22 cal Slug/lead bullet BC's

[steve123]

This is why I've gone to slugs for my more powerful pcp's, specifically the Altaros slugs, for the longer distance shooting and competitions.

Way back many years ago here on SH I learned about environmentals and have been applying that knowledge to airguns ever since.
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I can't help but admire Matt because he's always been a straight forward guy and a great shooter.

Hopefully these new X slugs will be a cheaper alternative than Altaros when they arrive on the market.

Yes I also have less powerful sub 30 fpe pcp's that I use pellets in exclusively but it's quite a different experience. I appreciate both types of projectiles and the attributes each offer.

 

[Basher]

I struggle with the idea of slugs right now, primarily because if I really need the added performance that they offer, I can get it for the same cost (or less) with a .22LR. A good rimfire doesn’t need the expense of an air tank, compressor, or a reseal job when it leaks, and still produces more fpe than almost any air rifle of reasonable/equal cost. There’s also a lot less effort with their set up, as most don’t need “tuning” to shoot well. The right ammo, yes, but tuning, generally no. My understanding is slugs usually take a bit more work to really squeeze everything out of them.

Pellets, on the other hand, fill the void below ~100fpe, are still cheaper to shoot than a rimfire, and easier to get good groups out of. A PCP shooting pellets will still need the same support equipment as one shooting slugs, but I accept that as a necessary evil to gain the flexibility of use that non-firearm, lower fpe air rifles offer.

Now, that all being said, I’m watching the slug space as it makes advancements in design and what have you. When shooting slugs becomes nearly as easy as pellets while offering significant performance advantages, I’ll consider making the switch (or at least adding them in to my current options). I think they’ll reach that point in the next decade, if not sooner!

 

[steve123]

I struggle with the idea of slugs right now, primarily because if I really need the added performance that they offer, I can get it for the same cost (or less) with a .22LR. A good rimfire doesn’t need the expense of an air tank, compressor, or a reseal job when it leaks, and still produces more fpe than almost any air rifle of reasonable/equal cost. There’s also a lot less effort with their set up, as most don’t need “tuning” to shoot well. The right ammo, yes, but tuning, generally no. My understanding is slugs usually take a bit more work to really squeeze everything out of them.

Pellets, on the other hand, fill the void below ~100fpe, are still cheaper to shoot than a rimfire, and easier to get good groups out of. A PCP shooting pellets will still need the same support equipment as one shooting slugs, but I accept that as a necessary evil to gain the flexibility of use that non-firearm, lower fpe air rifles offer.

Now, that all being said, I’m watching the slug space as it makes advancements in design and what have you. When shooting slugs becomes nearly as easy as pellets while offering significant performance advantages, I’ll consider making the switch (or at least adding them in to my current options). I think they’ll reach that point in the next decade, if not sooner!

Yep I know what you mean because it's easy to just grab the 22rf's we already have and go for it. A downside that got me with 22rf not but a few years back was how expensive the higher quality 22rf ammo became, the availability, the lot testing then hoping that lot was still in stock, and a biggy for me became the not so great SD's of even the good ammo. This all kinda drove me to get into my airguns more since I already had a compressor, etc.

One Thomas HPX pcp I have I swage slugs for and I get 4400 of them out of a 25 pound spool of lead wire I bought for $165. Expensive rifle but super cheap to shoot! I shot the smallest 100Y group with this combo compared to my expensive Anschutz 1827F which was almost no vertical and .35" wide. Also hit our 1" spinner 9 times in a row at 100Y with that combo.

The other more powerful pcp's I've been using the Altaros slugs. These slugs are amazing! .245 G1 BC for the 25 cal 60 grainers and 99fpe! Doing a sidebyside at 250Y against my 22rf in the wind these slugs will stay on the steel whereas the 22rf won't. BC, BC, BC and low ES too!!!

Just a 3 weeks ago I shot a 5 shot group at 132Y that was less than an inch with my Skout using 32.3gr Altaros slugs with a .18 G1 BC and it wasn't calm out. It's only 49 fpe as well which is half the energy of a standard velocity 22rf.
Then at 200Y a few weeks ago I was hitting 3-4" steel without much fuss.
That's where slugs come into their own vs pellets.

And today I was shooting my Steyr ProX pcp using 18gr JSB pellets and at 50Y I was holding off in the wind what I did at 132Y using the slugs in the Skout. It's pretty huge the difference.

Yeah if any manufacturer ever builds a stoutly made pcp repeater for PRS then I'll get in line to buy one. About that time pcp's will have firmly caught up with 22rf and possibly surpassed it. Meaning no POI shifts, even higher BC slugs, low ES by a lot, and sub moa at distance. Almost there.

But pcp's are not without their hassles.

I live out of the city limits and I can shoot my air rifles on my property but not firearms because I'm less than 400Y from my nearest neighbor.

 

[jwrabbit123]

Where I live I can shoot 22 rimfire for hunting but not in yard but i can shoot in yard and have a range 50 75 100 yards 129 yards and 200 yards , it is not legal to hunt or shoot 25 caliber pellets even sub 12 foot pounds , laws need updating here , but I own a few 22 lr including a model 52 winchester and i have 5- 22 cals that are way more accurate with slugs then any rimfire I owned , I swag 22 cal up to 60 gr and my favorite cast slug is the mp botail same slug altaros first slugs were copied from , we were casting them in 2016 for our edguns for taking out coyotes here , we have huge issue with them since farm lands being sold and subdivisions going up , with neighbors here raising chickens and everyone has small dogs coyotes running in large numbers , in past 2 yrs I got 19 of them with pcp guns in my yard , we have 2 dachsunds last month one yote ran up deck stairs and was trying to get in slider at the pups , we get woken up most nights with howlings , i see pack of them with my halox , but I only take out ones which are too close to my and neighbors pets , But to get into airguns is very pricey , not as pricy as when I shot url however but yes they need more maintance then rimfire guns , some platforms are very stout and reliable and some always fail .I own a 30 caliber called a western rattler , great accurate gun it shoots 88 grain slugs 975fps and sub moa at 200 yards but horribly unreliable , where as I have a edgun r5m with 20000 slugs threw it and not 1 single failure , I dont even shoot my rimfires no more last time i did I noticed ammo horrible fps spreads all over place , with a bunch of ammos I tried I prefer airguns for low power shooting