Not impressed with .22 JSB Hades

Jump to latest Follow Reply
DanielL

DanielL

Member
Nov 15, 2019
743
8
Michigan, United States
First kill was a brain pass through with unimpressive exit wound...no recovery. 2nd kill was angled chest shot with recovery. Squirrel ran 20 yards or so. Pellets pushing 960 fps and 32.5 fpe.

While they are accurate they haven't been much more effective than diablo's. I can think of a dozen other pellets that perform better on game. I'll stick with Predator Polymags or slugs for longer distances and H&N Terminator's or Hunter Extreme's for closer ranges.

1580861865_3438790525e3a09a9460a84.70765560_PSX_20200204_172641.jpg
1580861865_4017378155e3a09a96f66d1.59983576_PSX_20200204_172626.jpg

 
I keep wanting to try the hades in both .22 and .25 because they should be "better" for hunting, but then I keep reminding myself that the JSB domes work just fine and my 1-shot-1-clean kill rate is easily over 95% as-is when hunting between 20-50 yards which is about all I do. so the hades just sit in my online shopping cart at Airgun Depot.

I may end up never trying them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1a2a3m4p
Upvote 0
I had the same experience. Surprisingly accurate but no expansion to speak of.

That was a real bummer to find out. I saw the early reviews and was pretty excited based on the reports, but also a little skeptical. My shelf is littered with all manner of fancypants expanding pellets I've accumulated over the years. Most won't confidently hit the kill zone of small critters past 30 yards. Got to give them a fair shake though so I ordered a couple of tins back in June. Imagine my surprise when the very first group at 43 yards looked like this:



Could it be? An expanding pellet that rivals the accuracy of a dome? I was excited to get out and try them on small game...so I promptly forgot about them ;D What can I say, summers are busy with 6 kids ranging 2-14.

Fast forward to December when a forum topic reminded me I needed to try them. When I got home from work New Year's eve, I lit the target in the back yard with a flashlight and fine-tuned the zero.

I set my alarm for 5:00am. At 3:30am, I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and made some coffee and readied everything and headed out at first light. It was a cool 33°F and I figured that would kick these eastern grays in the pants to go out and forage.

It wasn't long before I saw the first one. It became the recipient of a brain shot...the Hades went exactly where asked and the squirrel did the familiar catfish dance for about 15 seconds before coming to rest. With the DAR sending them out at about 900fps, that's a confident passthrough and I really wanted to see how much it will expand if given the opportunity so I decided if I got another shot, it would be to the vitals. 

Turns out there wasn't a lot of activity but eventually I spotted another. He presented me with a nice shallow quartering angle so I carefully aimed to put it between his neck and front shoulder, putting the path through the heart and lung area and diagonally for almost the full length of the body. 

The impact sounded like a fast ball popping the catcher's mit. The squirrel tumbled and managed to run about 7 yards before running out of steam. Tough critters. On retreiving him, I could feel the pellet under the hide next to the spine. In this photo, the tape measure shows the approximate path it took:



Using Chairgun, I'm estimating it had about 21fpe on arrival. On inspecting the pellet, there was no evidence that any substantial bone was encountered, meaning the full energy dump was dissipated in about 4.5" of hide, muscle, and soft tissue.

Unfortunately it hardly expanded at all. Here it is in the jaws of the calipers next to an unfired one:



I have to say I'm underwhelmed. Accuracy is very good so they'll definitely get the job done but this limited experience hasn't convinced me they are worth the cost premium over the domes. 
 
Upvote 0
I shot 2 coons last week with my .25 Flashpup. Theses are the Hades I recovered from between the eyes shot at 20 yards. Shooting at 890 fps. I think the coon’ harder skull starts the mushrooming better then a thinner squirrels scull does. I have had some expansion on tree rats. But not this good. I like the accuracy and some small expansion. Just right for woodchucks. Poly Mags for birds would be better for sure. 


1580864979_5451423365e3a15d3200336.04770263_17EDCB00-151D-4031-B6E1-AFB8375C47AA.jpeg

 
Upvote 0
Yep, they do have better energy transfer. If only a bit. And they cost about the same as the 18.13s. Plus my HW50S loves them. Maybe I should switch to regular 15.9s.



Anywho, hunting with them has been underwhelming, but I really only take brain shots. So, it's lights out regardless of expansion. My 1322 will drop tree chickens DRT with 9fpe on target. 30 on target with My Crown is the same.



