by B.B. Pelletier
Many of our readers have said they’ve had good luck with the Logun Penetrator pellet, so I thought I would give them a try. I’m always open for a good pellet. I had them in .22 caliber in both 16 grain and 20.5 grain weights.
Lead-free!
Logun Penetrators are lead-free, which usually raises a red flag with me. Over the years I have tested a great many lead-free pellets and usually found their accuracy wanting. The best were okay, but for real hair-splitting accuracy I have always found that pure lead pellets are tops. In fact, the most accurate .22 caliber pellet I’ve ever used is the 15.9-grain JSB Exact domed diabolo. For consistency from one gun to another, JSBs are the best – hands down!
Both Loguns are a modified diabolo shape. The domed head tapers to a very straight and long waist, then flares back out at the tail. It’s a unique shape that won’t be confused with any other pellet.
The Logun Penetrator has a different shape! It’s a diabolo, but a very distinctive one. This is the .22-caliber 20.5-grain pellet.
AirForce Condor was the test bed
To test a pellet, you need an airgun of proven accuracy. I have several to choose from, but when the test is in .22 caliber I find myself picking up either an AirForce Talon SS or a Condor more often than not. One reason is because there is no repeating mechanism to get in my way. I can load the pellets directly into the barrel, which produces the best accuracy with any pellet. Another reason is the huge number of shots I get from the removable air tank. I can take a spare tank or two to the range and never have to bother with a scuba tank.
Because the Condor has a power adjustment wheel, I don’t have to run it wide open. The two Logun Penetrators are medium and heavy weight, but in a Condor they are still too light to crack the throttle open all the way. I started the test with the 16-grain Penetrator pellet, which I sighted in at 20 yards before moving out to my 50-yard target. Three pellets got me on paper at 20 yards and I shifted to the for target after that. Group after group at 50 yards went into 1.5 to 2 inches for five shots. I tried a number of different techniques, but the groups stayed the same. The best group with the 16-grain pellet was 1.25-inches, and I have to call it luck because I was never able to repeat it. I shot at power settings 4, 8 and 12 and the groups did not change size. I sighted through an AirForce 4 to 16-power scope mounted on B-Square ultra-high adjustable rings.
20.5-grain pellet
I then switched to the Logun Penetrator in the 20.5-grain weight. The first group at 50 yards printed about 4 inches low but measured just over one inch! Things were looking up. The second group measure about one inch and then things improved considerably. The third group was 3/4-inch and I knew I was on to something. One remarkable group doesn’t mean much but a string of them is a good indication that you have an accurate pellet. I was shooting on power setting 8 with should shove a pellet this weight out the spout in the mid 900s, or so.
Once you get dialed-in with a PCP and a good pellet, it’s like eating peanuts – you just can’t stop. Group after group was in the 3/4 to one-inch size and then I got lucky. I was rewarded with a five shot group measuring just 0.406-inches! Those don’t happen often, but the way these pellets were performing, this was the sort of day for it. I tried to repeat that group and got a couple in the 0.600 range but no others under a half-inch.
Using a test standard
After I was satisfied that the 20.5-grain Penetrator was thoroughly tested, I shot two more groups – with JSB Exacts. I know how good they are, so I’m establishing that the rifle is shooting well if I get good groups with them. The two groups measured 0.750-inch and 0.615-inch. No doubt about it – the Condor was shooting well that day!
Conclusions
The 20.5-grain .22-caliber Logun Penetrator works very well in a PCP at about 40 foot-pounds. It’s very accurate and repeatable (holds its zero well). The Condor has a 24-inch Lothar Walther barrel, and I would expect this pellet to do as well in other PCPs with premium barrels.
I did not test the penetration ability, which is a main claim of this pellet. However, nothing else matters unless the pellet is accurate, and the Logun Penetrator 20.5-grain certainly is.
The 16-grain Penetrator did well in the test, though it did not perform to the same level as the heavier pellet. You should make no assumptions about its performance, except the obvious fact that it is not the best pellet for the Condor when it’s operating in the 20 to 40 foot-pound range.
BB,
Thanks for the post. I have only shot the 20 gr. Loguns but I can verify that for me they do as well as the Beeman Kodiaks. As you know I use them for raccoon control and they do very well in my AF Talon SS. Quick and as painless as possible. I am now awaiting the delivery of the 24″ barrel which is back ordered. Fortunately my friends are presently hibernating for the most part (along with me) but I will be prepared for mating season and beyond.
