What speed are you shooting at?

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ImpactX

ImpactX

Member
May 4, 2019
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Minnesota, United States
From watching YouTube videos to reading forums. Looks like everyone is all about power. Ie, everyone wants to shoot 950 to 1100 fps. Is it really all about power or is accuracy more important? Cause been following ted and he never shoot anywhere near 900, let alone into the 1000 fps mark. He claims he found the right speed these airgun of ours shoot best. Which is 830 to 850 fps. Not that near 1000 to breaking sound barrier everyone wants. Whats your opinion on speed?
 
I like to shoot heavier pellets, no matter what caliber gun I'm shooting. To me, accuracy is way more important than speed, after all, if you can't hit what you're aiming at, speed doesn't matter. Besides, I don't want to break the sound barrier - I like quiet guns - I'm a backyard shooter..

As for what the speeds I'm shooting at:

My .177 Benjamin Marauder seems to like .177 Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum 10.5 gr pellets. It shoots them at an average of 970.56 fps and that produces 21.97 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle.

My .22 Royale 400 (at its high power setting) has taken a gazillion squirrels with H & N Sport Baracuda Match 21.39 gr pellets shooting at an average of 834.5 fps (producing 33.08 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle).

My strongest springer is a .22 Diana 460 Magnum and I like to shoot JSB Match Diabolo 14.35 gr pellets in it. It shoots them at an average of 970.9 fps and that produces 24.97 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle.

My .25 Daystate Wolverine HP R shoots JSB Exact King Heavy Diabolo 33.95 gr pellets at an average of 819.20 fps and that produces 50.6 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle.
 
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Long range shots on fury critters with slugs is a big part of it. Also, many late model guns now have the capability to push slugs at proper speeds for slug stability. Slugs are also now available unlike in the recent past. There is still plenty of backyard action going on with the need for pellets at lower safer power levels. Pick your poison and/or eat the cake too.
 
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950+ FPS?


Another misconception. Slugs do not need to be shot at 950+ to be accurate. I shoot my .25 Impact 43.5 NSA at 885 to 890 FPS and it’s a laser out to 250 yards. MOA or better at 100. Plus it’s MUCH easier to shoot and MUCH more efficient than if I was shooting them at 950 FPS. Accuracy trumps all else... including power.
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👆👆👆 that!



I have shot slugs accurately in the 700FPS range, I was hitting a 12 oz water bottle over and over at 165 yards shooting at 830fps......it’s all about slug and barrel combo, speed is a small factor in the accuracy equation. 
 
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688fps.

H&N Sniper Light (14.04gr).

PP700S-A .22cal.



Before this power setting I used 620fps, and it felt I had fewer hits with the lower speed/ power (12FPE vs 15FPE).

Just nailed a pigeon at 64y. Felt super good (to me, not the pigeon 😉). I don't always get them when they're that far out.


I had always thought that if I shot heavier pellets they would fly sooo slow and would make my trajectory really steep ➔ and therefore would reduce my point blank range by a lot, ➔ and mess with my POI with even tiny 1-yard ranging errors.

But then I ran the numbers of shooting heavier pellets — like the 15.89gr and the 18.13gr — which would lower the velocity even more (648 and 606fps).

🔸And I realized — it's actually not that bad! 👍🏼 (As long as the pellets have good precision, of course.)



So, when my supply of the discontinued Sniper pellets is used up, I might try the new pellet from H&N, the Baracuda 18 (18.13gr). 😊 —— Because for a single shot like the PP700, I like my pellets to be a little harder than the JSBs so as not to bend the skirt when I'm in the heat of the shooting and reloading...! 😄 

(The pistol does not shoot the Crosman too well, they are handle resistant, though.) 



Matthias








 
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"Only accurate rifles are interesting".

Col. Townsend Whelen



Accuracy trumps all, in my mind. A pellet, delivered accurately at 800 fps, is more better than one delivered inaccurately at 950 fps.

If you're wrapped around the axle about a bit less drop between a middling accurate, flat shooting pellet, and an accurate pellet with a bit loopier trajectory, go with the accurate pellet. You can learn the drops.

