... POINTED PELLETS ( Worth the trouble or not ) By Rada Plesinger.
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... POINTED PELLETS ( Worth the trouble or not )
By Rada
Plesinger.
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POINTED PELLETS 
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Worth the trouble or not.
Last time I was
testing the S200 I noticed that some pointed pellets were
shooting rather well. So I thought how about an article on
pointed pellets. I was interested how exactly accurate they
could be. If accuracy decreased when the velocity was
increased. Now I am sure most airgun shooters know the
pointed pellet is not the one to use if top notch accuracy is
expected. How ever, seems like most airgun shooters just
down right ignore them all together. Talking to some
shooters it seems to me the general consensus is they are to be
used with low power air guns for very small game hunting.
Until recently I pretty much ignored them myself. Except
for few exceptions where they would be only one of a number of
makes and styles I would test in an airgun. This time I thought I
would do some what and extensive test.
So I looked around
and found no less then nine different pointed pellets from a
variety of makers. Some are as light as 7.1 grains to the
massive 11.5 pellet from Beeman. Again using the S200 from Air
Arms I knew I could adjust the power level to suit this test.
At my disposal I had all sorts of power to choose from.
I could borrow from T.G.A.G anything that had 6 foot pounds
to some very zippy 21 foot pounds and close to the sound barrier.
But I believe the pointed pellets would not shoot accurately at
the high end of the velocity scale. I also reasoned if I
used several different rifles the test would not be valid since I
would only get a reading on accuracy out of each different rifle.
And since most shooters normally do not even consider them
for the more powerful rifles I adjusted the S200 to about 15 foot
pounds or just over 900 feet per second. I used all sort of
tricks to get the S200 in .177 to shoot this fast. It is
easy to adjust the rifle to about 13.5 foot pounds, so lets just
not reveal what I did to get my to shoot a little faster. I
felt using the same rifle and only altering the power I would
retain the same accuracy potential of the barrel pellet
combination. Hopefully it is obvious that not all air rifles will
shoot these same groups even though they may be set at the same
power.
Since it would be too
time consuming to adjust each pellet to obtain the desired foot
pound rating, I used a 7.9 grain pellet to at least come close.
Then I simply shot all the pellets at that setting.
It was interesting to note that even though several pellets
weight 7.9 grains none shot the same speed orgave the same foot
pound reading. Looking at them it was quite obvious they have
different bearing surfaces. With the statistics I included
the length of each of the pellets. At first glance there was a
significant difference between the makes, so I included the
measurement. Here is how they stack up to one another.
Accuracy testing was shot at 20 yards at an
indoor range.
Also here are the abbreviations I used.
c.t.c. = center to center;
fps = feet per second;
oal = over all length;
fpd = foot pounds
Gamo
Magnum............. Ruko Accupoint .................JSB Straton .................Gamo Masterpoint
8.3
grains
.... 7.9 grains
....... 8.2
grains ......................... 7.9 grains
1.077 c.t.c .. .473
c.t.c .. .367 c.t.c.. ............... 1.344
c.t.c
902.9 fps .......................900.1 fps.
905.2
fps
914.3
fps
.262 oal ......................... .280
oal
.270
oal
.273
oal
15.02 fpd
.................14.21 fpd........
14.92
fpd 14.66
fpd
Daisy Max Speed .......Beeman SilverArrow.........Beeman Silver Sting...........Daisy Quick Silver ..
7.1
grains
11.5
grains ...........8.6 grains...................... 7.9
grains ..
1.089 c.t.c ..............
...451
c.t.c ............. .511
c.t.c
1.182
c.t.c
937.7 fps ......................... .802.0 fps..... 901.9
fps
912.2
fps
....226 oal............................ .271
oal
.235
oal
.258
oal
...
. .13.86
fpd...........................16.42 fpd...
14.82
fpd
14.60fps
Crossman
pointed
7.9
grains
.632 c.t.c ..
