Air Chief, Target Flat Tip pellets.
Printed From: Kiwi Airgunners
Category: Technical
Forum Name: Reviews
Forum Description: Rate your airgun or pellets here
URL: www.kiwiairgunners.co.nz/forum_posts.asp?TID=1087
Printed Date: 23 Nov 2024 at 12:15am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 10.14 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Air Chief, Target Flat Tip pellets.
Posted By: RangerPete
Subject: Air Chief, Target Flat Tip pellets.
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2024 at 8:25pm
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Oh boy... Did I have a "WOW" moment with these pellets today!!! I'm still tweeking and refining my ultimate sparrow set up, so I was playing around with pellets today, well actually was more playing with and refining my scope set up for sparrows, which required rezeroing my sparrow tune, so I thought while Im re-doing it why not just double check some different pellets to make sure I have the best (most accurate) pellet for this power level (around 4.5FPE), and that it is zeroed at the optimal distance. So I was using JSB Exact Espress 7.87gr because they seemed to be the most accurate at that power level. Then I decided there wasnt much difference in group size between the Express 7.87gr and the Exact 8.44 gr, and it would be really nice to be able to quickly switch profiles on the scope and turn the transfer port adjuster from max to min and go from rabbits at 70 yards in a paddock to rats at 15 yards in the shed as I'm walking past, with out having to change pellets in the dark, just click click, turn knob and keep on shooting... Well it was a good thought, but after months of having this set up available to use, I'm yet to still use it. The rats I usually see at night are in hedges, trees or out in the paddocks with the horses and the rabbits, so just shoot them with the same 12.4FPE rabbit set up... I have had some more calling for sparrow control in warehouses, so I decided to go back to a dedicated sparrow set up optimised for accuracy at around 4.5FPE out to 20yards. Hence my testing and playing today. Decided to test 4 pellets for grouping at 15yards, and then out at 30yards, all on min power setting, around 4.5FPE. Tested JSB Exact 8.44gr JSB Exact Express 7.87gr JSB Diabolo Master flat nose target pellet, about 8ish gr and the Air Chief Target Flat Tip 8.18gr. My experiences with flat nosed "wad cutter" style pellets in the past have always been that they are usually on the light for caliber side, intended for lower power guns, and for 10m target shooting. They are usually great at 10m, but start to wonder wider out past 10m. Today I had my eyes opened. I'm sure your initial thoughts when you read "Air Chief" were the same as mine... Cheap crap, rite? Well cheap, yes, at $20 for 500 you cant complain, but these pellets are made by H&N, which is the only reason I bothered to try them in the first place. I dont know if "Air Chief" is a Gun City brand, but Gun City has their own house brand which are just H&N pellets relabeled as "Gun City" pellets, and some of them are pretty good. Any way, back to the review... I was completely blown away by the performance of these pellets!!! Zeroed at 15yards its a one hole group, and they are still dead on and tight at 20yards. My best 30yard group was also a one hole group!!! and thats with a muzzel velocity of 494fps, 4.4FPE. I shot about 50 of them to make sure it was'nt just a one off flook, and it wasn't. So I've now changed my sparrow set up from my beloved JSB exacts and express's, over to the "H&N" Air Chief Target Flat Tip, And I'm very happy with them from 6yards out to 30 yards. This will be good for sparrows out to 30y, rats and even rabbits (head shots) out to 20ish yards. And as a bonus, after zeroing the Air Chiefs and getting them all dialled in and set up, I tried some 8.44gr Exacts (with all the Air Chief low power settings), and what do you know, the POI is almost identical out to 20 yards, close enough that I'd still be comfortable using them on rats, so I can still just turn the power down, click click, and carry on shooting if I ever need to...  ------------- Walk quietly, but carry a big stick. |
Replies:
Posted By: RangerPete
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2024 at 8:27pm
Made by H&N At 6 yards, 2 shots through the "1.8inch" hole, then adjusted my scope height and shot 2 shots through the "1.6 inch" hole 2 shots at 15 yards. 5 shots at 20 yards 5 shots at 30 yards.  3 shots at 15 yards, 3 shots at 30 yards.  ------------- Walk quietly, but carry a big stick. |
Posted By: Pauly5
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2024 at 6:58am
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That's a bonus. I am guessing that being a wadcutter they might be less likely to pass through too? I scored a dozen tins of crosman premier pointed pellets for only a few dollars. They are 7.3 grain and they are very accurate in my sparrow gun, so it's good when it works out like that. How did the shoot go, or yet to happen?
