OT - levergun ammo - of the pneumatic kind

[AmBraCol]

Well, it's got this lever that you move several times to pump it up. It also has a bolt to push the pellet into the chamber... anyway, I know that I'm not the only one on the forum who indulges in airgun antics. However, our choices of ammo and such down here (Colombia) are VERY limited - not to mention expensive. So, I'm curious as to what may be available online for pellet rifle/pistol ammunition. I'm looking for a source in the US of A as it's easier to arrange shipping from there. I found one place that had a great price - but then the pellets disappeared. I guess the deal was too good and they sold out quick. http://www.pyramydair.com/ I'd like to find the Daisy Precision Max pellets at as good a price as possible. Gamo match pellets would be OK too, they're not as accurate in my gun as the Daisy but they do OK. Anyway, do you know of a good source online for .177 airgun pellets?

[Rusty]

Paul,
There was a growing sport here in the Tampa Bay area for a while that was bolstered by and annual "air gun show." The Sport was field targets. It might still be growing strong but I've lost touch with it. the targets are shaped like animals and they fall over but you have to hit a small mechanical bullseye on the target to get it to fall so it's not just a simple steel affair like so may other sports.
I am told that THE BEST pellet for consistent accuracy is a Crossman. They have a model that was actually designed by a fellow that I met here in Tampa. IIRC it's called a Premier.
I used to quite a bit of reading on airguns.net to find out what was going on in the area. There isn't anything that can benefit a rifleman as much as time spent with a good quality air rifle.

Rusty <><

[AmBraCol]

Thanks, Rusty. I'll try and see if I can find some Crossman pellets - at a reasonable price. We're pretty much limited in what gets brought in. And the nationally produced stuff is HORRID at best. Right now I've been able to locate Gamo and Daisy ammo. The Gamo Match was OK, the Daisy Precision Max was pretty good - in MY guns. Thanks for the tip, and I'll see what I can find 'round here to try.

[John in MS]

Hi, Paul,
I've been an off-and-on adult airgun addict since the late 70's. Trust me, you will find that a really GOOD pellet can bring out performance in your air rifles that you just never suspected was possible! I find it hard to consider Gamo/Daisy as serious fodder, when such excellent pellets as the Crosman Premier Field Target, JSB Exact, H&N Match, RWS R10 and Meisterkugeln Match, etc. are available. If you can have one shipped to you, you can have the others sent as well, I'd think.

CP's (Crosman Premiers) come in 2 flavors in .177 -- CP Lights (7.9 gr., from memory) and 10.5 gr. IIRC. I've only shot the lights in .177, as the heavies are at their best in very powerful air rifles. They also make them in .22, and I've had excellent results in both .177 and .22 with CP's. The dome shaped head lets them travel accurately farther than the very accurate, but range-limited flat point match pellets. I have had excellent luck with H&N Match flat point (wadcutter) pellets on rabbits/squirrels inside 30 yards or so (they will shoot farther, accurately, however, that's just the farthest distance I typically find myself shooting). The wadcutter match pellets punch an excellent hole and terminal effect is quite good.

If shooting at longer ranges, it's probably best to settle on a domed type pellet as the wadcutters will go unstable at a certain point in their trajectory. RWS Meisterkugeln (match, wadcutter) and R10 pellets are very good, and may be a bit less expensive than H&N. Basically, in my experience, pellets made in Germany are very apt to be superior to anything made in the US (except CP's) and also to many made in England.

CP's set the standard for Field Target accuracy years ago, and were of extremely high quality. They tracked them by die number (which equipment setup produced a given batch) and even by day of production so that shooters could ensure consistent quality. They come in brown cardboard boxes, padded with foam to prevent damage and are fairly hard, so they resist deformation well. Back around 2000 or so, I stocked up on both 177's and .22's. I was following the maxim that "anything that is made extremely well now, will either become poorly made so the company can skim profits and make a killing at customer's expense, will become very expensive, or will disappear entirely." So, I haven't had to buy any since that time.

