Hoppalong Doc
HAM Ranger
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My long anticipated Benjamin Diablo, single die, 14.83 gr., 22cal pellets arrived from Pyramyd AIR late last week. I also received tins of JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy Diablo pellets, .22 cal, 18.13 gr. I've not shot either of these before from my Air Arms TX200, .22 cal. I have long been using JSB Exact Jumbo Diablo, .22 cal in 15.89 gr. pellets in this rifle. I have long been under the impression that these last pellets were what my TX200 "liked" best. Over these past 4 years there have been periodic comparisons with such competitors as Crosman Premieres, H & N, Air Arms, Falcons and perhaps others that I can't quite remember at the moment. But I've always returned to these JSB 15.89 gr. pellets. I've been shooting 2 inch centers at 25 yards on paper targets; this seemed the norm. But I haven't been satisfied. Is it the gun or is it me that I can't close up these groups. Maybe it's the wind out on our range. OK, now let's see how these two new pellets do in comparison with my "standard" JSB 15.89 gr. pellets. When I compare the pellets visually, I notice that the new Benjamin "Bullseyes" (after what Tom Gaylord has crowned them) are a deeper pellet with thinner skirts than my JSBs. They are also perhaps 3 mm longer than the JSB. Hummm. . . time for the truth. Let's shoot: As always, shooting at 25 yards, from the bench, with the rifle resting on the palm of my hand, just behind the cocking lever and resting on a front bag. I'm using the well known artillery hold. There's a very gentle breeze, coming in directly at the shooting bench. Ambient temperature is 66 degrees. Blue skies . . . a perfect shooting Sunday afternoon. Two targets side by side at 25 yards await my first shot. I'm beginning with the Benjamin Bullseyes: following three "test" shots to get me and the rifle focused, 10 pellets went into 1.33 inches. Wow! This is the best I've ever done with my TX200. I'm really focusing today. I noticed that these Bullseyes are a hard blend of metals. They also feed very tightly into the breech. The hardness of the lead seems pretty typical of
Crosman/Benjamin pellets. There isn't a bent skirt in the tin. I like these pellets and so does my TX. Now it's time to move on to the "carefully selected" JSB 18.13 gr. projectiles. As I open the tightly packed tin of 500 pellets, I do find just a few bent skirts. I note this here for the test, but I select only the best pellets and don't really believe that the mildly bent skirts are anything but an anomaly. Now to focus on the shooting once again. I open the breech to load my first pellet, and find that it fits snugly, although not requiring hard push of the Benjamin pellet. The first shot goes about 4 inches from where I thought I was aiming. I'm going to cheat and call this one a flyer. The next ten pellets land just a "tad" (that's a technical term you may have to look up) higher than my intended bullseye, but group at a fantastic, for me anyway, 1.25 inches. After four years of shooting my precious Air Arms TX200, .22 cal. with a walnut stock, I have found TWO pellets that do really well in this rifle . . . but I'M taking the credit.I just shot really close to a MOA . . . with two different pellets! I'll not rest on my laurels however, I've got a new challenger coming soon from AoA : a HW97K .22 cal, and now get this, with a walnut stock. After I've run a tin or two of various projectiles through the rifle, I'll run this same test once again, using these two challengers to find out who's the proverbial "king of the hill". I've also got a fair number of other pellets that may do well in this rifle. The true fun of this sport is meeting the challenges and just keeping on shooting. Orv.
Crosman/Benjamin pellets. There isn't a bent skirt in the tin. I like these pellets and so does my TX. Now it's time to move on to the "carefully selected" JSB 18.13 gr. projectiles. As I open the tightly packed tin of 500 pellets, I do find just a few bent skirts. I note this here for the test, but I select only the best pellets and don't really believe that the mildly bent skirts are anything but an anomaly. Now to focus on the shooting once again. I open the breech to load my first pellet, and find that it fits snugly, although not requiring hard push of the Benjamin pellet. The first shot goes about 4 inches from where I thought I was aiming. I'm going to cheat and call this one a flyer. The next ten pellets land just a "tad" (that's a technical term you may have to look up) higher than my intended bullseye, but group at a fantastic, for me anyway, 1.25 inches. After four years of shooting my precious Air Arms TX200, .22 cal. with a walnut stock, I have found TWO pellets that do really well in this rifle . . . but I'M taking the credit.I just shot really close to a MOA . . . with two different pellets! I'll not rest on my laurels however, I've got a new challenger coming soon from AoA : a HW97K .22 cal, and now get this, with a walnut stock. After I've run a tin or two of various projectiles through the rifle, I'll run this same test once again, using these two challengers to find out who's the proverbial "king of the hill". I've also got a fair number of other pellets that may do well in this rifle. The true fun of this sport is meeting the challenges and just keeping on shooting. Orv.
.... Is their some pellet out their that shoots better than what I'm using right now?! Good results sir! And I was gonna say 2inch @25Y is pretty poor actually. My TX and me can print 3/4 to 1inch groups out to 30Yards, but she needs a quick warm up (or I do!?
) Mine is however a .177 though, I do the same hold on my bench as you probably, off a foam block, gun into my shoulder. Excited to see what you think of the HW and how you get along with it!
Like Hateful said there seems to be more head sizes available in .177 esp with JSB, I've noticed this too.