CWI
BB,
i’ve post this comment on an older blog of urs, so maybe u didn’t see it.
U said not to store the 22SG with a pump of air. Why is that?
Don’t all pump pneumatic needs a pump of air to keep the valve intact?
That brings me to my question. You see, I own an Indonesian made Sharp Innova, it’s quite good really, but it didn’t come with a manual. So do you think I should store my sharp with a pump of air or not? I am quite confused because tha sharp air guns doesn’t work the same way as benjamin sheridan. With sharp airgun, after the pumping , you can shoot right away without cocking the bolt.
o yeah, btw, i am considering to buy a single stroke pneumatic (not spring), is there any single stroke pneumatic air rifle that can be use as a hunting gun? (800fps or so).?
regards
haque
They’re lead free?
I don’t know of a test I can perform to conclusively prove they are, but I’d swear (at least the .177cal) LP’s are lead. I can easily scratch them with a fingernail, and they leave a smudge on paper. But I’d say they’re definitely of a harder lead alloy, though. They don’t deform much at all in soft media (wax and soap) but wood and bone mangle them only slightly less than other pellets.
Besides that, my Gamo CF-X loves LP’s.
When they hit the stores, I’m going to try out Gamo’s new Tomahawk “pointed hollow point” pellets, they look interesting. They’re in the 2006 catalog.
Haque,
DO NOT store your Innova with a pum of air in it! That cocks the gun!
I will have to do a post on this, for the danger involved.
B.B.
craigjwjr,
Yep, lead-free. I’m guessing Bismuth, because it’s a common substitute for lead today.
B.B.
Can you comment on how to store the IZH46M, pumped or not? BTW, I have run a series of tests using different pellets in the RWS52 (my earlier questions about pellets fo r this gun) and am very surprised at the results. There is a big difference between the Baracuda’s and Crossman Premiers and all of the others I tested. Thanks for the suggestions on pellet choice.
PCR
BB,
Can the crosman 357 be stored with the full co2 bottle in it?
CF-X guy
BB
Have you ever tested with Gamo Raptors, At only 5 gr. I was wondering how well they would do in a low power springer.
Ed
Dear BB I think that you’ll be interested in JSB’s domed shaped pellets, they look just like the LP! I usually hit squirrels with jsb’s predator’s or beeman kodiaks but when I first recieved my order I thought that I ordered wrong but in other forums I read about “new” jsb’s so I figured that these must be them. The other day I used one on a squirrel at about 20yrds it hit in back of the right arm and exited out the other side, I’m useing a shadow 1000 and not even the kodiaks do in and outs.
Ed,
Look on the February 21 post.There he talked about those pellets.
CF-X guy
Thanks
Will the Penetrators damage the rifling in the barrels?
Jim
CF-X guy,
The Crosman 357 owner’s manual on the Pyramyd AIR website says not to store the gun with a powerlet in it. I always follow the manual.
B.B.
IZH 46,
No single-stroke pneumatic can be stored with a pump in it. The pump head seal is flexible, and it is also one end of the compression chamber. The air pressure with leak out and eventually destroy this seal.
B.B.
IZH 46,
No single-stroke pneumatic can be stored with a pump in it. The pump head seal is flexible, and it is also one end of the compression chamber. The air pressure will leak out and eventually destroy this seal.
B.B.
Gamo Raptors,
Yes, I think I posted the first test ever for those pellets. They are in the CF-X test.
JSBs? I have been touting them for almost a year.
B.B.
Jim,
The Logun pellets shouldn’t damage a barrel. We shoot jacketed bullets in gun barrels all the time and the wear they experience is more from the heat of the burning gasses than from the friction of the bullet. And copper is harder than bismuth, I believe.
B.B.
B.B.
Sorry for an off-topic question. I just got into the wonderful world of air rifles. Could you list a couple springers accurate enough for field target yet powerful enough for small game hunting? Thanks.
FT/hunter,
Numero Uno in all the world – the TX 200 in .177. Can’t shoot FT (and win) with a .22. Numero dos – the HW 77. It was king until the TX 200 unthroned it. Also .177.
B.B.
BB,
Great post! The light pellets seem much shorter, even when comparing the weight to length ratios with that of the 20.5’s. Maybe that’s why the Condor didn’t group well with them. I wonder if the 16 grain Penetrators would work better in a gun of lower power? I have both weights, and I am going to see how the lights work in my Benjamin 392PA. My Gladi8or shoots the 20.5’s better than I can shoot the rifle. My best groups are dime sized. That is with five shots at 23 yards (the size of my backyard range). I will also try them in my Condor, though I really like shooting Eun Jins out of that beast! Thanks again for the post BB.
