Beginner Pellet Choice, 25 cal.

[Jalan]

Hello All,
I'm putting together my first purchase and the community here has been great.
I mostly decided on the Air Venturi Avenger 25 Bullpup (Hatsan Flashpup out of stock anywhere with a decent price). I'm very green especially with pellet choice.
My main shooting will probably be targets but I'm getting it for my chicken coop. Mostly raccoons and groundhogs(destructive to the coop).
Most research says JSB Exact King 25.39 Grain is a good middle of the road. When I found these they are all labeled 'Diabolo'(?). I really hope to find a good budget one to put thru paper and have others on hand when needed.
I saw plenty in the 30 gr neighborhood, 26 gr polymags, as well as some light weight 20 gr target.
I haven't really compared pricing but most of what I saw in my first pass didn't seem 'Budget' priced. That said I don't want to damage anything shoving junk down the tube.
Thank you very much. Any point in the right direction is appreciated.

 

[imtrigerhapy]

When i got my avenger .25 i bought just about all pellet weights and brands. Fortunatly they all shot well so i went with a 25.something grain and the cheapest i could find. Morale of the story but a tin of several brands and weights and have fun testing and shooting. Every barrel is different and aim for about 800 to 850 fps. Only your gun and barrel know what it likes best

 

[imtrigerhapy]

And the diablo refers to the pellet shape much like a shuttlecock from badmitten

 

[Jalan]

When i got my avenger .25 i bought just about all pellet weights and brands. Fortunatly they all shot well so i went with a 25.something grain and the cheapest i could find. Morale of the story but a tin of several brands and weights and have fun testing and shooting. Every barrel is different and aim for about 800 to 850 fps. Only your gun and barrel know what it likes best

Thank you, I had this same thought to just try all I can. When you say aim for 800-850, is trying to invest in a chronograph something to consider? I'm guessing it's a hit to the budget.
Thanks

 

[Gerry52]

JSB 25.39gr are just about the standard for .25. If they work well in your Avenger you might want to try the heavier 33.95gr later for a harder hitting pellet. Ask Avenger owners here what shoots well out of their guns. Might help narrow down spending in the quest for the "perfect" pellet for your gun. Look up past posts here for ESSENTIAL airgun equipment. There are tools that are indispensable for the work you'll have to do sooner or later (chrony, calipers, metric hex wrenches, etc,etc,etc). Good luck!

 

[imtrigerhapy]

Thank you, I had this same thought to just try all I can. When you say aim for 800-850, is trying to invest in a chronograph something to consider? I'm guessing it's a hit to the budget.
Thanks

Yes even a cheap on will work for tuning all you really need is feet per second then after time when the wallet can handle it get a better one but yes its hard to knowyour tune is close without one

 

[swNCsw]

Thank you, I had this same thought to just try all I can. When you say aim for 800-850, is trying to invest in a chronograph something to consider? I'm guessing it's a hit to the budget.
Thanks

In my honest opinion it is a required part of the kit in order to be successful in your endeavor . Just as important as the rest of the kit is . At some point in the near future you will find yourself in need of the invaluable Chronograph lol .

A must have in my book and pretty much the vast majority of all here on the forums and in the hobby . IMHO again !

 

[6gun]

JSB 25.39gr are just about the standard for .25. If they work well in your Avenger you might want to try the heavier 33.95gr later for a harder hitting pellet. Ask Avenger owners here what shoots well out of their guns. Might help narrow down spending in the quest for the "perfect" pellet for your gun. Look up past posts here for ESSENTIAL airgun equipment. There are tools that are indispensable for the work you'll have to do sooner or later (chrony, calipers, metric hex wrenches, etc,etc,etc). Good luck!

I came here to say this. I haven't found a 25 that didn't PREFER(at op's speed) jsb kings. I also haven't found a gun that didn't shoot them well.

Most guns that like the kings aka 25.39 also usually shoot polymags well enough to hunt in my experiences.

 

[Struckat]

Yes you need a chrony. The $30 China device works wonderfully.

