Gamo Raptor Pellets

Anyone have any experience with the Raptor hunting pellets?

[rob3dr]

The general consensus with these pellets are that they dont carry energy very well and that at a distance they are inaccurate. That said, I get good groups out of them up to 12 or so yards, but beyond that, they really spread out in any gun I've tried them in.  The light weight makes for good velocity but not a lot of knockdown power.

I've heard the same thing. I personally have not used them but it just seems to me that the design and light weight would make them very inefficient especially if trying to reach out a ways.

First of all thanks for the reply.
I've been shooting them for varmit control. Had a number of hits on starlings and squirrels at 35-40 yards. Also had a number of misses and or bad hits  that I"ve attributed to my marksmanship with the springer. I'm shooting a Shadow1000 topped with a BSA 2-7. Any recomendations on a good consistant hunting pellet?

[rob3dr]

Yes sir... the best hunting pellet bar none is.................

Whatever shoots most accurately in your gun. Forget about BC, pellet shape, voodoo, and everything else until you find what pellets group best out of YOUR gun. Then decide based on specifics.

That said, some good choices to start out with are JSB Exacts and CPL's. Others have noted good results with Crosman pointed pellets. I have some but have not tried them as of yet. I have also had good results out of RWS HP pellets, but only out to 35 yards. Beyond that, they tend to spread out a bit.

IN GENERAL...

the pointed pellets do well with penetration, but lack accuracy at distance.
HP's do well out to 30 or so yards and do damage without over penetrating
Wadcutters are not as good out of moderately or high powered guns, but do well with lower powered guns
Diablos seem to be the best for long range accuracy.

Best thing to do is order a pellet sampler from someplace such as http://www.straightshooters.com and test them all out!
Hope this helps.

[Gene_SC]

Great suggestion Rob, Me being a new airgunner, I picked up the sample pack also and found that different pellets do different things with different air rifles..... Noting is absolute so you just have to buy them different pellets and try them out.

Gene

Rob is right... it's just a matter of trial and error. It may in some cases take a little time....but....when you get the right one, it will make you a far far better shooter and be much more fun.

I have been using Beeman Crow Magnums in a scoped Shadow 1000 and they work well at 25 yards+. At 10 yards they are about as accurate for me as the Beeman H&N Wadcutter 'match' pellets which are supposed to be decent. I shoot Crow Magnums for target practice and for plinking.

Do not bother with Beeman Laser pellets in the 1000. They are way too light and the accuracy goes to cr&* when using them compared to Crow Magnums. I went from 1/2" groups at 10 yards with the CMs to could not hit a barn with the Lasers. They must be transonic and unstable. I gave away the can that I bought.

But Charlie and the others are correct. Try a bunch of different ammo and see what works best. This is true with about any gun.

[Gene_SC]

I have had very good luck with H&N Super Domes with my S1K, but I hear there are many other different pellets that work as well for hunting.

I think there is another post that mentions buying the Pellet Sampler from Straight Shooters. I did when I first bought my S1K and got a good feel for which pellets not to use...  

Gene

While individual air rifles will have individual preferences with respect to the pellets that give the tightest groups, in my own hunting, I absoultely cannot ignore the ballistic coeffecient or simply let the chips fall where they may on that score.

50 yards is a long poke with a spring-piston air rifle, let alone one running at 14 to 15 ft/lbs, so I need all of the retained energy that I can get.

That means  limiting the choices to pellets with a high ballistic coeffecient, such as JSB Exacts, Crosman Premiers, Crosman Copperhead Points, Beeman FTS, Kodiaks, and the like.

Because of the effect that BC has on trajectory, resistance to wind deflection, and downrange thump, I do not believe that it should be ignored in the interest of nth degree accuracy on paper.

-JP

[rob3dr]

I'm not saying ignore it. A lot of times you have to consider the asker of the question. This was obviously a newbie to shooting airguns. I've seen it on the other forums, and I'm sure you have where a new shooter reads up a little and catches some buzz words and then they focus on that. My advice was to a novice shooter to find what pellets was most accurate in his gun and then choose from there. Of course, when one gets more proficient with his airsenal, one becomes more involved with the specifics, but for the novice...I think it should come down to what they can shoot with best.

[ribbonstone]

Have mixed reviews with lower powered airguns. Some of the 10meter guns resent the extra engravement force needed and shoot only a little faster...poor trade in those guns to give up that much weight for so little speed.

Higher powered guns do pick up 18-22% (so far that's the numbers) vel., which gets the little light pellet back up to about the same energy level as the heavier/slower pellets.  They do seem to lose velocity fast.

Older guns with big heavy pistons (an old HW35) really resents these pellets...cease fire, piston slamming into end of cylinder.

Some pistols really like them...and if using the gun at short range, not so much of a BC penalty.

Interrestingly, shot an empty co2 cylinder at 1050fps and had the pellet split the cylinder...lead may put a devil of a dent, but the hard alloy of these split the steel.

-- ------
One gun, a Gamo Compact with a tight bore, actaully refused to shoot the pellet..vel. of "0".  Just too tight a bore and too hard a pellet..the little puff of air that sends a lead pellet out at 375fps just couldn't cough out that hard pellet.  Something to think about with an air gun (rifle or pistol) with a known tight bore.

[raterminator]

Rob,

Glad to see you on this forum too  

Garen