Jason
BB,
Just wondering, you said “you can’t shoot ft with a .22 (and win).” Why, because no one does( use 22 and win) or nobody has yet. I understand most top shoters do shoot .177, but do you think that it would be impossible for theese very same top shooters to use a .22 cal and win? If so, why?
Jason
Jason,
I won’t give up on the 16-grain Penetrators yet. A one-gun trial is hardly fair.
B.B.
Jason,
The reason you can’t shoot FT with a .22 and win has to do with the size of the kill zones. The kill zone holes on the harder targets are as small as 0.25 inches, and it is statistically harder for a .22 pellet to pass through without touching the side of the hole for a split. When a pellet touches the side of the kill zone as it passes through, it pushes the target face backwards, locking the mechanism, so when the pellet (what’s left of it) hits the trigger (paddle) it can’t push it hard enough to knock the target down.
It has nothing to do with the accuracy of the caliber, which is just as good as .177.
B.B.
BB are they lead? they look “different”. I recieved a sample pk and I was worried about my barrel if they arn’t pure lead.
turtle,
No, they are lead-free. I am guessing they are bismuth, but I don’t know. They could be an alloy of something.
B.B.
Tin is what’s used in British non-lead pellets (or “air bullets”)… there was extensive testing to ensure there could be no damage to gun-barrels – back in 2000 the government had been looking into a phasing out of lead pellets.
Logun Penetrators are Lead
Dynamic’s are same Shape and made out of Tin
http://www.airgunpellets.com
for more information
Also sold in UK as Exterminators
the Original Logun Penetrator
BOB/R
Bob/R,
You better get in touch with Logun so you can correct the labels on their American sold Penetrators! Mine read ” Lead free ” on the label.
Jason
Bob/R,
I have another “tin” that it says, “No lead pellet penetrates deeper.”?? I think some of the labels must be from the tin pellets, because they both say Penetrator. Weird.
Jason
Hmmmmm the Mystery deepens….
Brit Visitor,
Tin makes sense. I should have thought of it.
Thanks,
B.B.
I wish more dealers would sell lead-free
pellets.
It should be noted that in .22 the tin pellets are too long to load in a CFX without risk of deforming the skirt (and they definitely cannot be loaded via the shallower tray of the BSA Superstar) because of the rotary breech design.**
They are fine for loading in break-barrels and presumably the sliding-breech type of underlevers as well.
** Don’t know if the .177 size will fit in that calibre of CFX.
Lots of people including myself get confused on the Logun Penetrators wording on their label.
It is claiming that “No (other) lead pellet….”
Currently, I belive them to be made of lead.
/product/logun-22-penetrator-20-5g?p=307
Michael,
I agree the wording is confusing. It’s like that old saying, “What’s that in the road? Ahead?”
Nevertheless, they are not lead. From what I’ve been told they are pure tin.
B.B.
B.B.
Can you point me to where you read that penetrators are lead free? I saw one website says it is, but another one says it’s not. Thanks.
Anonymous,
B.B. is out of town. He can answer your question when he returns.
B.B.’s assistant
Just got an email from the folks at Pyramyd AIR. They’re attending the big shooting industry show in Germany and noticed the discussion about Logun Penetrators. The Logun are also at the show, and they told PA that Penetrators USED to be lead-free but that all of the ones they currently produce – including the new .25 caliber ones – are made of lead.
B.B.’s assistant
Logun Penetrators,
I have now learned that the Logun Penetrators were made of tin but were changed to lead last year. The sample I had were non-lead, but you will currently get lead if you buy them.
B.B.
B.B.
Is there anywhere you can buy these anymore?
The only places I have found, are outside the USA & are pretty pricey.
If you don’t know where we can get any Logun Penetrators in .22 what is the next best thing?
Beeman Kodiaks?
– The Big Bore Addict –
BBA,
The price of Logun Penetrators went through the roof, so PA dropped them. They are fine pellets.
Yes, the Beeman Kodiak/H&N Baracuda is a great substitute.
B.B.
(I forgot to subscribe to this thread so I just saw this.)
B.B.
Thank you!
I actually came across 5 boxes/tins of the heavy Penetrators, & will hoard them for hunting only.
In the mean time, I will try the Kodiaks & Baracudas.
Thanks again,
– The BBA –