Ideal Projectiles
for 4 Airgun Kill Ranges
(.22cal | 30FPE)
I'm starting to think that effective airgun hunting might have four ranges with four different types of ideal projectiles.
I'll explain, and would love to hear the forum's feedback:
? General Conditions
▪Airgun typical quarry (squirrels, pigeons, rabbits)
▪.22cal ➔ The same can be done for different calibers and power settings, of course — I'm just sharing the one I'm most familiar with. ?
▪Guns with a ME of roughly 30FPE
▪The projectiles under consideration have equally good precision at these ranges
Note: The ranges below are general parameters — by no means are they numbers engraved in stone...! Some projectiles have better BCs than most others, some shooters read the wind better than most, etc....
? Kill Range 1:
0—20y
Projectiles:
▪Wadcutters (cheap) — if they shoot well from a 30FPE gun leaving the muzzle with around 1000fps
and
▪Hollow points (HP) —
both crush more tissue than domes, the HP even more if they expand, which is likely at such short ranges with 30FPE
? Kill Range 2:
20—30y
Projectiles:
▪Hollow points (HP) (because wadcutters at this range will start to loose precision, and because of their abysmally low BC they will drift too much in the wind at these ranges)
HP crush more tissue than domes if they have a wide HP cup, and especially if they expand (some expand up to 25y, some up to 35y)
? Kill Range 3:
30y—60y with much wind | and | further out than 60y without much wind
Projectiles:
▪Domed pellets
Because hollow points with their relatively low BC will: (a) loose a lot of velocity at this range and will probably not expand much anymore; and (b) HP will be very susceptible to wind drift.
However — if the HP maintain precision and wind is no factor they could still crush more tissue than the domes due to their large meplat.
? Kill Range 4:
60y—XXXy with much wind | and | starting further out than 60y without much wind
Projectiles:
▪Slugs
Because domed pellets with their mediocre BC will be very susceptible to wind drift — slugs with their excellent BC drift half or less.
They are somewhat more expensive than pellets (but only a couple of cents if slugs are bought from Nielsen Specialty Ammo NSA; H&N; JSB).
Slugs cannot be used for angled shots into threes/roofs unless there are no people on the land behind it for a good mile or so (or there is a backstop). — Reason: The excellent BC of slugs makes them fly much farther with much more destructive energy than any pellet.
Taking into account these restrictions, slugs could be used for all the four ranges. Most slugs are HP and many of them will expand up to kill range 2, and even further (considering that a gun that delievers 30FPE with pellets often delivers significantly less ME with slugs).
Again: These ranges assume that the projectiles at these ranges have comparable precision — if I don't hit the critter, the destructive tissue crushing of a wadcutter, or the potential expansion of a hollow point is pointless. ?
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Just my reflections on projectile choices for hunting. What do you think? ?
Matthias