Large caliber pellets vs smaller caliber slugs

I don't think slug will over take pellets. Pellets are cheaper to shoot over slugs and they are just as accurate. Only advantage of slug is they buff the wind better so on a windy day it's best to go with slugs. 

Price of .22 slugs 100 count is $15

Price of .22 pellets 500 count is $8-17 (depend on brand)

Price of .22lr 325 count is $18

As you can see. Slugs are about 5 times the price of pellets. And 3 times the price of .22lr. if you want to shoot 200 yard and plus why not go with .22lr for 1/3 of the cost of slugs. Don't make any sense to me. .22lr will reach out further and is cheaper to shoot than slug. This hype about slugs cause those south Africa guys are making a big deal of it and everyone now wants slugs. I still prefer cheap old pellets and if I need to reach out to 200 yards I get out my 22 lr.

I agree with ShinyKnight. In my case when it's really windy, I don't shoot that day.

Slugs also penetrate greater than pellets, which isn't always desirable. I love shooting long range (powder and no also PCPs), but if I'm out shooting at ~75 yards or less I prefer to shoot pellets since my results are nearly the same. Not to say that pellets can't stretch out further, on calmer days I have shot smaller PCPs with pellets (e.g. my Leshiy) out to 200+ yards or fun and the overall challenge.

I don't think slug will over take pellets. Pellets are cheaper to shoot over slugs and they are just as accurate. Only advantage of slug is they buff the wind better so on a windy day it's best to go with slugs. 

Price of .22 slugs 100 count is $15

Price of .22 pellets 500 count is $8-17 (depend on brand)

Price of .22lr 325 count is $18

As you can see. Slugs are about 5 times the price of pellets. And 3 times the price of .22lr. if you want to shoot 200 yard and plus why not go with .22lr for 1/3 of the cost of slugs. Don't make any sense to me. .22lr will reach out further and is cheaper to shoot than slug. This hype about slugs cause those south Africa guys are making a big deal of it and everyone now wants slugs. I still prefer cheap old pellets and if I need to reach out to 200 yards I get out my 22 lr.

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1. What you mentioned is not the only advantage.

2. Because I want to shoot my air rifle.

3. It's not hype. And it IS a big deal.

Please don't bash guys who want to shoot slugs. I don't bash guys who continue to shoot pellets.

Let those who will incur the costs associated with shooting slugs decide if it's worth the extra expense.

Due to the better bc of a slug they also travel much, much, much further, personally I would never use a slug if the target is in a elevated position just in case I miss ( I do that quite often) 

Bb

I think another issue to look at is noise. 

I think as soon as the price comes down on slugs you are very right. A small slug gun is quieter, more efficient with air, shoots flat and is not affected much by wind. Why wouldn’t someone look to a smaller slug gun vs a larger caliber pellet gun?

IMO Slugs are a big deal and a game changer for those who like to shoot long range. 300y kills with 0.22 slugs will be a reality this year probably. Justin from UA just show us a video with a 265 and 260y, and is pretty clear that the slug have a lot of energy left. 

Most airguners probably won't go over 100y hunting, and that is perfect and fine! And if you stay in that range or lower, stay with pellets for now since you will not notice much difference (if you like). And pellet accuracy is great!

And please before giving strong opinions, like "the only advantage..." Get informed. Because you are wrong.

As for the price economics 101, demand curve and product adoption curve. The price will fall when the demand increase and big manufacturers came to play ( and they will come, that is a fact)

As for big bore, will depend on the game ... I prefer to shoot a 0.357 or 0.30 pellet to a 500pounds hog anytime over a 0.22 cal (40gn slug maybe not ... ) . But for varmint, I will not change slugs for shooting over 50y, less than that...pellets. 

My 2 cents

I personally have never seen the typical 22 rimfire rifle that matches the accuracy of slugs we are seeing. And while slugs are shooting with more power than most pellet rifles they are about half the fpe of the .22 long rifle making them a little safer for shooting pests off silos and out of trees. Add that it is very easy to add moderators to our air rifles as opposed to powder burners makes it easier to shoot in more locations off limits to firearms. Most hunting situations even with pest birds you are not taking that many shots so the expense of slugs is not that great to me. Use pellets for target shooting and close in pesting and slugs for longer range. As always I choose the best tool for the job. If you don't want to use slugs don't but don't talk down those that do. Bill

Slugs are about 5 times the price of pellets. And 3 times the price of .22lr. if you want to shoot 200 yard and plus why not go with .22lr for 1/3 of the cost of slugs. Don't make any sense to me. .22lr will reach out further and is cheaper to shoot than slug. This hype about slugs cause those south Africa guys are making a big deal of it and everyone now wants slugs. I still prefer cheap old pellets and if I need to reach out to 200 yards I get out my 22 lr.

