Best pellet choice for my rifle ?

[DJinAZ98]

Hello all, I am new at this air rifle stuff and having lots of fun. My question : Is it possible that Crosman pellets could be the best choice for my Benjamin Armada .22 cal.? It seems I would get a shudder and a look of confusion when I would answer the question, What pellets are you shooting? Crosman 14.3 HP seemed to shoot great, but I was concerned I was missing something. I began the tedious process of testing dif weight, style, manuf. etc. Tonight I got pissed off at the whole process after struggling to figure out why my expensive H&N 14.6 diablo seemed to be all over the target @ 25m. I shot two mags and had about a 2 inch group with a couple flyers. ( I have shot a couple thousand of these.) 

I loaded up a few mags with the Crosman 14.3, shot a 3 group to get sighted, then fired off ten rounds, 8 in the bullseye, two I know were my flinch but still within half inch. Also, I remembered that my best 25 BR match was with those Crosman pellets (643 / 750) off the bipod no rear support. So, what thinks you guys?

 

[biohazardman]

The Crosman Premier 14.3 and JSB 18.1 gr both shoot pretty well in my Crosman guns with the Crosman barrels.

 

[tcarlson777]

Once I find a pellet that works well, I end my search. It is expensive and frustrating buying new pellets to try. Each barrel is unique, so someone else's results may not work for you. I just bought 5 tins of JSB Monster Redesigns and my gun hates them, so that like $60 down the toilet. We should start a business selling sampler packs of all the various options! We would not be able to keep up with demand.

 

[Feinwerk]

If you're suddenly getting larger groups, don't forget to stop and swab your barrel from time to time. Pull a few patches until they look clean then continue your evaluation. Pellet selection requires trial and error for all of us. Sometimes it is also a matter of finding the best velocity for a certain pellet so there is experimentation there as well for guns that have adjustments. Heavier pellets, for instance, I may need to be shot faster to give them a higher spin rate to stabilize.

 

[Larcat]

If that's what it likes, that's what it likes.

FWIW the crossman premiers, especially the brown box ones, seem to work very well in lots of peoples rifles. Consider yourself lucky, IMHO, because they're a decent sight cheaper than the Czech ones You got a winner!

 

[Brent]

Each and every barrel is unique in its own way. All types are similar in their own groups of style. But ultimately each barrel is unique. If you have found the cphp to be the best for you congratulations it costs you less to shoot than others. I too have found the cphp to shoot very well in my cricket 2 tactical, and also the cp domes in the same weight. I will try some jsb and hn just to see if I get better results. If the more expensive lead doesn't do better I won't care . FEINWERK was correct in that you may need to speed up or slow down a different pellet to find what it likes. But if your not into tweeking and tuning stick with what works best for you.

 

[elh0102]

Yes, the old brown is Crosman Premier pellets were excellent, but I haven't bought them in 20 years or so, don't know about them now.

I suggest you try both the 16 and 18 g versions of the JSB. I've never had a rifle that would not shoot at least one of these very well. If neither is better than your current best Crosman, then you have a less expensive option.

 

[kde]

I had similar results with my Benjamin Maximus. It shoots Crosman Premier domed 14.3 grain just about as well as JSB 14.35, JSB 15.89, or JSB Hades, I am pretty new to the PCP world and based on all I've read I expected the JSB's to group better but I'm not too disappointed that the Premiers shoot good because they're less expensive and seem easier to get!

 

[DJinAZ98]

Yes, that's the best part, cheap and easy to find. It makes sense to me that Crosman would work best in their own products. I can't see them doing R & D for a product that would work better with someone else's stuff. I'm guessing they like selling lots of pellets.

 

[BUCKVELVET99]

Good read. Thanks for the info. I'm very new to all of this and trying to soak in any info possible.

 

[BUCKVELVET99]

Good read. Thanks for the info. I'm very new to all of this and trying to soak in any info possible.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

Not to throw mud into what seems like perfectly clear water, but I have a question relative to this subject.

I just (tonight) got done testing 43 different brand/types of pellets in my 0.177PCP, which took me a few hours to say the least. I got seven clear winners and Gamo Master Point Country (7.56gr) was the clear loser by a big margin. My question is, I most often shoot with a flash-light attached to the end of the barrel whether I need it or not to keep the harmonics the same, and I didn't have it installed for this test. Similarly, I currently have a DonnyFL Tanto installed on this gun, and I plan to buy a Koi in the next month or so.

I know that the general idea is "a barrel likes what it likes", but does this have as much to do with barrel harmonics as it does the pellet type? When I put the Koi on there, should I put the flashlight back on and conduct the whole test over again? I'm interested to see what the consensus is, with all of this "new fangled" information on barrel tuners about now-a-days.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

I'm surprised to not get a response to this, so let me try to rephrase/simplify my question.

Has anyone noticed that the pellet that your barrel likes changed when you changed something on your gun? PJ Clarke mentioned changing moderators to harmonically tune your gun, but does this affect the pellet the barrel likes by changing the nodes on the barrel?

 

[Guest]

I think Brent has your answer. I have done that pellet search $$$$, I have a 25 cal avenger. I have done some modifying to it and every time you alter the speed of the pellet you change the way it will react . I think 880-910 fps is the window for pellets?