VALUE FOR MONEY
At a price of 4.4 Cents each, German-manufactured RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy .22 caliber pellets are competitively priced in the current market. As a member of the RWS “Field Line”, they are intended for hunting use.
Part of the reason for the attractive price is that these pellets are packed in tins of 500. True, this increases the unit purchase price, but the cost/pellet is improved in this way, compared to lower-count packaging.
BUY FROM UMAREX USA
RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy Pellets 18.8 Grain .22 Caliber, 500 Pcs
TEST DATA SUMMARY
| Price per Pellet | 4.4 cents |
| Most Common Weight | 18.84, 18.89 and 19.03 Grains |
| Pellets at That Common Weight | 10% |
| Variation in Pellet Weight (Smallest to Largest) | 1.96% |
| Most Common Head Diameter | 5.53 mm |
| Pellets at That Common Diameter | 78% |
| Variation in Diameter (Smallest to Largest) | 0.36% |
| Most Common Length | 8.44 and 8.51 mm |
| Pellets at That Common Length | 10% |
| Variation in Length (Smallest to Largest) | 3.47% |
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
RWS differentiates its pellets clearly with five different “Lines” or levels of quality. These are:
– Premium Line
– Performance Line
– Field Line
– Sport Line
– Basic Line
As we see, the Field Line – and thus the Super Field Ultra Heavy pellets – sits in the middle of the quality range. HAM will be looking more closely at the company’s branding strategy and how this relates to actual tested performance in a forthcoming analysis. Stay tuned!
So, RWS is claiming these to be medium quality pellets and selling them at an attractive price. So far, so good…
However the naming surely takes things a little far.
At a time when the weight of some .22 caliber pellets exceeds 28 Grains – that’s over 50% more than that of these Super Field Ultra Heavies – the “Ultra Heavy” name is rather wishful thinking.
And don’t even mention the weight of some .22 caliber slugs, which can more than double the weight of these RWS pellets!
The tin of RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM contained 496 pellets. Compared to the claimed number in the tin – 500 – that’s about 0.8% short.
The average measured weight of the pellets tested by HAM was 18.96 Grains. That exceeds the 18.8 Grain claimed weight by – wait for it! – 0.8%!
Most airgun pellet manufacturers actually pack their product by weight, not count. However, most actually allow for a little leeway in average weight. It looks like RWS did not, in this case.
I don’t think that Hard Air Magazine has ever previously tested a tin of pellets with a short count, even if the average unit weight was higher.
CONSISTENCY
Unusually, one damaged or malformed pellet were found in the tin of RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM. This looked to have been caused during shipping, however.
Head Diameter consistency was extremely good, as you can see from the chart. No less than 78% of the tested pellets had the same head diameter of 5.53 mm.
The variation in head diameter between the smallest and largest pellets was just 0.36%. This is extremely good consistency.
Unfortunately the consistency of weight among the Super Field pellets tested by HAM was less good than the head diameter.
Only 10% of the tested pellets had the same weight, at 18.84 Grains, with another 10% at 18.89 Grains, plus a further 10% at 19.03 Grains.
However, the variation in weight between the lightest and heaviest pellets tested was actually good at 1.96%. The lightest was 18.80 Grains, while the heaviest weighed 19.17 Grains.
As always, these RWS pellets were carefully weighed on HAM’s incredibly precise, laboratory-grade milligram balance by Doug Wall. Doug has decades of experience in precision testing and is a HUGE contributor to the Hard Air Magazine Test Team!
Consistency dropped back with pellet length, too. As you can see from the chart below, 10% of the Super Field pellets tested by HAM had a length of 8.44 mm. There were another 10% at 8.50 mm and a further 10% at 8.51 mm.
The variation between longest and shortest pellets was fairly well-controlled at 3.47%. The longest measured was 8.64 mm. The shortest 8.35 mm.
DIRTINESS
Another strong score for the RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM was achieved for dirtiness. Well actually, the lack of it!
