Non lead air rifle pellets

[villaman]

On 27/10/2022 at 20:22, Ultrastu said:

Its often said that heavier pellets are better in fac airguns .that hasn't been my finding at all . Standard 8.4 s or 10.3  grn pellets in .177  are fine up to around 1000 fps the heavier 13 - 16 grn .177 s are rubbish .

Same for .22   13.4 grn up to 18  grn pellets are great but the heavier than that 24 grn etc tend to be rubbish .

Same with the .25 cal pellets the really heavy 33 grn and above are way too slow and not as accurate  as the standard 25 grn .25 cals .

Maybe I'm not driving the very heavy pellets fast enough .but then again why would I want too .there are mostly down sides to heavy pellets going very fast .

I really can't see lead free slugs working in airguns at all .most lead slugs are pretty useless at sub 12 . And ok if you drive them very fast .

Obviously  there will be some people who can get there gun to work with work with a particular  slug at a certain  power etc .But for the VAST majority  of sub 12 airgunners slugs won't work well enough to out perform a quality  pellet . 

I disagree with some of what you say .25 33.45 gr pellet running  970 fps is with in 15 mm group at 110 yards (only tested them out to that range )and absolutely perfect running at 998 fps as well .

I totally agree with slugs at Sub12 waste of time , money and effort to try and get them to work . A good pellet what ever your barrel likes is a winner over a slug , in sub12 that’s for sure 

[Ultrastu]

Fair enough .with the 33 .5 grn .25 cal pellets  ,but 1000 fps is nearly 75 fpe of energy   that's a lot and it requires a pretty special gun to drive them that fast .I'm sure they go very well and hitlike a sledge hammer  .but your deep into rimfire territory  there and as such it comes with the usual downside that.22lr also suffers  (which can obviously be managed  ) but it's a far cry from the advantages  of an airgun .

15mm groups are awesome at  110 yds .

[villaman]

This with 33 gr slugs at 110 - 115 yards

and pellets are  the same if not a tiny bit better at that distance. 
 

[Mice!]

this fella does really good videos 

 

[wymberley]

On 15/11/2022 at 16:12, villaman said:

I disagree with some of what you say .25 33.45 gr pellet running  970 fps is with in 15 mm group at 110 yards (only tested them out to that range )and absolutely perfect running at 998 fps as well .

I totally agree with slugs at Sub12 waste of time , money and effort to try and get them to work . A good pellet what ever your barrel likes is a winner over a slug , in sub12 that’s for sure 

Don't want to rain on your parade, but that 15mm group is actually c9mm. 

Some shooting!

[Mice!]

 

 

 

[enfieldspares]

On 24/10/2022 at 09:06, THEINVISIBLESCARECROW said:

I've tried a few. Won't buy any more. 

This. Tried some of the RWS in my BSA Scorpion T-10. Hard as hell compared to lead and penetrate with little if any deformation. Useless, expensive, I'll stick with my .177 Bisley Magnum.

[ditchman]

there is going to be a lot of money made...on finding a sucsessful replacement for the lead pellet...what i do feel is that the smaller .177 cal....will disapear...the new ammunition i think will be a very engineered item...made up of up to 3 materials...and will be at least 3 times the cost of good lead ammo

im no balistics expert....im just working off years of making home load pistol ammo...which was trail and error mostly

i feel we might be looking at a doubled finned "Mini" ball design...the fins providing a gas seal and centering of the projectile in the barrel.....

Edited January 2, 2023 by ditchman

[villaman]

Am I right in thinking none lead will need a different twist rate barrel than for lead 

Edited January 2, 2023 by villaman

[enfieldspares]

16 minutes ago, ditchman said:

there is going to be a lot of money made...on finding a sucsessful replacement for the lead pellet...what i do feel is that the smaller .177 cal....will disapear...the new ammunition i think will be a very engineered item...made up of up to 3 materials...and will be at least 3 times the cost of good lead ammo

 

I'd argue the opposite that .177 as it has better sectional density will survive as it'll still penetrate at killing range and, with .177 headshots are de rigeur, whereas .22 will have the aerodynamic qualities of a block of expanded polystyrene. So trajectories will be poor. Well not quite but you get the point. I think a tin 8.4 grain .177 could be possible? Unlike the current tin 5.5 grain .177 offerings. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by enfieldspares

[ditchman]

8 minutes ago, villaman said:

Am I right in thinking none lead will need a different twist rate barrel than for lead 

are you thinking along the lines of the high speed/velocity the pellet will be skipping the lands ?..................

there are alot of things to consider when there is a radicle re-design of ammuniton....................remember the most accurate rifle of its time (victorian times) was the Witworth rifle....with an octaganal bore...........