What pellet will work best in my gun? We are asked this question all the time and always give the same answer. There is really no way to tell what pellet will work best in your gun without testing all the pellets in that caliber. That's why we designed the Straight Shooters Ultimate Pellet Sampler. The Straight Shooters Ultimate Pellet Sampler is the most complete pellet sampler available today. Our standard kit contains popular pellets from Crosman, Beeman, RWS, Benjamin Sheridan, JSB and the Logun lines. Our reusable containers hold 25 each of the selected pellets, all neatly sorted, labeled and ready for use.
The Straight Shooters Sampler is a great way to find the best grouping pellets for any airgun. Combine the sampler with a chronograph to check the airgun's velocities with different pellets.
How to use your sampler Although every caliber has many available pellets, most airguns will only perform really well with one or two of them. The question is which one or two pellets will perform best in a particular gun. By following some simple steps you can determine which pellets will group best in your airgun. Several tests are necessary to get the most from your pellet sampler. We recommend that the first set of test be conducted at 10-15 yards. Testing a pellet at less than 10 yards will not give sufficient pellet separation to determine the best group. Testing at more than 15 yards can allow wind and shooter movement to affect the test by altering the actual pellet path. Be sure to keep this in mind when testing at longer distances. Your next test sequence should be at 20-30 yards. Many shooters, for example, use 25 yards as a common range to zero scopes for general shooting and hunting/pest control purposes. Testing at this range will verify which pellet groups best and also shows the shooter's level of skill. The 20-30 yard distance will allow for greater pellet separation and will demonstrate the pellet's ability to shoot consistent groups with a particular airgun. The final test is for shooters who like to shoot at a longer range. Long range for an airgun is considered 50+ yards. Shooting accurately at 50 yards requires a special skill set and frankly, not many shooters are able to shoot consistently tight groups at this distance. Why? Because airguns are not designed for long distance shooting. They are at their best inside 50 yards.
Good groups can be shot in excess of 50 yards but to do so will require a good rifle, a pellet that groups well and a very good shooter. A major reason for the lack of long distance grouping consistency is that a breeze or wind is almost always blowing which has a strong effect on a pellets path. Pellets are not as heavy as bullets and are also shot at lower velocities so the wind or breeze has a longer time to effect the pellet's point of impact (POI). The longer the flight time the more the POI will change.
It's pretty unusual to experience a really calm day and consequently long distance shooting can be quite challenging even when the shooter, gun and pellet are all well matched. Testing Procedure Suggestions
Shoot strings of 5 pellets. It's almost impossible for even the best shooters to be consistent over more than 5 shots.
Shoot only one string per target, then write the name of the tested pellet on the target. Put up another target and move to the next pellet. Repeat this process until all the pellets have been tested.
Do not sight in your rifle for each pellet before testing. It simply isn't necessary to do so. However, draw or paste a 1/2" dot on the target prior to shooting the string to use as a aiming point. The idea is not to hit the dot but simply to use it as an aiming point for each shot. If a pellet hits one inch high or to the left, for example, then all the rest of the pellets in the string should also hit one inch high or to the left if the shooter continues to aim at the dot.
Do not use a hard surface for a bench rest. Use a soft rest such as a rolled-up towel or half filled sandbag so the gun can follow it's natural motion.
Relax, have fun and most importantly...believe the results of your tests. Your gun will perform best with certain pellets and not so well with others. There is nothing that the shooter can do about it. It's much better to go with whatever pellet(s) yields the best results because ultimately, the object of shooting is to hit the target not worry about which pellet was used in doing so.
When your testing is complete, you should be able to eliminate the pellets which produced the worst groups. Re-test the pellets that originally grouped well at multiple distances to narrow the pellet selection even more.
You will likely find that a particular airgun really performs well with two or three pellets. Some others will group reasonably well and might be fine for plinking when absolute accuracy isn't required. Stay with the pellets that produced the best results and repeat the testing after the gun has been shot 1500-2000 times to see if there has been any shift in which pellet(s) group best.
We think that you'll really be surprised at how much difference there can be between pellets even though they are all of excellent quality and have similar prices.
**The Straight Shooters red center single target works great for scoring each pellet
