Airgun myths & legends

[Grunt64]

Yes, the myth ive seen propagated extensively, leading to multiple HEATED debates, is that GA is absolutely the wrong drag law to use for slugs and G1 is wrong for pellets. In reality (actual shooting and mapping out trajectory curves relative to what ballistic apps predict), and as @wolfmangreg commented, the trajectory curve (and the BCs) dont change enough to matter, whether using GA or G1.

The "GA for pellets and G1 for slugs and n'er the twain shall meet" crowd are dying on the hill of semantics. Academically and theoretically, sure GA for pellets and G1 for slugs. But in the real world of throwing lead downrange and wanting it to go to a very specific place, it simply doesn't make much of a difference.

I’m with you, the GA vs G1 wars are like watching two guys argue about whether their GPS should be set to ‘shortest route’ or ‘fastest route’ while both of them still miss the driveway.
In theory the drag laws matter, but in real shooting the difference is about the size of a prairie dog’s bad attitude. My dope card fixes everything anyway.

 

[Billm]

Slugs want high speed > 950 fps.

Many are having success at 950-1050 fps with slugs, but it isn't a hard & fast rule. Let your barrel tell you how fast it wants to sling them, just like you would with pellets.

Messed about with slugs a few times over the years, but never seriously until recently.

The slugs that have become the primary projectile in two of my rifles are a 13 grain in .177 & a 40 grain in .22. Both shoot exceptionally well at 890-900 fps.

Tried the 13 grain at speeds from ~880 to 960. Accuracy was equally good from 890 to 920, with the shot cycle noticeably gentler at the low end. Accuracy degraded above 920. Easy call.

40 grain are shot from a rifle set up for that specific projectile at ~895 fps. Not even going to try going hotter; the manufacturer specifically recommends speeds <900 fps.

Myth: “I drop coyotes all the time with a .22 at 100+ yards.”​

I’ve seen this one on Facebook more times than I’ve seen “What scope should I buy?” posts, and that’s saying something.​

Apparently there’s a secret tribe of airgunners out there who:

shoot .22 pellets with the power of Zeus,
hit coyotes at NFL field‑goal distances,
and somehow the coyotes politely fall over like they’ve been unplugged.
Meanwhile, back in the real world…

A .22 at 100+ yards is basically throwing a warm Tic Tac at a 40‑lb animal that never stops moving.Wind drift, low retained energy, long time‑of‑flight, the physics aren’t just bad, they’re sitting in the corner crying.

So when someone says they “drop them instantly all the time,” I just assume they also bowl perfect games, bench 400, and have a cousin who works at NASA.

Great story. Fun legend.But not how coyotes — or airguns — actually work.

That’s too funny,but true.. But, we shouldn’t doubt them, they’re probably the same shooters that shoot 1/4” groups at 100yds all day long.

 

[jps2486]

As with any pursuit, airgunning has some persistent myths, legends, and questionable nuggets of wisdom. Asking the HAM team to post their favorite examples of airgun related "common knowledge" that you believe, or at least, suspect, is a pile of bull scat. Like honest politicians or one size fits all hats - but airgun related.
Debate is welcome of course, but I humbly request that it stay lighthearted & fun (I'm goofy like that).
Will get us started:

"Cleaning with a bronze brush will ruin your barrel!!!"

No one will ever convince me that this has actually happened with a modern steel barrel. At least not in normal usage scenarios, & with decent cleaning technique.
Myths don't generally spring up out of the ground for no reason though, so I'll temper my stance with a few caveats:
- Have read that some airguns of the past had brass barrels. Bronze brush on brass rifling, long term? Yeah, I can see that becoming a problem. Really no reason to be using a brass barrel these days, though, since the aliens taught us to produce steel from iron ore.
- Crown or throat damage- not from the brush, but from contact with the cleaning rod. Steel rod, no bore guide and/or care taken to avoid contact in the crown or leade? No doubt that could be bad. But it's the rod, & more importantly, poor technique, that causes the damage, not the bronze brush. It's like blaming Sasquatch for those goats that were bled dry in Texas. Clearly, it was El Chupacabra.
- Removal of barrel "seasoning". Barrel seasoning could be it's own topic here, but most of us that have owned a number of airguns have had at least one that took a while to regain peak accuracy after a thorough barrel cleaning. Could be a couple shots, could take half a tin before it's back to peak. Can see where a fellow that hasn't experienced this before would start to wonder if bronze brush cleaning was a bad idea. But it's much more likely that black magic is involved.

View attachment 22250

Maybe. Yes, modern steel alloy are wonderful, but bear in mind that the alloy used in gun barrels is fairly soft in comparison. That's so they can rifle them with buttons or cutting tools. If you talk to any high level competition shooter, I'll bet no one uses a bronze brush, particularly rimfire shooters.

