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Education / Training RAW HM-1000X precharged air rifle: Part 5

RAW HM-1000X precharged air rifle: Part 5

RAW HM 1000X
The new RAW HM-1000X chassis system.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

This report covers:

  • The test
  • H&N Field Target Trophy
  • Air Arms Field Heavy
  • Predator Polymag 16 grain
  • JSB Ultra Shock
  • H&N Baracuda Match 5.53mm
  • H&N Slug HP
  • H&N Baracuda 18
  • JSB Hades
  • Discussion
  • Summary

Today I test the RAW HM-1000X Chassis System at 25 yards. I will refine the sight settings and seek good pellets.

The test

I shot 5-shot groups off a sandbag rest from 25 yards. I tested eight different pellets, and the results encourage me to run this test again. You will see what I mean.

I will post each pellet with its group and then make a general discussion.

H&N Field Target Trophy

I’ve not had any luck with H&N Field Target Trophy pellets. Today the HM-1000X put five in a 0.643-inch group at 25 yards. When you see what the other pellets did this group will look really poor.

FTT group
The RAW HM-1000X put five Field Target Trophy pellets into this 0.643-inch group at 25 yards.

Air Arms Field Heavy

The RAW HM-1000X put five Air Arms 18-grain Field Heavy domes into 0.126-inches. As someone yesterday predicted, the 10-meter results would be extended to 25 yards. I really need that widow’s mite! And I have ordered one, but it’s not a Lepton. Instead I found a neat little silver coin from India that is smaller and more uniform. The problem with the widow’s mite is they weren’t struck well and some are larger than the gold dollar.

After the first group I cranked in some down elevation. Didn’t want to hit the center of the bull, but to at least get the pellets inside.

Air Arms Field Heavy
From 25 yards the RAW HM-1000X put five 18-grain Air Arms domes into 0.126-inches.

Predator Polymag 16 grain

The next pellet I tested was the Predator Polymag 16-grain hollowpoint. The second shot blew my aim point away and I do believe I could have done better if it hadn’t. Still, five pellets made a group that measures 0.302-inches between centers.

Polymag group
Five Polymags went into this 0.302-inch group at 25 yards, but shot two blew the aim point away.

Stock Up on Shooting Gear

JSB Ultra Shock

The next pellet I tried was the 25.39-grain JSB Ultra Shock. Five of them went into 0.337-inches at 25 yards. I knew they would go lower because they are so heavy.

Ultra Shock group
The RAW put five JSB Ultra Shock pellets onto a 0.337-inch group at 25 yards.

H&N Baracuda Match 5.53mm

Next to be tested was the H&N Baracuda Match dome with a 5.53mm head. The RAW HM-1000X put five into 0.065-inches, which is not only the smallest group of this test but it’s also one of the smallest 5-shot groups I have ever shot!

Baracuda Match group
Five H&N Baracuda Match pellets went into 0.065-inches at 25 yards.

H&N Slug HP

Next to be tested were five H&N Slug HP bullets. These are the 0.218-inch bullets that weigh 23 grains. Five went into 0.20-inches at 25 yards. So close to the trime, and yet just too large.

H&N Slug group
Five H&N Slugs went into 0.20-inches at 25 yards. As you can see, my aim point was just barely preserved.

H&N Baracuda 18

The H&N Baracuda 18 pellet has shown remarkable promise in the past several tests it has been in. Today it shot the second-smallest group of the test — five pellets in a mere 0.075-inches at 25 yards! This RAW can really shoot.

Baracuda 18 group
Five H&N Baracuda 18 pellets went onto 0.075-inches at 25 yards.

JSB Hades

The last pellet I tested today was the new JSB Hades hollowpoint. In past tests they have done quite well, but not this time! Five made a 0.636-inch group at 25 yards. Hardly the pellet for this rifle, given what we have seen.

Hades group
Five Hades pellets made this 0.636-inch group at 25 yards.

Discussion

Somebody is bound to say something like, “Well, that’s what a $1,900 air rifle should do!” I suppose it is, but you go out and find another that does this well. Not all of them do. Out of 8 pellets tested, three got the gold dollar that is awarded to groups smaller than 0.15-inches between centers. And a fourth pellet that is actually a bullet is on the cusp of getting a trime, which is reserved for groups that are smaller than 0.20-inches between centers. And all of this was shot at 25 yards!

Yes, these are only 5-shot groups that really aren’t the best test for accuracy, but they sure do show a lot of promise! In fact they show so much promise, and BB is having so much fun with this RAW (and doesn’t want to give it back!) that he plans to conduct a second 25-yard test, just to select the best pellets to move on with.

