Pellets not being consistant

Hi all. New here and need help from the voices of experience

I just picked up a Stoeger F40 w/ an AO scope and am still trying to zero in different types of pellets.

The Geco Diabolo wadcutters were easy to zero and work well, but when I went to the H&N Sniper light with a dome and a little heavier, I get maybe 2 shots out of 5 in the target. I've adjusted the scope for height because of the heavier weight, but they seem all over the place.

I thought H&N were a superior product, but these pellets are really making me doubt that.

Any input would be much appreciated.
 
Not too many in the US I'm thi9nking. You seem to be the tester for us, looking forward to a full reveiw down the road.

Tis a "magunm" ( aka 1,000+fps) right?

Seems wad cutter would be awful at any real range - 25yards/meter and beyond- if pushing that fast but if they work for you keep them.

JSB is the standard these days, always a good pellet to try.

How long is the pop up loading tray? Nose hanging up? 

May be hard on that model to be certain of the alignment of the pellet to the bore but I would be questioning that as much as pellets tho every rifle ius different and you do need to try at least a half dozen types .



John
 
We've found that for the most part each gun has a favorite pellet and that requires research. JSB Diabolo are good pellets but you'll find better batches than others no matter what. The state of your barrel leading is important also. You just have to experiment. You can buy sampler packs also to help narrow down your search. I'd start with a clean barrel and foul it in for starters with at least 30 shots. Study this forum for a while and you will gain a wealth of knowledge. Try to find others with that same rifle also. You might want to study "The artillary hold" also.
 
Those HN sniper lights were terrible in my gun also. I got a coup!e of the hn sampler packs and those were the second worst. But the HN field trophy green were hole in hole (of course they were they are one of the most expensive pellets hn makes lol). You got to try a lot of pellets in order to find the sweet one. If one doesnt work dont fret and move on. You can spend a lot of time and money trying to make a certain pellet work just because you think it should (i have done this) and at the end of the day you wont have anything to show for it. Keep good records on what does and doesnt work. Eventually you will see a pattern (a certain weight or headsize or style will start to ckick) and will be able to predict how your gun will shoot with certain pellets (mine likes domed or hollow points in and around 10.3 grains but hates pointed pellets and the heavier the pellets the worse it gets). It is a never ending quest for the perfect pellet.
 
I have a benajmin marauder pistol and I would say 80% of you tube videos and reviews said they were getting great consistency and accuracy with H&N Field target and trophy pellets, so I got a tin of 500 and my gun shot them all over. I also had purchased a tin on the JSB Jumbo 18 gr, again lots of other people had great results with it, but my gun didn't care for them.
turns out my Maurauder likes the Crossman Premiers 14.3gr and JSB strations 15.8gr. The point being that just because a particular pellet brand is great for others and a higher quality, doesn't mean your particular gun will like it. So far the few guns i have all really liked the cheap Corssman Premiers, lucky me I guess.
 
Crosman Premier Ultra Magnums (cheap at Tractor Supply) and Crosman Premier Hollow Points (very cheap at Walmart) are worth a try.. Don't expect much from pointed and flat headed pellets. Past 10 meters they go wild.

JSB as mentioned above are well worth trying. I have two 22 cal guns that really like the cheap CPHP pellets and do poorly with most everything else that I have tried. One of the guns does decent with JSB 14.3 but the other one does not. Ya just gotta experiment and like some mentioned above, after cleaning the barrel, put some lead though it to get the pores leaded up. Once you find the pellet that does well, when the groups start to open up, run a couple dry patches through to see if it brings the accuracy back. If not then clean it well again.
 
I had not seen a Stoeger F40 before. I see it's new to the US. Its pop up breech is like the Weihrauch HW57. 

Being a springer, it should improve with age. This week I got a new European underlever in 22 caliber who/s name I will not mention.

The following 5 shot groups were measured without allowing the gun to break in and were shot from bench with palm under stock just in front of balance point and in this order at 25 yards.

