H&N Slugs

[Enkey]

Hi guys

Decided to buy two tins of slugs one in. 217 and the other in .218 both in 21gr to see how they work, they both came with the original hn seal, but when I opened them I was really surprised, one was as I expected but the other It seems that someone has fallen inside pellet wax bottle, one had protective foam and the other didn't, the one with the lubricating wax the lead was completely blackened.

Has anyone had a similar experience

Regards

Enkey 

 

[Hynzie]

http://whats that smell well i tried to link a thread i wrote 3 years ago about H AND N pellets that where oily and slimy smelled like a wet dog PAT

sorry you got those i personally would not use them like they are ,a paper cup and hot water a little DAWN dish liquid then call the supplier and show them ask for replacements it"s only fair 

 

[Enkey]

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/whats-that-smell/?referrer=1

Thanks Hynzie,

I see that I am not the only one, It would not occur to me to pass that through my barrel. I think in that tin there is more weight in wax than in lead

Regards

Enkey 

 

[jdanvers]

. . . seen that before. Others have said its a lube from the factory. I don't know - I just dumped 'em into a plastic bowl that I use for periodically cleaning pellets & slugs and cleaned 'em good with dish detergent and real hot water. Let 'em dry - sprayed a little silicone lube on them -- good to go. .217 23g's in my case.

 

[Khornet]

SHOOT THEM. Or send them to me. I have shot probably 8000 of those funny-looking slugs in .218, 23 grain, in my 700 mm Impact with both original STX pellet liner and Superior Standard liners and they have performed BRILLIANTLY. After hearing a lot of talk here I washed 50 and lubed with Lemon Pledge. Mistake. At 70 yards, 900-930 fps, 0.4" 5-shot groups are normal for these slugs. I am getting 0.9 MOA average 5-shot groups at 101 yards, with 0.7 MOA pretty frequent and 0.5 MOA on good days.

Having no good way to sort them by dimensions, I have been weighing them. Of 1000 slugs I usually get 600 at 23.4 gr, 350 at 23.2 gr, 25 or 30 at 23.0, and the rest heavier or lighter. That's pretty damn consistent in my book. I believe H&N got so much grief about their look and feel that they gave up and changed the lube. I have some of the newer ones, like the tin on the right in your photo, and their weight distribution is more uneven and they are not grouping as well. It may be that I need a different tune for them; the lube is stiffer and drier and probably gives a different velocity for the same weight. I am carefully hoarding the few old style I have left.

So shoot them first before you judge.

 

[dizzums]

looks to me like they got wet or something ..

 

[Peashooter]

That just look like 50 shades of wrong.

 

[2L8]

Enkey, it does look like the one tin went through the lube vat an extra time or two, but, they should at least look like my tin, dark with a hazy coat that looks waxy. It doesn't smell and is not oily. The top of the tin states they have a "Special Precision Coating " . As @Khornet mentioned, they shoot fantastic out of my Maverick as well. Sorry to hear they stopped using this coating.

 

[Khornet]

This is one tin sorted of 23 gr H&N .218 slugs. Pic doesn't show well the bluish color of the coating. Also it's more even, not blotchy, because of handling during sorting.

Over time the finish dries to a more even gray. Slugs I opened months ago and didn't handle are now an even dry gray.

Don't know where the lot number is on the tins, if any, but the 10 digit number under "H&N" on the sticker seems to be the one that varies with different orders, and that's what I use. On the left, the oily blotchy old style, on the right the dull even gray new style I received last week.

Here's what the old style did for me at 101 yds the other day with no wind.

Shoot before you wash. Maybe they haven't changed anything, and the even dry gray slugs are older. Who knows?

 

[Khornet]

Sorry, here's the pic of lot numbers I was referring to.

 

[Stone02]

The darker, more waxy, slugs shoot better than the lighter, almost no wax, variety in my Pulsar.

 

[Enkey]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I always use wax, I know how they remain waxed and when the wax dries I make a drop of oil for pellets, I give the tin a few turns and they return to their original waxing, what really surprised me is the excessive amount of wax. 

For me this is a normal waxed

And this an excessive waxed

That's just the way I see it

Thanks, regards

Enkey

 

[Khornet]

It would be great to hear from H&N on this thread; I think they have commented here in the past on this topic. Was the lube changed, or is it a matter of the lube drying? If it was changed, why?

Enkey, when the lube dries, does the performance change? Does oiling them to return them to their fresh condition result in a return of their performance? What oil do you use?

 

[Enkey]

Your first two questions are very difficult to answer. I have never shot dry wax. At the moment many people use the pledge lemon to lubricate, there are 50% of the people who obtain worse results with lubrication. I don't know if it's because each barrel is a world or it's a psychological factor. I use bicycle chain wax and if it dries I add a single drop of barrel cleaning oil or napier and the wax returns to its liquid state. 

 

[Khornet]

Just chronographed. The old oily ones are about 5 fps slower than the new dry ones. In tuning I have found a 5 fps difference to be enough to really change group size, so I will need to adjust my tune when I run out of the old style.

I'd be willing to bet that what lube does is change velocity, and if that change puts you on a good harmonic node, lubing helps. If it moves you away from a good harmonic, lubing is a waste of time.

 

[Enkey]

I can make 3 groups, some as they come from the factory, others clean without wax and others with what I consider a normal waxed and observe results of speed and pressure

 

[Khornet]

Enkey, anything to report?

 

[Enkey]

Hi Khornet

First I have started with the non lubricated ones, then lubricated by me and lubricated at the factory. Observe yourself and contribute your conclusions.

Regards

Enkey 

 

[Khornet]

OK, so the bare slugs and the slimy ones shot the same, both better than "normal" lube? Is normal the regular factory lube? Anyhow, the over-lubed ones are closer to the ones I've been receiving until quite lately, and sure enough they shot well.

I have 30 or 40 of the old slimy ones left. Then I will try tuning for the newer, dry gray ones.

 

[Khornet]

Ah. Reread your post above. Anyway, the slime doesn't hurt.