This could potentially be a controversial subject. Each slug manufacturer carries a loyal following. Perhaps it's cost. Perhaps it's performance. Perhaps it's both. But I wanted to give my $.02 on this topic. There are guys on here with much more experience than me. There are the Ted's and Matt's of the world that are just next level when it comes to this topic. But their YouTube revenue and their sponsorship that comes from a large subscriber base affords them the ability/opportunity to test many platforms and many types of slugs. Personally, I've never had anyone send me anything and say, "Hey, try this out and post a good video demonstrating it." It would be nice (REALLY NICE), but that's not my lot. I'm sure 99.99% of the members who post here are in the same boat I'm in. I'm intrigued- almost infatuated by air rifles and the evolution of the sport. But every investment I make in hopes of improving upon what I already have is just that- a personal investment. It cost me money, and time, and copious amounts of frustration.
So that being said, I wanted to chime in on slugs. I've ordered slugs from the 4 biggest manufacturers that I know of in the good old USA. Those are NSA, Varmint Knockers, Griffin, and AVS. The first 2 have been around for some time. Griffin came on the scene within the last year or so, and AVS is the new kid on the block. I've bought sample packs from each one of them. I personally know Dale from Varmint Knockers. He lives about 3 miles from my house, and he is an incredible and a selfless person. I also know Stephen from AVS (Air Velocity Sport), who is equally amazing. From the first 3 aforementioned manufacturers, I've bought every nose type, weight, and base in each caliber. NSA is big time. Nick has automated his process, and this definitely gives him a leg up from a production standpoint. And it's no secret that when you think of swagged air rifle slugs, NSA is typically the first manufacturer that pops into your head. His mechanized manufacturing process allows him to manufacture a quality product in bulk, and pass along the savings to the consumer. But let me ask you a question- would you give up quantity and low cost for extreme accuracy? I would, and I do. That's why I pay $17 for 100 rounds from AVS instead of $18 for 300 rounds from NSA.
That being said, I wanted to give a little attention to Stephen from AVS slugs today. Why you might ask? I think his willingness to take risk to be more innovative gives him a leg up on his competition. Swages and presses are NOT cheap! Corbin will custom make them for you, but it comes at a hefty cost. So to undertake this mission, in light of your competitors (especially one who's mechanized the process and can offer the same quantity of slugs for 1/3 the price) takes brass ones (if you know what I mean). The cards are already stacked against you.
Currently if you're shooting a .22 or a .25 rifle, and you go to NSA, VK, or Griffin, you have varying options in design and weight, but not so much in caliber. If you're shooting a .25, You can order 2S nose slugs in 26gr-48gr. You can order flat base, dish base, cup base, or hollow base. They even have offerings in rebated boat tail slugs. But they're all gong to be in either .249 or .250. Those are popular sizes, and they work well for many rifles. But they didn't work well for mine. Some performed better than others, but none of them gave me that sub MOA accuracy that we all look for. That's the holy grail of slug shooting with an air rifle. Many strive for it, but few achieve it.
So what sets AVS slugs apart from his competitors is Stephen feels that there's a lot of wasted energy (high turbulence air) when you shoot a slug that doesn't fully engage the grooves of the barrel, or at least mostly fill the grooves of the barrel. All slugs will engage the lands, but very few engage the lands AND seal the grooves. There is so much pressure behind each shot on a high powered PCP, that even a .002" concentric gap that circles a slug becomes a place for air to escape around the slug and destabilize it. Most of the air rifle manufacturers use LW barrels with a twist of 1:17.7 inches. The .25 LW barrel has a land/groove diameter of .247/.254. Well, if you're shooting a .250 slug from your rifle, you're left with a .002" concentric gap between the circumference of the slug and the grooves of the barrel. The more power your gun produces, the more likely excess air will escape through this gap prior to your projectile exiting the muzzle. This air can destabilize the slug.
Stephen recognizes this as a potential problem for accuracy, so he produces slug diameters to rectify or minimize this. His slug sizes are .217, .2183, .223, .2503, .254, .2573, .3003, and .3083. My gun LOVES his 40gr, cup base HP in .254 caliber. My barrel is a .252 caliber with a 1:15 twist. So I know the slug is concentrically sealing the grooves of my barrel. And the performance is sublime! It's sub MOA.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying anyone is wrong, an I'm not trying to discredit any of the other slug makers out there. You guys are doing a great job. All I'm saying is Stephen didn't want to be the status quo. He wanted to differentiate himself, but he also wanted logic and physics to be the driving force. If you guys have had accuracy issues with the available slugs in .217, .218, .249, or .250 then buy a sample pack from Stephen in one of his slightly larger sizes and see if they work better for you.
Regardless of what slug you get, you will always need to tune your gun around it to get maximum performance. It's rare that you slap a slug in the gun with the existing tune and you get hole in hole accuracy. But even if the slug isn't hole in hole, you can always tell when you stumble across a slug that your gun and barrel like. If you get tight groups with it, then start playing around with the tune to try and get the hole in hole accuracy. I guess that's my disclaimer (LOL).
