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gicos · Member

What's everyone's experience with .22 caliber pellets/bullets/balls in different groove diameters? I expect .224 bullets in a .220 groove diameter barrel would be too much friction until swaged, but that's just a guess. I know Bob shoots #3 buckshot (.260) in a 25 caliber barrel (.254), but these are round ball and not bullets. .006 is a good amount of squeezing in an airgun, though.

Size #F buckshot is readily available in .220 size, but I don't think it would fair well in a .224 barrel due to lousy sealing. The .218-.219 bore diameter may hold it fairly straight.

A lot of pellets these days have skirts at .225, so they should work in a .224 barrel. I would think they'd easily obturate if they were smaller.

Barrel inserts are available in .222 groove diameter and .218 bore in various twists. This may work for someone wanting a universal barrel capable of shooting .220 buckshot, .220 pellets (.220-.225 skirts), and .224 bullets.

Thoughts/experiences?

rsterne · Moderator

Airgun barrels, as you probably know, are 0.217" bore, and that is the head diameter of typical pellets.... The land diameter is smaller, and the skirts are larger (by several thou).... The latest "long range" benchrest bullets out of Holland are in this thread....

http://airgunhome.com/agforum/viewtopic.php?t=8636

Sean and I have a couple of 0.224" bore (0.219" land) Hornet liners from TJ's which are a 14" twist.... should be perfect for the 40ish gr. bullets....

Bob

gicos · Member

Looking forward to seeing how that works out, Bob. What's your take on how well a .220 buckshot would fare in a .224 barrel? Size F is used with decent results in .220 airgun barrels, as you know, but the extra .004 in a center fire barrel is questionable. I don't know anyone who's tried it. Unfortunately, there's no buckshot size in .22 caliber that's slightly bigger than the groove diameter like there is with the .25.

rsterne · Moderator

The #3 buck I have measure 0.249" to 0.253".... The LW barrel is 0.250" bore, 0.246" land.... Half the balls are OK, a few are a bit tight, and a few are @#$%^&@ tight....

Bob

radar · Silver Status Member

That's the problem with buckshot. They intend it for a shotgun so the sizing is all over the place. Much sorting. I think I would look for balls for a black powder gun--if available in your size; the tolerances are much tighter.

As for .22 cal. (and .177, too) lead balls, I've only tried Gamo brand, and do not know the barrel sizes, specifically, but having shot them out of everything from pump-up pneumatics to springers, and found the accuracy well behind that of diabolo pellets. In .177 cal., however, they are much better than steel BBs if shot from a rifled barrel. They must be single loaded because they do not fit through most BB magazines reliably.

The penetration is excellent, however. I would consider using a .22 lead ball out of a powerful .22 spring-air rifle, at short range, for dispatching tough game like raccoons.
cheers
Rob

toadmyster223 · Senior Member

My Titan shoots .22 balls really well! I have amazing accuracy at 25 yards, and really reasonable accuracy at 50.

radar · Silver Status Member

toadmyster223 · Senior Member

Peru is great, Christmas with the little ladies fam is going great. Got them a big grill made from a 40 gallon or so barrel, complete with mechanically lower-able cooking surface, all welded from heavy steel and re-bar; all for a grand price of about 70 dollars. Love it here.

And yeah; 22 caliber lead balls in my titan shot almost as well as my go-to pellets, the 16.36 domed pellets that it preferred. I used to prop beer bottles up on a metal pole and shoot them off at 25 yards, and then once i had a stack of necks built up on the pole, shoot them off 1 by one. The pellets would break the necks that wanted to deflect most pellets.

radar · Silver Status Member

Don't want to hijack, but you got me interested in trying them again. I remember, maybe, 1" to 1-1/2" groups at 20 yards in my guns, but maybe I'm remembering wrong. Again, for a raccoon on the garbage can at 50 feet, no problem, but squirrels at 30 yards, no.