What's with the Slug Speed fetish lately?

[Centercut]

I've noticed lately that more and more shooters of airgun slugs are increasingly looking for higher speeds... My question is why?

What is the benefit of shooting faster, say 1050 compared to 900 fps?

Wind drift isn't better. Yes, the shots are "flatter", but really, with distances known, does that make a difference?

The gun gets less shots per fill, and is harder to shoot accurately, so what is the reasoning other than psychological?

 

[Sqwirl57]

Some people have a "bigger/more powerful is better" mindset that they just can't let go of. Manufacturers know this and play right into it with how they advertise a lot of their products.

 

[JimNM]

I think it's what I call the outer boundary phenomenon. I have fallen for that before in this, and other hobby pursuits.

There is always the "horizon" of the current state of the hobby and the allure of what potential benefit is there if I could go past that horizon. If a little more is better, then ipso facto a whole lot more should be a whole lot "better". Instant media and Yuba-tuba videos feed that mania every day with new and wonderous example of what the "cool kids" are doing. The First Person Video (FPV) mania is what brought the AMA and Radio Control Aircraft into conflict with the FAA. I won't go into that further, I am far to bitter about it.

 

[7Green]

Imo, it depends on the guns purpose. If it is for hunting, I would want more umph at times than less. However, I would not allow myself to sacrifice a ton of accuracy in exchange. Instead I would try and find ways to achieve similar accuracy with more power or settle with a happy medium. If the gun was for competition purposes then I would be 100% interested in the most accurate, consistent, and tightest groups.

 

[SpiralGroove]

I've noticed lately that more and more shooters of airgun slugs are increasingly looking for higher speeds... My question is why?

What is the benefit of shooting faster, say 1050 compared to 900 fps?

Wind drift isn't better. Yes, the shots are "flatter", but really, with distances known, does that make a difference?

The gun gets less shots per fill, and is harder to shoot accurately, so what is the reasoning other than psychological?

Marketing/Novice Shooters,
We are routinely bombarded by videos of people shooting the FX Impact using slugs in excess of 950 fps. It's almost the norm.
It's already been shown (over & over) that pellets and slugs shoot best between 850 and maybe 925 fps.

The External Ballistics Of Slugs In Airguns - Hard Air Magazine

For the most part slugs in airguns act in a similar manner to pellets. But there are some subtle differences as we will see in this post.

hardairmagazine.com

Wind Drift For Airguns – It’s Important Where The Wind Is!

In this post, Bob explains why - contrary to popular opinion - the biggest component of wind drift for airguns is nearest to the muzzle.

hardairmagazine.com

 

[stanginthe11s]

for me it would be the fact that I can extend the range for a given holdover, get slightly more power at range, have less hold off for wind at closer ranges and reduce the chance of animal movement on the shot. I am purely talking hunting for me, and this of course assumes I can get said slug/pellet to shoot at those speeds accurately, because that trumps all in my opinion.
I do agree that most people get sucked into the cool factor and others get pulled in by the internet telling them they need it. kinda like the whole BC fad that is taking over.

 

[Long_Gun_Dallas]

I shoot in mostly windless areas. Still, I prefer a shorter barrel over more speed. 25gr 218 @ 950fps out of a 500mm Crown Mk1 is good for me.

I don't see how bc is a fad either. Better bc means less drift, less drop. I don't see a downside. Unless you want rapid velocity bleed off. In which case, just use pellets

 

[Scotchmo]

True that higher velocity uses more air and can be noticeably detrimental to the shot cycle. Higher velocity delivers more energy, and that might be one consideration, depending on the intended use.

Even with a harsher shot cycle, there are the less common instances where accuracy is better at the higher velocity.

There might be other considerations when shooting at long distance. It’s a trade off. Slugs use a different drag model than pellets. Of the commonly used drag models, the RA4 (22lr) model works better than most as you get well into the transonic region. And it’s a fairly good match to higher sectional density airgun slugs (2 to 3 calibers long). For distances past 100yds, wind drift will likely be a little less at 1050fps than at 900fps. And you’ll get about 20% to 30% more range before running out of elevation (clicks and/or holdover).

 

[Struckat]

I am really intrigued by Weevils thread shooting slugs out of a 1701 with very good accuracy @ 45 yards.

I am going to try some sub 12fpe sluggin.

As far as extreme speed, everyone loves big numbers, even if they mean nothing, or worse.

 

[Michael]

I've noticed lately that more and more shooters of airgun slugs are increasingly looking for higher speeds... My question is why?

What is the benefit of shooting faster, say 1050 compared to 900 fps?