If you go to the Q&A section on his website, he explains the difference in the bases of the projectiles. He also does a great job of explaining why he started swagging his own slugs, and what drives him. It's a cool read. I'm not affiliated with AVS slugs in any way. I know Stephen, and he's awesome. I've never met him in person. We've had a few text correspondences. Essentially I have noting to gain from this plug for his slugs. I just know they have been amazing for me, and I think they might work well for you too. I'm not going to post the website because I don't want anyone to think this is a promotion for him. It's just an air rifle enthusiast talking about a product that I feel sets him apart from his competition. If you Goolge AVS Slugs, you can find him.
So that being said, I wanted to chime in on slugs. I've ordered slugs from the 4 biggest manufacturers that I know of in the good old USA. Those are NSA, Varmint Knockers, Griffin, and AVS. The first 2 have been around for some time. Griffin came on the scene within the last year or so, and AVS is the new kid on the block. I've bought sample packs from each one of them. I personally know Dale from Varmint Knockers. He lives about 3 miles from my house, and he is an incredible and a selfless person. I also know Stephen from AVS (Air Velocity Sport), who is equally amazing. From the first 3 aforementioned manufacturers, I've bought every nose type, weight, and base in each caliber. NSA is big time. Nick has automated his process, and this definitely gives him a leg up from a production standpoint. And it's no secret that when you think of swagged air rifle slugs, NSA is typically the first manufacturer that pops into your head. His mechanized manufacturing process allows him to manufacture a quality product in bulk, and pass along the savings to the consumer. But let me ask you a question- would you give up quantity and low cost for extreme accuracy? I would, and I do. That's why I pay $17 for 100 rounds from AVS instead of $18 for 300 rounds from NSA.
That being said, I wanted to give a little attention to Stephen from AVS slugs today. Why you might ask? I think his willingness to take risk to be more innovative gives him a leg up on his competition. Swages and presses are NOT cheap! Corbin will custom make them for you, but it comes at a hefty cost. So to undertake this mission, in light of your competitors (especially one who's mechanized the process and can offer the same quantity of slugs for 1/3 the price) takes brass ones (if you know what I mean). The cards are already stacked against you.
Currently if you're shooting a .22 or a .25 rifle, and you go to NSA, VK, or Griffin, you have varying options in design and weight, but not so much in caliber. If you're shooting a .25, You can order 2S nose slugs in 26gr-48gr. You can order flat base, dish base, cup base, or hollow base. They even have offerings in rebated boat tail slugs. But they're all gong to be in either .249 or .250. Those are popular sizes, and they work well for many rifles. But they didn't work well for mine. Some performed better than others, but none of them gave me that sub MOA accuracy that we all look for. That's the holy grail of slug shooting with an air rifle. Many strive for it, but few achieve it.
So what sets AVS slugs apart from his competitors is Stephen feels that there's a lot of wasted energy (high turbulence air) when you shoot a slug that doesn't fully engage the grooves of the barrel, or at least mostly fill the grooves of the barrel. All slugs will engage the lands, but very few engage the lands AND seal the grooves. There is so much pressure behind each shot on a high powered PCP, that even a .002" concentric gap that circles a slug becomes a place for air to escape around the slug and destabilize it. Most of the air rifle manufacturers use LW barrels with a twist of 1:17.7 inches. The .25 LW barrel has a land/groove diameter of .247/.254. Well, if you're shooting a .250 slug from your rifle, you're left with a .002" concentric gap between the circumference of the slug and the grooves of the barrel. The more power your gun produces, the more likely excess air will escape through this gap prior to your projectile exiting the muzzle. This air can destabilize the slug.
Stephen recognizes this as a potential problem for accuracy, so he produces slug diameters to rectify or minimize this. His slug sizes are .217, .2183, .223, .2503, .254, .2573, .3003, and .3083. My gun LOVES his 40gr, cup base HP in .254 caliber. My barrel is a .252 caliber with a 1:15 twist. So I know the slug is concentrically sealing the grooves of my barrel. And the performance is sublime! It's sub MOA.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying anyone is wrong, an I'm not trying to discredit any of the other slug makers out there. You guys are doing a great job. All I'm saying is Stephen didn't want to be the status quo. He wanted to differentiate himself, but he also wanted logic and physics to be the driving force. If you guys have had accuracy issues with the available slugs in .217, .218, .249, or .250 then buy a sample pack from Stephen in one of his slightly larger sizes and see if they work better for you.
Regardless of what slug you get, you will always need to tune your gun around it to get maximum performance. It's rare that you slap a slug in the gun with the existing tune and you get hole in hole accuracy. But even if the slug isn't hole in hole, you can always tell when you stumble across a slug that your gun and barrel like. If you get tight groups with it, then start playing around with the tune to try and get the hole in hole accuracy. I guess that's my disclaimer (LOL).
If you go to the Q&A section on his website, he explains the difference in the bases of the projectiles. He also does a great job of explaining why he started swagging his own slugs, and what drives him. It's a cool read. I'm not affiliated with AVS slugs in any way. I know Stephen, and he's awesome. I've never met him in person. We've had a few text correspondences. Essentially I have noting to gain from this plug for his slugs. I just know they have been amazing for me, and I think they might work well for you too. I'm not going to post the website because I don't want anyone to think this is a promotion for him. It's just an air rifle enthusiast talking about a product that I feel sets him apart from his competition. If you Goolge AVS Slugs, you can find him.
