Slugs vs. Pellets Noise

Jump to latest Follow Reply
stinkajames

stinkajames

Member
May 8, 2018
176
10
Qld
Hey guys and girls,

With all of the new, wonderful craze of slugs going on, I have a question for anyone who has been involved in it to any extent. 

I live in one of the countries where an air rifle is classed as a firearm, along with any kind of sound suppression being extremely, ridiculously and unnecessarily illegal (Australia). I shoot a Wildcat Mk1 .22 and a Bobcat Mk2 .22 at the moment and I absolutely love airguns for the same reasons that a lot of you do. 

  • Cheap to shoot
  • Ridiculously accurate
  • Safe for close ranges
  • Quiet 

My question is how much noise does say a 23-30 grain 22 slug going 900 plus feet per second make, vs a 18 grain 22 pellet doing the same speed? I mostly shoot 22 because it is the best balance between power and noise level without a moderator, otherwise I would probably go to a 25. Is a 22 shooting slugs comparable to a 25 with pellets? Or a 30 cal with pellets? If it is too much louder it would seem to go against the reasons a lot of us shoot airguns. I love the idea of slugs but not sure if I should go down that rabbit hole without sound suppression or not. Also I love putting pellet on pellet out to 50 yards and it seems slugs are more suited to good accuracy at long range compared to ridiculous accuracy at short range like pellets. 

Anyone done any sound comparisons between slugs and pellets at the same speed? Or maybe a 22 slug vs 25/30 pellet at the same energy?

James


 
It doesn’t really matter which one you shoot for noise. Assuming the gun is shooting the same tune. In general slugs like to be pushed faster, so you tune your gun to shoot harder and that increases the noise a bit. Same goes for target impact. It will be louder if you tune up.



if you are going to be shooting 50 yards, slugs would be a waste of money. Even 100 yards unless you live in a windy spot is debatable. I see vast improvements in slugs over pellets at 120 plus. There are also improvements on killing power bc of retained energy/bc.



But again if you are shooting 50 yards save the air and money.
 
Upvote 0
Hi James. I haven’t noticed any difference in sound shooting .22 26g slugs at 900fps to pellets. I can tell you you will love the slugs! Anything past 70-80m you will hit with far more consistently. A breeze that is barely conceivable can make such a difference regardless of the caliber or weight of a diablo pellet. I’d watched lots of hunting videos with the slugs but have to say I was still surprised at the difference the higher bc makes. The sound of the slug hitting something is “much” louder. Not every shot but if you really middle something bang! 

Im getting good accuracy with the slugs. I’m waiting on the Daystate programmer and hoping with a velocity tweak it might even be better. Seems closer 950fps is the sweet spot. (Shooting the RedWolf). Only been shooting them about a week but really like what they can do. The .22 slugs are not comparable with pellets in any caliber. My Impact with the 30cal 700mm barrel is very accurate at 100y but still susceptible to.wind or even a gentle breeze Once you have the wind figured it is great and you can adjust and hit your target. If you only have one shot the slugs rule. That’s what makes them so good for hunting. Get some!

Michael
 
Upvote 0
If shot at the same speed suppressed they are the same. I am not sure being unsuppressed though. I would guess you will get a slight bit more noise from a little more air usage. Part of the noise is the air pressure escaping the gun and part is the projectile cutting through the air. The faster it goes the louder.

I don’t think it will be way louder for you shooting slugs in 22. However when increasing the size of the projectile that will also increase the noise it makes passing through the air, so a 25 or 30 will be louder.

As for slugs vs pellets my 177 slugs cuts through wind as well as my 25 shooting heavy jsb pellets 
 
Upvote 0
It doesn't matter if you shoot slug or Pellet. They will make the about the same sound. Your ears won't know the difference. The only difference is, slugs are 5 times the price of pellets. Yes, FIVE times the price of pellets. Say, you shoot a tin of 500 slugs. That's like wasting 5 tins of good jsb 2500 pellets. Crazy. I'd stick to pellet.
Click to expand...

I share your thoughts shinyknight.
 
Upvote 0
I think the noise we are hearing is the expansion of compressed air upon leaving the muzzle. Unless the pellet/slug is moving at supersonic speed, the noise they make when flying through air is negligible. Wow! Slug is so expensive ? Now I can forget about buying them but make it by myself. MP mold is selling slug molds at very reasonable price. Shipping is free to any countries
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu