Another pellet selection question

sabitech

sabitech

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Hello all,
I think this is always a big topic but i'm not wanting to get down to the nitty gritty of weighing and washing / lubing etc.

At the moment i use JSB Diabolo Exact pellets in .177
I have never used any other pellets in any of my rifles. But i thought i might like a change.

I tried to see if i could find some info from other people using my rifle and what pellets were recommended however there seems to be little info about mine.
It is an Effecto PX5 Pro. it uses a LW 12 Grooves Barrel (if that makes any difference)

I shoot purely indoor range (25 yards) non competitively sat at a bench with a front rest.
There are so many choices and opinions but i thought some of you might have some ideas on where to start / if there is a 'sample' pack i could buy to try some different ones to see what works best?


Screenshot From 2025-10-24 12-47-25.webp
 
The make of the rifle has no bearing. Individual barrels like different pellets. Myself and a mate bought identical AA S510 TR rifles at about the same time. They even have almost sequential serial numbers. His likes AA's own pellets mine hates those but loves JSB Exact heavies and QYS. I found that both of these latter brands seem to be the most tolerant between different rifles. We tested this at my club and ended up bulk buying a load of QYS. I think you should test different pellets but if the JSB's work why change?
 
GridNorth said:
The make of the rifle has no bearing. Individual barrels like different pellets. Myself and a mate bought identical AA S510 TR rifles at about the same time. They even have almost sequential serial numbers. His likes AA's own pellets mine hates those but loves JSB Exact heavies and QYS. I found that both of these latter brands seem to be the most tolerant between different rifles. We tested this at my club and ended up bulk buying a load of QYS. I think you should test different pellets but if the JSB's work why change?
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good to know it's more about the individual rifle. As for why change? I think there is a certain amount of FOMO and being i've always used the same brand and model of pellets in all my rifles i kinda wondered if there was something 'better' out there.

The topic does seem to be a real rabit hole as i have read about weights, washing, storing, oiling, barrel cleaning and many MANY other things. I guess reassurance that these are 'fine' and not "OMG WHAT ARE YOU USING THOSE FOR!!!" is good :cool:
 
My PX5 liked JSB as well, and I used Heavies because I was using it for longer range shooting. That doesn't really mean much for your barrel though.

Best bet for you if you already know it shoots well with Exacts would be a JSB Tester pack
https://rangeandcountry.co.uk/jsb-t...d01zgXfuI3sLCulI9mYc0ql6-3u0-7p_0o6ERtb1zTtzr

Should give you an idea on lighter Exact RS and Express if you're only shooting indoors, as well as head size. The Monster will be a waste of time though 🤣
 
valevelo said:
My PX5 liked JSB as well, and I used Heavies because I was using it for longer range shooting. That doesn't really mean much for your barrel though.

Best bet for you if you already know it shoots well with Exacts would be a JSB Tester pack
https://rangeandcountry.co.uk/jsb-t...d01zgXfuI3sLCulI9mYc0ql6-3u0-7p_0o6ERtb1zTtzr

Should give you an idea on lighter Exact RS and Express if you're only shooting indoors, as well as head size. The Monster will be a waste of time though 🤣
Click to expand...
been seeing a post about shorts too although some people saying they dirty your barrel etc. :-/
 
I think i might just stick with what i have. i guess a combination of some marketing, some world experience but i think the biggest variable will be me.
 
Yeh, just have a chat with people at the range and see if you can steal a few pellets here and there. Shouldn't need to lead in much if you're just changing head size so a magazine or two will let you know if it's worth getting a tin.

Then you get into the rabbit hole of die & batch numbers
 
Unless your gun is very pellet-fussy you will find it hard to differentiate between many pellets at 25yds. I expect there will be a good few no-hopers but you'll probably get similar performance from a good number of pellets that would be poor performers at longer ranges. Nevertheless, by limiting yourself to one type - and in the case of JSBs, not experimenting with different dies - I'd be very surprised if you are getting the best, consistent performance possible. Seems to me you need to do some testing! I'd start with JSB, QYS and H&N.

