Pellet TESTING — at 100 yards?!

[JungleShooter]

OK, I know, it’s 2:30 in the morning on my side of the globe as I do this post, so maybe my brain is just at 50% and the answer to my question will be glaringly obvious after 7 hours of sleep....

Here it goes:

Why would I test which pellets my gun likes at 30 or 50 yards — if eventually all I want is one or two pellets that shoot well at all distances 10 to 100 yards??


It seems that a pellet that groups well at 100y will also group well at 50y, but not necessarily the reverse is true. ¿Right?

So, as I’m getting ready for a full blown pellet test for a new gun (PCP), what can you recommend?

Thanks!

Matthias

 

[bubblerboy64]

Two reasons I can think of. Many people don’t have immediate access to 100 yards Secondly “ conditions “ really come into play at 100 for an air rifle at 100 . 

Having said that if you have easy access and you are confident in your abilities to read the conditions I see nothing wrong with starting at 100.

Posting while on the pot (4 am nature call) I’m going back to sleep. I plan to shoot some 100 yard groups tomorrow . Wish me luck sleepin and. shootin Hoping for no wind (at the range)

 

[shambozzie]

Start short and work you way out. Let's say your zero is 30 yds. You should be able to clip a tooth pick at that distance. If you are off short it will only get worse as the distance increase . Now all you have to do is work on form and read the wind. Hats off to your 1" 100 yd gp.

 

[Hajimoto]

I think years ago there really was only one projectile to consider and that is was the pellet, the drag induced stabilization pellet that has been around forever. With the introduction to better and more powerful PCP's, the door has opened to consider another projectile, the slug. A far better ballistic coefficient projectile that is designed to impart great energy at much further distances.

I think 60 yards and less is the world of the pellet. Where availability is huge and the majority of hunting scenarios happened within that distance.

Over 60 yards the slug reigns supreme offering far better ranges and making shots that only 5 years ago were not possible.

While one can certainly deliver a pellet on target at 100 yards the real questions is, at what energy cost?

We are on a separate path journey here and distance should be synonymous with slugs and forget the old pellets ways beyond 60 yards.

My two cents.

 

[Saltlake58]

Why test at shorter ranges? Well, you won't always want to shoot at 100, so maybe the 100 yard pellet doesn't group so well at 50. Counter intuitive, but you never know around here.

 

[Arzrover]

Hajimoto, I agree with most of your assessment... just not the 5 years statement . It's become more popular in the last 5 years for sure with EBR giving long range a real kick.

However, the Koreans, maybe others, have been making long range capable rifles since at least the mid 90s with many of us experimenting with slugs then, also. With very good barrels and more than 75 ft/lb available, still competitive today. LD hosted the Temecula Long Range Challenge recently and I took several of my Korean's over to it to play. Though I ended up shooting my RW, I had a Sam Yang 20 cal that shot right with it with both 14.3 Premiers and 26 gn Dae Sung and a couple Career 707s that were close at 114 yds, as well

Anyway, fun times. Just was enjoying it yesterday with a friend at my house. Very difficult wind conditions but we were still pinging my bells at 100.

Bob

 

[RedHeadMechanic]

To answer your first question, yes a pellet that shoots crappy at 50yds will not magically group better at 100yds...

As far as testing,

Shoot your pellets at the distance you want to use them. Because you could have pellets that shoot great at 50yds could be very different at 100yds.

Generally as long as your gun can drive them fast enough out of the barrel the heavier best grouping pellet you have at 50yds will probably do best at 100yds. This is because heavier pellets retain more speed and energy down range (usually, unless the lighter pellet has a better ballistic coefficient)

Pic for attention

 

[stoti]

The problem with starting your testing at 100 yards is that there are so many variables that you'll never know what might be causing your inconsistencies. While it's true a pellet that doesn't shoot at 50yds isn't going to get better at 100yds, a pellet that groups tight at 50yds, should theoretically also shoot well at 100yds. It's much easier to start close and work your way out, it eliminates so many variables! I agree with Haji that slugs are the future if you're going to shoot long distance, might want to give them a try. They're so fun to shoot and open a whole new world to air gunners. I can't wait to see what projectiles and guns we'll be shooting in just a few years. 

