As i understand it, wadcutter pellets are stable to 20 to 25yard (maybe more but not 75yards). Why? High overall drag or high drag from the skirt?
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Wadcutters - maximum stable range
- Thread starter Raider03
- Start date
Which caliber are you asking about? As I understand it, .177 wadcutter pellets are great for close range target shooting because of their exceptional ability to punch clean round holes in paper targets making scoring easier. However I would thing that the flat (head) surface works against them when attempting to shoot them at longer ranges outside of 10 meter shooting (competition range); it is not aerodynamic. If they’re working for you at 25 yards that sounds great to me. Here’s a thread I found by entering a simplified version of your question into a search engine. https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=163934.
Edit to add additional link. I meant to add this earlier but was unable to. A member here discusses shooting his wadcutters out to 30 yards. As @Nervoustrig mentions, velocity and other specifics that I am not familiar with are also discussed in the link below. Trig’s definitely someone to listen to. He’s an extremely knowledgeable member.
https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/pellet-mv-is-there-an-optimum-speed/
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It depends a lot on the particular wadcutter. A substantial portion of a projectile's stability derives from its geometric and gravimetric uniformity. A combination of the rifling spin and the pellet's shape helps to counteract the real-world imperfections in these properties. But if we start with a pellet that is supremely uniform, it will remain stable for a longer distance.
We usually talk about things in terms of accuracy so we should probably draw a distinction between stability and accuracy/precision. A loss of stability produces things like spiraling and keyholing, which certainly diminishes accuracy in a severe way. However the vastly poorer BC of a wadcutter will always produce larger groups at a distance than a similarly quality dome because of wind influence, even if the wadcutter is still objectively stable at that distance.
For example I have a batch of 9.3gr RWS Supermag wadcutters that are just excellent from almost every .177 barrel I own. On days with low wind, they will bughole at 30 yards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khiYSopVXes
They are still producing nice clean holes in paper on my 50 yard target, indicating they are still stable at that distance. I've even had some good groups at 50 but they are rare and have never equaled my best groups with domes.
We usually talk about things in terms of accuracy so we should probably draw a distinction between stability and accuracy/precision. A loss of stability produces things like spiraling and keyholing, which certainly diminishes accuracy in a severe way. However the vastly poorer BC of a wadcutter will always produce larger groups at a distance than a similarly quality dome because of wind influence, even if the wadcutter is still objectively stable at that distance.
For example I have a batch of 9.3gr RWS Supermag wadcutters that are just excellent from almost every .177 barrel I own. On days with low wind, they will bughole at 30 yards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khiYSopVXes
They are still producing nice clean holes in paper on my 50 yard target, indicating they are still stable at that distance. I've even had some good groups at 50 but they are rare and have never equaled my best groups with domes.
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Thank you for the great information and links. I would agree that spiraling is a lose of stability. Which as I understand it can only occur with a pellet not a slug. Thanks again.
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I am interested in wadcutters because of the hard hitting impact they make on quarry.
I would guess(?) that a heavier wadcutter is generally more precise, but of course — the barrel likes what it likes, so no way around the buy-try-and-see game that our airgun supply stores must have taught the airgun barrels.
I found some very heavy wadcutters, and I'm just now trying to source them. Cf. below.
Matthias
HEAVY WADCUTTERS
17 grain in .22cal
Norica: Says: Made in Germany!
Air Boss (sub brand of Apolo): Made in Argentina
Apolo: Made in Argentina
I would guess(?) that a heavier wadcutter is generally more precise, but of course — the barrel likes what it likes, so no way around the buy-try-and-see game that our airgun supply stores must have taught the airgun barrels.
I found some very heavy wadcutters, and I'm just now trying to source them. Cf. below.
Matthias
HEAVY WADCUTTERS17 grain in .22cal
Norica: Says: Made in Germany!
Air Boss (sub brand of Apolo): Made in Argentina
Apolo: Made in Argentina
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FWIW, slugs can develop small spirals and then at some point will tumble rather than grow into a large spiral.
The spin imparted by the barrel is much more important for maintaining the stability of a slug. A pellet does not need much spin to stabilize it, and in fact the traditionally common barrel twist rates are high enough that it represents a cause of spiraling at a distance.
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