Let's talk power, reinventing the wheel, airgun myths, etc

So what have been your experiences with pellet speeds and such?

My experiences are: First up, power. A lot of times I refer to guns' FPE but I don't go for a gun strictly based on their power output. I base my desired power on heavy pellets at 940 fps (25 cal). This leads me to the next subject of reinventing the wheel. When I first got into airguns I heard all about the "perfect" speed for accuracy. Most agreed that 880 fps was best for accuracy and you should not go over 900 fps. After shooting many many pellets I discovered my 25 cal Sumatra seemed to shoot best at around 940 fps for long distance (100-150 yards). To me it seems that when shot at slower speeds the pellets seemed to drop more the longer distances. When I shot them at 940 fps I don't have to holdover as much.

With my 22 cals I always shot them at 900 fps. I recently changed my perspective on this also. I have one of my 22 cal guns regulated and tuned to shoot 18.13gr JSBs at 900 fps and it's very accurate at long distances. PA was out of 18 gr pellets so I ordered some Air Arms 16gr pellets just to try them. My plan was to shoot them in my 22 cal Sumatra at 900 fps and they are dead on accurate in this gun. On a whim I tried them in my regulated gun and they averaged around 930 fps. And they are just as accurate as the 18gr JSBs at 150 yards.



Let me put the obligatory disclaimer: I realise my results maybe different from other airguns because they all seem to perform differently with different pellets and speeds.
 
I have seen very similar results to what you are getting. I shoot 25gr jsb monster .22 cal at 924fps and it is an absolute tack driver. My .25 shooting jsb king 25gr at 964 fps is equally as accurate. They do shoot flatter at the increased speed, but optimal BC numbers are at lower speeds. Tending to be 850-900fps. In my experience that difference is too small to worry about for hunting purposes, but if I were to stricly shoot for group sizes, I would try to stay within speeds that produce the best BC for that particular pellet. Also keep in mind that all of this is going to depend on the bore!! Some barrels will produce excellent results at high fps and others will not. Lots of variables, but I overall agree and have experienced much of the same.
 
It works well for my shooting style. I normally don't shoot targets except to site in my scopes. I've found that I can concentrate on technique better if I'm shooting "things" instead of targets. I think it comes from my background in Law Enforcement. We usually shot silhouettes with kill zones. My idea of a great day of shooting is to set objects out beyond 100 yards or range leaves at long distances and shoot them.