Brocock/BRK JSB Hades 15g vs. Jumbo 18g

[DarkMatterZ]

I'm shooting a BRK Pathfinder .22mm (loving it so far). This question pertains to hunting Iguana more than target practice/plinking.
I would like to establish which pellet is best suited for these extremely tough skinned creatures. I’ve had great results with the Jumbo 18.13g pellets But got started thinking that the lighter Hades with the hollow point type quality may do more damage or better stated, cleaner kill than possible straight through shot from the Jumbo. Taking an average of say … 25 yards & no wind to speak of , I tested both however, my results were inconclusive. Im probbly testing on the wrong targets. Here is what I did: @ 25 yards I set up a metal basin. Pretty sturdy, a little thicker than a coffee can. Five shots on the right with the Jumbo 18.13g & five shots on the left with Hades 15.89g. I knew all of the pellets would go through & make an entry hole, it was the result of the exit hole that I thought would help me see the benefit of either. As I guessed the entry holes were impressive. The exit hole were non-existant. I can say the entry holes from the Jumbo, inspecting from behind seemed just a hair more aggressive but the exits were nothing more than divits that were almost identical. Still the Jumbo seemed to be a hair heavier. Next the only thing I could think of was to shoot some coconuts that were laying around the yard, same results. Entry but no extit ( bad choice of target). Lastly, the only fruit I could get ahold of quickly was a large apple. I thought I could at least get a good view of the exit. As you may have guessed both pellets just passed through. I’m not suggesting that the 18g doesn’t make a more impressive thump on entry. It certainly hits with more authority than the 15g. I’m trying to find which makes more damage. I plan on continuing this experiment. In between time I’d like to hear from anyone that can tell me definitively can the Atomic like head of the lighter Hades do more damage than the Jumbo heavier pellet.
Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[1handwill.gc]

Wow, that brings me back when I was young. I’ve a 50-50 five years ago we used to go in hunting all the time and hunting and whatever else moved. It was legal to hunt back in that day. We used to use 177 and 22 brake barrels Most 12 foot pound but what time we start getting into mag rifles with 22 and 25 being in the north, but then we used to think our point was so much better but after hunting for years one time, it was hard to get a hole of the hollow point so we start using regular pallets and it was at that point that I realize that there was nothing wrong with good old fashion dome pallets it’s a lot more important that they’re very accurate. We even hunted bunnies rabbits increase increase including the small wild hogs if they’re accurate and you can get good speed album that’s gonna work for you. It’s a sample have you ever handed with 177 versus 22 long rifle bullets that 177 because of higher speed tends to be a little bit more accurate at distance in a heat, your prey a lot hard of course this is just my experience. You might wanna wait to see what else other shooters say.

 

[rdtricks]

Just a couple of ideas if you decide to continue your terminal ballistics testing. Giles from Airgun101.com would tape several bars of bath soap (3 I believe) together for seeing how a particular pellet preformed. There are others that will use a small block of modeling clay for testing. I believe the soap would need to be cut with something like a sharp bread knife and the modeling clay can be split with a monofilament fishing line or fine wire.

In my opinion the most important aspect is accuracy and being able to hit where you are aiming. Not having hunted anything like Iguanas, I wonder if head shots or heart/ lung shots are the best way to go. I will be following this thread to learn more of what you discover.

 

[6gun]

I'm shooting a BRK Pathfinder .22mm (loving it so far). This question pertains to hunting Iguana more than target practice/plinking.
I would like to establish which pellet is best suited for these extremely tough skinned creatures. I’ve had great results with the Jumbo 18.13g pellets But got started thinking that the lighter Hades with the hollow point type quality may do more damage or better stated, cleaner kill than possible straight through shot from the Jumbo. Taking an average of say … 25 yards & no wind to speak of , I tested both however, my results were inconclusive. Im probbly testing on the wrong targets. Here is what I did: @ 25 yards I set up a metal basin. Pretty sturdy, a little thicker than a coffee can. Five shots on the right with the Jumbo 18.13g & five shots on the left with Hades 15.89g. I knew all of the pellets would go through & make an entry hole, it was the result of the exit hole that I thought would help me see the benefit of either. As I guessed the entry holes were impressive. The exit hole were non-existant. I can say the entry holes from the Jumbo, inspecting from behind seemed just a hair more aggressive but the exits were nothing more than divits that were almost identical. Still the Jumbo seemed to be a hair heavier. Next the only thing I could think of was to shoot some coconuts that were laying around the yard, same results. Entry but no extit ( bad choice of target). Lastly, the only fruit I could get ahold of quickly was a large apple. I thought I could at least get a good view of the exit. As you may have guessed both pellets just passed through. I’m not suggesting that the 18g doesn’t make a more impressive thump on entry. It certainly hits with more authority than the 15g. I’m trying to find which makes more damage. I plan on continuing this experiment. In between time I’d like to hear from anyone that can tell me definitively can the Atomic like head of the lighter Hades do more damage than the Jumbo heavier pellet.
Any feedback is appreciated.

