Air Gun Home :: View topic - Raptor and other non-lead pellets

cliffspot · Veteran Member

I tried the PBA from Gamo and the Sliver Eagle hollowpoints from Crosman. They both SUCK! The eagles keyholed at 7 yds from my super accurate R7, this gun shoots ANY pellet accurately. The PBA is dismal at best! They have a new pellet called PBA Armor, great name for the anti-gunners! have yet to try the RWS Hyper-velocity Lead free, the Skenco, or the Promethius pellets. But as I am a springer guy, I know better then to shoot very light pellets in my guns. Too light a pellet and you will get piston slam, too heavy and you get piston rebound which causes a harmonic backlash in your spring and will cause breakage after a while! To quote one of the more well known tuners out there:

For the longevity of your spring gun:
My suggestions are for .177 caliber gun that the minimum pellet weight should be 6.9 and the maximum pellet weight should be 9 grains.
My suggestions are for .22 caliber gun that the minimum pellet weight should be about 13.5 and the maximum pellet weight should be about 15 grains.

I shot some CPH in my B26 and could feel the backlash in my gun, never using those again! Now I got 1100CPH pellets that I refuse to use in my springers. Trade anyone?
Aloha Gang!

WNCAGC · Member

They really suck! I shoot 10.4 grain JSB Exact Heavys in my RWS 34 .177 caliber and they are the best for this gun.

I have never heard of the too heavy syndrome but at the same time I am not doubting you. I will however continue to shoot the heavys because they are dialed in to a well tuned model 34 and all the harmonics sound so sweet on this gun when shooting it.

cliffspot · Veteran Member

When I shoot CPH's in my R1, there is no rebound feeling. In my b26, you can really feel it hiccup...best way I can describe it. i will do a little more testing in the coming week. I can only surmise that the heavier piston in the R1 as the difference. Check and check again!

thepaladin · Senior Member

In lower velocity guns the PBAs have been ok in my experince, but I've tried the RWS Hyper volicity, and I can't say enough....about how BAD they are. They won't group within five inches of each other. I liked the idea of trying the sabots, but believe me, I regreted it. I went with a low velocity gun, thinking it might be like the PBAs (that will tumble at speed of sound velocities) but no dice. I shot them from a Daisy 22SG at 25 yards. sighted in carefully from a rest, still wouldn't group.

Well, that money was wasted. The rest of the pellest are still setting in my gun cabinet, I can't think of a time I'll use them. Maybe once from each new .22 just for laughs. Rolling Eyes

2RCHA · Veteran Member

I Don't know what it is, but when it comes to useing Lead Free pellet's. You either love them, or hate them. I happen to love them. I've tried almost all that's available on the market, w/ the latest being the re-branded Skenco under an RWS label, and they are Fantastic, in all of my shooter's, No Fouling, No Stringer's, Nothing Detremental at all. Alot of people who go out and buy them selves a pack of "Raptor's" seem to forget one of the basic rules of airgunning. Match your Gun to your Ammo. What work's well in one gun, may not work well in another gun,,If the Raptor isnt making your grade, then I suggest that you try one of the many other offering's available to you,, Daisy makes a lead free pellet, that in my opinion surpasses the Gamo Raptor by a country mile, the one problem with the Daisy pellet is availability, You just can't find them anywhere, and if you do, the're alway's Sold Out. Skenco's are a Fantastic pellet, and You will notice that they make 4 types, That's for a reason, Don't go and get yourself some Type 1's, and expect to get a decent grouping past 15M, that's why they make Type 3's, and if you're looking for match grade accuracy, then buy yourself some Type 4's, They are a great pellet for accuracy well out to 20M. and Don't get pissed when you find they won't fit into any of your rotary magazines, that's what the Type 2's are for. Prometheus Pellet's are Great as well, Keep in mind that these pellet's are only 9gr. each, and "stubbies" compared to Skenco's, but when I put a Prometheus round in my Daisy 622X, I'm getting extreme accuracy @ 625fps, which isn't bad for a Co2 pistol rated at only 400fps. Lead Free Pellet's are literally a BLAST to shoot,,,,If you want them to be. Cheer's, Andy.

thepaladin · Senior Member

I said I'd had pretty good results from the PBAs. (shot in low power guns of course). Like you I use them in my co2 pistols a lot. But.... I still can't say anything good about the sabot rounds. I know they make several types, etc. I used the type ones in my .22SG (rifle). If you've had success with them I'm happy for you, but I don't care for them at all. I tried to give them every chance (shot from a rest etc.) but they just wouldn't group. I'll try them again, I haven't used them in my Crosmans (2240, 2250, and 2260). I want to be fair, so, we'll see, but what matters for you I suppose is that you like them. Happy for you, they're just not that great in my experince.

