So far, the two main pellets I've been using in my 392 .22 cal are the Redfires and the Crow Magnums. So far, they are about equal in accuracy, with a slight edge given to the Crow Magnums (but not by much, maybe it's just because of variables within the shooter). However when it comes to terminal effects on chippers, thus far the Redfires are the winner hands down.
Don't get me wrong, the CMs are very effective with a solid hit to the heart/lungs or head. They seem to smash through and destroy everything in their path, but the Redfires seem almost to slice through creating a lot of bleeding regardless of where they hit and causing much faster incapacitation. It seems to me that the polymer tip of the Redfire makes the initial cut in the tissue and the wadcutter-like shoulders of the pellet rip open the cut much more violently causing mass bleeding. Where the CMs seem to crush tissue and push what isn't smashed out of the way during its travel through the body, causing much less blood loss and slower incapacitation on a less than perfect hit.
Since I got the rifle, I've taken less than a dozen of the critters total, some with Crow Magnums, some with Redfires, so my "data base" isn't very large. Too, with only 5 pumps in the rifle, the Redfires appear to be just as effective as they are at 8 pumps, even on marginal hits where the Crow Magnums SEEMED to be more effective @ 8 pumps when the hit is marginal.
One thing for sure is that I'll need to eliminate more rodents to increase my data base and get a clearer picture of each pellets effectiveness.
Either way, I'm not sorry for getting 1,000 Crow Magnums instead of stocking up on Redfires (a moot point since the Redfires are still on back order).
Don't get me wrong, the CMs are very effective with a solid hit to the heart/lungs or head. They seem to smash through and destroy everything in their path, but the Redfires seem almost to slice through creating a lot of bleeding regardless of where they hit and causing much faster incapacitation. It seems to me that the polymer tip of the Redfire makes the initial cut in the tissue and the wadcutter-like shoulders of the pellet rip open the cut much more violently causing mass bleeding. Where the CMs seem to crush tissue and push what isn't smashed out of the way during its travel through the body, causing much less blood loss and slower incapacitation on a less than perfect hit.
Since I got the rifle, I've taken less than a dozen of the critters total, some with Crow Magnums, some with Redfires, so my "data base" isn't very large. Too, with only 5 pumps in the rifle, the Redfires appear to be just as effective as they are at 8 pumps, even on marginal hits where the Crow Magnums SEEMED to be more effective @ 8 pumps when the hit is marginal.
One thing for sure is that I'll need to eliminate more rodents to increase my data base and get a clearer picture of each pellets effectiveness.
Either way, I'm not sorry for getting 1,000 Crow Magnums instead of stocking up on Redfires (a moot point since the Redfires are still on back order).
