As you may expect the most common topics on airgun forums would be the features and foibles of the dozens and dozens of different models, but following closely behind the model discussions could be the chatter about airgun ammunition or pellets. You may not expect that a.177 caliber pellet from Manufacturer A would perform wildly different from a.177 caliber pellet from Manufacturer B in the exact same airgun, but they do. To create it even more complicated Manufacturer B’s ammo may outperform Manufacturer A’s in a different air rifle or pistol.
We shall discuss a few of the different characteristics of airgun pellets and how you need to use these details to your advantage when selecting a pellet for your air rifle or pistol.
A lighter pellet will leave the barrel of an airgun faster than a heavier pellet and it will also accelerate faster downrange primers for sale. Which means less time to focus on and a flatter trajectory while there is less time for gravity to work its magic. A weightier pellet will generally have a less flat trajectory not due to its weight but because it spends more hours to focus on providing gravity with an increase of time to pull it towards the earth.
The second factor that a lot of affects the flight of an airgun pellet is air resistance. Air resistance increases with the cube of speed. Once you double the speed of a pellet moving downrange you increase its air resistance by eight times. Really light.177 caliber pellets lose energy because of air resistance so rapidly that after a 35 yd. roughly it will soon be moving slower than a heavier pellet fired from the exact same gun. Air resistance might be irrelevant for target shooting out to 10 m but it would play a large role in a hunting shot beyond that range. This really is among the reasons that you wish to hunt with the heaviest pellet your airgun are designed for effectively.
As well as the weight of the pellet air resistance will change based on the shape of the pellet. Wadcutters are flat nose pellets employed for paper target shooting. At the 10 m range the escalation in air resistance is practically negligible but the same as with the effect of weight beyond 35 yd. the flat nose will become working like an air brake.
Medium weight round nose pellets offer the very best compromise for both weight and shape for medium powered air rifles. For small caliber air rifles (.177 and.20) the very best hunting ammo is a round nose hollowpoint. This pellet moves through the air in addition to a regular round nose and mushrooms on impact significantly increasing the force of the shot.
The very best advice about air rifle ammo is to try several different brands, several different shapes, and several different weights. What you read inside the airgun forums may be true generally but may not work for your air rifle. If you’re only an unexpected shooter and still want the very best accuracy and range then choose a premium pellet from the exact same manufacturer that made your gun. It is typically best to avoid no-name bargains because there may be significant variability between pellets in the exact same package.
