Thanks Gene,
I did some shooting with the AR6 and also some reading around the subject of airgun accuracy. Terminal Ballistics has taken my fancy. I was lucky enough to get hold of some different types of ammo for the AR6, including the Eun Jin heavies, a handful of Piledrivers and about 80 Daystate varminters. The varminters are to all intents and purposes, 39.5 gr rimfire hollownose slugs pulled off the production line before being assembled in their cases. They are a standard dual diameter bullet, and despite what the current theory says, they were brilliant to say the least. I haven;t had a chance to try out the Piledrivers, just not enough of them until I get a nice opportunity to get some useful data out of them.
The EUN JIN heavies are a heavy traditional design in hard cast lead. Average accuracy is the best I can expect. The lighter JSB offerings perform at lower subsonic velocities as you would expect, with fading energy at long range. This phase of the competition Ar Rifle's trajectory is where I want to concentrate on. And to complicate matters I am going very small bore...... .177 cal.
I just don't know if anyone has been swaging .177 yet, and would like to know. I think there's definite room for a performance leap. I also think (with the exception of the PILEDRIVER in .177 which has been withdrawn for legal concerns there) it hasn't been done yet because in the UK where .177 is so popular, the legal potential problems do not make manufacture viable. Basicallythe rest of the world has tobuy whatthey are sold.
We are also told that the LIGHTWEIGHT waisted Diabolo shape is the most efficient at subsonics for our .177 air rifles. I think everyone has been thinking about the wrong end! A lot happens to the little .177 pellet on its way from the breechto the target and High Muzzle velocities are all fine until you waste all of it due to poor BC and Dynamic instability. Would you try to drive from NY to LA with a parachute tied to you rear fender?
.22 cal is better developed for hunting, and transfer of energy to quarry has been the priority. The better peforming .22 "bullets" I have used have a higher BC.
Target calibre .177 has been stagnating. Mind you the quality of diabolo pellets has improved greatly and it should be mentioned that static imbalance is a thing of the past really. It really is time to progress past Diabolo into more aerodynamic designs. As I said, muzzle energy is now appearing less important to me than retained energy at target, and the whole science that goes along with that.
FT shooters using .177 cal are finding from trial and error which pellet designs work the best for them, and therein lies the key to why, and where to go from here. (slightly cryptic statement here, will clarify later).
SO.......if 300N does stumble upon this thread I will gratefully have a discussion on the subject and if necessary be put right on any misconceptions I might have!!!
I need to get my hands on the dies and tools to try a few designs out. Any recommendations/contacts/suggestions welcomed.
regards
GS
