Maximum expansion pellets .22

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paul.mcallister

paul.mcallister

Member
Apr 28, 2020
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Wisconsin, United States
Hi I need to clean out some squirrels in my back yard and ideally I don’t want the pellets going too far out the other side of the animals. I’m interested to hear peoples feedback on pellets that expand well. I’d be shooting .22 at around 850 FPS.

I have been searching for frangible pellets but other than Air Venturi BB’s and some hand made pellets demonstrations on YouTube I haven’t been able to find anything. Thanks
 
What gun are you using? I tend to go with polymags as they tend to stay inside the critter more often than not at shorter distances. Additionally, I have had 18.1 gr jsb not pass through as well depending on the shot choice. As a matter of fact last season I shot a squirrel at 65 yards with a 25 cal gauntlet with the 25.3 gr jsb at 920 fps and it lodged in the other shoulder with a heart lung shot. I would recommend the polymags heart lung imo.
 
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As I understand it, the JSB Hades pellets are devastating and contain inside the critter. They are 15.89 grain, but shoot the same as the JSB Diablo Exact Jumbo's which are also 15.89 grain. They are not cheap but they say you tend to use less of them as they are accurate and do the job with a single, well placed shot.

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/p/JSB_Match_Diabolo_Hades_22_Cal_15_89_Grain_Hollowpoint_500_Count/1508

Here is an expansion test. 

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=156171.0

Just my opinion, from what I have read on the web.

Gary
Venice, FL
 
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Hi in response to TNT19's question, I have just purchased a Kral Puncher breaker in .22 cal but I haven't taken delivery of it yet.
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Hi Paul I have the same gun. Have been very happy with the performance. I did some personal modifications to up the power, but even stock it is a performer for the cost. I found it likes the polymags, 15 gr jsb, the 18 gr jsb and the 15 gr hades, as well as the h&n Hornets. Keep in mind they call squirrels bullet proof for a good reason they do have some tough hide. Enjoy your new toy.
 
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What gun are you using? I tend to go with polymags as they tend to stay inside the critter more often than not at shorter distances. Additionally, I have had 18.1 gr jsb not pass through as well depending on the shot choice. As a matter of fact last season I shot a squirrel at 65 yards with a 25 cal gauntlet with the 25.3 gr jsb at 920 fps and it lodged in the other shoulder with a heart lung shot. I would recommend the polymags heart lung imo.
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I agree on the Polymags. Best expanding pellet on the market. The JSB Hades are crap. They barely expand at all.

There is no reason to go for an exploding or frangible round. That will just contaminate anything it hits with toxic lead particles. 
 
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Two come to mind Hades and H&N Teminator. Have over 2000 pigeons and 2000 ground squirrels in the last 3 months. The 18.13 do pass though at 870-880 fps the Hades some pass throughs but a lot less at 930 fps and the Terminators have more pop and less pass though's. Did try the Polly Mags but forgot the shorts so had feeding problems but I would guess they would be good also as their shape is close to the Terminators and again good pop on the few I shot.
 
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After trying numerous fancy pellets, the best pellet is still the most accurate pellet. Well, perhaps it doesn’t have to be the very most accurate pellet but it needs to be close. Take a dome and a hollow point and if they will both group reliably within a dime at whatever distance you’ll be shooting, by all means use the hollow point. But if the dome is doing dimes and the hollow point is doing quarters, stick with the dome.

For example, the JSB Hades is a rare example of one that rivals a good dome in terms of accuracy for a lot of folks. However pellets I’ve recovered from gray squirrels show no more expansion than a dome, and it isn’t apparent to me there is any improvement in terms of terminal performance. They do make my wallet a little lighter though. 

Honestly, a wadcutter is hard to beat for backyard pest control. Gray squirrels only appear tough when the shot placement is off. I’ve posted this here before but when you put it to the brain pan, 8fpe at the muzzle and less than 5fpe on target is enough.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMC04JPmWns




 
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I use H and N terminators at about 800 fps. I shoot for the front shoulder and the pellet is often lodged in the leg on the far side. By far the best way I have found to take squirrels. Brain shots will work as well but if you shoot a little low you have a severely injured squirrel and since elevation changes drastically from 0 to 15 yards I have decided shoulder shots with the terminators are the most humane way for me to go.
 
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Lenweber2 if that number is correct I commend you sir. 2000 tree rats and 2000 flying rats is a big number to do in 90 days. Do you live on a farm or work at a grainery or something? Anyway polymags for sure expand best. However I like to just use crosman premiers because they are cheap. I just tune my guns down if they pass through. I really like my pumpers for that reason. 3 pumps for gutters, 5 pumps for fence, and 10 for 20 yards. 10 pumps gets me 8 fpe. No pass through at 20 yards. Hope this helps. 
 
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Ground squirrels, no tree squirrels the numbers are a little conservative. Shooting on birds was at a dairy and the squirrels were at alfalfa open field. True numbers was in the area of 8500 to 9000 pests, shooters were 3, my self my son and his girl friend me 72 and they at 50 years of age. Targets were at near muzzle to 125 yards most between 20 to 60 yards. Pests were Collard doves, pigeons, Townsend ground squirrels, a few jackals, birds, few starlings, sparrows and Rock Chucks. Although the numbers are high this is not normal for us, usually 2 weeks of shooting, this year 2 weeks at the birds and 4 weeks, thanks , thanks to the virus, on ground squirrels with two or three days no hunting because of rain. The numbers above post were mine. My son and his GF are use mostly the terminators but like me are testing slugs for extending consistent longer range with wind accuracy. 
 
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I found this article interesting and the YouTube link is pretty cool. It shows a .25 cal pellet being completely absorbed by a couple of inches of gel. The pellets are home made and although no much detail is provided I assume that they are a thin lead jacket containing sintered copper. 


https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/fragmenting-slugs-in-ballistic-gel-video-wow/

Hi,

Below is a link to the Talon Fragmenting Airgun Slugs, they also have a facebook site.

https://www.talonslugs.com/

They are expensive, but, the only fragmenting airgun ammo i know of.
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I found this article interesting and the YouTube link is pretty cool. It shows a .25 cal pellet being completely absorbed by a couple of inches of gel. The pellets are home made and although no much detail is provided I assume that they are a thin lead jacket containing sintered copper. 


https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/fragmenting-slugs-in-ballistic-gel-video-wow/

Hi,

Below is a link to the Talon Fragmenting Airgun Slugs, they also have a facebook site.

https://www.talonslugs.com/

They are expensive, but, the only fragmenting airgun ammo i know of.
Click to expand...

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Expensive and leaves a lead poisoned animal to get hawks sick. Best to stick with a normal expanding round.
 
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