The HW 50S breakbarrel from Weihrauch.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
This report covers:
- The test
- Air Arms Field domes
- Air Arms Falcons
- Something different
- Crosman Premier 10.5-grain dome
- Mystery pellet
- Summary
Today will be different. I’m going to show you a test and the results but I won’t tell you exactly what I’m testing until tomorrow. Stay tuned; this will be fun!
Today I test the HW 50S at 25 yards. I’m going to use the two most accurate pellets from Part 15 and two new pellets I haven’t tried before.
As you recall, the rifle is tuned with a Vortek PG4-Steel tune that I modified to lower the cocking effort. It shoots dead smooth and is accurate. This is the rifle that I had to replace the rear trigger guard screw because the factory screw was stripped. Reader Yogi said the accuracy would improve when that was done and he was right.
The rifle is scoped with a 3-12X32 Bug Buster that sits in Burris XTR Signature rings. The rings made a big difference in where the rifle shot and I’m glad I took the time to adjust them correctly.
The test
I will shoot 10-shot groups from 25 yards. Please bear that in mind, as they may be larger than other 5-shot tests you may see, but ten shots will usually group significantly larger than five shots in any situation. The rifle was rested directly on a sandbag. There were no called pulls in today’s test.
Air Arms Field domes
First to be tested were 10 Air Arms Field domes. They hit the target to the left of the aim point and also a little low. Ten pellets made a group that measures 0.507-inches between centers.
The HW 50S put ten Air Arms Field domes into 0.507-inches at 25 yards.
As you can see, the group is about a half inch to the left of center. It’s also below the aim point, but that’s okay — I don’t want to blow my aim point away. I adjusted the scope 8 clicks to the right, which corrects for a half inch at 25 yards. I then shot one pellet just to settle the scope after the adjustment. Then I shot the next group.
Air Arms Falcons
Air Arms Falcons were next. In the last test they were the most accurate pellet and, until the eighth shot, I thought they would also be today. But shot eight went way to the left of the group, and shots nine and ten were also left of the main group. The first seven shots are in 0.271-inches, with the eighth shot opening the group to 0.769-inches.
The HW 50S put ten Air Arms Falcons into a 0.769-inch group, with the first seven in 0.271-inches at 25 yards.
There were no called pulls and as far as I could tell the hold was consistent. But I’m sure I did something to make those three shots stray so much.
Notice that this pellet did move back to the center of the bull, left and right, but it also hit the target at the top of the bull. I decided not to adjust the scope any more because the next two pellets are heavier and might go somewhere different. That turned out to be a good decision.
Something different
And now our story departs from the norm. Usually I would shoot the other two pellets that were shot in the 10-meter test in Part 15 and call it done. But last Saturday I received a new pellet to try. They aren’t on the market yet, but they soon will be, and naturally the person who contacted me said they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. They gotta say that or what’s the use of telling me at all?
But this guy went on and on about how great this pellet was and how surprised I was going to be. It’s a heavier pellet that weighs 10.5 grains, so I also selected Crosman Premier heavys to test alongside it. Normally for the power this HW 50S now produces, which is just under 11 foot pounds, I would stick with pellets weighing less than 10 grains. But the new pellet weighs 10.5 grains, so I thought the Premier heavy that also weighs 10.5 grains was a fair comparison. Here we go.
Crosman Premier 10.5-grain dome
The HW 50S put ten Crosman Premier 10.5-grain domes into 0.98-inches at 25 yards. It is the largest group of the test by far. And this pellet grouped 2 inches above the aim point at 25 yards.
Ten Premier Heavys went into 0.98-inches at 25 yards.
Mystery pellet
Now for the mystery pellet. It weighs 10.5-grains and is a dome, so it compares with the Premier Heavy. Ten of them went into 0.577-inches at 25 yards. So the mystery pellet is in second place, behind the Air Arms 8.44-grain Field dome. I have to say I’m impressed. They grouped 1.8-inches above the aim point.
Ten of the mystery pellets made a 0.577-inch group at 25 yards.
The mystery pellet did very well in the HW 50s. Tomorrow I will tell you all about it, and there will be several more tests in other accurate .177 rifles we are testing.
Summary
That will be it for the HW 50S. I think we have seen enough to make a fair evaluation. You have seen the factory performance, a power tune and a tune for lighter cocking that turned out to be the best tune of all. We have been through the Rekord trigger in a different direction and today I am using the rifle as a testbed for a new pellet.
Can’t wait to see the new pellet! Especially if there’s a .22 version.
B.B.
Do you have any crony numbers for the heavy pellets? I would want to know much larger the drop is at 10 yards past your zero, vs the 8.44’s?
-Y
Yogi,
I don’t have those numbers.
