe they make them slightly tighter than lead pellets to compensate. Still H&N labels their alloy pellets "PCP Only" because they can be too light for some piston guns.
If you put a 13.73gr 20 caliber pellet in a 22 it will detonate because the pellet fits too loosely and creates no back pressure. Ask me how I know
You're also right in that heavy/tight pellets do soften the impact for the piston but it can still hurt the spring. It works like this. The higher start pressure of heavy/tight pellets causes an earlier bounce, which reduces maximum piston speed. That earlier reduction in maximum speed reduces piston impact and sometimes can even reduce felt recoil. BUT it doesn't soften the negative effects of bounce to the spring. The spring is still affected as I described earlier. The best way to test efficiency is with energy output as l also the described earlier.
Be well
Ron
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If by "tax it unnecessarily" you mean break a spring, then you need to decide whether getting a thousand fewer shots from a spring is worth it to you or not. I could care less if my spring breaks at 9k shots instead of 10k shots. But in no way is the gun being damaged by shooting 9.1g pellets.
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I recommend shooting a variety of pellets to see which one is the "Magic Pellet". I have a newish HW95 that I did some testing this weekend with a variety of pellets - 8.4's, 8.64's, 9.57's, 10.65's and 13.4's and my very finicky FX chronograph.
Having a reliable chronograph is one tool I highly recommend for airgunners. I am looking forward to Athlons new chronograph but I digress.
I was surprised to find out that the rifle likes the 9.57's the most. I was rooting for the 13.4's (I have yet to find a rifle that likes them) but the 9.57's had the best results over the chronograph. The 8.64's was the second best.
The 9.57's (of course I only have three tins of this pellet) had the best consistency and the smallest standard deviation. Was a pretty consistent 820 fps. The tins say they are "hand picked by nubile german women" or something like that. So that might be the reason for such good consistency.
The 8.64's (I have scads of these) was a little hotter at 850ish fps but no where near the consistency of the 9.57's.
It was gusting to 25 mph yesterday so no accuracy testing. Five wind flags all blowing different ways make it very interesting to hit a can let alone try and shoot groups at 55 yards.
Hopefully I can do a shoot out of the pellets to see which one is the most accurate next weekend.
www.hn-sport.de
Having a reliable chronograph is one tool I highly recommend for airgunners. I am looking forward to Athlons new chronograph but I digress.
I was surprised to find out that the rifle likes the 9.57's the most. I was rooting for the 13.4's (I have yet to find a rifle that likes them) but the 9.57's had the best results over the chronograph. The 8.64's was the second best.
The 9.57's (of course I only have three tins of this pellet) had the best consistency and the smallest standard deviation. Was a pretty consistent 820 fps. The tins say they are "hand picked by nubile german women" or something like that. So that might be the reason for such good consistency.
The 8.64's (I have scads of these) was a little hotter at 850ish fps but no where near the consistency of the 9.57's.
It was gusting to 25 mph yesterday so no accuracy testing. Five wind flags all blowing different ways make it very interesting to hit a can let alone try and shoot groups at 55 yards.
Hopefully I can do a shoot out of the pellets to see which one is the most accurate next weekend.
Baracuda FT .177 » H&N Air Gun Pellets (Target Shooting)
The Baracuda FT is a competition pellet optimized for Field Target and Hunter Field Target. The best results are shown in precision airguns with a muzzle energy of 16 joules / 12 ft.lbs. The Baracuda FT sets new standards for accuracy at long distances.
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Truer words have never been said. Without a chronograph you're completely blind to what's going on inside the rifle. A chronograph is good for telling you what's going on inside a gun and which pellets have the best efficiency but has little to do with accuracy. The old brown box CPLs chronographed terribly (low power & high ES) in my Hw95 but were very accurate to at least 30 yards.
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Weight IMO 9 grains or less
* FIT being a semi snug fit is FAR MORE IMPORTANT !!!
You want a "Cork in a Bottle effect" and not a blow gun dart loose fit.
H&N FTT ( Field Target Trophy ) 8.66 grain in 4.52 is a Excellent choice. As is the inexpensive Crosman "Dome" or Hollowpoint ( CPHP ) in 7.9 grain weights a good pellet being generally a snug fit.
* FIT being a semi snug fit is FAR MORE IMPORTANT !!!
You want a "Cork in a Bottle effect" and not a blow gun dart loose fit.
H&N FTT ( Field Target Trophy ) 8.66 grain in 4.52 is a Excellent choice. As is the inexpensive Crosman "Dome" or Hollowpoint ( CPHP ) in 7.9 grain weights a good pellet being generally a snug fit.
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