There was a small amount of the inevitable lead dust and debris present in the tin of pellets tested by HAM. The photograph below shows the amount of dirt washed-off during our standard washing protocol from the full tin of 496 pellets.
The level of dirt per 100 pellets – the way we measure it at HAM – was 0.105 Grains. That’s way below average.
As can be seen from the photograph most of this was dust. There was almost none of the relatively large semi-circular lead shavings that it’s not uncommon to find in pellet tins.
DOWNRANGE PERFORMANCE
In HAM Ballistic Coefficient testing using our standard FX Impact air rifle, these Super Field pellets recorded a strong BC of 0.028.
This is the highest BC value – by far – HAM has found for .22 caliber RWS airgun pellets to date.
The Chairgun graph above shows that this pellet retains no less than 60% of its original Muzzle Velocity at a distance of 50 Yards downrange.
Even out at 70 Yards, the velocity remains as high as 56%. That’s the benefit of the high BC!
HUNTING USE
In HAM’s standard “soap penetration test”, tester Doug Wall found that the RWS Super Fields penetrated 59 mm into the soap block. That’s one of the deepest penetrations ever recorded for a .22 caliber pellet.
As we can see, the 9 mm diameter “wound channel” was straight and there was little sign that the pellet expanded hugely when giving up its energy to the soap.
The original diameter of the pellet was 5.52 mm. After carefully removing from the soap bar, the head diameter measured 5.58 mm.
The length prior to firing was 8.50 mm. On removal from the soap block, it was 8.19 mm. The “fired” pellet is on the right in the photograph below.
BUYING AND OWNING
As a relatively new introduction, RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy .22 caliber pellets are not yet easy to find in some of the expected online sources.
However they are readily available from the online store at Umarex USA. Umarex is the US distributor of RWS products.
One disadvantage of these pellets is the tin. It has a push-on top, rather than the more common screw top.
Of course, this is not an issue when new, with the top held in place by tape. However, given that the weight of a full tin approaches 1 Lb 6 Oz, I would not rely on the top to stay in place without some other assistance in the rough-and-tumble of everyday handling and transport.
I would definitely recommend transferring these Super Field pellets into a different – screw top – tin, or pellet pouch for use. That’s if you don’t want many of them to end-up on the floor, ground or the bottom of a range bag!
TEST DATA
For background details on HAM’s Pellet Test Review methodology, check out this link.
Chairgun is a product of Hawke Sports Optics LLC and is used with permission. Check out http://www.hawkeoptics.com
BUY FROM UMAREX USA
RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy Pellets 18.8 Grain .22 Caliber, 500 Pcs
Understanding HAM Pellet Awards
HAM Pellet Awards come from the most rigorous, professional and comprehensive pellet testing by any independent publication. They are the result of much precise measurement and analysis using high precision measuring devices and highly-experienced testers.
Note that accuracy is a product of the complete “system” of airgun, scope, atmospheric conditions and shooter ability – not the pellet alone.
This means that no pellet test review can predict the accuracy of a particular pellet with YOUR individual air rifle. That’s why we do not measure accuracy in these pellet tests.
What HAM Pellet Awards do recognize is manufacturing consistency. Inconsistent pellets definitely will be inaccurate, consistent pellets are much more likely to be accurate.
HAM Awards also recognize value. There’s considerable variation in the price of airgun pellets. This means that an 8 cent pellet needs to score higher than a 2 cent pellet to achieve an award.
For full details of the HAM Pellet Award scoring methodology, please check out our Pellet Testing page.
For a full listing of HAM-tested Ballistic Coefficients, please see our Ballistic Coefficients page.
This entire article including scoring, data etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.
The post RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy .22 Caliber 18.8 Grain Pellet Test Review appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.
Thanks for explaining the different lines, I have a fair amount of pellet brands but nothing RWS. Kinda rough not having 500 in a tin though?!
