Slug 'distance' question.

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JCD

JCD

Member
Sep 1, 2016
1,072
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MD, United States
Not even close to a newbie with PCP's but I am new to attempts with slugs. 

It's become a common statement that slugs need not only the right speeds, but also time to 'settle' This is where I think my question differs a little from the slugs discussions I've read. Figure a .25 slug, 34 grains at 890 fps as much as just a slug in general (from and airgun). Will it settle into straight flight at 75y, 100y, 125y? And no I don't expect there to be any formula....yet. 

Know that I don't have a 'slug' barrel. This is a choked CZ barrel. Not ideal but if there is a chance they will work - great, if not - that's fine too. I'm most interested in my testing procedure/distance. Tried several slugs raw, same selection sized to .249 and .248. BUT all were at 75y. So am I wasting my time at 75y? and just jump to 100 or further. 

This is equally about my current guns as well the next purchase I may make. My usual distance of 75y won't change but have easy access to 100 and 150y for occasional use (as long as the cows are in a different field). I can shoot further but rarely find the set up worth the effort.
 
Shoot mine out of an Impact but not so sure about any settling myself. If they don't shoot through the same hole at 30yards I adjust my gun till they do. I would expect to do the same regardless of barrel type. Once they shoot through the same hole then I go to 100yards and if they print sub MOA I am good if not I adjust more and start at 30yards again. Bob-O explained it in a video he did a short time back. It just works but you have to put in the time and air and slugs, probly hundreds of them, to get things right. Took me over 500 slugs to get it right, my fault, but now I am sub MOA at 100 yards with several slugs most of the time. Oh, and about the speed I shot sub MOA at 740fps as well as over 900fps.
 
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If a round isnt in stable flight very soon after leaving the barrel it won't be predictable in most conditions. This is another area firearms and pellet guns don't overlap.
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My understanding it that slugs need flight time to settle (ie distance) even from airguns. Maybe my question should be... At what distances are slugs shooters finding that the slugs start performing well, or what is to close to tell.

I've been trying different slugs/speeds/sizing at 75y. Honestly, the best results didn't do great at 100y. But if 75y is too short a distance than I could be deceiving myself. 
 
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If a round isnt in stable flight very soon after leaving the barrel it won't be predictable in most conditions. This is another area firearms and pellet guns don't overlap.
Click to expand...


My understanding it that slugs need flight time to settle (ie distance) even from airguns. Maybe my question should be... At what distances are slugs shooters finding that the slugs start performing well, or what is to close to tell.

I've been trying different slugs/speeds/sizing at 75y. Honestly, the best results didn't do great at 100y. But if 75y is too short a distance than I could be deceiving myself.
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I'm pretty sure you're talking about the pitch / yaw of a bullet at the phase where it "goes to sleep". At certain points testing different ammo out of my rifles, I find that they're either compatible or incompatible for accuracy.

The groups that I see with compatible ammo are all the same, relative to distances and minute of angles (from 10y to as far out as I shoot them).

When they're just right for the barrel, you'll know it. When they're not right for the barrel, you'll drive yourself nuts trying to figure out why sometimes.


 
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mtnGhost - that makes sense so I figure I'm not wasting my time trying but I am wasting my time worrying about my 3-5 inch groups at 75y vs sub1inch groups with pellets (those slug combos just don't work!)

I'm not done trying but I am getting close. I'll have to think about a slug gun, as I'd really like one that shoots well.
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Yeah, if you've exhausted the velocity tuning ranges and you're seeing 3-5" at 75y, you can probably validate the suspicion of incompatibility when you shoot out to ~100-120y, where the situation will look uglier. That situation is just like what I endured with my 380mm Crown barrel testing slugs and JSB Monsters .. groups were ok at 40y, but they opened up wide just past that (exponentially the further out I shot).

One last thing to add - sometimes the longer / heavier slugs wind up shooting lights out. Some barrels can just be picky like that, but I like having the versatility for shooting nearly anything I want to shoot - which is why I really enjoy the FX slug liners.
 
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Thanks. I'm perfectly happy with this gun being a pellet shooter. My next attempt will be with something wearing a more appropriate barrel (for slugs). The one I've been testing is wearing a CZ barrel and I;m not changing it out. My experience with Impacts turned me off but not to FX totally. So my next attempt may be , well.... anything....
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I hear you on the Impact. It's a love it or hate it platform, and it just didn't fit me well ergonomically. It's also more bench-centric than a hunting rifle, which is why I chose to go with a Crown.

I have a similar dilemma with mine, I sort of want to keep it as a slug rifle with the 700mm barrel, but the extra 380mm barrel is just too damned fun with 18gr pellets! It's lights out with both.

The tricky part has been setting it up so that I do not have to swap the internals to shoot pellets and slugs - mainly the hammer springs, hammer weights, and the spring seat. I have a well balanced configuration now, the only trade off though is that I cannot shoot the JSB Hades out of it without putting the factory hammer system back in (not a huge deal, but I'm lazy about it). Regardless of which hammer weight and spring that I use, it's just too brutal for the lower pressures required for the little Hades pellets. 

I guess my point is that you CAN have the best of both worlds in a single rifle with extra effort.
 
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