Summary

A week ago I was starting to feel like I was only writing about spring-piston airguns. This series has changed that! Don’t give me any grief about how expensive it is. I know that, too. But I can always drag out one of my Sharpshooter rubber band guns to shut you all up!

47 thoughts on “RAW HM-1000X precharged air rifle: Part 5”

  1. B.B,

    “A week ago I was starting to feel like I was only writing about spring-piston airguns.”
    One of the Dark Siders thanks you!

    Don’t rule out the bullet (slug) just because of the performance at 25! Do you have any other diameters/lengths; or is the 0.218″ one a good fit? The way it punched symetrical holes says it will probably remain stable to at least 100.

    shootski

  2. BB,

    This rifle is really going to be spending time at long distances. It would be a waste to use it at short ranges.

    Siraniko

    PS Section H&N Baracuda 18 1st paragraph 2nd sentence, “Today it shot the second-smallest group of the test — five pellets in a mere 0.75 (0.075) -inches at 25 yards!

  3. BB
    Don’t waste your time on another 25 yard test. Take your best pellets from today’s test and do a 50 yard test at the minimum. We already know what it will do at 25 yards.

    Oh and I have a funny feeling you will have fun shooting the gun at 50 yards and out also. Do a 50 yard test next.

      • BB
        Well I just read through the comments and it says you want to test (other) pellets at 25 yards.

        Up above in your report it says you want to do another 25 yard test. So it makes it sound like your going to do a do over of what you just reported.

        So yes if you have other pellets or bullets you want to try at 25 yards then I can agree with that.

        At least shooting at 25 yards is better than shooting at 10 meters like you normally do. Just think if you stopped doing those 10 meter test how much more time you would have for other tests that we would be interested in.

        Remember time is flying by as we speak. 😉

        • GF1,

          What is happening is you are seeing into my testing. Instead of me telling you how everything went, I’m letting you watch as I go step by step.

          There are two reasons for that. First this rifle is quite expensive and I want to make sure it gets a thorough test. And second, I know for a fact that these RAWs are set up for certain JSB pellets, and, though I have tested some, they weren’t the best ones for this rifle.

          It’s bothersome to go slow like this, but it keeps this RAW in my hands just a little longer. Should that have been reason three? 😉

          BB

          BB

          • I wouldn’t mind a 10 part test! It’s fun to be the fly on the wall.

            It is interesting that the Polymags and the Ultrashocks cut such clean holes. But you are mostly using domes for distance and accuracy. They don’t cut such clean holes, unfortunately. Once you get your pellet selection narrowed down, you may consider rolling out a thin (1/16″) pancake of duct seal and pressing that between the back of your target and the cardboard or whatever you tack your target to. I usually run the back of my finger up and down over the bullseye to make sure the target paper is sticking to the duct seal. I found that I get really clean holes that way, even with domes. It’s a bit tedious to do for every target, but it makes for easier measuring. What is left of the pancake is then balled up and flattened again for the next 10 shots, or I position the next target sheet on a different spot on the pancake.

          • BB
            I done know your testing and will know the out come before you even do the test for the most part. I’m just along for the ride and waiting for something interesting to happen.

            And a 3rd reason? No.

            Why would this gun be any more special to test then any other. It’s just another gun.

            I want them all to be a accurate fun gun. But you already know that answer.

            The guns I like when you review them are the ones that are easy on the budget and out perform the high dollar guns. Now that’s a unpredictable fun report to read.

            Now when you get this RAW out at a hundred yards plus that’s when I’ll start getting interested. I go out there all the time. I know some don’t. So right now I’m just waiting.

            So yes true. I definitely read into how your reports go.

          • B.B.,

            I’m going to guess that you were advised to shoot the JSB 18.13 gr pellet at around 880 fps and/or the JSB 25.39gr Exact Monster REDESIGNED in your RAW at around 930 fps as part of your next 25 yard pellet test.

  4. Good morning everyone. Very interesting report, B.B. I’ve been reminded of you a lot lately, B.B., because I have seen quite a number of coin collections for sale recently in nearby Eastern Ohio. Lots of silver coins, but nothing too exotic.

    Yesterday, I was pretty active on the comments. Ridgerunner was right about the spotting scope. The large ring (red arrow) is a focusing ring. I couldn’t see that before because I had not yet added the gross focusing adapter (green arrow) between the scope and the interchangeable ocular lens. I am guessing that at a great distance, I can remove the focusing adapter from the ocular side and just screw the ocular lens in by itself and just use the large focusing ring.

