More Pellets Experiments

[X78 7]

Hi, it's a long time since my last post, but I've been busy reducing the squirrel population here (although whenever I shoot one, two more seem to take its place).

Because I get bored quite quickly doing repetitive tasks, I've been testing the pellets giving me less than 1/2 inch group at 30 yards on the squirrels to see if there is a difference in performance.

 

The rifle is still my trusty .177 HW77K with (very) heavy laminate stock.

 

Here are the results:

• H&N Baracuda power:

Large channel wound on a headshot on a squirrel climbing down a tree. No pellets recovered but I couldn't find any exit wound (I gave up looking for the pellet inside the head after a while - too ghoulish for me).

 

• H&N Terminator

Bizarrely, these are among the most accurate. I recovered a pellet from a side on chest shot and as you can see it performed as intended. It went through the shoulder and stopped against the opposite shoulder in the chest cavity.

 

• H&N Baracuda Hunter

Again, a chest shot. The pellet entered above the shoulder and while it didn't exit, it pierced the skin on the outside of the leg on the other side. The pellet worked as intended again.

 

The big surprise here was the accuracy of the terminators (6 shots in a 8mm hole), which I struggle to achieve even with JSB exacts and JSB heavys. It just goes to show you really need to try as many pellets as you can. Just remember to clean the barrel when you switch. When it comes to the performance of the pellet design, well I must admit that as long as you hit the right spot, it doesn't really seem to matter. I like the pellets that do not create exit wounds because it means I won't shoot my feeder, but this is probably the only advantage of "expanding" pellets. By the way, none of the pellets had a diameter over 5mm when I extracted them, so that's 10% larger at best.

 

Results of the experience: 5 less squirrels, new bits of useless information and lots of flea bites (the squirrels seem to be swamped by them).

 

X

 

[WhiteRabbit 112]

I've been using the RWS Super H Points on both calibers and they're really doing well at the moment. They're pretty accurate at 25 yards but I'm not on to hunt with range (mostly squirrels), most of all they're packing a punch and the pigeons hate them!

 

You should try them for the .177

 

Thanks for sharing anyway, I've enjoyed your topic

 

White

[X78 7]

I tried the super hollow points, but they always give me two small groups separated by 3/4". This seems to be a problem with pellets around 6.5 grains and 13 grains. It must be down to the internal workings of the spring gun.

 

Today I tried the JSB exact heavys on a magpie (they've been too aggressive towards the song birds lately) and I was really impressed by the result. It was a broadside heart shot and the magpie didn't even twitch, it was just bowled over and stone dead. Obviously, the pellet exited with quite a bit of energy (there were many feathers spread on the ground on the exit side), so this is only useful if you have a suitable backstop behind the quarry. I certainly wouldn't shoot those at critters in trees. Horses for courses as they say.

 

X

[Rimfireboy! 1,463]

Interesting post. I've been trying rws super-h-point in my rapid and it spays them all over the target, aa field on the other hand are pellet on pellet but don't expand like the rws, which is a shame.

[WhiteRabbit 112]

I'm guessing each pellet for each rifle. Mine seem to be doing fine and I wouldn't fault the RWS.

I've got AA and they're nice groupings at the range.... In the field they're very easily influenced by with wind or not as accurate as I hope for :-/

 

I'm using Bisley at the moment, not entirely sure what to make of them.

I'll let you know how things go

 

White

[ukalan35 5]

i use exacts in my .20 and find them very good at all ranges i have ad good results on crows magpies pigeons stops um in there tracks ownley ad a few rabbits so far with these but does the job

[RemyBolt 420]

I'm using Bisley at the moment, not entirely sure what to make of them.

I'll let you know how things go

I use Bisley .22 Pest Control when ratting. They're just as effective and accurate as any other, mainly because I shoot over a short range, but the sound they make on impact is just so much more satisfying! A dead rat is dead, regardless of what kind of pellet hits it.

 

Good feedback on the different kinds of pellets though. Very helpful info.

Edited June 6, 2014 by RemyBolt

[X78 7]

Some feedback on the JSB heavy pellets.

 

Thanks to these two, I have been able to recover some pellets (although in fact the one at the top of the photo was a headshot and the pellet exited and smashed into a brick behind the squirrel).

 

 

The pellet on the left was from a side heart shot. The pellet was recovered under the skin of the opposite shoulder.