The accuracy is there. And plinking on soft targets, there is definitely a difference.
 
Upvote 0
I have shot both calibers and I hunted and got about 10 squirrels with them in 22 caliber from 12fpe to 45fpe , I agree with others as they are accurate as the 18 gr jsb ,

Now with the 25 caliber I shot it in both my ed-guns in my lelya it didnt shoot and my r5single shot 25 caliber they shot as good as the kings .

Now as far as killing power vs 18gr jsb , I found no improvement and they do not expand more , I did alot of testing other then getting alot ofpests and alot of squirrels to eat

LOU ,
 
Upvote 0
...And they cost about the same as the 18.13s.
Click to expand...

I must admit, I keep looking for a pellet that is close to the Predator Polymag in performance but closer in price to standard pellets. 

H&N Terminators are pretty good but don't hold up at distance. 

H&N Hunter Extremes are more accurate than Terminators at distance...and have a little punch, but still not accurate enough to stretch past 40 yards or so. 

I've tried the Gamo Redfires. They look like Predators but aren't quite as accurate and don't expand as reliably. 

NSA have been the best substitute...when the gun likes them, and wow do they carry...which isn't always a good thing.
 
Upvote 0
I shot 2 coons last week with my .25 Flashpup. Theses are the Hades I recovered from between the eyes shot at 20 yards. Shooting at 890 fps. I think the coon’ harder skull starts the mushrooming better then a thinner squirrels scull does. I have had some expansion on tree rats. But not this good. I like the accuracy and some small expansion. Just right for woodchucks. Poly Mags for birds would be better for sure. 


1580864979_5451423365e3a15d3200336.04770263_17EDCB00-151D-4031-B6E1-AFB8375C47AA.jpeg
Click to expand...

You have to realize that the expansion you're seeing is a result of striking a hard surface. Bone ! High power center fire projectiles will do that just passing through the ribcage and then into high liquid content internal organs. It's all about hydraulics. Most airguns just don't obtain enough velocity to achieve those kind of hydraulic results.
 
Upvote 0
How about the Crow magnums? I can get my FX to shoot almost anything accurately. I tuned my gun to shoot them around 950fps thru a 500mm barrel. (Usually use the 380mm or 700mm) But I've had too much stuff come up, and didnt get to field test them on paper or game.



I can say, though, they open up like pancakes to almost %200 (.40 inch up from .22)
 
Upvote 0
I shot 2 coons last week with my .25 Flashpup. Theses are the Hades I recovered from between the eyes shot at 20 yards. Shooting at 890 fps. I think the coon’ harder skull starts the mushrooming better then a thinner squirrels scull does. I have had some expansion on tree rats. But not this good. I like the accuracy and some small expansion. Just right for woodchucks. Poly Mags for birds would be better for sure. 


1580864979_5451423365e3a15d3200336.04770263_17EDCB00-151D-4031-B6E1-AFB8375C47AA.jpeg
Click to expand...

You have to realize that the expansion you're seeing is a result of striking a hard surface. Bone ! High power center fire projectiles will do that just passing through the ribcage and then into high liquid content internal organs. It's all about hydraulics. Most airguns just don't obtain enough velocity to achieve those kind of hydraulic results.
Click to expand...

I believe that is what I said. 
 
Upvote 0
You have to realize that the expansion you're seeing is a result of striking a hard surface. Bone ! High power center fire projectiles will do that just passing through the ribcage and then into high liquid content internal organs. It's all about hydraulics. Most airguns just don't obtain enough velocity to achieve those kind of hydraulic results.
Click to expand...

I've found a good expanding projectile can make a huge difference with "hydraulics."

Polymags, for example, open a cavity and leave a large wound/impact channel that you don't see with diablo's.

I've seen a hollowpoint turn tissue to mush and create an exit wound much larger than the entrance wound.

In my experience, it provides extra insurance which can make the difference between a runaway and dinner. 
 
Upvote 0
I like the Polymags for birds. I have used them in .177, .20, .22 and .25 since they came out. Really liked them in my .20 R-10. But I don’t think they get enough penetration on coon and woodchucks. I find the Polymags would turn inside out and loose their skirts. That is why I like the Hades. I get a little more expansion then the Kings or Heavys and more penetration then the other hollow points. Just like any firearm, I try to match the bullet/pellet to the game. 
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu