I’ve been looking for a lighter .30 pellet to quell the bark from my sidewinder mini. I was therefore excited to try the new Zan lead free option which is 37 grains. To be clear, I’d be very happy to use a lighter lead pellet but there simply aren’t any available. So let’s not have this devolve into politics - it’s simply a review of a lightweight .30 option, in case you want to shoot .30 more quietly or out of something that lacks the juice for 45 grain pellets. For example, a 350mm Leshiy Classic .30, which can only manage 780fps with 45 grains. I might try that later…
Anyway, regarding the mini Sidewinder, these pellets sucked. I expected them to be good because GTOs work very well in Hubens, which are a similar (shoot from mag into barrel) platform. However, I was getting 2-3 inch groups at 50y at around 875fps, compared to 1/2in with JSB 44.75. The SW and these pellets just don’t get along.
Having paid a princely sum for these Zan .30, I decided to give them a shot in my Wildcat BT, so I popped on the .30 shorty barrel last night (500mm - standard STX liner). At 120bar, they hit the knee at 875fps and were shooting very well. I then dropped the reg to shoot them at 835, because I don’t need that much juice and would appreciate having a compact and quiet .30. Considering that it’s putting out 58fpe, this is indeed a very quiet, stealthy rig, with only a small 0dB mod.
Unlike with the Sidewinder, these lead free Zans are shooting just as well, if not better, than the JSBs out of this wildcat. Here’s 8 shots at 50 yards:
So, if you have the right use case for these, they are certainly worth trying.
Anyway, regarding the mini Sidewinder, these pellets sucked. I expected them to be good because GTOs work very well in Hubens, which are a similar (shoot from mag into barrel) platform. However, I was getting 2-3 inch groups at 50y at around 875fps, compared to 1/2in with JSB 44.75. The SW and these pellets just don’t get along.
Having paid a princely sum for these Zan .30, I decided to give them a shot in my Wildcat BT, so I popped on the .30 shorty barrel last night (500mm - standard STX liner). At 120bar, they hit the knee at 875fps and were shooting very well. I then dropped the reg to shoot them at 835, because I don’t need that much juice and would appreciate having a compact and quiet .30. Considering that it’s putting out 58fpe, this is indeed a very quiet, stealthy rig, with only a small 0dB mod.
Unlike with the Sidewinder, these lead free Zans are shooting just as well, if not better, than the JSBs out of this wildcat. Here’s 8 shots at 50 yards:
So, if you have the right use case for these, they are certainly worth trying.