Slavia · Moderator

I tried the PBA pellets in several guns, and wasn't satisfied. I haven't tried any of the other lead-free pellets.

The only saboted pellet that I've tried was marketed under the Beretta name. It was a dismal failure in all the guns I tried. Except - I replaced the lead tip with 4.3mm lead round shot, and it beats steel BB's in a smoothbore Crosman 760. It's just that the "fiddle factor" is so high it's not worth doing on a regular basis.

Another pellet that I've written off is the Predator (polymer ballistic tip). Many of the tips were visibly crooked in the tin I bought.

To be fair, manufacturing technology has probably progressed to the point where I should give them all another look. That, and the fact that every gun has a different preference. I don't consider it a waste of money, though. Whenever a friend buys an air gun, I make up a sampler pack from my collection. All I tell them is the source for each pellet, and let them decide.

2RCHA · Veteran Member

Well for me, It's a tool-box, a different pellet-shooter combination for each situation. When I go hunting for Jack's, I'll usually go with my modded(900fps) XS-B4-2A .177 w/ Skenco Type 3's, and I'll get head/neck shot's well out to 40yds. If I'm hunting Snowshoe's I'll usually bring my QB-78-D .22 w/ Skenco Type 1's(11gr.), or my TAC1 loaded w/ my homemade "Rocket's"(Crow-Magnum w/ a Daisy BB centered/glued t.w. 23gr.). I have a QB-57 .22 that I would like to bring out hunting this year, and when I seen that Gamo is coming out with a "Raptor PBA" in .22 for this summer, I automatically knew that this would make a good combo, My modded 2240 may benefit from this round as well, the one draw-back to going lead-free in the field is the price, until these round's make it off the "specialty" list, and onto the regular list of everyday shooting situation's, they'll remain high-priced, and hard to find. Cheer's, Andy.

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Andy- what are the re-branded Skenco's being sold under the RWS name called?

2RCHA · Veteran Member

They're just being called"Hyper-Velocity" http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/pellet.pl?pellet_id=526 , There actually is a slight difference(other than sabot colour)between the Skenco and RWS round, but you can't tell unless you put one of each side by side. Just as the Skenco's, these are a very accurate, and extremely hard penetrating pellet, much, much more so than a Prometheus round, and I believe it's not due to the difference of 2gr, but rather the head design between the two. The RWS(Skenco) is more sharply pointed, and longer, the Prometheus round's weight is concentrated in the head of the round, while the Skenco's(RWS) weight is more evenly distributed throughout the length of the round. Cheer's, Andy.

Slavia · Moderator

I've seen "sampler packs" of RWS and Gamo ammunition - does anyone offer small samples (say, 25 rounds) so one doesn't have to buy a whole tin?

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I don't know why they don't have steel pellets. PBA are not "lead free" for the sake of being free of lead. They are just meant to have higher velocities. I like the idea of not using lead, but PBAs are not the way to go.

They are also loud and hard on your gun. Sure, I blasted a bird and it went straight through it, but even my lead pellets go through birds, so why do I need the PBAs?

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Most of these pellets are indeed made specifically for the purpose of being "lead free". More and more jurisdictions these days are outlawing the use of lead ammunition for different types of hunting.

2RCHA · Veteran Member

Especially for Organized shooting programs, club's, orginization's like the 4-H Club, Boy/Girl Scout's of America, R.O.T.C. in high school, and college. Even here in Canada, certain species of Duck's/Geese must be hunted w/ lead free shot. So, little by little the main-stream is starting to go lead free. I mean if you really think about it, that's a heck of alot of tonnage flying around both of our countries, I figure that I myself dispose of around 10lbs, or so in a given year. It all add's up, and you can't just close your eye's to it all, that's the kind of "ammo" these anti-everything idiot's love to exploit. Right now especially with everything going on to ban this, and ban that, we need to show a united front, and start doing our part for the public eye. Cheer's, Andy.

thepaladin · Senior Member

Of course, in all this we've totally over looked the need for silver pellets in case of...."were-rabbits", and "lycanto-squirrels"...and such. No, really...why is everybody looking at me so funny? Rolling Eyes