Main Forums > The Roundtable
Pellet Guns?
Ben:
--- Quote from: MechAg94 on April 13, 2024, 07:01:10 PM ---2. I bought pellets with 14, 15, 20, and 35 grains just to see what was accurate. The Gamo 15 grain pellets shoot 12" or bigger groups at 50 yards. Would not recommend. The 35 grain pellets drop 2 feet at 50 yards compared to the 20 grain. I figure they are too heavy for this rifle. The 14 grain pellets are accurate, but shoot lower than the 20 grain. I guess they don't seal against the barrel as well. I don't know. I am just going to buy more of the 20 grain since they work. Since pellets are relatively cheap, I might try more types/brands.
--- End quote ---
I too, bought a sampling of pellets. The ones I shot today were Crossman 14.3s, which seemed to get good reviews as plinking rounds. I also bought:
H&N Spitzkugel 16.05 grain
Hades Diablo 15.89 grain
Predator Polymag 16 grain
Those three were all highly rated for small game, especially the Polymags. Once I see what performs best, I'm just gonna order a boatload of that. Even the "high end" pellets are cheap, relatively speaking, so I don't see a need to keep both plinking and hunting rounds and then worrying about keeping track of downrange performance for multiple pellet types.
BobR:
I have been toying with the idea of a pellet gun for use against the flying rats in the neighborhood. Presently I use a pump BB gun. Inaccurate and the BBs will sometimes bounce off of the targets. I have also been toying with threading the barrel on my Marlin 81TS, with a muffler and 22 shorts it will probably be more quiet than a pellet gun. I used to use the Marlin to snipe Collared Dove in WA at a wheat field so I know it shoots well. I will have to ponder this a bit.
bob
Tuco:
It's already been noted, but worth mentioning again. Springer air rifles will knock loose the reticle on most (yes, most) scopes. Big RWS rifles are notoriously hard shooters. My personal experience had lower end Hawke glass on a .22 Diana 34 wrecked in less than one tin of pellets.
The scope was airgun rated, and I was baffled by the sudden loss of precision. The rattling scope was boxed up and hawke sent me a new one, within a week, mid 2020.
One of the causes, I learned, is adjusting the reticle to its limits to account for close range POI. The springs that support the crosshairs in the tube are over tensioned. And the forward recoil on a big springer smacks em loose. There are scopes (I believe Ben's choice is one) and even more mount options that are designed for close range, and are airgun rated.
There is a whole 'nother world of airgun tuning which includes spring tuning, tube smoothing, exotic lubrication and aftermarket seals. I indulged, and my 34 is much smoother and consistent, and wears a Williams Peep sight.
The Hawke is on a Benjamin Marauder PCP. Even now it's POI is 50yds and most shooting is done at less than 20yds with a holdover. The RWS gathers dust.
The PCP is just plain boring to shoot. It stacks pellets end to end. The 34 and my other springer, a smooth shooting little .177 wierauch, are true for 8 or 9 shots out of 10. The velocity of the 1 or 2 odd shots might be up to 20% either side of the s.d. and it shows at the target. They're fun to shoot, trying to account for a springer's inherent inconsistencies, but for varmint control I demand the PCPs predictably, because even at 875 fps the .22 pellet weighs less than 20 grains, and a 1 shot in the tracks kill requires 3/16" accuracy.
My aunt had an old Benjamin 314 pump. That was a great gun, but they've been out of production for some time. The pneumatic pump design offers the same predictably as a PCP, but follow up shots are slow.
edited for added content and grammar
Ben:
Well, I just used the Diana 48 on some rockchucks a couple of hours ago. A bit of mixed results at 30 yards using the 16gr Polymags. The first shot was a good sized adult that I got just below the head. He was flopping around a good bit (live, not post-mortem) so I had to walk up and give him one in the head. The next one was a juvenile and he went down right quick. Then I started missing and missing. I was aiming for heads and I was hearing steel pings (I was shooting at my bridge, an old railroad car, as they were popping their heads up on the other side of it) and ricochets, and was like, WTF?
Took the rifle back to the house and shot at my backyard target. Nice, tight three shot group, exactly 4" down from the bullseye. All I can think of is that maybe the springer moved the scope? I thought I had the thing tightened down really good, and I checked it and the rings and base were tight. I can't think of anything else though. I cranked the scope up and did another dozen shots, and they were all there in the bullseye. So I guess I'll give it a try at the bridge again tomorrow.
The good news is that Steve, who is sadly really gun shy (sadly, because he has a great hunting instinct) and normally won't come near me when I have a gun in my hand), decided he doesn't mind the air rifle at all. He came up and sat right next to me while I shot in the backyard, all interested in the goings on. =)
Angel Eyes:
--- Quote from: Ben on May 09, 2024, 08:26:48 PM ---
The good news is that Steve, who is sadly really gun shy (sadly, because he has a great hunting instinct) and normally won't come near me when I have a gun in my hand), decided he doesn't mind the air rifle at all.
--- End quote ---
How is Steve around suppressed firearms?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version