Pellets - Do they really make that much difference?

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MrBlueSky

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Hello all,

I've been back into Airguns for a few weeks now and I am trying to get my accuracy as high as possible, while knowing that I will never be a marksman.

One thing I have read repeatedly is using the best pellet for the gun I am using. I have tried various pellets, from light flat tipped ones (originally bought for my handguns) to heavier pointed or domed types. I have not really noticed any particular pellet, head shape, or weight is noticeably better than any other.

To be clear, I have not done any controlled tests, not strapped my rifles to a bench and ensured absolute calm or anything like that, but I can hit targets fairly consistently at 20 to 50 yards regardless of pellet, I am not testing for grouping, just that I can hit the things I aim at.

Does the choice of pellet really make that much difference? Do I need ot be controlling the shots to notice?
 
Yes, they can make huge difference. Its worth testing a few pellet types.
You may be lucky and have a gun/barrel that is not too fussy, but most guns/barrels will work better with some pellets than with others.
Obviously it depends how accurate you want to be as well.
If tin can blasting at 10m then your target is quite large and distance quite short, so not much accuracy required.
However, if you are hunting, then you want to be confident that you can shoot the gun in real world conditions, at typical hunting ranges, and can hit the required kill zone on a consistent basis.
Likewise if doing FT/HFT you will have certain target sizes that you need to hit at various ranges.
And again with Bench Rest (BR) you are trying to hit 2mm bulls, so extreme accuracy is desirable.
 
Yes they can and do although the vast majority of good pellets are more than good enough in terms of big brands. But simply by testing you may find a cheap pellet that is just as accurate and produces just as much power. So it can save money.

Theres also the added benefit that say if using a lighter pellet gives you the best accuracy and power then you may favour the higher speed over a heavier pellet.

It helps with confidence knowing what you’re using is as good as the gun can be and really any mistake is down to human error.

Once you get into testing pellets then you start thinking about resizing pellets and weighing and washing and lubing them. It becomes a bit of an obsession a bit like reloading your own live rounds.
 
The answer is yes indeed... but as a number have said, it all depends upon what you are trying to do and at what distance.

Shooting field target, I'm looking for pellets that usually group within 10mm at 55 yards. I've found many "good brand" pellets will struggle to do this with some of my guns at only 30 yards.

This is not a complaint about any pellets, or my rifles... it 's just the way things are. Grouping and consistency are what it's all about.
You're probably able to hit the bull at 25 yards with pretty much any pellet but are they close to the famed pellet on pellets or are they grouping all over the bull?

So if it's just hitting a bull at 25 yards you're after then you're likely to be in luck, but if you want something suitable for hunting or target/plinking at longer distances then pellet testing for best grouping is the way forward.
 
I'm by no means experienced, but I've found that you get what you pay for. I've just thrown a near full tin of cheapos away cos it was nigh on impossible to dial the scope in. ( no consistency! Hard enough learning how to shoot a springer without that hassle) Lesson learned!
 
If you shoot a 1" spinner and are half inch off and just "nick" the edge it'll still spin, but on paper it's not great, and on quarry it's a wounded animal, (I know you're not shooting quarry but you get my drift).

Pellet choice encompasses a lot of things, weight, size, lead hardness, skirt thickness etc, they all play a part in whether the rifle will shoot them accurately.

If you're happy doing what you're doing then fine, it's not a massive deal and you're still having fun, but remember if you decide to push further out or want to hit more at 50yds then choosing a pellet that groups the best will only help your shooting.
 
Not just accuracy, but power potential and retention.

Better pellets have better specification and manufacture, thus better aerodynamics.

Therefore may give you better muzzle velocity

And better ballistic coefficient in the air

Therefore will start faster and shed velocity slower.

Probably miniscule percentages here but when your optimising your setup it makes a difference
 
Your answer in a visual format… 15 different .177 pellets from a very accurate rifle at just 20m. The groupings are largely okay, but some are simply shocking. Put that distance out to 30 or 40m and that spread will be far worst. Same gun, same night, just pellet difference.

Get some pellet selections from iHunter depending on what your shooting / style is. Check your groupings and chrono results (you’d be surprised at how different your power can be).

IMG_1279.jpeg0de82aaf-834c-45b1-81d2-313c21f6b041.jpeg
 
Are you saying that irrespective of the pellet make/type you are hitting the same spot ... maybe a 15mm circle ... with every shot? At what range?
My go-to pellet is JSB Exact 4.52 and I find it works very well in most rifles but, and this is a big but ... if I changed to e.g Superdome then my poi would change. From experience with my 77k the poi would now be about 2cm left and 2cm down at 25 yards. Yes, I could zero in on 25yds and be very happy with accuracy, but same poi, no. I suspect this could apply to other pellet types. The pellet most akin to the JSB would be the AirArms Field in 4.52. but I would still check zero if I swapped to it.
If you have a rifle that gives you the same poi irrespective of pellet, you are very lucky ... pray tell what it is and what your accuracy expectations are at what range.
Cheers, Phil :)
 
Phil Russell said:
Are you saying that irrespective of the pellet make/type you are hitting the same spot ... maybe a 15mm circle ... with every shot? At what range?
My go-to pellet is JSB Exact 4.52 and I find it works very well in most rifles but, and this is a big but ... if I changed to e.g Superdome then my poi would change. From experience with my 77k the poi would now be about 2cm left and 2cm down at 25 yards. Yes, I could zero in on 25yds and be very happy with accuracy, but same poi, no. I suspect this could apply to other pellet types. The pellet most akin to the JSB would be the AirArms Field in 4.52. but I would still check zero if I swapped to it.
If you have a rifle that gives you the same poi irrespective of pellet, you are very lucky ... pray tell what it is and what your accuracy expectations are at what range.
Cheers, Phil :)
Click to expand...


No, zeroing is only done after you pick your pellet of choice. The pictures simply show you visually the groupings of pellets. POA is the same black dot, POI is what it is - thus forming a “group”. Once you select your pellet of choice you zero in and then the accuracy/reliability of the rifle shows through with consistent 10’s/x’s for 300+shot strings at 20m.
 
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