Speed vs Weight of Pellet.

[SJS]

Using my Vixen 1 long barrel .22 it is seriously accurate at 34 and 50 yards using Hades 15.89g, Exact Express 14.35g and Exact RS 13.43g.
The heavier Hades is slower feet per second but runs at 11.4ft/lbs.
The Express faster but lower ft/lbs and the RS even faster but at 10.4 ft/lbs.
For hunting purposes up to 35 yards which would be better speed (fps) with the lighter RS pellet or ft/lbs with the heavier Hades at slower fps?

 

[Scubashot]

Have you looked at one of the ballistic apps to see how each of the listed pellets performs at the target distances in terms of retained energy?

Different gun and pellet combinations often have "sweet spot" muzzle velocities in terms of accuracy, although I note that you feel that accuracy isn't an issue in this case.

Lighter pellets travelling faster, may deliver more shock and create a bigger wound channel as they deform, dumping their energy into the target in the process. Heavier pellets are like!y to be less affected by wind drift, although the trajectory will be less flat than the lighter options, making accurate ranging even more critical.

Essentially, which do you feel more confident to place exactly on target every time? Either will kill airgun prey if hit in the right spot at 35 yards.

 

[SJS]

Thanks for your reply Scuba. I like all three pellets if I’m honest but think I’m going to go for the middle choice the Exact Express 14.35 grain which will take a bit of a breeze and hit harder than the RS possibly and require less hold over at slightly further distance up to 40 yard than the Hades 15.89g. I haven’t found the table with down range retained energy yet but will explore. Thanks again for your views.

 

[terry1001]

Generally lighter pellets have a lower ballistic coefficient and will be more affected by wind. The best pellet for hunting is going to be the most accurate, I am sure that all will retain sufficient energy at sensible hunting ranges.

 

[Scubashot]

Thanks for your reply Scuba. I like all three pellets if I’m honest but think I’m going to go for the middle choice the Exact Express 14.35 grain which will take a bit of a breeze and hit harder than the RS possibly and require less hold over at slightly further distance up to 40 yard than the Hades 15.89g. I haven’t found the table with down range retained energy yet but will explore. Thanks again for your views.

You may wish to download Chairgun and/or Mero from the App store. They are two popular and free ballistic calculator programs that provide lots of useful information about the performance of your pellet and rifle combination.
You will need to enter various bits of information eg pellet weight, muzzle velocity, scope height, zero distance and target distance and it will provide the trajectory of your pellet with energy levels, aim points etc.

 

[jesim1]

Assuming they are equally accurate, because that the best test, I'd use lighter pellets if I was not stretching the distance, but technically the heavier pellets will carry more energy down range, so may end up being the better choice if you shoot further?

Basically its a trade off between shorter ranges and longer ranges with quicker lock times and time to target Vs conservation of energy at the POI - there is no right or wrong answer here, just what you prefer in the end, and that could even be cost

 

[GrahamHenderson]

No.1 accuracy
No.2 cost per shot
... nothing else !!

 

[chouchin66]

No.1 accuracy
No.2 cost per shot
... nothing else !!

...also distance to quarry & quarry itself...
Do you need better B.C. , do you require optimum penetration ?

 

[chouchin66]

@GrahamHenderson , what's so funny ? Would one choose a light wadcutter to shoot squirrels @ 35 odd yards, or a more appropriate pellet to distance & dense muscle structure of said squirrel & use a high B.C. domed pellet, with some weight to it ? Tailoring ammo to species & distance is always good practice, accuracy being equal.

 

[GrahamHenderson]

bc this bc that ... a wadcutter through the eyeball works every time.

 

[chouchin66]

bc this bc that ... a wadcutter through the eyeball works every time.

Provided it gets there as intended...
Shape, weight, B.C. & composition ( hardness) are all good things to have a working knowledge of.

 

[SJS]

Thanks Gents, appreciate your views. I’ve stopped at Hades after all said and done, they’re accurate and they hit hard even to fifty yards on paper targets. Hades… what an amazing pellet. Not the cheapest mind but I’m not going to be shooting them off like I would at the range and they’ll definitely put the lights out!