47 gain NSA Slug Expansion test

Slugs more often than not don't dump all their retained energy into a target, but rather pass through due to their increased sectional density which is what aids in higher energy / bc...I prefer projectiles that dump most the energy into the intended target. JMO...people on this 'slug' fad are only kidding themselves shooting birds and small game with slugs.

Although I did not recover the slug, I had a pass through on a deer with a heart/lung shot. This was a 99gr NSA hollow point out of a .308 Slayer with a MV of 980 fps. The shot was take from 90 yards. The deer expired after running about 40 yards. The entrance and exit wounds looked about the same size. Glad I hit vitals!!

The wound didn’t bleed much, really no blood trail. The wound channel was there but nothing as catastrophic as a firearm would produce. I was the only airgun at this cull hunt and saw many firearm wounds that I compared to. 

It was a humane kill, don’t get me wrong but it didn’t give me a lot of confidence. You better make a good shot with a .308 airgun. Moving forward, I will not take a heart/lung shot with anything less than a .357 using an airgun. Headshots are a different story. 

Ha Ackuric you are 100% correct them .22 cal 19 to 28 gr slugs , are not good for game , people shooting them out to 190m at mall birds which require 5fpe is not showing much , The 47gr however does have alot of energy to it and them slug shoot accurate in my R-5 super long past 250m ,but I prefer my 52,61 grains , I took out 4 Coyotes with The Edgun R-5 super long , none move past 15 feet , but 1 I took him in head shot with 47gr and he ran . the other 3 were taken with a 52 grain slug at 856 fps with a BC of .140

What is your energy with your R-5 set at I have mine currently set at 84 FPE so It has low reg pressure like 130 with my Huma, and l have alot more hammer spring , when I shoot , my heavy pellets or my 55 or 61 grainer I put my reg pressure up to 145 bar and max H/S , the gun shoots great , But I do find at 70 to say 90 is no noise or harmonics but when you max everything and raise Reg pressure it remains accurate and powerful mine can go to 102 FPE . but I find the harmonics make me like move gun during recoil and my groups spread , it is me not gun , so I put mine between 84 to 95fpe and I get 56 to 61 shots per fill with very good accuracy ,

Remember, the energy of these 30 caliber guns is like shooting something with a 22 long rifle. Velocity is where expansion occurs. 850 to 950 fps is not going to expand very much even with pure lead. At 60 and 75 yards it will be less. I am amazed at what can be killed with a 25 cal pellet though. 

Slugs more often than not don't dump all their retained energy into a target, but rather pass through due to their increased sectional density which is what aids in higher energy / bc...I prefer projectiles that dump most the energy into the intended target. JMO...people on this 'slug' fad are only kidding themselves shooting birds and small game with slugs.

Click to expand...

ackuric - You're basically saying -Most of us don't have a PCP capable of achieving high enough velocity for a HP slug to perform down range.

That I totally agree with. But, at the right range with a PCP capable of achieving a working velocity they can do what they are intended to do.

What? "I prefer projectiles that dump most the energy into the intended target." Got me curious. Do tell. 

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Here's a video I did a few years ago. 4 pellet comparison. https://youtu.be/b6DhLoKMbpc 

You'll have to paste that link in Youtube . Because I don't see how to get it to take you there. 

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Killemdead - Velocity @ POI has to be above that 819 - 824 FPS your shooting.

A .30 cal. with that profile will need more like 900+ FPS @ POI, not the muzzle. 

My .30 cal. is only capable of 860+ FPS average @ the muzzle. It's useless for HP expansion @ 10 feet.

Only a .25 cal. but here's a photo of real word expansion at a range that slugs do perform. 





Notice the Grizzly does almost nothing. It could look just like the Rat Sniper if you could get it going about 1100 FPS @ POI. 

Or for those of us that need squirrel cadavers in stead of water filled cans here's some 60 yard slugs shot through Ground Squirrels heart/lung area broadside. Recovered in plastic bags with one shot straight in without damage as can be seen.



Slugs require one thing. High velocity. The larger the diameter of the projectile, the more it needs. Simple! 

Killemdead - These Polymags? I'm not going to recommend what to do here. I did go out today to shoot a couple .30 cal. Predator poly mags to show you what I know about them. 

Shot into 1 gal. milk jugs full of water. They hit the back of the second one. Not GOOD. They should be about .50"-.55"+ expansion if they were working. 



@ 852 FPS they don't blow my skirt up. Shot at only 27 yards. 

Not even close to acceptable expansion in my world. I can't shoot them with the red tip. OAL is too long. They don't fly past 35 yards before they head straight down. 

I shot a couple .25 cal. slugs at only 813 FPS that out performed the Polymag .30 cal. at 852 FPS. 

JWRABBIT123 I really appreciate your removal of those yotes. Aside from eating small pets, carrying fleas (and plague), attacking joggers a child, and even a bicyclist in Co. They have ingratiate themselves upon a certain crowd who really don't understand that a few yote, wolves, etc is good but only what nature can feed. Not folks feeding dog food to 'yotes and 'coons cause their cute. Pests are pests my state's law regarding pests ( any animal destroying property or threatening people & pets maybe destroyed by any means LEGAL in the area of the pest. So no using firearms inside town etc.

No .30 cal rifle here but here is some real world evidence of the damage that the .25 and .22 Polymags can do.

If squimish please switch off.

.25 Polymag damage in an Indian Myna. Bird exactly as it fell :



This one shot with .22 cal Polymag poi velocity 820 fps. Bird untouched excepting for lifting the loose brest forwards to show the mess underneath:

The .22 Polymag pellet on the left has passed through a Myna. The one on the right has been shot into a tube of carded Marino wool.





Chest shot rabbits result in similar proportional internal damage.

An observation: the polymer tip is important to the nature of the pellet's expansion. The pellets I have retrieved do not look like those shown in this post shot into a water bottle.

The polymer tip focusses the target pest tissue back under the hollow point lips and the lips fold back over the body of the pellet to level with the skirt. My .25s finish up at around 0.32" diameter.

If these pics are out of order, please delete them. ... kind regards, Harry.

The huge advantage of slugs is the BC advantage. The fact they do not lose their accuracy after 75 or 100 yards, retain their energy and have little wind drift. Slugs do not get pushed by wind easily like a diablo pellet does which when hunting is one of the biggest pluses of slugs. 



Not all guns can shoot them and for expansion high speeds are key. Looking at the slug in the picture the slug did exactly what that slug is supposed to do. That mushroomed the nose all the way back to the base.



If you are shooting close range then pellets are fine. If you want to shoot longer ranges, in the wind, etc then slugs are a better choice in my opinion.

Polymag .30 cal. shot with the red tip in. Same conditions as previous post.

The .30 cal. is still obviously going to kill an animal. Just not going to be like Harry's smaller caliber results. 

Nice that the smaller Polymags do work though. 

Killemdead - The NSA slug in .30 cal. obviously is a better choice than the other.

Just my observations before you bought some........Hope that helped.