.177 Marauder and Hollow Point pellets

[Zzyzx]

The .177 Marauder I got shoots well with Benjamin Discovery .177 Cal, 10.5 Grains, Hollowpoint pellets.

Do I really get any benefit from shooting hollow point pellets when nailing gophers and such with this rifle? Does it shoot hard enough for them to mushroom and give me any extra kill power?

If I can shoot a domed pellet with this heavy weight just as accurately, am I losing anything at all in killing power?

I won't change if there is actually a benefit in using the hollow point pellets as it shoots them well. Would like information from those who have actually shot them or tested them as to whether the benefit is there with them.

[DougT]

I have shot the .22 Crosman HP at 840fps (TF-89) and 900fps (Hammerli 850) and they do not mushroom impacting a pigeon.  The do seem to hit a little harder that the domed or pointed pellets, as the medium size HP acts kinda like a wadcutter, making the WHOP sound more pronounced.  They are a hard allow.

The .22 RWS H-point pellets do expand slightly at 840fps.  I found this out from two squirrels I dug the pellet out of.  I would think at a higher velocity  they would expand more.