Up until a few days ago, I had always thought that Air Arms pellets were simply re-branded JSB pellets sold at a higher price. I decided to send an email to Claire West (managing director of Air Arms) and find the truth. This was her response:
"Air Arms pellets are different to that of the JSB brand. Whilst JSB do produce them for us, Air Arms have their own dies (purchased by yours truly) which are totally exclusive to us. We are aware that JSB simply re-brand their own pellet, which a number of our competitors sell. However, this is not the case for the AA brand. Whilst it would appear similar, it is not the same. Here in the UK our own branded pellet far out sells the JSB brand. Many target shooters will use nothing but the AA brand. We have 20 FT Team shooters and 18 of them use AA and we have 16 HFT shooters and 14 of them also use the AA brand.
Unfortunately, we have noticed of late, many European companies selling directly to the end user for silly money. In the short term, this is all well and good for them because to them, pellets are a mere commodity to make a quick buck. They have no interest in our sport or in our Industry and are very much likely to damage 'route to market' sooner or later. It just so happens that I am due to fly out to visit JSB next week and one of the points of our discussion will be pricing. I hope that I have answered your question"
I am still trying to make up my mind whether the Air Arms pellets are worth the extra cash. I have noticed that one tin of JSB pellets may contain pellets with a visibly thicker skirt than another tin sold to me in the same order. I have never seen two Air Arms tins with different skirts. I am planning to do some accuracy tests at 100 yards with both AA and JSB pellets to see if the results differ. I will keep you posted on this!
Matt
"Air Arms pellets are different to that of the JSB brand. Whilst JSB do produce them for us, Air Arms have their own dies (purchased by yours truly) which are totally exclusive to us. We are aware that JSB simply re-brand their own pellet, which a number of our competitors sell. However, this is not the case for the AA brand. Whilst it would appear similar, it is not the same. Here in the UK our own branded pellet far out sells the JSB brand. Many target shooters will use nothing but the AA brand. We have 20 FT Team shooters and 18 of them use AA and we have 16 HFT shooters and 14 of them also use the AA brand.
Unfortunately, we have noticed of late, many European companies selling directly to the end user for silly money. In the short term, this is all well and good for them because to them, pellets are a mere commodity to make a quick buck. They have no interest in our sport or in our Industry and are very much likely to damage 'route to market' sooner or later. It just so happens that I am due to fly out to visit JSB next week and one of the points of our discussion will be pricing. I hope that I have answered your question"
I am still trying to make up my mind whether the Air Arms pellets are worth the extra cash. I have noticed that one tin of JSB pellets may contain pellets with a visibly thicker skirt than another tin sold to me in the same order. I have never seen two Air Arms tins with different skirts. I am planning to do some accuracy tests at 100 yards with both AA and JSB pellets to see if the results differ. I will keep you posted on this!
Matt