What caliber and gun will you be testing?

Stoti 

 

[JungleShooter]

Stoti, NICE SLUG SELECTION!! Awesome!

I do have a two slug samplers from NSA, so yes, I'm definitely looking at slugs for the longer shots. But pigeons in the tree I'm standing under don't rate 20 cent projectiles..., that's why I'm hoping the soon-to-arrive Skyhawk .22 (LW barrel) will be good to me and group at least one of each well....



Now, the argument that it's easier to work my way out from shorter to larger distances (i.e., test at 25y, 50y, 75y, 100y) -- rather than just working at the long distance (100y and done) is not entirely convincing to me.

The other argument that the environmental conditions at 100y will have much more effect than at say 50y, is much more convincing. However, I'm thinking that with a large enough number of shots I should be able to increase my confidence in my results (statistics).



TEST SET UP

One pellet test set-up I dreamed up at 2 in the morning was to put out four target cards, one for each of the head sizes of the JSB Domed 15.89gr. Then shoot sets of 4 pellets, one head size each, at 4 different target cards. Shoot sets of 4 until the density of holes on the cards gets to be so large that distinguishing holes becomes difficult (or until a clear winner is obvious). By alternating between head sizes with each shot, I should be able to reduce one-sided effects of the environment (mainly wind, maybe a sudden drop in air pressure).

I could do the same for the other 8 pellets on my test list (those pellets got on the list for being –from a high quality brand, having a –weight appropriate to the 33 FPE gun, and having a –BC over 0.020). I could be shooting them alternatingly onto 8 target cards, just like the JSB Domed. Ah, I better add into that mix the winner the JSB Domed 15.89 with the head size that won the previous test!



I'm open to your criticisms and suggestions – I'm still pretty new at this game, and this is my first systematized pellet test ever...

 

[stoti]

You'll get it figured out pretty quickly once you start shooting... What works, what doesn't, bipod vs. bags, proper hold, breathing, trigger control, judging wind, your tune, what pellets shoot most accurately at what velocities and which don't.

There are so many variables, that's why I suggested starting closer and working your way out. It's not like you have to start at 40-50yds and stay there all day. Just set up, shoot a few of each pellets you want to test to see what shoots best with your particular tune. After you get a few good groups at that range, move back to the next yardage you feel comfortable with and do it again. It will show you what's happening and give you confidence in your set up. If you start and 100yds and things aren't working, it could be hard to figure things out. 

There are so many great shooters on this forum with a vast amount of knowledge, all you have to do is ask for help and you'll get it. You got it and will have a blast, enjoy! just go slow and take notes on your settings, velocities, groups, and every other variable that you can control or might want to change later. That way, when you do make changes, you'll know what happened, why and then you can decide if you like the changes or want to change them back.

Like I said, just take your time and enjoy! That's why you're shooting after all! Let us all know how it turns out and of course show all of us pictures of your rig when you get it!

Stoti

 

[JungleShooter]

Take notes on your settings, velocities, groups, and every other variable that you can control or might want to change later. That way, when you do make changes, you'll know what happened, why and then you can decide if you like the changes or want to change them back.

Stoti, that's good advice. Thanks! I think I will make up a shooting log, just a template in the computer, where I enter the conditions, the setup, and the results &amp. So far I've been using handscribbled notes, all pretty untidy (not real pretty, really). 

Matthias

 

[paul67]

Great information!

 

[Haganaga]

It seemed daunting to me at first, but as I progressed as a shooter (I’m pretty good with firearms) and got the assistance of a range finder, Strelok, and some forum members, 100 yards is practically a gimme on ground squirrels. I shoot a Steyr auto in .22. It gets challenging out past 120-150 with pellets but I have made 138 quick kill on a ground squirrel. I zero at 25 and then re verify at about 50, then I enter it in to Strelok and then read the wind. They’re spot on at 100. My gun likes JSB 18’s. Find out what it likes at 25 and you should be good to go for that 100 yard shot.

 

[jamlet]

Stoti I thought I had it bad you got it worse