The pellet on the right was from a centre chest shot after the squirrel was lying down. It was an unnecessary mercy shot that ended up for some strange reason travelling from the centre of the chest (impact point visible on the photo) to the lower back. It was as usual trapped under the skin. I don't eat quarries when they may be contaminated by gut shots, so that was a waste of a good sized squirrel. The skin will go to good use though.

 

 

The next report will be on my most recent stupid purchase: H&N hornet .177 I am a sucker for new pellets and I have been waiting for these to come on the market for more than a year.

 

Pointlessly expensive I know, but after all, I do shoot centrefire rifles at targets, which is a lot more expensive and rather quite pointless. Guilty pleasures I suppose.

 

X

[X78 7]

I like it when a plan comes together.

 

I received the H&N hornet .177 on Monday evening. I had a quick look at them and Jeebus they are pointy! Immediately after this first observation, two more followed:

(1) the brass points are not perfectly centred on some of the pellets (a bit like a hat at a jaunty angle )

(2) the skirts are definitely not that clean inside

 

Now, I'm sure I remember that spinning an object along an axis induces precession (or something like that) if you've got bits and bobs where they shouldn't be. Bad news, especially considering the price.

 

I decided to zero the HW77 with these anyway. And sure enough, if you pick them from the box without looking, it looks like you're taking a garden gun to the target.

 

I scratched my head a bit and decided not to give up. I started choosing the pellets that had the brass point almost dead on, and I tried to insert them as straight as I could in the barrel (not that easy with an HW77 and 10 thumbs). They are a bit oversize for my barrel, but being careful, I managed to consistently get groups below 1/2" at 30 yards (20% of pellets discarded due to the point being off centre).

 

With the zeroing done, I just had to wait for squirrels

 

On Wednesday morning, I finally saw an old male stealing the bird seeds. I struggled to get the crosshairs on him as every time I lined it up, the sun flared in the scope. After a good bit of shuffling, to which the squirrel was oblivious, I finally managed to have a good picture of it standing, its left side to me and completely still. In a second, the early morning hunt excitement and the pressure to get a perfect shot are gone and I slip into this zen like state where you just repeat the steps you have drilled into yourself. Good aim, good trigger pull and follow up. The squirrel somersaults once then lays on its side, its breathing quickly slowing down.

 

I retrieved it and as I was skinning it, another squirrel (medium size female) came along and started ripping the feeder apart. I switched back into hunting mode, washed my hands (no blood on the 77, thank you), chose a pellet, and settled into my shooting position. Much to my delight, it decided to give me a very good chance for a headshot by facing me with its head low on the feeder. The impact was good and the squirrel dropped to the ground and was motionless in less than 20 seconds.

 

Anyway, back to skinning and finally back on the topic of the pellets. After skinning the big male, I saw the pellet trajectory. The pellet went through the "elbow" on the left side, through the heart & lungs area and stopped against the skin. Pellet recovered for you to feast your eyes on.

Now to the other squirrel. A close examination showed a good centre hit on the brain. I started skinning it, thinking the pellet was probably lost, but as I pulled the skin from the chest, I saw the sure sign of catastrophic bleeding in the heart and lungs zone. Sure enough, the pellet was trapped in the meat between the ribs on one side. That pellet went through the head, neck and chest! Also recovered and shown below.

 

 

Bit of info: the pellet on the left is the one from the headshot, the second from the left is the chest shot on the large male, the third from the left is a new pellet and the one on the right is a pellet recovered from a bar of soap I shot.

 

H&N state minimum 7.5J, which is easily achieved by a sub 12 air rifle and I was expecting some expansion, as it would seem to be the aim of the composite design. Well, there is no evidence of any expansion despite hitting some pretty tough bones and going through a lot of flesh. The brass point looks new. The only thing that was achieved was bucket loads of penetration and straightish trajectories in the squirrels.

 

I don't dislike them, despite the price, but I fail to see what they are for in a sub 12 UK environment. Sure, if we had armadillos and were allowed to hunt them, I'd understand, but as far as I am concerned, unless the lead used is more malleable (probably not possible as the brass bits would damage the pellets in the box or during insertion in the factory) or unless the squirrels and rabbits start wearing tiny mythril chainmail armors, these pellets have no practical use.

 

I promise you, this was the last pellet test

 

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