For big lizards don't overlook the hades that is the sister to the 15 dome. The 18 will do it really well if you have the steam to send them close to 900. Then there's the heavy hades/monster redesigns. The hades format is a nice middle ground of energy deposition, tissue damage and energy retention imo. If it's just energy dump I like polymags or hybrid slugs. The little 17grain nsa slugs aren't bad if your gun likes them.

If you can send a dome pellet fast enough and accurately they'll expand. My slug gun in 22 happens to like monster hades even if it's a bit fast. At 960 they really do things.

I use all those words to get here : pellet speed (within reasonable energy to kill your quarry) and pellet type don't matter if it's not THE most accurate and repeatable pellet your gun can shoot. If you can put a shot exactly where you want it every time, the rest is irrelevant imo. Happy hunting!

 

[6gun]

Many are slugs but they're all 22 and there pellets in there. Only those gimmick gold pellets didn't expand and the gto lead free. The one with a hole thru it is a hybrid slug. All shot in a garage into a coffee can full of plumbers putty

 

[L.Leon]

@DarkMatterZ, my Pathfinder chrono numbers with the 18s. As you can see plenty of energy to DRT iguanas with proper shot placement… I also love my little Pathfinder, simply a sweet, rugged and capable PCP… I bet either pellet choice would suffice sub 50 yards. Just go and test them on some iguanas…

JSB Exact Jumbo 18s/ TP High

Hi: 794
Low: 782
Avg: 788
Std: 4.94
ES: 12
FPE: 24.8

My beastie…

 

[DarkMatterZ]

Thank you all. I appreciate the feedback.

L.Leon, thanks for the data, very helpful. do you think the heavier Hades Monster 25.39g is too heavy to get an accurate shot through the Pathfinder ? I’m not concerned about long distance, 20 - 45 yards will do the trick. Both the 15g & 18g are spot on accurate. I don’t know what the 25g will do.

 

[DarkMatterZ]

Just a couple of ideas if you decide to continue your terminal ballistics testing. Giles from Airgun101.com would tape several bars of bath soap (3 I believe) together for seeing how a particular pellet preformed. There are others that will use a small block of modeling clay for testing. I believe the soap would need to be cut with something like a sharp bread knife and the modeling clay can be split with a monofilament fishing line or fine wire.

In my opinion the most important aspect is accuracy and being able to hit where you are aiming. Not having hunted anything like Iguanas, I wonder if head shots or heart/ lung shots are the best way to go. I will be following this thread to learn more of what you discover.

Great suggestions for testing. My wife is going to love me shooting her soaps !
re: kill shots on the Iguana, it’s definitley a head shot. The sweet spot is the size of nickel - quarter located just behind the eyeball.

 

[rdtricks]

Ha, I don't suggest you use your wife's bars of bath soaps. Places like WalMart, Dollar Store and even CVS has Ivory soap bars at a very reasonable price. There is also the alternative of creating your own balistic gel: ( https://www.thearmorylife.com/diy-ballistic-gelatin )and, (

), I haven't tried either of these methods yet but they look interesting.

 

[Old-School]

Great suggestions for testing. My wife is going to love me shooting her soaps !
re: kill shots on the Iguana, it’s definitley a head shot. The sweet spot is the size of nickel - quarter located just behind the eyeball.

some folks use Knox gelatin as a medium to test in. I think they’re mixing it a bit different than the instructions in order to get a useable consistency. You have to keep it cool (refrigerator) until use, but the advantage is being able to see the pellet’s path through the block and seeing the wound channel.