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Posted By: RangerPete
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2024 at 8:45am
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The shoot went well. There were only 4 sparrows in the warehouse, but I got them all. 👍🏻 ------------- Walk quietly, but carry a big stick. |
Posted By: Pauly5
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2024 at 8:49am
| 100% kill rate, nice. |
Posted By: J-S
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2024 at 9:49am
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flat heads are a great pellet to try - designed for closer range target shooting and making clean holes. If you like those, give the RWS club / geco a go too. they are designed as a training pellet for high level target shooting, and when back in stock they are around $8/500 from shooting stuff! ------------- https://www.instagram.com/js_airguns/" rel="nofollow - J S Airguns Air Arms TX200('s) Theoben Sirocco HW77 FWB 300s Webley Patriot One or two others... Current projects: Too many.. |
Posted By: RangerPete
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2024 at 3:21pm
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Wow, at $8 for 500, makes you wonder how we can justify paying $38 for 500 JSB Exacts, or $47 for 500 JSB knockouts!!! ------------- Walk quietly, but carry a big stick. |
Posted By: nunga
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2024 at 6:16pm
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The flat heads are no good for anything bigger than a sparrow. They are very accurate but I took them to shoot the pigeons. hit every one of them. didnt miss a shot. Problem was been flat head they did not have the penetration and they pretty much just looked at me after i shot them and they flew away lol ------------- 2nd place HP springer - WFTF World Championships 2014 |
Posted By: RangerPete
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2024 at 9:11pm
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Nunga, can you remember what caliber and foot pounds you were using? ------------- Walk quietly, but carry a big stick. |
Posted By: nunga
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2024 at 2:53pm
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Sure can it was only last Friday since we were there. .177 @ 600FPS so just a tad over 6.5 foot pounds ------------- 2nd place HP springer - WFTF World Championships 2014 |
Posted By: RangerPete
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2024 at 10:16pm
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Nunga, if you were aiming at vitals, which I'm sure you were, they might have flown away but they didnt last long, I promise. I spend a great deal of time testing and trying to work out what the optimal power is to get the perfect amount of penetration with a specific pellet, on a specific target animal. As a pest controller what I dont want is pellets going stright through a pigeon, or rabbit or sparrow, and disappearing off into the great unknown and going through a roof or smashing a glass window, or killing a neighbours cat, or worse... You have no idea how often a pellet changes direction inside a pest target, and exits in a completely different, totally unpredictable direction. What I do want is a pellet that penetrates deep enough in the pest animal to reach the vitals, which is usually just over half the diameter of the chest cavity (or the head) and then stops because its used up all its energy to get that far. If I had the perfect formula of pellet weight, shape, caliber, velocity, power etc. to get a pellet three quarters of the way through any type of pest, through the vitals but never exit out the other side of that pest... well... I'd be the perfect pest controller! And I WOULD be the epitome of the Wild Wild West... I'd walk in to any job and BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG shoot the crap out of everything that moves because I know my pellets are no risk to anything else because they are never going to exit what I'm shooting! Safe as houses! Unfortunatly I dont have those magic formulas for each type of pest, so in reality I take a lot of time and care with every single shot I take, always aware of what caliber I'm using, what power level it is producing, am I taking head or chest shots, whats behind the targeted pest, which direction are the neighbours in etc... Obviously the penetration required to reach the vitals and kill a rabbit is quite different from whats required for a pigeon, and again different for a sparrow. Long story short, from all the tests I've done with pigeons and .177 combinations of pellets and powers, I find that a .177 round nose pellet at 6.9FPE is really good medicine for pigeons, enough to reach vitals from any angle, and will only occasionally exit a bird. I am quite certain that your flat nose .177's at 6.5FPE would have reached vitals and all your pigeons are quite dead. Bear in mind they only drop dead rite there if you hit the brain or cervical vertebrae. A pellet in the vitals may fly away, but its dead on it wings. ------------- Walk quietly, but carry a big stick. |
Posted By: kruzaroad
Date Posted: 20 Sep 2024 at 6:59am
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I'd go with Nunga. Flat heads arnt for hunting. Nor were they designed for hunting. I can't see a flat head doing that well against feather and breast. Espially at that sort of power. Hell the 1322 doesn't make through a pidgeon 10m with hades. Same power. Having said that I don't shoot pidgeons side on, it's either front, head or angled from back coming up under wing towards vitals. They are tree shot so probly more room for getting right angle than clearing a building. Get a pumper if you want to really drop your power. It takes next to nothing in time to throw a few pumps in for low power. You can get power ranges from pellet not making past end of barrel to tacking starlings at 50m. |