 

[Solo1]

Maybe. Yes, modern steel alloy are wonderful, but bear in mind that the alloy used in gun barrels is fairly soft in comparison. That's so they can rifle them with buttons or cutting tools. If you talk to any high level competition shooter, I'll bet no one uses a bronze brush, particularly rimfire shooters.

Is that because they feel it does harm ir because modern powders and solvents make it unnecessary?

 

[Zelos1]

Myth: “I drop coyotes all the time with a .22 at 100+ yards.”​

I’ve seen this one on Facebook more times than I’ve seen “What scope should I buy?” posts, and that’s saying something.​

Apparently there’s a secret tribe of airgunners out there who:

shoot .22 pellets with the power of Zeus,
hit coyotes at NFL field‑goal distances,
and somehow the coyotes politely fall over like they’ve been unplugged.
Meanwhile, back in the real world…

A .22 at 100+ yards is basically throwing a warm Tic Tac at a 40‑lb animal that never stops moving.Wind drift, low retained energy, long time‑of‑flight, the physics aren’t just bad, they’re sitting in the corner crying.

So when someone says they “drop them instantly all the time,” I just assume they also bowl perfect games, bench 400, and have a cousin who works at NASA.

Great story. Fun legend.But not how coyotes — or airguns — actually work.

OK!! I benched 410 once a hundred and six years ago, I have a cousin who worked at Boeing, I bowl very low numbers and golf very high numbers but… I can attest to a 20yard head shot termination on a trash panda after a tremendous amount of thrashing.
Can I join the secret tribe?

 

[Grunt64]

OK!! I benched 410 once a hundred and six years ago, I have a cousin who worked at Boeing, I bowl very low numbers and golf very high numbers but… I can attest to a 20yard head shot termination on a trash panda after a tremendous amount of thrashing.
Can I join the secret tribe?

You’re absolutely eligible for the tribe — but only for the head‑shot‑at‑20‑yards chapter, not the “Zeus‑powered .22 at 100+ yards” division.

A trash panda thrashing after a solid head shot is real‑world physics.A .22 dropping coyotes at NFL distances is Marvel Cinematic Universe physics.

Bench 410?Cousin at Boeing?Low bowling scores and high golf scores?Perfect — you’ve got the résumé.

But the tribe you’re talking about… those guys claim their .22 pellets hit like lightning bolts, defy wind drift, and arrive before they’re even fired.

You’re welcome to join — just don’t drink the Kool‑Aid that says a warm Tic Tac at 100+ yards is a coyote hammer.

 

[jps2486]

OK, naysayers. Take a high end rifle and run some extensive accuracy tests to verify it's quality. Then take a bronze brush and scrub the bejeebers out of it and test it again. I'll be waiting.

 

[wolfmangreg]

OK, naysayers. Take a high end rifle and run some extensive accuracy tests to verify it's quality. Then take a bronze brush and scrub the bejeebers out of it and test it again. I'll be waiting.

Did exactly that with a rifle that shot lights out (sub-moa at 100y) with a certain pellet. For about 75 shots. Then it went to hell. Choke had a lot of lead, & patches wouldn't touch it- took a LOT of scrubbing with a bronze brush to remove it. Then it was great again, for 75 shots or so. Eventually moved to a different pellet with a smaller head size & much softer lead.

No doubt some barrels like to be dirty, but that one sure didn't.

Not arguing that brushing can remove some barrels from their happy place, & it may take some shots to get it back there. Maybe a lot of shots, as JoeWillie can attest.

I just don't believe it physically alters the barrel steel itself so much that it can never be accurate again.

 

[Billm]

Did exactly that with a rifle that shot lights out (sub-moa at 100y) with a certain pellet. For about 75 shots. Then it went to hell. Choke had a lot of lead, & patches wouldn't touch it- took a LOT of scrubbing with a bronze brush to remove it. Then it was great again, for 75 shots or so. Eventually moved to a different pellet with a smaller head size & much softer lead.

No doubt some barrels like to be dirty, but that one sure didn't.

Not arguing that brushing can remove some barrels from their happy place, & it may take some shots to get it back there. Maybe a lot of shots, as JoeWillie can attest.

I just don't believe it physically alters the barrel steel itself so much that it can never be accurate again.

I had a similar experience with the BRK Sonoran with the sub-MOA barrel. I posted that my accuracy was deteriorating. A sponsored shooter reached out to me and suggested that I not be afraid to scrub the barrel with a brass brush. I ordered some and did just that. My consistency and accuracy returned immediately. I’m not sure if the “myth” applies to brass brushes or not, but it worked for me. Everyone on here that reads my posts, knows that I like to use a bore scope after cleaning. I’ve seen no evidence of any harm. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t microscopic scratches, who knows. Nor, would I claim my results disproves anyone else’s findings. Airgunning to me just proves that the old adage: “ one man’s meat, is another man’s poison” rings true.