 

[Trucker3573]

I would just use them on iguanas . Best and most decisive test you could do.

 

[Vetmx]

Ballistic testing with a pellet gun looking for something devastating is mostly a waste of time. The differences are so small that when you finally snap out of it, you wind up using the most consistently accurate pellet. Because after all, we kill and keep things safe with shot placement. The weight advantage of the 18 over the extra speed of the Hades balances things out. Even if curiosity or boredom has you testing a 25gr pellet, you’ll still wind up shooting the 18gr. The 18 is just hard to beat in .22.

 

[zerochance]

Imagine if JSB made the hades in 18.13gr.

 

[Vetmx]

Imagine if JSB made the hades in 18.13gr.

It would be cool but I’m guessing the versatility of the 15.89 over a wide variety of guns and their power limitations influenced the decision. All .22 PCP’s including the popular pistols with stocks can get a 15.89 moving without becoming an air hog.

 

[AlanMcD]

Imagine if JSB made the hades in 18.13gr.

I think the dimensions between the Hades and the 18.1 are so close that it must basically be the same pellet, but the weight difference is from the missing lead in the head from the hollows. I think they did that as the first one, but the other Hades versions appear to be more unique . . .

 

[DarkMatterZ]

Got some soap and did a little test. I took two very thick bars of soap and taped them together with Gorilla duct tape.
the duct tape acted as a thick skin. Both pellets had the exact same entry hole. Both pellets were imbedded in the soap & were retrieved. Results:

15g pellet penetrated 21.3mm. Didn’t seem to tear anything up, it made a clean path. It made an atomic mushroom of 7.2mm

18g pellet penetrated 30mm. Same clean path & it mushroomed out to only 6.mm

I then took two separate thin bars to test what an exit would look like. Wrapped them both in tape. Results:
15g had a violent exit at 7.2mm and took with it perfect circle of fragmented soap, about the size of a dime.

18g made a more violent 6.2mm exit as it took an asymmetrical amount of fragment with it. One side looked like a perfect 1/2 circle the size of a dime while the other 1/2 fragmented a much larger oval shape.

As Vetmx mentioned earlier. The results are not showing some extreme differences however, you can‘t argue with the sheer energy & inertia of the 18g. I am curious about the 25g Hades but for now I’m sticking with my rather inexpensive & easy to get 18g .

 

[rangur1]

IMHO, the 18g pellet it seems to me to be a bit obsolete, 15.9 or “16”g have the weight of the hunting pellets and the 25.4g have dome and hades as well for higher powered platforms. 18g seems almost outdated.

 

[L.Leon]

IMHO, the 18g pellet it seems to me to be a bit obsolete, 15.9 or “16”g have the weight of the hunting pellets and the 25.4g have done and hades as well for higher powered platforms. 18g seems almost outdated.

What’s a bit “obsolete“ mean? The JSB Exact Jumbo 18.13s are a proven pellet. The chase for higher power while legit, negates the reason the majority come to airguns in the first place. From a 30 fpe platform, I’ve made repeated kills on pest birds out to 104 yards, which refutes the 18s as being obsolete… To the OP, the iguanas are not going to know the difference… Just get at them, real world kills will tell you what works best for your needs.

 

[Floridaman2005]

Iguana hunter here. I switched to the 25.39g Hades Monsters and they are devastating against the iguanas. I sling them 880 fps and they are ridiculously powerful. At 880 fps they hit about 43 FPE and obliterate their skulls.

 

[rangur1]

What’s a bit “obsolete“ mean? The JSB Exact Jumbo 18.13s are a proven pellet. The chase for higher power while legit, negates the reason the majority come to airguns in the first place. From a 30 fpe platform, I’ve made repeated kills on pest birds out to 104 yards, which refutes the 18s as being obsolete… To the OP, the iguanas are not going to know the difference… Just get at them, real world kills will tell you what works best for your needs.

No, no mr Leon, I was not abdicating for higher power, if you checked the entire post my good friend, I basically gave a thumbs up to the 16g AND the 25.4g. This was of because of grouping by weight clusters. Several standard weight and several heavy weight that shared exact weight specs. The 18g has none, that's all. I have no prejudice against the 18g.