Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Snag <Snag_one@msn.com>
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Subject: Re: Pellet pistol update
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2025 19:22:49 -0500
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 121
Message-ID: <102l3om$ger6$1@dont-email.me>
References: <102kq2i$e97l$1@dont-email.me> <102l19e$fdm1$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2025 02:22:48 +0200 (CEST)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="4585fc5a827441c22cc2ae46c844fa70";
	logging-data="539494"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19q5ozuVL5wZHZbgSEGJc6AGOqG+mpQpZc="
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:60.0) Gecko/20100101
 Thunderbird/60.9.1
Cancel-Lock: sha1:zg9dWPtapuL0jQ5t163KE8di3u0=
Content-Language: en-US
In-Reply-To: <102l19e$fdm1$1@dont-email.me>
X-Antivirus: Avast (VPS 250614-4, 6/14/2025), Outbound message
X-Antivirus-Status: Clean

On 6/14/2025 6:40 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
> On 6/14/2025 2:37 PM, Snag wrote:
>>   When I heard air hissing from the bolt area when I pumped it up , I 
>> figured it was a worn seal on the pin in the valve assembly so I 
>> bought a new pin . Well , today I finally got to work on it (grand 
>> daughters came for a visit , brought their cold with them and I ain't 
>> been that sick in a long time so ...) and yes the seal was bad . 
>> Because there were nicks in the sealing surface inside the valve . 
>> Seeing as how new valve assemblies are around 40 bucks delivered , I 
>> decided to try to clean up that seat . Chucked it up in the lathe , 
>> put a 3/8" end mill in the tailstock chuck and made a super light cut 
>> , turning the chuck by hand and applying light pressure by hand .
>>    It worked ! I have about 5 or 6 different pellets to test , both 
>> for accuracy and velocity . I measured a few pellets of different 
>> brands and they vary ... I expect the larger ones will give both 
>> better velocity and accuracy .
> 
> 
> Generally I've found that round dome pellets are more accurate then the 
> standard Diablo style wad cutter, but at short range the Diablo wad 
> cutter is plenty accurate and makes a nice clean hole in paper for 
> target shooting.  That being said, any dome pellet is going to be at 
> least a few grains heavier, so it will have more drop at modest range.
> 
> I would suggest a surprisingly good bargain pellet, but I have not tried 
> it in .177.  The Crosman Premier Hollow point is an absolute tack driver 
> in a lot of guns, but I have only tried it in 14.3 grain .22.  It shoots 
> like a domed pellet.  Better than some.  One of my best days target 
> shooting (DO NOT SHOOT AT GOLF BALLS WITH AIRGUNS) with an air rifle I 
> was out at Adair Range stretching the legs on my BAM B-50 was shooting 
> Crosman Premier hollow points.  From the shooting bench to the mountain 
> is roughly 135 yards at the small bore rifle and pistol range.  My B-50 
> is an amazingly good air rifle for a single shot.  It might even be more 
> accurate than my Marauder .25 with its Green Mountain barrel liner.
> 
> There are shooters who like to race a golf ball across the range and up 
> the face of the mountain with their .22 powder burners.  I've seen older 
> gentlemen bench shooting 10-22 rifles with bipods doing that a few 
> times.  Like a kind of game. They don't usually bother to pick up their 
> gold balls when they are done.
> 
> Anyway, I was there bench rest shooting the B-50 with a sled just to see 
> how good the rifle is, and it kept surprising me.  Just at sunset the 
> wind let off to zero and I decided to see what it would really do.  I 
> had already chronographed my setup for the day, and from a full fill I 
> was getting about five shots between 1054 and 1000 fps.  I pulled out my 
> cell phone and plugged numbers into an ap (no longer available) called 
> ChairGun.  I forget what my zero was, but according to ChairGun at 135 
> yards I needed to shoot 34 inches of elevation to hit 135 yards based on 
> my zero and height above bore.  I guessed 34 inches using Kentucky 
> windage (elevation) and dropped a pellet down range.  I was dead center 
> and an not quite 2 inches low.  I adjusted, heard that satifying thunk 
> of the pellet hit its target, and watched the golf ball roll up hill. 
> With the same hold I dropped two more on target.   I had that feel I 
> could have dropped two or three more right one, but after the third hit 
> the golf ball took a different roll, and hid behind a rock.
> 
> There is an old .22LR brag that almost everybody is exaggerating or 
> hasn't really tried or just lying when they claim they can do it. That's 
> to put five in a row on a dime size target at 50 yards.  I think the 
> B-50 could do it on a calm day.  Most good field grade .22 LRs (10-22, 
> Model 60, Click Clack gun, etc) in good shape can drop 2 or 3 on a dime, 
> but the group always has a couple that push past quarter size. Now to be 
> fair I have actually tried the five on a dime at 50 challenge, but not 
> with a .22LR or even with the B-50.  I did it with Kalibre Cricket PCP 
> air rifle in .25 caliber shooting 25.4 grain Exact King domed pellets.  
> I consistently got 4 out of 5 on my traced dime bullseyes, but most of 
> the time there was one that split the line or even just barely touched 
> the line on the outside.  I couldn't fill up a whole card with 
> consistent 5 shot groups though.
> 
> Anyway, in my opinion the Crosman Premier domed pellets (yes I have used 
> them too) and Crosman Premier hollow points are inexpensive diamonds in 
> the airgun ammo market.  Last I checked you could buy them at Walmart.
> 
> My best Kentucky windage shots were both with my .177 Marauder shooting 
> 920 FPS with copper plated H&N Barracude 10.65 grain domed pellet.  I 
> went on an anti depredation rampage against black birds and grackels 
> when they wiped out all the seedlings in my winter garden one year.  I 
> took out a gopher at 94 yards (paced) on the first shot (using 
> Chairgun).  I thought I missed.  There was a plume of dirt beyond him, 
> and the gopher ducked down out of sight.  When I walked out I found him 
> with a perfect heart and lung shot through the body.  A few days later I 
> could see some seedling eating black birds on the fence near my 
> neighbors horse barn.  With the .177 Marauder resting across something I 
> guessed both windage and elevation.  When I squeezed off the shot I 
> could see the blackbird jump, and a millisecond later heard the thwack 
> of the pellet striking hard.  He folded up and dropped like a rock.  112 
> yards paced off.  Both of those were very lucky shots.  The .177 
> Marauder is not as accurate as the B-50, the Cricket, or the .25 
> Marauder. Rather I think it shoots pretty good, but consistently has 
> flier or two in a group.
> 
> I learned a trick, although not as much fun that doesn't require 
> shooting all of them little thieves.  Leave just a couple dead grackles 
> laying in plane sight around your garden and the rest stay away.
> 
> Oh, yeah.  Do not shoot at golf balls with an air gun.  At least not at 
> modestly close range.  They will return the pellets to you with enough 
> energy to sting pretty good.  What I found was just as much fun, and 
> also good varying target distance practices is golf size wiffle practice 
> balls.  They don't store and return energy like a golf ball.
> 
> Wow, this is a like a Jim Wilkins post with all kinds of tangents and 
> asides isn't it.  LOL.
> 

   A bit wordy , but good info ! <bseg>

I have on my desk in front of me 5 containers of pointed pellets , 2 
each Daisy and Gamo and one Copperhead . Two more Gamo tins , one flat 
and one domed . I just shot a couple of the Copperhead at about 20 feet 
put 2 side by side - probably just lucky - and a third hit high but I 
think that was because I fiddled with the rear sight . I'm a lousy shot 
with irons , can't keep 3 planes in reasonable focus with bifocals and 
can't even see 'em without glasses .
-- 
Snag
We live in a time where intelligent people
are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.