What's with the Slug Speed fetish lately?

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Nobody has talked about air usage. I am a high volume ground squirrel shooter. 500-750 shots a day. 3 days in a row. I bring two Great White Bottles with me. Last year I was shooting both my Impact and Panthera 22 cal at 1025fps, 31.2 NSA slugs. Now if I go down to 950 fps I double my shot count at 975 75% higher shot count. Now yes, I do loose about 50 yards with the lower speed. That really is not an issue though. Having more air though is huge. And no, I am not getting a gas powered compressor.
Oh, I have shot them out to 275 yards. No at 275 they do not lift or spray guts like a closer shot. They just roll over.
 
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archerhmr said:
Nobody has talked about air usage. I am a high volume ground squirrel shooter. 500-750 shots a day. 3 days in a row. I bring two Great White Bottles with me. Last year I was shooting both my Impact and Panthera 22 cal at 1025fps, 31.2 NSA slugs. Now if I go down to 950 fps I double my shot count at 975 75% higher shot count. Now yes, I do loose about 50 yards with the lower speed. That really is not an issue though. Having more air though is huge. And no, I am not getting a gas powered compressor.
Oh, I have shot them out to 275 yards. No at 275 they do not lift or spray guts like a closer shot. They just roll over.
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Yup .. same here in the spring months pounding away at the beldings !!! 3 day trips have exceeded 2000 shots taken on several occasions.
 
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archerhmr said:
Nobody has talked about air usage. I am a high volume ground squirrel shooter. 500-750 shots a day. 3 days in a row. I bring two Great White Bottles with me. Last year I was shooting both my Impact and Panthera 22 cal at 1025fps, 31.2 NSA slugs. Now if I go down to 950 fps I double my shot count at 975 75% higher shot count. Now yes, I do loose about 50 yards with the lower speed. That really is not an issue though. Having more air though is huge. And no, I am not getting a gas powered compressor.
Oh, I have shot them out to 275 yards. No at 275 they do not lift or spray guts like a closer shot. They just roll over.
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Where can I sign up for the 500 shots a day at ground squirrels? That would be awesome! Not sure what you mean by "I do loose about 50 yards with the lower speed"?
 
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The reality is, Beldons do not give you time to dial. Almost all hold over. They may sit steady for 5 second, then they are on the move. They only time they sit steady is if it is windy and they are hunkered down, or you shoot one and they go to have fresh meat to snack on. On a warmer sunny day, they just are always on the move.
 
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When out in these Alfalfa fields there are generally deep wheel ruts from the irrigation pivots. IIRC standard distance wheel to wheel is 100 feet.
If you spend the time to range each wheel rut out in front of you, one can have a far better idea when quickly obtaining a fresh target @ how far out it is and range correct accordingly with Air Guns especially !!! Fortunate enough to go out with a .17HMR not so much :love:
 
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Elevation really helps on the longer shots. You can see the distance. And my alternate rigs are 17hmr and 17wsm.
IMG_2994.jpeg
 
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Centercut said:
I've noticed lately that more and more shooters of airgun slugs are increasingly looking for higher speeds... My question is why?

What is the benefit of shooting faster, say 1050 compared to 900 fps?

Wind drift isn't better. Yes, the shots are "flatter", but really, with distances known, does that make a difference?

The gun gets less shots per fill, and is harder to shoot accurately, so what is the reasoning other than psychological?
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Speed isn’t just psychological—it’s tactical. My .308 Texan’s been modded specifically to run slugs at high velocity with stability and accuracy. That includes tuned valve flow, selected slug design, and real-world field testing. I’m not chasing numbers—I’ve built the system to perform. Faster shots mean flatter trajectory, reliable expansion, and quicker impact—all dialed for clean hits at known ranges. Fewer shots per fill? Worth it when everyone counts. BARS 150gr slugs.
 
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Centercut said:
I've noticed lately that more and more shooters of airgun slugs are increasingly looking for higher speeds... My question is why?

What is the benefit of shooting faster, say 1050 compared to 900 fps?

Wind drift isn't better. Yes, the shots are "flatter", but really, with distances known, does that make a difference?

The gun gets less shots per fill, and is harder to shoot accurately, so what is the reasoning other than psychological?
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In my barra I like to shoot light and fast because I get spectacular expansion that way…with the Franco slugs I’ve found that 950-980fps gives me great accuracy with a fantastic balance between penetration and expansion.

I just got a karma EQ and I’m learning real quick that she doesn’t want to shoot light and fast. The 1:16 twist rate seems to over stabilize my 45gr Franco’s. I moved up to 52gr Patriot Javelins and they are shooting beautifully at 910fps.

So I think that once you get passed the “if you ain’t first you’re last” speed demon types there are reasons to go fast. I don’t shoot paper but if I did I’d be shooting slugs between 850-900fps…But I only hunt and I consider any pass throughs past 40y to be a failure on my part. At least with small to medium game. Passing through means FPE being left on the table and out here in the deserts/mountains of SW Utah the safest bet is to hit them as hard as possible. These’s just too many places where you can’t follow a blood trail even if you want to.
 
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7Green said:
Imo, it depends on the guns purpose. If it is for hunting, I would want more umph at times than less. However, I would not allow myself to sacrifice a ton of accuracy in exchange. Instead I would try and find ways to achieve similar accuracy with more power or settle with a happy medium. If the gun was for competition purposes then I would be 100% interested in the most accurate, consistent, and tightest groups.
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This is the way.
 
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SpiralGroove said:
Marketing/Novice Shooters,
We are routinely bombarded by videos of people shooting the FX Impact using slugs in excess of 950 fps. It's almost the norm.
It's already been shown (over & over) that pellets and slugs shoot best between 850 and maybe 925 fps.

hardairmagazine.com

The External Ballistics Of Slugs In Airguns - Hard Air Magazine

For the most part slugs in airguns act in a similar manner to pellets. But there are some subtle differences as we will see in this post.
hardairmagazine.com hardairmagazine.com

hardairmagazine.com

Wind Drift For Airguns – It’s Important Where The Wind Is!

In this post, Bob explains why - contrary to popular opinion - the biggest component of wind drift for airguns is nearest to the muzzle.
hardairmagazine.com hardairmagazine.com
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Yes but expansion isn’t always great at those speeds. As a hunter I’m willing to sacrifice a little bit of accuracy for the ability to stop my target in it’s tracks.
 
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Scotchmo said:
True that higher velocity uses more air and can be noticeably detrimental to the shot cycle. Higher velocity delivers more energy, and that might be one consideration, depending on the intended use.

Even with a harsher shot cycle, there are the less common instances where accuracy is better at the higher velocity.

There might be other considerations when shooting at long distance. It’s a trade off. Slugs use a different drag model than pellets. Of the commonly used drag models, the RA4 (22lr) model works better than most as you get well into the transonic region. And it’s a fairly good match to higher sectional density airgun slugs (2 to 3 calibers long). For distances past 100yds, wind drift will likely be a little less at 1050fps than at 900fps. And you’ll get about 20% to 30% more range before running out of elevation (clicks and/or holdover).
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Wind drift is higher once you get past 950fps…. I also have found that the G7 model works really well for me haha. But beyond that I agree with you fully.
 
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