Why are we all (almost all) shooting .30 cal 44.75 pellets at 100 yards?

What do you think the best FPS on the 33.95 would be ? My RAW likes the 25.39 @ 935 FPS , got the RW@880 w/mk2's and not happy w/it. Just ran a tin of the 44.75 thru the Safari and the groups closed up better than the 50.1's @ 850 FPS .

I started off with the 44.75 in my Crown because that what everyone else was shooting, then I tried the 50's and never looked back.

Shooting the 50's at 837 fps

For one most people still believe (wrongly) that heavier pellets are less prone to wind drift. Don't forget that the larger the pellet the more surface area it has for the wind to work on as well as having to move more air out of the way. Only a higher BC will reduce wind drift and that's why slugs will out shoot pellets at longer and in windier conditions.

Another reason is that so many long range shooter are using the .30 cal 45g pellet that naturally they will have a higher chance of showing good results.

Also the guns that shoot these pellets well also have the best barrels for 100yards, large air tanks and huge mags all which mean the ability to shoot more sighters. So it's actually the FX guns that shoot the 45g pellets so well that gives the impression it's the pellet that's responsible..

I'll stick to my .25 cal 34g pellets with their slightly higher BC. Unfortunately with my small air tube and 2-10X mags I can't afford too many sighters. None the less I placed 5th at the PAC last year and beat all the .30 cal pellets but 3 I believe.

Had just polished the bore . On high power the 44.75's @ 850 , looks like the gun was setup low the 50.1's on high are 830 FPS . Med. is barely 800 w/ 50.1's

Logic should dictate that the pellet with the highest bc should always be the better choice. I personally think that is only true for the .22 redesigned monsters. Although I haven’t had enough experience with the 50.1’s to really know about them. 
I don’t know how many 1000’s of King Heavies I’ve shot but it’s a lot. 
My view is the King Heavies aren’t reliably stable. There is enough stability to give the higher bc and to shoot very good 100y sub moa groups but there not perfectly stable at that distance. 
Ted loved those pellets and bought and shot a truck load of them. He won EBR with them (and the gun in this video) 

Watch this video of his first 10 shot sub moa group at 100y on camera. If you watch closely very few of the pellets are perfectly stable. Yet he shoots 10shots moa! 
If they where perfectly stable everybody would be using them. Maybe Jsb didn’t quite get the formula right with that pellet and a tweak to the weight or shape may fix them. My experience has been the same as on the video from 4 different barrels. 

Why didn’t Daystate clean up with there .25 art barrels designed especially to shoot the King Heavies.... Prior to EBR there where great expectations.

https://youtu.be/RyybmryvRhs

If anyone thinks there gun barrel shoots them better/ more stable than Teds Is love to see your slow mo video and would be happy to be proved wrong. Obviously the fact you can shoot great groups at 100y doesn’t mean they are stable!

For what ever reason the redesigned monsters are stable and at some higher speeds. They have proved competitive against the .30cal. I’m not sure but would have thought no where near as many people shot them at EBR yet the winner used them. 


I don’t know about the 5o.1g Maybe get some good slow mo footage and see what there up to in flight. 
If I was experimenting with ammo for competition a good camera with the ability to watch the pellet in flight could be a valuable tool. 
I Teds video the spiraling pellets seem to follow each other. What happens when you add wind to that spiraling pellet?? 

I've been giving this some thought, and although I know why I am using JSB 44.75 grain .30 caliber pellets in 100 yards competitions, why are you? The only reason I am using them is because my gun prefers them, and shoots most accurately with them. Plus with the older ST barrel in an FX Bobcat Mk2, the gun won't shoot the 50.1 grain JSB as accurately. 

It seems that perhaps shooting a pellet with a better BC in .30 caliber would be preferred, like the 50.1 JSB which has a significantly better BC. I know the new Daystate Safari shoots them accurately, and is the preferred pellet for that gun at approx. 855 FPS. I also question why more shooters are not using the .25 caliber JSB 33.95 grain pellets in competition, since they actually have a BC that is superior to the .30 caliber JSB 44.75 pellet? Ted won EBR with a .25 Heavy pellet in 2016.