In my 25's, I shoot the 34 grain JSB's exclusively because they shoot better than the 25 grainers do, drops be damned (is that just me, or do the 34's shoot better than the 25's? Please opine).

There isn't enough speed in the world to make-up for inaccuracy.

To kill critters with a projectile, two things, given suitable velocity, are paramount:

1. Shot placement

2. Projectile construction

Since projectile construction is pretty much limited to the ubiquitous, Diablo shaped pellet, or the HP slug, you best be doing damned sure that whatever projectile you choose, you deliver it on target as accurately as possible.



Justin 


 
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It's very rifle specific, but I've found 880-910 fps is generally a good range to search for the optimum velocity. But frankly, many rifles may have an even sweeter spot at a velocity below my normal testing range. You don't know what you don't know. I recently bought a Daystate Revere in .22, and it is extremely accurate with the 18 grain at 865, and a good thing, since tuning that rifle would be a major pain. There is a lot of emphasis on power these days, which is of no interest to me. I am a bit concerned, as we push air rifles into the range of power normally found only in cartridge firearms, that we may soon attract the attention of bureaucrats who love regulation and hate guns. 
 
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Right now my PCP's are all running in the mid to high 800's I've been shooting the .22 more it's lighter and Dad likes the scope. Working very well on the Starlings. I have gone to domed pellets I get more followup shots on 2nd targets with them. So I got a wild hair and pulled out the WD55. This old springer shoots at a modest 650fps but with good pellets any miss is you not her. It's sighted in for the 30 yard shots I'm getting. The match Diopter sight is challenging with my 55yo eyes. I still had a one shot clean kill. Accuracy trump's all. I'm not ditching my high powered .25s but drilling pellet on pellet is the way. 

Jim
 
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The YouTube celebrities are shooting slugs and from my understanding, slugs need to be shoot 950+ fps. The diablo shaped pellets are best under 900 fps but I've seen some PCPs can shoot pellets above 900 fps very accurately.
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The YouTube celebrities are shooting slugs and from my understanding, slugs need to be shoot 950+ fps. The diablo shaped pellets are best under 900 fps but I've seen some PCPs can shoot pellets above 900 fps very accurately.
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I prefer accuracy over power but power is always a bonus if you can set the rifle up sweet I've got my priest shooting the .22 25grain redesigned at 890fps and is accurate as hell
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All the speed in the world is useless if you can't hit your target. You might flatten the arc of trajectory with more speed but the Diablo will corkscrew if pushed too fast. If max speed is a must for you increase speed until accuracy suffers then back it back to your sweet spot.
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Good logical level headed accurate posts, IMO. The last of these 3 is my STANDARD process. Such isn't about speed for the sake of speed or to "math out" a number. It's about the flattest USABLE trajectory. That may be below 900 for some combinations or well above that speed for others.

As to "shooting slugs slower", there is no magic their either. But there is THIS-slugs behave more like bullets in that they are SPIN stabilized. Lower velocity means lower spin. Pellets are primarily DRAG stabilized. Different RELATIVE combinations of factors (i.e.twist rate and velocity) will impact them differently. Just as a pellet might be destabilized by too much velocity (relative), a slug can be destablized by too little (also relative).

Taipan Vet Long .25, 25.4 gr at 900fps and it's very happy there but started out from Talon Tunes at 970fps+

reg adjusted to 100bar

Good to know the slugs do not require high fps and maybe I'll give them a shot some day.

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WHY did you lower it from "970+" to "900"? IF you saw an improvement in accuracy, then logical to do so. Many will note a gain in shot count as why it "must" be done. I have seen a LOSS in accuracy with SOME gun/pellet combinations when I lowered velocity to that "magic" range. And a bit higher shot count takes a back seat to the best performance I can get from the rifle FOR ME. OTHERS may value the extra shots more. As is often the case, all relative and rarely any "absolute". Seems one of the major advantages to a slug over a pellet is LESS WIND DRIFT. What else will reduce relative wind drift? HIGHER VELOCITY. There's that "all relative" thing again.


 
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