Amazon.com

 

[WorriedMan]

Jalan,
Good info offered on pellet choice, afraid quality pellets at bargain prices are a thing of the past. Pyramyd Air's, "Buy 3, Get One Free," combined with periodic discounts is a way many save. Casino7095 did a three-part YouTube review of the AV Avenger Bullpup, claims it's a "good, but not great, airgun." Air Venturi did a bang-up job upgrading the standard Avenger into the Avenge-X, so I'd look hard at the recently upgraded Avenger Bullpup II, if budget allows. WM

 

[MongooseV8]

With a stout 25Cal, pellet choice wont really matter when it comes to humanely dispatching a racoon. They will all work about the same. Some pellet designs do have an edge while pesting, personally I like the Hades/Atomics moving fast. Shot placement, and distance will be the biggest factors at the end of the day. Make good shots at responsible distances and you will do fine.

I would suggest finding something that shoots the best accuracy at decent speeds ~880fps, and only use that for both target and pesting. You wont really be able to just throw some hunting pellets in when you hear a racoon and have the same poi or accuracy without cleaning your bore and re-zeroing first. Some people find magic combos that can do that, but its certainly not the norm. As far as cost, "budget" 25Cal pellets will work out to about $0.05 a round; out the door for most people during some kind of sale. So the JSB 25g Monster are one of the cheaper options out there, and they have a long standing reputation for the gold standard of accuracy in most air guns. You may get a barrel that likes something better, but it would be a good idea to at least try them. The JTS and AEA pellets have recently been turning many members here away from JSB, as another option.

 

[Contndr35BB]

With a stout 25Cal, pellet choice wont really matter when it comes to humanely dispatching a racoon. They will all work about the same. Some pellet designs do have an edge while pesting, personally I like the Hades/Atomics moving fast. Shot placement, and distance will be the biggest factors at the end of the day. Make good shots at responsible distances and you will do fine.

I would suggest finding something that shoots the best accuracy at decent speeds ~880fps, and only use that for both target and pesting. You wont really be able to just throw some hunting pellets in when you hear a racoon and have the same poi or accuracy without cleaning your bore and re-zeroing first. Some people find magic combos that can do that, but its certainly not the norm. As far as cost, "budget" 25Cal pellets will work out to about $0.05 a round; out the door for most people during some kind of sale. So the JSB 25g Monster are one of the cheaper options out there, and they have a long standing reputation for the gold standard of accuracy in most air guns. You may get a barrel that likes something better, but it would be a good idea to at least try them. The JTS and AEA pellets have recently been turning many members here away from JSB, as another option.

I have found the (in .22) JTS pellets & H&N slugs ( all dia.s) are a hard / tight fit in both of my original Avengers (1 was , first model BullPup) . JSB & FX did fine . As of now my Stoeger Ranger .25 likes the 25+ gr JSB & 29+gr semi point ( flatnose) pellets & have 4 Ghogs to their credit.

 

[JimD]

My Avenger is the original long rifle. It likes JSBs and doesn't seem to like H&N or Benjamin or SPA. I don't think I've tried others. It shoots the 25.4 well and can get them going up to about 900 fps. I recently retuned it to shoot 33.95 heavies and I had to turn it up to about 2600 to get about 825 fps. I can go a little higher but I prefer to get more shots by staying a little lower. The 25.4s I had on hand were FX but those are made by JSB and shoot about the same in my guns. I have both FX and JSB 33.95 and it will shoot either well.

So I would start with a tin of 25.4s or 34 grain FX or JSBs or one of each. For the 25.4s you will get reasonably velocity at a regulator setting around 2200 psi and with the 34s you will probably need to go up to 2500 or more to get over 800 fps. If you want the most penetration you should start with the 34s. I shot one small raccoon with them in my P35-25 which cannot get them going even 800 fps and it was still one shot lights out for the raccoon. I killed another similar sized one with my P35-22 using 21 grain Baracacuda (H&N) and it took three shots. But really in both cases it was a brain shot that put them down. If your gun likes them I think either 25.4s or 34 grain will get the job done as long as they are accurate in your gun. For a really large raccoon (or a coyote) I would prefer the 34 grain.

For situations where I want at least 4 tins I normally use Pyramyd but Utah Air and Airgun Depot also package pellets well. Amazon does not, they normally come in padded bag. But if I only want a tin or two I still use Amazon sometimes. Their return policy is outstanding and I've had the pellets shoot well when the tin had a smallish dent in it. The key is the price of the quantity I want. If Amazon is significantly cheaper I think they are worth a try. Normally I get usable pellets.