So if you've tried both/any of these, or even the .22 caliber JSB RD Monster (BC approx. equal to the .25 Heavy), what are your reasons for sticking with the .30 JSB 44.75 grain pellets in competition? Food for discussion if interested...

Mike

Click to expand...

What BC are you getting with the 44g jsb?

I shoot the 50's always have done, strange thing is in my Crown the 44's are only a few FPS faster than the 50's and I mean a few! why bother when the 50 defacto gets you more energy and IME shoots better than the 44.

Almost embarrassed to say I've never tried the 50.1 in my Boss. The guy I purchased it from (who purchased it himself for EBR) said it didn't like the heavier pellets so I never even tried. The 44.75 weight seems to deliver everything I want/need for my intended use (either JSB or Polymags) so I don't mess with a good thing. Always been curious about the heavier pellet but can't afford to buy only to find out they don't work after 10 or 20 shots. My spending is HIGHLY prioritized! 

Ed, I watched you and Abby shoot at the PAcup, when I went down to look at your targets after and saw that you and Abby shot the fewest sighters!, so that means to me that’s because you use flags and can read what those flags are telling you! The minuscule gains by what little bc advantages between these pellets are pretty much nullified by good shooting! And I believe you used a AirArms S510 Abby a RAW and believe a .25 also? Anyway my Hats off to you and Abby! (The winds were even worse than they looked because of the vertical components!) P.S. I shot in the 2nd relays with my RAW in .30 cal. Didn’t make the cut And yes I used flags also!!!

Yes,pretty awesome!, and using.22RD’s! also the winner of EBR this yr., plus he used about 6-flags between himself and the Target! And I will be quite honest with you I have a lot to learn about the wind drift etc. when shooting pellets from a air rifle!!! So my hats off to you and all competitors that shoot 100yd matches!

, as the ranges get longer and the competition gets better and better I personally believe wind flags & probes will be critical in your end results! a “1000” sighters are ok if you forget your flags

So what kind of wind flags are you guys using? Commercial units or home made? I’d love to see some examples.

This is what I use for 25m br. But have used them out to a hundred! Many manufacturers, different styles etc.

Seems to me that a lot shooter put far too much stock into their ability to group 10 pellets sub MOA. I can do that, as a matter of fact, I do it several times everyday or at least everyday I go to the range which is almost daily. Regardless, I'm not a great shooter, a bit better than average I would imagine but not much and yet sub MOA groups are no real challenge, in fact I've been complaining to my vendor lately about not being able to group half that size consistently. The idea that you can set up a gun, line up a shot and then repeat that shot 10 times without resetting says far more about the gun than it does the shooter. Perhaps someday there will be a 10/100 challenge where groups are measured but that's not the way the game is played as yet. BR shooters are required to reset after every shot and while shooting 5 sighters in a 10 second window MIGHT give you some insight into how the wind will effect the next shot you take, you can't count on that at all since the sighters are rarely in close enough proximity to the object target to guarantee a similar effect. Knowing your wind direction, wind speed and how those two factors will effect your POI is the key to success once you master the art of the setup. That last part is overlooked by most shooters who figure all they need to do is get the reticle lined up with their POA and never consider the forces they themselves are exerting on the shot.

My point is this. The most important factor in bench shooting must logically be the set up during the target acquisition phase of the shot. Then one must consider the variables in order to properly align the POA in order to get the desired POI. Nowhere does the ability setup once and then shoot rapidly without physiologically affecting the shot repeatedly directly factor into this discipline. While it may be a handy skill to have, it's not one I find particularly useful in BR shooting.

Pictures: 
The group is one of several I shot during a recent barrel dampening test session.
The multi-target picture is an example of the practice targets I use everyday. These targets require one to setup every shot individually.
All of these pictures are of targets shot at 100 yards.