919.1 fpd
.235 oal,,,,
14.82 fpd
The
15 foot pound setting for accuracy was won by JSB Straton. Unlike
the .22 Straton this pellet is actually very pointed, the .22 is
sort or trun cated at the point. Ruko pellet was also a
surprise as that make looks too much like a Gamo. Even though it
may be a Gamo with today’s labeling it is different and
accuracy was very good. What did surprise me was Beeman’s
Silver Arrow how accurate it was at this setting. I always
try this pellet with a lot of .177 airguns and to date none have
even showed a promise of a decent group. With the weight at
11.5 grains it also yielded the most foot pounds at 16.42.
For me anything under half an inch center to center at 20
yards is usable. In that case only three qualify, JSB
Straton, Beeman Silver Arrow, and Ruko Accupoint.
This next set of groups is shot at the same range but theS200 is
set at 12 foot pounds.
.Gamo
Magnum .............Ruko Accupoint ...............JSB Straton .............Gamo Materpoint
...................
..917
c.t.c .
.... . .507 c.t.c
................ .213
c.t.c ............ .988
c.t.c
....................820 fps
. ......... 832.6
fps ................. 816.8
fps ............. 840
fps
.....................12.39 fpd
........ 12.16 fpd
.................. 12.15
fpd ................ 12.38
fpd
..........Daisy Max Speed . ....... Beemsn SilverArrow ....Beeman Silver Sting .... Daisy Quick Silver
....................807 c.t.c
.625 c.t.c
.648 c.t.c
1.032 c.t.c
....................864.9 fps
707.8 fps
822.7 fps
850.3 fps
...................11.79 fpd
12.79
fpd
12.92 fpd
12.68
fpd
Crossman
pointed
.963
c.t.c
819.3 fps
11.77 fpd
This setting was a surprise. If the logic where
the pointed pellets shoot better at less velocity this did not
hold up to the 12 foot pound setting. Using the half inch
accuracy criteria for useful pellets only one would qualify, the
JSB Straton. Ruko Accupoint was close and the rest not all
that useful.
This next set is also
shot at the 20 yard mark and the rifle is set at 7 foot pounds.
... Gamo Magnum ..................Ruko Accupoint.................. JSB Straton .................Gamo Materpoint
...............509 c.t.c
............ .
.323
c.t.c ................ .367c.t.c
.............. . .585
c.t.c.
..............630.7 fps
........
... .. 641.3
fps ................ 633.1
fps .............. 643.3
fps
..............7.33
fpd
.. .. ..... 7.2
fpd ................ 7.2
fpd
.............. 6.98fpd
........Daisy Max Speed... . . ... Beeman SilverArrow .. ..... Beeman Silver Sting ........Daisy Quick Silver
...............1.255 c.t.c
........ .794
c.t.c
............... .550
c.t.c
.... 1.343
c.t.c
...............671.8 fps
........ 533.3
fps
................ 632.5fps
...... 659.8
fps
...............7.11
fpd
....... 7.26
fpd
............... 7.64 fpd
.... 7.6fpd
........ Crossman pointed
.484
c.t.c
..648.3 fps
....7.37
fpd
Another surprise, I expected more pellets to shoot
under the half inch group. Number one position was taken
over from JSB by Ruko. And those were the only ones in less
then one inch category. At first I was going to try another
lower setting on the S200 but reasoned this is about the least
“hunting” velocity/foot pound I like to see. And
only for the easiest target to dispatch like the English finch,
or house sparrow. Interesting to note is only the JSB
Straton shot with any sort of consistency, Ruko came in second
and the rest are in the class of also tested. I would like
to point out that JSB manufactures pellets and tests them in
airguns provided to them. Since the manufacturer of S200,
Zbrojovka is in the same country I would not be surprised if they
have one rifle on hand for the pellets. That could explain
the accuracy potential of the S200 with almost any JSB Bottom
line is simple. Do not use the pellets for the very best
accuracy expectations. However, do not discount them for some
small pest control either. Testing is a must to see if they
are useful out of your particular rifle velocity combination
pellets.
.
Other airgun articles By Rada Plesinger ....
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