I understand that in more recent years, the CP's quality has deteriorated from its previous stellar level, with a certain percentage of undersize pellets in the boxes, plus debris that leaves them rather dirty. Shooters will clean them before using them. Now Crossman has competition in the form of JSB Exacts, which have an excellent reputation, plus a couple of other brands. You might do some reading and see what people are having good luck with. The Crossmans you buy in a tin are NOT of the Premier match quality, by the way. I have also had good lluck with certain of the Beeman pellets.

One site that I have found very helpful is Straight Shooters Precision Airguns, here in the US. I have ordered a Beeman R7 from them (the wife's rifle!! ) and also pellets, and their service has been excellent. They also have an airgun forum that features a lot of good information, in addition to the tests the company has run on various rifles/pellets. See: http://www.straightshooters.com/

As a species, it's best to avoid pointed pellets for accuracy, as it can be hard to get the points centered well on the centerline of the pellet. I also have had poor luck with hollowpoints, myself. Safest bets would be the domed match pellets and wadcutter match pellets from quality makers.

I hope this helps,
John

[Rusty]

Paul,
I'm not sure if you can buy from them and have the items shipped but the company I have had dealings with in the past is http://www.Compassecoco.com, in Ky.
BTW I'm presently shooting a Benjamin .22 with a peep sight.
If accuracy starts to go south in my rifle I use a piece of weed eater line that I burned with a flame to make a little blob on the end. I'll thread a patch on the line and use it to pull the patch through the bore. .177 bores are hard to find cleaning rods for sometimes.


Rusty <><

[AmBraCol]

Paul,
I'm not sure if you can buy from them and have the items shipped but the company I have had dealings with in the past is http://www.Compassecoco.com, in Ky.
BTW I'm presently shooting a Benjamin .22 with a peep sight.
If accuracy starts to go south in my rifle I use a piece of weed eater line that I burned with a flame to make a little blob on the end. I'll thread a patch on the line and use it to pull the patch through the bore. .177 bores are hard to find cleaning rods for sometimes.


Rusty <><

Thanks, Rusty.

That URL doesn't bring anything up for me though???

[AmBraCol]

Hi, Paul,
I've been an off-and-on adult airgun addict since the late 70's. Trust me, you will find that a really GOOD pellet can bring out performance in your air rifles that you just never suspected was possible! I find it hard to consider Gamo/Daisy as serious fodder, when such excellent pellets as the Crosman Premier Field Target, JSB Exact, H&N Match, RWS R10 and Meisterkugeln Match, etc. are available. If you can have one shipped to you, you can have the others sent as well, I'd think.

Thanks, John.

I've not had a chance to try the pellets you mention. So far I've been using what I can get my hands on. AND it's not like I'm using a top dollar target pistol to shoot them out of. Right now I'm working with a Crossman 1377 I picked up last fall. It's got a horrible trigger but the price is right for off hand practice. With pellets it likes (Daisy Precision Max so far) it shoots fairly well.

Here's a target I shot the other day. The smudges of blue are the pellet holes. It's the center of a 25 meter slow fire target and six rounds stayed in the 10 ring.





And here's a target shot at 10 meters off a rest. I'm not sure what is going on with two distinct groups and a flier, but these show promise for my purposes.



I can't say that I'm terribly serious about the super accuracy department. Mostly I'm looking for a cheap way to keep my hand in with the handgun. We've a limit of 100 rounds of ammo per firearm each six months - 200 rounds a year. That makes any kind of serious practice might near impossible. The Crossman I brought down has helped me improve my shooting immensely - even before I hit on the pellets it likes. If I had a scale to sort them by weight perhaps I could improve the groups even more. I suspect that's what's going on with the two groups in this target.

Now, if someday I could afford a real target gun, perhaps I'd be more interested in paying premium prices for pellets. In the meantime I'm more interested in something about one step up from casual plinking.

Have you had any experience with the Baikal pistol? I think it's the 46M or something like that. It looks like it might be a nice step up from what I'm currently messing with.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll take a look at that website and see what they've got.