Air Gun Home :: View topic

SmallGame2100 · Member

I've been looking around and couldn't seem to find what I wanted to know. So, here it goes.

I've been looking to get a new rifle. Preferably a pellet only gun. So, I've checked out different types of pellets.

My question is, what are the differences between the flatheads and the pointed pellets?

Thanks.

billandbeaufort · Senior Member

The flat headed ones are called "wadcutters" they are used mostly for close range target shooting. Thier best quality is that they leave a more perfectly round hole to help you score. Some say that they will limit penetration in hunting. First decide on your use, then on your gun, then experiment with pellets.

Slavia · Moderator

I like the wadcutter pellets indoors, and I use mostly domed (round nosed) pellets outdoors. It seems like the domed pellets do better at ranges past 25 yards, and better in wind (at least in my guns). Every gun will be a little different.

If you get a spring/piston gun it will take from 500-1000 rounds to fully break in. You'll have plenty of time to try different kinds of pellets. Like billandbeaufort said, first the task, then the gun, then the pellets.

2RCHA · Veteran Member

Different Head Designs:

Nearly all modern pellets today take on the Diabolo shape - an "hourglass" design that was named after a spool shaped object used in the ancient game of Diabolo. The thin flaring skirt of the pellet engages the rifling of the barrel and acts as an air seal for best efficiency. A few pellets still use the cylindrical style with straight flat walls and a small ring at the bottom to engage the rifling. These pellet designs were most common with the Sheridan brand of .20 caliber pellets, and are not as prevalent today due to their generally poor flight characteristics.

The only difference between Diabolo designs is that some have smooth skirts ("glatt") while others have ribbed skirts ("gereffelt"). Both styles shoot equally as well, and Beeman has both models available.

The biggest difference in pellets comes in the head design. Pellets are generally classified according to their head shape since this feature has the most profound effect on performance.

Four Basic Pellet Types:

1. Wadcutter -- Pellets with a sharp outer edge; usually with a flat head that was designed to cut a perfectly round hole in a paper target to aid scoring. This is the style that Olympic competitors and other 10 meter shooters use. Many hunters also prefer to use a wadcutter in the field because of their excellent impact and limited penetration. The Beeman H&N Match pellet is an excellent example of this style.

2. Pointed -- Designed for maximum penetration and long range shooting. The best selling models are the Beeman Silver Arrow and the Beeman Silver Sting. These models are frequently imitated by others, but none has come close to the performance of the Beeman brands. Note: due to the head design, pointed pellets generally do not work well in the repeating mode of some airguns.

3. Round Nose -- Great for all-around shooting. They have low wind resistance and flat trajectory. The Beeman Laser pellet is lightweight and gives hyper velocities, while a heavier pellet, such as the Kodiak or Ram Point, harnesses the energy of high powered airguns for more consistent shooting.

4. Hollow Point -- First introduced to airgun shooters as the Silver Bear. We pioneered the hollow point concept to allow for the maximum impact from all airguns. This style has a direct relationship with velocity - the higher the velocity the more expansion will occur on impact. This is especially true with the Crow Magnum which can nearly double in size when shot with a magnum airgun.

cliffspot · Veteran Member

When you get your new gun, buy some cheap pellets to break it in. Then when you are looking for the "best" pellet for your gun, get some samplers for it. Here are some:
http://www.airgunsusa.com/pellets.html Bottom of the page.
http://www.straightshooters.com/straightshooters/sssampler.html
http://www.impactairgun.com/Beeman_Sample_P368C165.cfm

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

Well I ran out of me RWS Hobbies and Started shooting the Napier Pellets... They arrived yesterday...

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/71997-1.html

I only had time to pop off a few before dark tonight... I have been working my a$$ off trying to get the Gamo Bull Barrel brakes done for the next anodizing batch...

Anyway... In my 2250 the pellets are a tight squeeze. They seal up really good but a little hard to seat in the breech with the stock bolt. I am going to spin a extended bolt in the morning and see how that works.

Nice heavy pellet @ 15.49 Grain. Great knock down power. They don't flatten out like the Crosman Premier hollow points do but they rip through and knock over coffee cans with no problem.

The squirrels are coming back so I should have a few kills soon if I take the time to hunt and I will let you know how they do...

kanyon · Silver Status Member

If you intend to hunt with a air gun

Don't use pointed pellets wast of time and $ the domed pellets
penatrate better retaine there vel & energy further out and you can hit what you are shooting at.

Hollow point have a higher energy transfer & work very well.

But if you want to kill what you hit there is only one choice "Preditors"
They incressed the dead kill range of my spring guns by 20 m.
but like ALL pellets you still have to hit the kill zone.

