Is it worth trying a lightweight slug (20-23 grain in .22) in a pellet barrel for 75-100 yard targets? Or is it always better to get a slug specific barrel?
Light Slugs in a Pellet Barrel?
- Thread starter Yardstick
- Start date
Some light pellets should great out of my standard pellet barrel.
Some better than others..........
Some shoot horribly.
Some better than others..........
Some shoot horribly.
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This would be in PCPs with adjustability. I was thinking about trying slugs in that 20-23 grain range in rifles that currently shoot JSB 18 grain pellets at 890-920 FPS. Would I need to increase the power significantly even for that little extra slug mass?
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I’m mainly interested in trying them in my Crown MKII and Impact X. Those would be the easiest to make regulator adjustments on if that was required too. I‘m not sure what the twist rate is on either of those rifles or if the barrels are choked or what else I might need to consider. The BC on the slugs and the slightly increased mass should make them better than pellets at 75-100 yards so they might be a good option for long range bench rest shoots compared to shooting heavier pellets or increasing caliber.
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why not a heaver pellet ? i think they are available ? You did not say what the caliber is ?
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Caliber is .22. Heavier pellets are available but I thought the better BC on slugs (even at equal weight to a pellet) would make them better at longer distances.
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There is a school of thought that says 100 yards and under, use pellets. Unless you live in a place that is quite windy. Then slugs have the advantage. JSB is coming out with a couple of new pellets so you might want to give those a try before jumping into slugs.
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I suppose I should try it with pellets. I was planning on shooting at 50 yards with the Crown but had problems getting air in the gun. I ended up shooting at 75 yards instead with a borrowed .25 Impact and did quite well using pellets. I thought I might try 75 or 100 yards again next time with the Crown but it is tuned for 18 grain JSBs and I'm not sure how those will do at longer ranges. We don't have high winds as much as we have weird winds at those outdoor shoots. It can be going in one direction at the bench and another at the target.
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In my Diana 54 .22 I shoot 15.89 gr. On a still day they shoot under .5 , sometimes .250. At 100 they have shot under 1.5 for 5 shot groups pretty often. At 20 meters the hole just gets a little fat., 766fps.
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I personally would say that use pellets for anything up to 50yards/meters. They are usually more accurate and powerfull enough as worse BC is not affected them that much yet. 50-80 yards/meters is transition zone and after 80yards/meters slug are pretty much better in anything.
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For power increase, slug need lot more power per weight compared to pellet. First they usually are more accurate in speed range of 930-970FPS (depends on slug ofcourse and I have had good result 860fps with JSB knockouts aswell in 25 cal). Second, they are contact more with barrel so more friction. In 25 cal you can use same settings with heavy pellet like JSB king heavy (33.95gr) tuned for 900fps as with light slug like FX hybrid (26gr) that will get around 960fps. In 22 cal that could be starting point aswell.
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I find what you state about heavy pellet/Hybrid to be true for me too.
JSB 33.95 at 915, Hybrids 26 grain at 980. Don't change a thing on my rifle and both are accurate.
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Yep, ofcourse POI will change so need to adjust scope but other than that nothing. My current Maverick settings have same power level (7) for JSB/FX 33.95gr and FX hybrids. Then power level 4 for JSB/FX 25.35gr pellets. Both pellets shoot around 900FPS and Hybrids 960FPS. All are very accurate.
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Surprisingly my POI is just barely changed. Maybe an eight of an inch up and left when switching to the slugs. Squirrels can't tell the difference in poi.
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My both pellets have identical POI but FX Hybrids shoot about 1 MOA down and right at 40 yards.
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Personally i would much prefer to move closer to the intended target , it is called stalking , and a lot more fun .
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I thought we were talking about hunting , This is the first time benchrest was mentioned , and distance in Benchrest is a fixed distance according to the rules of the game.You dont need to stalk you target in benchrest. You walk closer if you want
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