Wind drift isn't better. Yes, the shots are "flatter", but really, with distances known, does that make a difference?

The gun gets less shots per fill, and is harder to shoot accurately, so what is the reasoning other than psychological?

You are correct. In fact if you punch some numbers into an App like Strelok Pro or the new Element Ballistic calculator, sometime you'll actually find that there is more wind drift at higher velocities. Go figure

 

[stanginthe11s]

I don't see how bc is a fad either. Better bc means less drift, less drop. I don't see a downside. Unless you want rapid velocity bleed off. In which case, just use pellets

BC is a fad in the sense that everyone thinks they need it to shoot better, further and that it somehow means less drift or better accuracy. just like this post referring to fast slugs. shooting is like a big puzzle, and the pieces can be put together many ways to achieve the same thing. not many people know how to or want to look at all the pieces and understand them, instead they want one golden answer.

 

[Scotchmo]

You are correct. In fact if you punch some numbers into an App like Strelok Pro or the new Element Ballistic calculator, sometime you'll actually find that there is more wind drift at higher velocities. Go figure

Try it again, but use the RA4 drag model. Try it at 100, 200, 300+ yards.

 

[Centercut]

I don't see how bc is a fad either. Better bc means less drift, less drop. I don't see a downside. Unless you want rapid velocity bleed off. In which case, just use pellets

Yes, that is a fact, not a feeling or supposition. BC is NOT a fad, and there is no downside.

There are and have been members on AGN that do not believe that a better BC means less wind drift for a given speed. They also have this misguided belief that the Earth is Flat, and that the Moon Missions never happened...

 

[Centercut]

Try it again but use the RA4 drag model. Try it at 100, 200, 300+ yards.

Agree with Scott, there is for slugs using RA4 profile a negligibly better wind drift up to just below the transonic region from 900 to 1050 fps.
My experience with Slugs recently is with the .25 Altaros ATP Smooth 49.5 grain BT slugs at 880 to 900 fps using the G7 profile. If you keep your muzzle speeds 950 fps or less, the wind drift remains fairly constant as does BC for the G1 or G7 profile.

 

[iAMzehTOASTY1]

Marketing/Novice Shooters,
We are routinely bombarded by videos of people shooting the FX Impact using slugs in excess of 950 fps. It's almost the norm.
It's already be shown (over & over) that pellets and slugs shoot best between 850 and maybe 925 fps.

The External Ballistics Of Slugs In Airguns - Hard Air Magazine

For the most part slugs in airguns act in a similar manner to pellets. But there are some subtle differences as we will see in this post.

hardairmagazine.com

Wind Drift For Airguns – It’s Important Where The Wind Is!

In this post, Bob explains why - contrary to popular opinion - the biggest component of wind drift for airguns is nearest to the muzzle.

hardairmagazine.com

just thinking out loud.
I've seen alot of setups made intentionally for FT and also intentionally tuned to be 500fps or less
Wondering why that would be a thing as well as the very fast shooting
...thinking about a thread for that now

 

[zx10wall]

Bring the heat baby!!

Everyone loves a hot rod even though it burns more gas

 

[JimNM]

just thinking out loud.
I've seen alot of setups made intentionally for FT and also intentionally tuned to be 500fps or less
Wondering why that would be a thing as well as the very fast shooting
...thinking about a thread for that now

Countries outside the U.S. often have legal limits on caliber and/or energy. The U.K. shooters have to be under 12 fpe if they don't have a special license. Germany has even tougher limits.

 

[TDK]

Everyone loves a hot rod even though it burns more gas

I think that about sums it up. Additional factors: 1) Ted made a video getting his best accuracy at 1100fps, 2) The South African crew (often, but not always) showcases very hot slug tunes. One of them recently discovered the joys of light 21gr slugs so it has been nice to see that make it into the rotation.

Harsh shot cycle, low shot count, and extensive power mods don't appeal to me. You don't have to shoot over 1000fps to gain the benefits slugs offer vs pellets. 950fps vs 1050 fps is a ~50bar reg increase! I've personally been having fun seeing what I can get out of slugs in the 650fps range.

 

[dens228]

I think it's also been drilled in that slugs need to move faster than pellets. I currently shoot JSB RD's and Knockouts out of my M3. I had the pellets dialed nice and tight. I used my macro wheel to adjust for slugs. Guess where they ended up being one moa up and left of my pellets???
Same exact setting as my pellets.

 

[ctshooter]

I thought that everyone was shooting slugs faster and faster because that's what the slugs needed to fly accurately in these guns with slower twist barrels than are ideal.