The only reason I have air rifles is to hunt bunnys/possums.
If you intend to shoot small critters well a good Domed pellet
will do the job try-- Crow Mags in 1.77 dont use the .22 Crows at 18gr are to heavey for a springer stay in the 14/16 gr range for a .22 and 7/9gr for a 1.77

Gamo PBA pellets DON"T USE to light and will stuff your gun

2RCHA · Veteran Member

I think I've tried just about every pellet I can get my hand's on,,on this side of the world anyway's, and then some. I hunt with P/B's as well as A/G's, and when it come's to Rabbit Hunting I alway's find myself coming back to Skenco's(RWS Hyper-Velocity these day's), as I prefer using L/F ammo when I'm out in the field. If you're serious about bagging something for dinner, then I suggest you try my top 5 round's for hunting, 1) Skenco's/RWS Hyper-Velocity 2)Homemade "Rocket's, which is an H&N Crow-Mag with a Daisy bb(or smaller) super-glued to the cavity 3)Crosman .22 Field Point's 4)H&N Coppa-Point's/H&N Spitz-Kugeln's 5) H&N SilverPoint's. I also find that I get better distance, and accuracy with Point's as opposed to Dome's, with One exception being H&N Rund-Kugeln's(which I prefer to use on windy/breezy day's), The distance, and penetration achieved with the "Round's" is fantastic. Leave the "Dome's", and "Flat-Head" pellet's at home, they're much better suited for "Plinking", and "Paper-Punching", and use Pellet-Lube, I make my own fomula, but if you prefer, Napier makes an outstanding choice for lubing your pellet's, I also put a drop or two on a pull-through for the barrel before every hunting session,,,I rarely, if ever come back home without a "Jack" in my bag. Cheer's, and Happy Hunting, Andy.

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Pellets are supposed to stay below the sound barrier. Compare it to a 747, it's also "domed".

kanyon · Silver Status Member

Hi...2RCHA its one of those funny things the pellets you like I never seem to have a lot of luck with pointed pellets I think I only ever managed to drop bunnys at close range no more than 25/30 metres out.
I liked the idea of gamo rounds as they were very easy to load the CFX with but again a shot any more than 30m they went everywhere" I think after 30m they had been in flight long enough for the Magnus efect to come in to play" I love the Preditors & White domed pellets. Don't know diffrent guns/shooting styles maybe most of my shooting is snap shooting the bunnys don't hang around long over here.

2RCHA · Veteran Member

Hey Kanyon,,How's it going ANZAC?,,I, myself liked using the "Predator's" for a while, but I didn't like the poly-mer tip, So I started replacing them with Daisy bb's, and later on I switched to using the little bb's found in Crosman "FireBall's"(Now Dis-Continued), which are the perfect size, they fit perfectly into the top of either a Crow-Magnum, or Predator. I've even glued .177 Gamo Raptor's to the top of Crow-Mag's, with fantastic result's(You wouldn't believe the Mushrooming effect it has on the Crow-Mag). Last weekend I went out with a couple of my .22 shooter's to see how the *New* Gamo Raptor PBA's perform,,What a difference between the .177's and the .22's. These pellet's fly very true with Dead-On accuracy,even with a weight of only 9.9gr they penetrated like Crosman Field Point's, A little expensive, but if you're only using them for hunting, They're pretty cost effective. Cheer's, Andy.

dummyracer36 · Senior Member

gluing BBs onto hollow point pellets?? interesting idea.... have you had an issue with the BB coming off in the barrel and mucking up the rifling? how does it affect flight/accuracy?

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

I did a few mods on the 2250 that needed to be done regardless of pellet choice. Now I like the Napier Pellets even better...

Recent mods:
Re-crowned the barrel
Installed a steel breech
I spun an extended bolt
Power adjuster

I got it all dialed in and so here is my official opinion of the pellets:

Over all I am very pleased.

They are more of a pointed pellet than shown on the tin.

Great penetrating ability.

They can rip through both sides of a soda can at 30 yards with out knocking it over.

On swinging steel targets at 20 yards they expand only 2x. Hitting a standard coffee can at the same 20... maybe 1.5x with full penetration.

Really good knock down power @ 15.49 gr.

Only draw back is fit... They tend to need some extra effort to seat them in the breech...

Not bad for less than $10 for a 500 tin in .22

2RCHA · Veteran Member

I've never had a bb fall off, or fall out,,,Now, at the target, that's a different story. The bb's will usually seperate from the pellet after target impact(Live Quarry), If you're shooting at something harder than the bb's are usually pushed back and flush with the pellet head. If you've ever fired off some Skenco's at a hard target(Heavy gauge tin-can's,etc), and noticed the near perfect entry, and exit hole's,,You'll get pretty much the same effect with these "Home-made" Rocket's,,Just with a little more "oompf" behind it., I think I'll take some pic's of my pellet creation's and post them,,you'll see some quite interesting innovation's. Cheer's, Andy.

dummyracer36 · Senior Member

please do post some pics... i would love to see these things... i have a bunch of pics i'm waiting to post til my wife finds the damn cord!!! trip tp wally-world might be in order soon!!!

dont know if you stated or not, but i assume this is on .22 pellets?