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Agreed. I rather kill the pests I’m after as inexpensively as possible. Shooting sparrows with slugs while impressive, makes no financial sense.

No one is talking bad or bashing on slugs. Slugs are expensive. That's all I said and other agree. That's not bashing on slugs. It's just facts. Slugs are 5 times the price of pellets and 3 times the price of 22 lr. If anyone want to use slug they are more than welcome. I'm just stating my opinion that slugs will not over take pellets which is probably true. People will still rely on pellets for pesting cause it's cheaper. Slugs are accurate at long range and can buff the wind better. I never said slugs are inaccurate. 

No one is talking bad or bashing on slugs. Slugs are expensive. That's all I said and other agree. That's not bashing on slugs. It's just facts. Slugs are 5 times the price of pellets and 3 times the price of 22 lr. If anyone want to use slug they are more than welcome. I'm just stating my opinion that slugs will not over take pellets which is probably true. People will still rely on pellets for pesting cause it's cheaper. Slugs are accurate at long range and can buff the wind better. I never said slugs are inaccurate.

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I have to disagree with the entire cost argument for one reason alone - my time is heavily valued. With the slugs that I buy, I don't have to go through them all and weigh them, sort them, and inspect every last little one of them as I need to do with pellets. Tedious and time consuming, it adds up to something that I feel is unnecessary.

That said, once again - I do shoot with pellets, but not nearly as often as I used to. I budget 3 hours for driving on each day that I can get out there and shoot (long distance paper). Having 3-4 flyers out of a 10 shot pellet group is frustrating - equally frustrating is weighing and inspecting 1,000 pellets to cover what I need for that weekend.

Slugs are about 5 times the price of pellets. And 3 times the price of .22lr. if you want to shoot 200 yard and plus why not go with .22lr for 1/3 of the cost of slugs. Don't make any sense to me. .22lr will reach out further and is cheaper to shoot than slug. This hype about slugs cause those south Africa guys are making a big deal of it and everyone now wants slugs. I still prefer cheap old pellets and if I need to reach out to 200 yards I get out my 22 lr.

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Agreed. I rather kill the pests I’m after as inexpensively as possible. Shooting sparrows with slugs while impressive, makes no financial sense.

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It is not all just about "financial sense". For some, it's about pushing beyond the traditional limits of airguns that is thrilling. It's about extending their PCPs and their own shooting skills to target ranges that was once thought near impossible with an airgun. Just like in the powder burner world, you can buy cheap surplus ammo, or you can buy and shoot the latest A-tip ballistic bullets at 5-10x the price of surplus ammo. Does the pest care that you are using surplus ammo with 1.5 inch grouping versus using ballistic tipped ammo with 1/2 inch groupings with a phenomenal BC? No, but it matters to some shooters - personal pride and satisfaction. Time is valuable, as someone stated rightly above. Might as well extract the most fun and enjoyment while you are at it even if is costs a little bit more.

Same argument could be made about having a beater car that works just as well as a German Porsche or Italian Ferrari for getting you from point A to point B, but until you have driven one...

Currently there are too few pros and too many cons for me to swap over to slugs at the moment.

Even if slugs become readily available at a reasonable price and are as accurate as pellets there are still circumstances where the pellet is better.

for that reason I don’t think slugs will ever overtake pellet sales.



Bb

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It is not all just about "financial sense". For some, it's about pushing beyond the traditional limits of airguns that is thrilling. It's about extending their PCPs and their own shooting skills to target ranges that was once thought near impossible with an airgun. Just like in the powder burner world, you can buy cheap surplus ammo, or you can buy and shoot the latest A-tip ballistic bullets at 5-10x the price of surplus ammo. Does the pest care that you are using surplus ammo with 1.5 inch grouping versus using ballistic tipped ammo with 1/2 inch groupings with a phenomenal BC? No, but it matters to some shooters - personal pride and satisfaction. Time is valuable, as someone stated rightly above. Might as well extract the most fun and enjoyment while you are at it even if is costs a little bit more.

Same argument could be made about having a beater car that works just as well as a German Porsche or Italian Ferrari for getting you from point A to point B, but until you have driven one...

Click to expand...

