I've been experimented with lubing pellets for my FX Indy .22 (purchased fall 2014).
I applied a very small amount of frog lube (basically putting a little lube on a small piece of cloth and placing it in a small ziploc bag along with a handful of pellets, and then kind of massaging the mix to make sure a thin layer is evenly applied. Not saying its the right way of doing it, its just what I did.)
AA 16gr, JSB 15.89, JSB 18.13 and EunJin 28gr all did OK. I did not see much improvement on my 25y backyard range. But I also did not see a definite degradation, though a few groups were not as tight. But you know how it is. Running clean experiments is hard. You can never replicate the conditions exactly, so only statistics can give meaningful data. Anyway, after a couple hundred shots, I decided that lubing is OK, and since it does not visibly hurt, why not - I'll lube and maybe that will keep the barrel clean and protected.
At the same time, I bought 3 types of lead-free pellets (H&N 12.65 Green, Sig Sauer 10.03gr, and N&N Apollo 14.5). I am really set on finding a lead free pellet to pest with in my backyard.
Unlubed SS 10.03s (the most expensive of the bunch going for $23 a tin of 200) performed really poorly. I was shooting at 15 FPE (power dial on 2 on Indy), and the best 6 shot group I got was about 2" at 25 yards. <donald_trump>You are fired!</donald_trump>
Unlubed H&N Apollo 14.5s were even worse. I gave up after the first 4 inch group. <donald_trump>You are fired!</donald_trump>
Lubed H&N 12.65 Greens showed some promise. I was reliably getting 3/4" groups at 25 yards. Now a group like that wont win you an FT match, but my backyard pesting happens under 20 yards - so a 3/4 inch at 25 was acceptable. The price is high, of course. Those pellets cost as much as a 22 rimfire round, but since I am not going to use them for paper punching or plinking, its not that bad, I think.
So, I lube the rest of the H&N 12.65 Green tin, zero the scope for my pesting needs, and and call it a day.
Two days later a squirrel shows up at the feeder. I load the H&N 12.65 (again, power set at 15-16 FPE) and take the shot. Everything is perfect. You can see the pellet in flight just before the impact (my scope cam is always on)
OK, so far so good. Well ... I should mention that the pellet is so hard that this shot turned out to be a brain/heart/lung/gut shot. I extracted a virtually undamaged pellet somewhere near the anus of the critter. I swear its probably good for another shot. The head and the skirt are in pristine condition, no dents or bends of any sort, only slightly 'polished' on the sides by the smooth twist 'rifling'. "Sure they're expensive, but hey, if you can re-use 'em, that changes everything!" Maybe that's how those pellets should be marketed
Anyway, I am happy. A week or two later, a new batch of (lead) JSB pellets arrive and I decide to try them out. Again, lubed a batch, did some groups, but just before wrapping up, decided to make sure my 'pesting' pellet (H&N Green) was sill zeroed. I load up half a mag of those ($1 worth!) and ... miss the 12x12 target ... Another shot - again - god knows where it flies. Another shot - spot on where I was aiming. Long story short - my 'groups' with H&N Greens went from reliable 3/4" to about a couple of feet. That's right I was getting over half a yard 'ctc group' at 25 yards
Cleaned the bore thoroughly, same story.
I dont know how to explain this. My suspicion is that maybe the frog lube with its 'bio degradable" formula well ... degraded somehow over time and somehow gummed up the barrel or something. So, I thoroughly wash the pellets in dish detergent, rinse, dry, clean the barrel and try again next day. Same story. Half a yard groups at 25 yards.
Sorry for the long story, now my question: do you know of a way to reliably un-lube pellets? Also, do you have any thoughts on what may have happened there with a consistently 'good' pellet starting to show this sort of consistent insanity?
I applied a very small amount of frog lube (basically putting a little lube on a small piece of cloth and placing it in a small ziploc bag along with a handful of pellets, and then kind of massaging the mix to make sure a thin layer is evenly applied. Not saying its the right way of doing it, its just what I did.)
AA 16gr, JSB 15.89, JSB 18.13 and EunJin 28gr all did OK. I did not see much improvement on my 25y backyard range. But I also did not see a definite degradation, though a few groups were not as tight. But you know how it is. Running clean experiments is hard. You can never replicate the conditions exactly, so only statistics can give meaningful data. Anyway, after a couple hundred shots, I decided that lubing is OK, and since it does not visibly hurt, why not - I'll lube and maybe that will keep the barrel clean and protected.
At the same time, I bought 3 types of lead-free pellets (H&N 12.65 Green, Sig Sauer 10.03gr, and N&N Apollo 14.5). I am really set on finding a lead free pellet to pest with in my backyard.
Unlubed SS 10.03s (the most expensive of the bunch going for $23 a tin of 200) performed really poorly. I was shooting at 15 FPE (power dial on 2 on Indy), and the best 6 shot group I got was about 2" at 25 yards. <donald_trump>You are fired!</donald_trump>
Unlubed H&N Apollo 14.5s were even worse. I gave up after the first 4 inch group. <donald_trump>You are fired!</donald_trump>
Lubed H&N 12.65 Greens showed some promise. I was reliably getting 3/4" groups at 25 yards. Now a group like that wont win you an FT match, but my backyard pesting happens under 20 yards - so a 3/4 inch at 25 was acceptable. The price is high, of course. Those pellets cost as much as a 22 rimfire round, but since I am not going to use them for paper punching or plinking, its not that bad, I think.
So, I lube the rest of the H&N 12.65 Green tin, zero the scope for my pesting needs, and and call it a day.
Two days later a squirrel shows up at the feeder. I load the H&N 12.65 (again, power set at 15-16 FPE) and take the shot. Everything is perfect. You can see the pellet in flight just before the impact (my scope cam is always on)
OK, so far so good. Well ... I should mention that the pellet is so hard that this shot turned out to be a brain/heart/lung/gut shot. I extracted a virtually undamaged pellet somewhere near the anus of the critter. I swear its probably good for another shot. The head and the skirt are in pristine condition, no dents or bends of any sort, only slightly 'polished' on the sides by the smooth twist 'rifling'. "Sure they're expensive, but hey, if you can re-use 'em, that changes everything!" Maybe that's how those pellets should be marketed
Anyway, I am happy. A week or two later, a new batch of (lead) JSB pellets arrive and I decide to try them out. Again, lubed a batch, did some groups, but just before wrapping up, decided to make sure my 'pesting' pellet (H&N Green) was sill zeroed. I load up half a mag of those ($1 worth!) and ... miss the 12x12 target ... Another shot - again - god knows where it flies. Another shot - spot on where I was aiming. Long story short - my 'groups' with H&N Greens went from reliable 3/4" to about a couple of feet. That's right I was getting over half a yard 'ctc group' at 25 yards
Cleaned the bore thoroughly, same story.
I dont know how to explain this. My suspicion is that maybe the frog lube with its 'bio degradable" formula well ... degraded somehow over time and somehow gummed up the barrel or something. So, I thoroughly wash the pellets in dish detergent, rinse, dry, clean the barrel and try again next day. Same story. Half a yard groups at 25 yards.
Sorry for the long story, now my question: do you know of a way to reliably un-lube pellets? Also, do you have any thoughts on what may have happened there with a consistently 'good' pellet starting to show this sort of consistent insanity?