BB
B.B.,
Oh!
Seamy BENJAMIN MGs… at premium prices for hard Lead alloy too!
shootski
These just look like rebranded Crosman Premier Heavies to me
Ade C,
Could be.
Something must have changed beside the name if the reported BC’s are accurate.
shootski
Yeah, I just read that article on Hard Air but I’d take all that theoretical stuff with a pinch of salt. I suspect it’s just a new die of the same pellet and they’re creating hype before they’re put on the market
Ade C,
“…but I’d take all that theoretical stuff with a pinch of salt.” And you should…but only to a small degree. Yes, Chairgun is an algorithm driven simulation (like all the Ballistic Calculators and should always be checked out on paper in the real world with your projectile and your gun. The Ballistics Calculators are however a close approximation, getting better at it with every passing year, of reality and a good starting point.
I use paper targets, atmospheric data, and a LabRadar to do my final DOPE refinements.
I think the take away should be how much small increments of BC improvement result in what i consider to be BIG dispersion at and beyond 25 meters/yards in the WIND.
All too many airgun and firearm shooters fail to ever learn the hard lessons the WIND teaches the outdoor shooter!
Also: WIND is dealt with by HOLD OFF (aka, windage or Kentucky Windage) or by using CLICKS on the WINDAGE TURRET usually found on the LEFT side of the SCOPE/SIGHT. It is NOT called holdover! Holdover or Holdunder are used for ELEVATION issues.
shootski
shootski,
Do you suppose Crosman would take this as an opportunity to make these in .20, for those of us who own classic .20 Beemans and Sheridans? Nah!
Michael
Something I would like to see,
“We created our Pellet Video Series to create a closer look at some of our unique Pellet Categories. In them, our product development team gives you the scoop on why we made certain Pellets and what makes them different …and better.”
Now I borrowed these words from a Magpul email AD I received and replaced the word Products with Pellets.
It would be useful in at least offering a starting point for pellet selection if we knew why and what it was designed for and what type of airgun it was intended to perform best in, and possibly what to expect from its use at various power and FPS.
All is not lost. I have found an outstanding article on the JSB EXACT JUMBO MONSTER Redesigned pellet in HAM and surprisingly more detailed information using Bing AI-Powered Copilot for the web. But this was a notable change to a popular pellet. Not sure if every pellet has complete information … Somewhere out there? Not to mention BB’s impressive reporting on pellet performance in many, many airguns.
Thank you for taking that extra step for us BB.
Bob M,
You might enjoy the copy for what i think is the BIG Brother of Tom’s “MYSTERY” PELLET.
https://www.benjaminairguns.com/benjamin-discovery-domed-pellets-25#:~:text=Benjamin%20Match%20Grade%20Airgun%20Pellets,you%20hit%20bullseye%20after%20bullseye.
Benjamin must have put the .25 caliber Match Grade Pellets on one of those A1C drugs that slimed them down as a side effect…LOL!
shootski
Beginning to think you need to look for the word ‘Match’ or ‘Premier’ if you want a quality pellet to start your search for the best one to use for accuracy. I know, kind of obvious.
Hopefully it will not be abused by manufactures and assigned to everything, regardless of its quality.
Sure would be nice if a low-cost pellet turned out to be the best for your airgun.
Bob M,
Could be….
Or you can look to bullets (SLUGS) for way better BCs and WIND performance beyond the 25 Meters/Yards.
Of course that means matching barrel twist rates to the bullet’s (SLUG’S) Sectional Density.
As long as airguns are only shot at 25 or less pellets are fine…beyond that bullets almost always outperform pellets even with them being relatively new to airguns and incorrectly thought (by many Air Gunners) to be in limited models/designs.
shootski
Shootski,
Another evolution in Air Gunning to explore for sure.
I’ll take the HW50S with the Air Arms Field. You can keep the new mystery pellet. It is doing better than the Premiers, but that is nothing new.
Hey, B.B., nice shooting! But then I suddenly got confused…is this your pesting rifle or the HW30S? Offhand test comparison?
How is your pistol and slingshot shooting coming along?
Errata: In Air Arms Field domes: “It’s also below the aim point, but that’s okay — I don’t want to blow my air [aim] point away.”
Have a great day!
Good question, Greco. Cannot have 2 winners. 😉
“There can only be one, Highlander.”
🙂
BB
Your HW50S’ nice accuracy is as expected for a Weihrauch. But just to stir the pot again if you prefer sub 1/2 inch 10 shot groups at 25 yards you may want to give either JSB or AA 7.87 grain Express a chance.
Deck
BB,
OK; you have created some buzz about “the mystery pellet”…I guess we’ll just have to wait to see what it is. 😉
As for the HW 50S, that’s some great accuracy in a well-behaved air rifle; it’s wonderful to see that.