Well said! 

I'm all for slugs. I find them fascinating at how much they can buck wind compared to a pellet. I'm actually setting up my .30 to shoot slugs now. It's a gun that I can only shoot when shooting squirrels or similar on the ground anyways. Price wise slugs in a .30 are just over 2 times the price. But when shooting long range in a variable wind good luck! Even shooting at 930fps with the 44.75gr JSBs the wind drift at 125yds was crazy especially when the wind was variable. Think you got it right and shoot and miss. Wind shifted making the pellet move 2 more inches. Adjust and take another shot oh wind died for that second back over 3" the other way. Yup that's why I'm going to slugs in it as it took 6 shots to hit the squirrel that adds up fast. But there's always a place for pellets no doubt. My other guns are pellet shooters and will stay that. I can't shoot slugs on the dairy for safety reasons so having pellets works just fine for those when most shots are 25-75yds anyways.

Slugs are about 5 times the price of pellets. And 3 times the price of .22lr. if you want to shoot 200 yard and plus why not go with .22lr for 1/3 of the cost of slugs. Don't make any sense to me. .22lr will reach out further and is cheaper to shoot than slug. This hype about slugs cause those south Africa guys are making a big deal of it and everyone now wants slugs. I still prefer cheap old pellets and if I need to reach out to 200 yards I get out my 22 lr.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I rather kill the pests I’m after as inexpensively as possible. Shooting sparrows with slugs while impressive, makes no financial sense.

Click to expand...

It is not all just about "financial sense". For some, it's about pushing beyond the traditional limits of airguns that is thrilling. It's about extending their PCPs and their own shooting skills to target ranges that was once thought near impossible with an airgun. Just like in the powder burner world, you can buy cheap surplus ammo, or you can buy and shoot the latest A-tip ballistic bullets at 5-10x the price of surplus ammo. Does the pest care that you are using surplus ammo with 1.5 inch grouping versus using ballistic tipped ammo with 1/2 inch groupings with a phenomenal BC? No, but it matters to some shooters - personal pride and satisfaction. Time is valuable, as someone stated rightly above. Might as well extract the most fun and enjoyment while you are at it even if is costs a little bit more.

Same argument could be made about having a beater car that works just as well as a German Porsche or Italian Ferrari for getting you from point A to point B, but until you have driven one...

Click to expand...

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That about says what I think. A 75 FPE .25 cal. slug gun will out preform a .30 cal. pellet gun in every way. 

That's why I don't shoot my .30 cal. pellet gun. 

My cost on slugs is NO factor at all. Even if I wasn't making my own. I'd gladly pay. 

There's that much difference. 

Like the car.... If you haven't experienced an accurate slug gun, it's impossible to know what you're missing. 

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Bob_O - You're so right........



1. What you mentioned is not the only advantage.

2. Because I want to shoot my air rifle.

3. It's not hype. And it IS a big deal.

Please don't bash guys who want to shoot slugs. I don't bash guys who continue to shoot pellets.

Let those who will incur the costs associated with shooting slugs decide if it's worth the extra expense. 

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I've always wondered why people that have ZERO experience with a given product, have to makeup negative unsubstantiated claims about that product to protect their only option.

Click to expand...

It is not all just about "financial sense". For some, it's about pushing beyond the traditional limits of airguns that is thrilling. It's about extending their PCPs and their own shooting skills to target ranges that was once thought near impossible with an airgun. Just like in the powder burner world, you can buy cheap surplus ammo, or you can buy and shoot the latest A-tip ballistic bullets at 5-10x the price of surplus ammo. Does the pest care that you are using surplus ammo with 1.5 inch grouping versus using ballistic tipped ammo with 1/2 inch groupings with a phenomenal BC? No, but it matters to some shooters - personal pride and satisfaction. Time is valuable, as someone stated rightly above. Might as well extract the most fun and enjoyment while you are at it even if is costs a little bit more.

Same argument could be made about having a beater car that works just as well as a German Porsche or Italian Ferrari for getting you from point A to point B, but until you have driven one...

Click to expand...

Well said!

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I understand the pushing the limits thing. And am not “against “ slugs or their use. I just don’t get the push to achieve .22 rimfire ballistic/energy levels. I got into the PCP game because of all the places I couldn’t shoot my rimfire. I see some guys take shot at 150 plus yards on chucks, which we know are tough critters. A headshot it’s a done deal, but marginal hits? The push for further and further distance shooting for me personally seems to contradict why many come to airguns in the first place.