Finally had a chance to test some different 0.249 slugs in a 25 cal Slash Tactical with a 420mm barrel.
I had previously tried to test some wider 38g ZAN and 50g Altaros slugs (0.253?) but they were too wide to fir into the Slash' slug magazine.
The 0.249 dia. slugs listed below all fit the Slash 25 cal Slug magazine correctly.
All of the slugs tested also come in additional weights from each company in the same .249 diameter.
I mostly wanted to verify that 0.249 slugs from each company would actually fit into the Slug magazine.
The H&N 0.249 Slugs were fairly tight the first few times they were pushed all the way through the slug magazine.
The slug magazine became slightly easier to load after it was used several times.
The Griffin 0.249 slugs were the smoothest fit. It felt like the Slash Slug magazine was made for them.
It is very important to set slugs, and especially pellets, at the correct depth in their respective magazines.
I press the pellets in past the little retaining balls in the magazine cylinders, and then reverse the magazine and gently push the pellets back until the rear edge of pellet skirt touches the retaining balls. This helps to prevent the tip of the pellets from sliding out the front of the magazine if they were set too deep into the magazine when loaded. With a little practice it's easy to insert a partially filled magazine into the gun so that a pellet aligns correctly with barrel on the first shot. The magazine will not rotate if the rifle is accidentally fired on an empty cylinder. In that case, swing the magazine out and rotate it back in with a pellet in place for firing.
These slugs were tested at 125 Bar, 155 Bar and 185 Bar:
Nielsen 29g, H&N HP II 32g, Griffin 34g, Griffin 42g, H&N Slug Heavy 46g
As were a few lighter pellets so we'd have some slug-vs-pellet shot power and velocity comparisons at the same regulator settings:
H&N Crow Magnum 26.24, Baracuda Hunter Extreme 28.24g, JTS Dead Center 29.32g, and Apolo 33g,
Short summary for the 25 cal Taipan Slash with the 420mm barrel:
At the highest regulator setting of 185 Bar, five different weight Slugs listed as .249 diameter had average maximum shot powers in the ~75fpe to ~80fpe range. Only the heaviest slugs tested (42g & 46g) stayed below 1000f/s at 185 Bar.
Lowering the regulator to the lowest test setting of 125 Bar dropped the average shot power for both pellets and slugs down to between ~55fpe and 60fpe
My main disappointment is that the power band available by adjusting the regulator pressure from 125 Bar to 185 Bar is only about 20 fpe from the minimum to the maximum regulator/power setting. And that the top slug power available in 25 cal with the 420mm barrel (
without purchasing the additional 'high-power' kit) is only about 80 fpe. Possibly a few fpe more if you set the regulator above 185 Bar and find a heavier slug. That is a lot of power for a relatively light 25 cal rifle, though somewhat short of the 130 Joules (~95 fpe) top power advertised for this model with the shorter 420mm barrel.
Minor disappointments are the need to remove the rear regulator cover plate to adjust the regulator pressure. It is easy with only 2 small screws. But unnecessary. That plate should be attached to the rear of the regulator and able to be rotated by hand to adjust regulator pressure.
The Slash can be fired with the rear regulator cover removed while you are testing velocities at different regulator pressures. But the small cylindrical adjustment wrench sticks out too far to be left in place while shouldering the rifle.
And for some reason the pressure gauge for the regulator is positioned so it's impossible to shoot comfortably with the pressure gauge in place. Honestly, other companies have figured out how to position a 2nd pressure gauge for the regulator so it doesn't stick out directly at your cheek and jaw when it's installed. This isn't a problem if the rifle is secured in a stand or a clamped in a tripod while testing. But for plain convenience I'd want a permanently installed pressure gauge for the regulator in a reasonable location, and an external adjustment knob for the regulator pressure.
It would be easy enough to 3D print a rear cover for the Slash regulator which has a two or four 2mm pins in it to engage the 4 holes in the rear face of the regulator. If it were a simple round disk it could lay very flat against the regulator, just like the current cover plate, and still act as a power dial. So simple.
And we could use a few more 3D printed pellet insertion disks with prongs of different seating depths (mentioned earlier in the discussion).
Once shot power is plotted for a particular pellet at different regulator pressures then you don't really need the pressure gauge anymore. You could roughly determine the approximate regulator pressure just by checking the velocity of the pellet. But a pressure gauge is considerably more accurate.
The Slash is well made and the semi-auto worked very well when pellets and slugs were set correctly in the magazines.
I would be much happier with it if the power on the 25 cal 420mm barrel Slash could be adjusted between 55fpe and 95 fpe
without needing to buy and then install a different power kit. If the power could be externally adjusted between 10 fpe and 85fpe, like a 25 cal Huben K1 can, then the 25 cal Slash with the shorter 420mm barrel would be very serious and direct competitor for the K1. Plus spare Slash magazines are exceptionally fine machined metal and cost less than $70 US each.
I'll post this one for sale in the classifieds by early September so that someone else will have a chance to get a deal and to post some results for accuracy. It's rare to purchase a used airgun which comes with a set of power curves like this for different pellets and settings. It saves a lot of time and effort better used in testing for accuracy. Slug values are listed in red.
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