All pellets will become unstable in flight at some distance, so it's possible the best performer at 25m might be poor at say >50m. You might try testing at longer range, say, up to 30m, which might be enough to cause the groups to open up a bit without going too far to risk eliminating good 25yd performers. Also try in different environmental conditions, especially temperature, as sometimes a change can affect the results.

I've often recommended JSB test packs for ME testing but I don't recommend them for accuracy tests because they don't tell you the die number. If you do appreciate the significance of JSB die numbers, look at this.
 
BallisticBill said:
I've often recommended JSB test packs for ME testing but I don't recommend them for accuracy tests because they don't tell you the die number. If you do appreciate the significance of JSB die numbers, look at this.
Click to expand...

Do you know whether the 50 pellet JSB packs The Wolfman sell have die info? The thing I like about the JSB tester is the different head sizes, but appreciate there can then be a big difference in performance between dies despite the same head size
 
valevelo said:
Do you know whether the 50 pellet JSB packs The Wolfman sell have die info? The thing I like about the JSB tester is the different head sizes, but appreciate there can then be a big difference in performance between dies despite the same head size
Click to expand...
I don't know. Pelletperfect would supply die numbers if asked. I suggest you ask @TheWolfmanStore.
 
BallisticBill said:
Unless your gun is very pellet-fussy you will find it hard to differentiate between many pellets at 25yds. I expect there will be a good few no-hopers but you'll probably get similar performance from a good number of pellets that would be poor performers at longer ranges. Nevertheless, by limiting yourself to one type - and in the case of JSBs, not experimenting with different dies - I'd be very surprised if you are getting the best, consistent performance possible. Seems to me you need to do some testing! I'd start with JSB, QYS and H&N.

All pellets will become unstable in flight at some distance, so it's possible the best performer at 25m might be poor at say >50m. You might try testing at longer range, say, up to 30m, which might be enough to cause the groups to open up a bit without going too far to risk eliminating good 25yd performers. Also try in different environmental conditions, especially temperature, as sometimes a change can affect the results.

I've often recommended JSB test packs for ME testing but I don't recommend them for accuracy tests because they don't tell you the die number. If you do appreciate the significance of JSB die numbers, look at this.
Click to expand...
Ok so i think i will get:
H&N Baracuda 8
QYS Streamlined Standard 8.64gr
Air Arms Diabolo Field 4.52

Should be a good range there.
 
Pellet testing can be a rabbit hole indeed. I've learnt, more recently, not to move on pellets that my current rifles don't like, in case the next one does.

Perfect example... My Daystate Pulsar loves AA/JSB Express, so it became 'THE' pellet. It's not a fussy rifle, but these were the standout pellets.

Just recently I acquired a HW30 SF, and tried a number of different pellets through it. The best were JSB RS, so I stuck with those. These were from an old tin that I had kept from way back.

More recently I acquired a HW97k, which happened to particularly like both H&N Baracuda 8s and RWS Superdomes, again from a couple of old tins that I had from a while back.

And whilst at the range a couple of weeks back I ran some of the Baracuda 8s and Superdomes through the Pulsar... and guess what... it likes them both! This is a huge win as both pellets are relatively cheap options compared with its usual diet of Express.
 
The new 8.64gr Streamlined pellets from QYS are proving to be excellent.
I have tried them in six different rifles and they are consistent and accurate in all of them.

Definitely worth a try.
 
One thing to think about if you aren't competing is whether the effort of finding the perfect pellet is worth it.

You may find a JSB Exact die that is better than H&N Baracuda 8 (tend to be more consistent across various tins than Exacts) but if it's a struggle to find that die again, and other Exact dies are worse than the Baracuda 8, is it worth the effort? It wouldn't be for plinking/pest control, bug if you're shooting BR comps it would be
 
Good point. At this point in my 'journey' I just like to hit stuff and get a fuzzy feeling when I get a 'bull' lol
 
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