mick miller Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 So, having used Bisley Magnums with some success for a few months now I figured on trying a lighter, standard pellet to see what results that gave. Chairgun's virtual charts looked promising with a flat trajectory out to 50 yards using 14.8gn H&N FTT's and thereafter a much reduced drop-off. Oh how wrong that choice was. On testing I found that the lighter pellets gave the same 30.3fpe over the chrono but were traveling 150fps faster at +950fps, that looked good but in reality my Rapid went from putting pellets in a 5p at 45 yards to bean tin lid groups. They were all over the place! I have some 18gn AA Field Plus on order, I'm hoping they prove to be the ideal compromise between speed, weight and accuracy (I hope so, I have 5 tins arriving) but it does beg the question; is there an optimum pellet speed to weight for FAC air? 21gns at 30 fpe doesn't look the best on paper but my results are consistent and I can pretty much accurately judge holdover with the Bisley Magnums now so it's safe to take shots out to 75 yards on a windless evening. I get the occasional miss but no worse than when using the 22lr at those ranges. The 14.8gn pellets as a comparison are awful, I wouldn't dream of taking them into the field despite the tempting promises of a flatter trajectory that the Hawke software promises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHT SEARCHER Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 I found my groups where poor at 50 yds with my Rifle running at 30 ftlb. I turned it down to 25 ftlb and my groups got a lot better. What worked in my gun were. Crosman premier magnums. RWS super dome. RWS super field. Bisley Magnums. Bisley premier. H&N Rabbit Magnums. They all give good groups Rabbit magnums suffered pellet drop at 50 yds but the. RWS superfield worked very well followed by RWS superdomes then Crosman then the Bisleys but not much in it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elcaro Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 I have three FAC .22" air rifles all running at about 30ft/lbs depnding on the pellet used. I have found Field Target Trophies to be unsuitable in my rifles as well. Accurate pellets in my rifles are Crosman Accupell, 16g JSB Exact, 18g Air Arms Field Plus, 18g Defiant FAC and Bisley Magnums. All give better groups than I can shoot out in the field. I tend to stick with 18g Defiant now. They are accurate, hard hitting and made here in the UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 So, having used Bisley Magnums with some success for a few months now I figured on trying a lighter, standard pellet to see what results that gave. Chairgun's virtual charts looked promising with a flat trajectory out to 50 yards using 14.8gn H&N FTT's and thereafter a much reduced drop-off. Oh how wrong that choice was. On testing I found that the lighter pellets gave the same 30.3fpe over the chrono but were traveling 150fps faster at +950fps, that looked good but in reality my Rapid went from putting pellets in a 5p at 45 yards to bean tin lid groups. They were all over the place! I have some 18gn AA Field Plus on order, I'm hoping they prove to be the ideal compromise between speed, weight and accuracy (I hope so, I have 5 tins arriving) but it does beg the question; is there an optimum pellet speed to weight for FAC air? 21gns at 30 fpe doesn't look the best on paper but my results are consistent and I can pretty much accurately judge holdover with the Bisley Magnums now so it's safe to take shots out to 75 yards on a windless evening. I get the occasional miss but no worse than when using the 22lr at those ranges. The 14.8gn pellets as a comparison are awful, I wouldn't dream of taking them into the field despite the tempting promises of a flatter trajectory that the Hawke software promises. Firstly Balistic programs (especially conserning air powered projectiles) are not all you might expect in terms of accurate predictions. your findings with your rapid and FTT totally mirror my own, with my MK1 rapid i could get the thing to shoot straight with them past 40 yds. Switching to Bis mags gave me real tidy groups out to 55 yds. Its not all about speed, after all if it was we would just shoot .177 at 12 ftlb. Bis mags retain more energy and speed as they travel down range and give way less windage- Thats what matters, forget the muzzle speed lost its meaningles. Some say bis mags are too loopy but mine shoots to within 1/2" of the line of sight to 55 yds although its only usable to around 65 yds as it just cannot hold the accuraccy alied to having to allow more for wind and drop ontop i dont use it past that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubshot Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 I have a fair few customers Shooting Rapid FAC Most use the Defiant 18's 5.52 Head Size Being Bullet design it will never break up on high power But is designed to be a hard hitting Vermin pellet Made of Lead - Also fly flater than Wasted Pellets Does need a clean dry Action / Barrel as does need to find Rifling - BOB/R www.defiantpellets.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted June 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Good that one or two of you have had similar issues, I think I'll give the 18grain AA's a go and if they prove to be pony stick with the Bisley Magnums then, adjusting the power down isn't an option for my Rapid sadly. Mick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pabs Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) The Diablo design is proven to be the best design ( aerodynamically ) at least for subsonic flight. And we also know that they fly best up to around 920-950 give or take a few fps depending on your particular barrel. To achieve the most Ftlb from your rig, you want to find the heaviest pellet out there. Ergo, you are looking for the heaviest, Diablo design pellet leaving your muzzle at a maximum fps of 920 odd. AA Field Plus would be your best bet me thinks.... Edited June 23, 2012 by pabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p barrett Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 hi my mk/2 rapid is running at 40.7ft/p = 1071 fp/s useing 16g fx pellets which are jsbs ,they are the better version of aas ,i find them more accurate than bis/mags ,i like most of you guys have tried every pellet going , these are what my lother/w barrel likes ,my early mk/1 running around the same speed seems to hate every pellet there is even at lower speeds.that one has the anshuts barrel ,which i have just replased with bsa barrels which are less pellet fussy .very accurate with the fx 16/g ,have not tried any other pellet so far .i have lots of mates on both the rapid sites and almost everyone uses different pellets ,i have three rapids and they all shoot different pellets ,you just have to find which pellet your barrel likes ,trial and error ,a bit like my spelling atb jazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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