Now I can see why the HW 50S is recommended as an “all around” target and light-hunting rifle.
Blessings to you,
dave
Pellets don’t have a great latitude in the basic shapes of the pellets they manufacture. Sure they can make a few changes in the nose or make them a bit longer or shorter,,, but the changes are really in the alloys they use.
Hardness will likely place as much a part in their potential accuracy as does their shape. But weight is, to my mind, the real determining factor when using them in any particular air gun.
Most of our rifles have the same twist rate or very close to it. Which means that the rate of spin will depend solely on the muzzle velocity. Heavier pellets will be slower than lighter ones. so in the test today, the lighter pellets spun faster than the heavier ones. It would appear that whatever that spin rate was for the lighter one, it was closest to the ideal.
Of course there will be exceptions,, and as we know, the same model rifles don’t always like the same pellet. And so,, the search goes on. The factors that determine the accuracy are so diverse as to make finding the “perfect” pellet a daunting task,, and what makes it both frustrating and enjoyable.
Ed
Ed,
To me the quest for the “golden pellet” is an enjoyable part of shooting a springer.
One of the advantages of PCPs is that they can be fine tuned and that is a whole different kinda fun. 🙂
Hank
Too hot to go out and shoot? Just found a NASA backed report that basically says a South Pacific under water volcanic eruption last year spued an enormous amount or water vapor into the earth’s atmosphere and has caused the current increase in global temperatures. Seen a deep blue sky lately? They say it will take many years for it to return to earth.
It’s not CO2 emissions.
Bob M,
There is another report from some scientists that is looking into why they found “old data” from a Sun watching Satellite that is showing at least tenfold more Gama Rays from our Sun than had been previously reported! They are SHOCKED….
shootski
B.B.,
“The mystery pellet did very well in the HW 50s. Tomorrow I will tell you all about it, and there will be several more tests in other accurate .177 rifles we are testing.”
You NEED to shoot in the WIND and beyond 25 yards!
It would make sense to shoot the 10.5 Premiers and the “MYSTERY” 10.5 Pellet in the HW-50 and a few other accurate airguns…maybe even a PCP and beyond 25…LOL!
shootski
No wonder why it’s been such a humid summer! Thanks for that explanation.
Now why isn’t that info more widely know? Hmm.
RG,
Not in line with a certain political parties’ agenda involving manmade global warming. Kind of like Air Gunners polluting the earth with lead.
Bob M,
Just looked at the SW US Monsoon Charts and the projections for this weekend with Hurricane Hillary in the mix. Unusually HIGH precipitable water for the SW in August!
Got your gutters and downspouts clean as well as drainage ditches/swales cleaned out and wide open? Should be over by Monday Morning around 0800 PDT.
shootski
That’s OK, Half my property burned down yesterday. Home, garage and me OK
“Coyote Fire” 400+ acres.
Bob M,
Glad you and the home and garage were spared.
I guess the sightlines will be improved by the burn.
Hope Hillary doesn’t creat any more problems for you.
Be safe Shipmate!
shootski
Bob,
Thank the Lord you and your home made it through safe.
BB
Many times !
My neighbors property other side of the fence a total burn out was. Vacant land.
Neighbors’ property.
BB,
“That will be it for the HW 50S. I think we have seen enough to make a fair evaluation.”
Heck no – take it out to 50 yds! 😉
Michael,
Nah! Answering your own questions?
Did you perchance read the copy i Linked for Bob M?
https://www.benjaminairguns.com/benjamin-discovery-domed-pellets-25#:~:text=Benjamin%20Match%20Grade%20Airgun%20Pellets,you%20hit%20bullseye%20after%20bullseye
They have had the .25 caliber MATCH GRADE pellet for some time. I suspect it was to see how the hunters would react to the improved BC and accuracy increase. Doing the .177 caliber was an obvious move by the bean counters targeting Field Target and .22 would be next on the list for the Bean Counters. .20 caliber might happen if the production lines have available time and the Dies are not all too expensive…but i think your first reaction is correct. Maybe Benjamin will offer a .20 caliber airgun or at least a barrel/bolt/probe…”Nah!”
shootski
Hi guys, I’m late to the party here (visiting daughter in Chicago) so my comment may go unnoticed. The third from the last paragraph where you test the Crosman pellet, Tom, you record the size of the group as .98 inches at 10 yards. Were you not shooting everything at 25 yards or were you referring to a previous test with the Crosman pellet? As you can see, it doesn’t take much to confuse me.
Fred formerly of the Demokratik Peeples Republik of NJ now happily and safely back in GA
Fred,
Fixed. Grrrr. 😉
BB