  5. Then I checked the remaining pellets in the tin and all the heads were solid and all looked uniform in height. I measured the heads with a caliper and I found they mostly were 4.50 mm with about 1/4 of them measuring 4.49.

  6. I had a peep sight on the rifle a few weeks ago and the aperature started wiggling, so I had returned it and received the replacement yesterday. I slapped that puppy on the rifle, and started sighting in. Long story short, I shot about 40 or so shots last night without a misfire, so that is still a mystery, but all indications point in favor of not fully cocking the rifle or not fully closing the barrel.

    • RG,

      I would have to go with the barrel not being fully closed. That could possibly allow for a louder discharge rather than down the barrel and also allow for air to choose a different route than pushing the pellet out of the way.

      I think that you can forget about not fully cocking as every sproinger I have encountered requires you to fully cock it before it will discharge.

      • It’s a curious thing, because this rifle has a ball bearing detent to keep the barrel closed. I tried to duplicate the problem, but I couldn’t, so it must have been something my daughter was doing wrong or perhaps something (some piece of a pellet?) was holding the barrel open just a hair–enough to create an alternate path for the compressed air. We may never know.

  7. The accuracy of these air rifles are phenomenal. Yes, it is expected at this price range, but it is usually not there. They may be tuned in to one particular pellet, but not able to perform like this over a variety of pellets. Try this test with a straight out of the box FX Impact and show us what you get.

    Buy the way, a FX is so expensive because of the incredibly high taxes Sweden has to pay for its welfare system.

  8. However, I have a new problem! The peep sight is adjusted as far left as it can go, but I am still not centered on the target. All shots are still landing to the right of the bull. The iron sights were also cranked pretty far to the left as well. Here’s my best group at 10 yards. Not my best, but I was getting tired and the goal was not total precision, but troubleshooting.

    • Roamin,

      Ah HA! That last pic shows that perhaps the front sight is rotated to the left a little. Hold the rifle to your shoulder with your eyes closed, then open them and see where the front sight seems to be, relative to the rear sight. I bet it’s rotated a few degrees to the left of center.

      BB

      • Thanks, guys! I definitely will try the hairdryer method before I try to bend a barrel! I would probably end up with that spiral barrel effect! See pic from B.B.’s earlier blog report: /blog/2012/06/b-b-takes-a-day-off/
        Except mine would not be as accurate as that one.

        There looks to be a set screw on the front sight that I can loosen and then I can heat up the works and twist it slightly to the right and tighten the set screw again. I think I will use a grease pencil to mark the sight and barrel so I dont lose track of how far I have turned the sight. Any other tips are certainly welcome.

    • Hey Roamin,

      another issue that might be your problem (or daughter’s) occurred to me. How tight or loose a fit are the pellets that she was using? I have experienced loose fitting pellets fall out of the breech without me noticing as I closed the barrel. Perhaps?

      Fred formerly of the Demokratik Peeples Republic of NJ now happily in GA

        • I thought of that, but I don’t think that’s the case here. After the “misfire,” when I broke open the barrel, the pellet was still sitting there in the breech. Also these pellets fit the breech nicely, not too loose, but not too tight. If I use a pellet pen with the seating tool, I can get them to “pop” into the rifling a few millimeters.

          But thanks for the suggestion.

          • Roamin
            Well that’s it then. The barrel wasn’t closed all the way I’m thinking.

            Why else would the pellet still be setting there then?

            Just a heads up. On a pcp, pump or Co2 gun make sure that bolt is closed when you fire the gun. Otherwise your going to at the minimum get a face full of lead particles when the air blast happens.

            Lucky for your daughter the gun your using isn’t making a lot of power so the air blast was probably minimal bit still could be scary.

            Ask her if when the gun sounded loud if she felt anything blow on her face. Most likely when it happened she didn’t know any better and probably thought that happens at times with these guns and didn’t say anything.

            See how hard it is to pay attention to stuff even if we don’t know. Especially us parents that are suppose to be teaching right. Scary situations can happen is the least I can sqy.

    • B.B.,

      I don’t remember if you’ve adjusted the reg or hst in your RAW but if it’s still shooting the 18.1gr over 1,000 FPS they will destabilize when you start shooting out to 100 yards. 880 FPS has been best for the 18.1gr. The JSB monster redesigned at 930 FPS is even better than the 18.1gr at 100 yards. This is based on lots of shooting a 22 cal RAW in a wood stock.

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