JSB 14.3gr 1.200 inch

CPHP 14.3gr 0.660" Crosman Premier Hollow Point 

CPUM 14.3gr 1.050" Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum

JSB 15.89gr 1.120"

RWS Superdome 14.5gr 1.130"

H&N FTT 14.66gr/5.54head 1.560"

H&N FTT 14.66gr/5.53head 0.980"

CPHP 14.3gr (again) 0.330" then again 0.640"

Note that even the head size on the H&N's can make a big difference.

If I understand correctly the Stoeger is very light and I did not read the specs on its power but I suspect it could be quite hold sensitive so you need to try different holds to see what she likes.


 
Not too many in the US I'm thi9nking. You seem to be the tester for us, looking forward to a full reveiw down the road.

Tis a "magunm" ( aka 1,000+fps) right?



John

No, I wanted to work with a regulated springer, then maybe if I am really into it, go for a PCP later on

I don't believe there is any "nose hang up", as I also have the GECO superpoints which are slightly longer and they seem consistent enough.
 
Thanks for the replies. I guess, I'll keep looking, hoping to find the "right" pellet before I have dozens of tins laying around.



As far as the F40, so far I like it, though a little on the heavy side with the scope. Once, I got used to loading in the tray it became quite easy and about as quick as a break barrel. I know there were some comments about big fingers having problems, but keep the barrel pointed down, so the pellet just falls right in.

I've been shooting in my basement, so just 10 m, have not had the chance to take it outside for longer shots.



Cheers
 
I tried the H&N Sniper Mediums from a HW98 that I was working on for a friend and found the Sniper Mediums to be accurate compared to other pellets received with the gun for testing after the work. Notice that the 8.4 grain Air arms Domes were also accurate and any difference between the SM and AA groups could easily be caused by the shooter "swaying on the bucket" .

https://imgur.com/wOvD5wf

Then I tried the H&N Sniper Lights and found they shot "patterns" instead of groups from that HW98, however I have no scans of those groups.

I did find it interesting that inside the Sniper Light pellets there was a cast "L" while the "mediums" had no base markings............

https://imgur.com/GufJO8S

As a side note, here is a 50 yard group I shot sitting on a bucket resting the HW98 on cross sticks using boxed 1250 count die lot marked and dated 7.9 grain Crosman Premier lights. The pellets I used were from my stash of CPLs that were head sized for my tight leade HW95 after noticing that this HW98 had a similar fit in the leade.............

https://imgur.com/d5v1VdP

Bottom line, the pellet will make a big difference in the grouping ability of an airgun, just like using the proper "shooting form"
 
I think at 7.4 gr those sniper lights are to light If your gun is one of those 1000-1200 fps guns I'd try something in the 8.4ish - 10.5ish range RWS Super Point or Super Dome are 8.4-5 and work well in my NP1 gun pretty accurate out to 50 yards but the sweet spot is 20 -35 yards in my gun. Every gun likes something different..My MRod loves the Crosman Ultra Magnum Domes at 10.5gr and my Crosman 1077 likes the Crosman Domes 7.9's and my Crosman 1377 spits out the Beeman Coated Hollowpoints 7.2gr one right on top of another If i mix and match those pellets threw those guns they pretty much shoot like garbage just have to find the one for yours...I think you should buy/order some domed pellets in a few different weights 8.4-10.5gr and give them a go
 
So, I just received the H&N hunting sample pack and immediately tried them out. The best of the group was the Field Target Trophy, but still not the consistency I was looking for. I also liked the Barracuda Hunter extreme , but not sure how they would be for target shooting. I had hoped for better results. The cheap Geco Diabolo Wadcutters still give me the best results, but need something for farther targets.



Oh well, the search continues



By the way, The Field Target Trophy Green are smaller and ended up "nosing" over and jamming my tray. Took me 1/2 hr to dislodge it
 
" claimed Muzzle Velocity of up to 1,200 FPS in .177"

And now you know your tray is short. Little chance any wadcutter will do well at any real range.

Unless you have a sub FAC version ( do they make them?) you might try the common heavier pellets. 10.3g is likely a start.

John


Yes, they make sub FAC versions. I have one: 990fps So, I am a little concerned over heavier pellets, meaning anything over 8 gr. Next try will be the JSB Diabolo