.177 Hades Hunting Report

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intenseaty22

intenseaty22

Member
Mar 7, 2017
6,682
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GA, United States
I don’t have a lot of data yet, but I didn’t want to wait till I accumulated enough kills, may not get many, who knows. But, I am very purposefully only pesting with my HW95 and the Hades pellets I have on test. 

First kill, today, big fat Chipper. 28 yard shot, which by the way, addresses the issue of accuracy. They are grouping very well at 30 yards. It was one of those “Take the shot because you have nothing to loose” situations. I had my 7 year old on my ear fuzzing about something, and the alert chipmunk almost out of line of sight. Shot connected with a loud pop typical of lung shots. Went in quartering away just behind the rib cage, blew lungs and tore the base of the head before, I must assume, exiting near the back of the head. I did a complete autopsy and couldn’t find the spent ammo. 
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OK. Success! 27 yard shot, Squirrel on Pecan tree. Pellet struck right on point of aim. Quartering towards the shot right on the shoulder. Pellet pierced the heart through and through, collapsed both lungs, kept going and pierced the liver, kept going through all the intestines, and through the thigh. Stopping just below the skin near the tail. There was very little expansion of the pellet. All in all, it ran a bit up the tree (1 yard or so) and collapsed on the spot. 
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New .177 Hades 0.173
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Spent recovered .177 Hades 0.177
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I wonder if these are even worth using vs domed pellets if they wont expand. Or do we think theyre still causing more trauma due to cavity causing more tissue disruption?
Click to expand...

Hard to say. My feeling is the advantage may be marginal at best. I’d say worth trying a tin or a few if a buddy can give you some & see what your experience may be. The .22s are definitely worth it. Also, I don’t have a PCP in .177 and am limited to lower power. 
 
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It's really not about needing expansion to be effective. Don't get me wrong, expanding projectiles always create a larger wound channel. The cupped (hollow point) design produces more shock to internal organs based on fluid hydraulics. Fill a 12oz aluminum can full of water and shoot it with a pointed or doomed pellet. Now do the same with a Hades or other hollow point designed pellet. Notice the damage difference in each can. Even though very little (if any) pellet expansion occurred the hydraulic expansion of the fluid in the can will produce same result to internal organs of animals.
 
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Indeed. I did notice that before. Thank you for pointing that out and putting it in an easy to understand way. Sometimes I struggle with my words. This was very noticeable when I recreated American Airgunner's Hades test on Oranges. That which you explain was stuck in my mind, trying to find it's way out, but it couldn't. Which is why I struggled with saying if they are or are not worth it in the end. Thanks!
 
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I wonder if these are even worth using vs domed pellets if they wont expand. Or do we think theyre still causing more trauma due to cavity causing more tissue disruption?
Click to expand...

Hard to say. My feeling is the advantage may be marginal at best. I’d say worth trying a tin or a few if a buddy can give you some & see what your experience may be. The .22s are definitely worth it. Also, I don’t have a PCP in .177 and am limited to lower power.
Click to expand...

the 22s expand for you?
 
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When I first started using .22 hades for squirrels in my Regal XL, I was very impressed with the expansion. After several squirrels and recovered pellets, i determined about 6% of them expanded more than a domed pellet. Not worth it me, so when I'm out of them I won't be purchasing more. Now my .177 Hw100BP-K shoots the Ploymag shorts @ 977 fps so there moving a bit more. I will give the .177 Hades a try as the Polymags pass through chippers at 47 yards and I would like to find something that won't. 

(wadcutters, crow magnums, destroyers, hunters, and terminators aren't accurate enough past 30 yards for pest control)
 
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nice shots!



I went back and forth on Hades also but in .25 caliber, also found basically no expansion at all! HOWEVER when I went back to dome pellets I have hard time finding exit wounds and they are just little pin holes. With Hades there is no question on which hole is entry and which one is exit, the exit holes are always bigger and bloody, even entry holes are obviously bigger. I even had one squirrel I shot too low had 2 inches of intestine hanging out. From just looking at the pellets I don't see any real advantage but judging from the entry and exit holes the Hades does WAY more damage, not even close. On squirrels with dome pellets I always get pass through at even 650FPS, 1/3 of the Hades would be found just under the skin at 650 FPS at the same weight. Needless to say I ordered more Hades in multiple calibers.



Judging from your pictures the .177 Hades did fantastic job.
 
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Great post!

If you hit a chipmunk center mass like this with a regular dome .22 they die very quickly/instantly. Similar, headshots on squirrels with .22 are very effective. That said I am really curious what you guys see with .177 & .22 body (heart/lung) shots on squirrels with Hades vs Polymag and regular Domes. With Predator GTOs .22 at ~20 FPE, I don't like that squirrels at times make it 10 or 20 yd before dying from a body shot.

I get the argument about pass-through, but I don't think it's a particular convincing, as it doesn't apply when you miss.
 
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@allan_wind Right! BTW, I absolutely Love me some Polymag, but... I do get more flyers with them than the Hades in any given gun. Matter of fact, once I got the hang of shooting the HW95, new to me, I put them where I want them every time. They group great at 30.

The .22s are proven in my book. These .177s are not bad at all, but they still need the Airgun Supremacy seal of approval. 
 
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