Minimum and maximum pellet weight for a HW97kT .22 cal

The 97 is a very robust air rifle and should handle any of those pellets. Accuracy may be another matter though.

My R9/HW95 in .22 likes H&N Field target trophy in 5.53 head size-you should give them a try. They weigh in at 14.66 gr. if I remember right.

I think you will find the H&N Field Target Trophy .22 Cal, 14.66 Gr or the JSB Diabolo Exact Jumbo Express .22 Cal, 14.3 Gr will do best in the rifle with it's power. The Crosman Premier .22 Cal, 14.3 Gr Dome or HP will do okay to but from my experience in my HW97 & HW77 they are not as accurate as the H&N's or the JSB's but close.

My HW77 seems to like the H&N Greens at about 12.65 gr. Very accurate 5 shot groups as big as my little( well chewed) fingernail

Gary

Makes sense that a German made gun would prefer German made pellets....mine does.

 

Brislee have you tried the greens yet?

Gary

Take a look at the above tests. In my .22 HW97K, the H&N Baracuda 21.14 produces the best groups, the H&N FTT 14.66 is second. The targets above also show the foot lbs of energy and the velocity for each of the pellets. I have varied that at 50 yards the performance variable holds true, and I have duplicated these results several times without waiver. As the Baracuda and the FTT produce both produce acceptable groups, I have opted to stay with the FTT just to keep a flatter trajectory.

Hope this helps.

Mine like the H/N Field target trophy best, here are 3 shotgroups i did this winter at 101 meters 3,4 and 5 shots each 

I can't see any correlation to damaging the gun. It is just a matter of the desired ballistics and the gun's performance with any one pellet. I find that the spring guns are far more pellet particular than are my pcps.

Brislee have you tried the greens yet?

Gary

Click to expand...

I have not. They're all so light...I think the heaviest greens are only 6.8 gr? I'm not a big fan of the light pellets. Might try them in my lower powered guns though (hw30s / R7's )

Brislee the H&N Greens I shoot out of my 77 are 12.65 gr, only two grain lighter then the FTT’s. My 77 shoots them better then the FTT’s. I forgot to mention the 77 is 22 cal.

Gary

I have heard others say that very heavy pellets should only be shot out of PCP's, but I don't fully understand why this could cause damage to a springer (as opposed to very low velocity and poor accuracy) or what the threshold is for "too heavy." But, in the old days before PCP's were a big thing, the Beeman Kodiak/H&N Barracuda pellet was already in existence, so I always assumed they were made for high power springers and consider them to be the upper limit for pellet weight. 

The HW77/97 powerplant can comforably put out 17fpe in .22 without being overstressed (I have one that shoots shoots smooth as butter at 16.75fpe), so it can handle a pretty heavy pellet. Personally, mine is not pellet picky and shoots almost everything well, but seems to like JSB 15.89 the best (which none of my other .22 Weihrauchs like at all). I'd say your initial selection is a really good start for pellet testing.