BSA PREWARS....BEST PELLET IN YOUR OPINIONS?

[edbear2]

I have been using old stock webley specials, and pre-bisley wasps in my bsa improved model D in .22....dont hunt, just paper punch and plink...getting a bit low on stock now as if the tins are in good nick, they fetch more than the price of a new tin of quality pellets as collectables....is there a reference anywhere online of pellet head/skirt sizes than anyone knows, or what modern pellet would people reccommend...I have read/heard that rws superdomes work well in older springers, but are there any other brands that readers would recommend are worth a test....thanks all...

[Josie & John]

Hi,

I find RWS Hobby or H&N FTT go really well in .177 and .22.

Regards,
John

[monkeywrench]

H&N Field target trophy work very well in .177 through the "L" model i have found

[Gareth W-B]

In the absence of original Eely Wasps, H&N prove good in both cals imo, but Hobbies are top banana for these old gals for sure (again in both cals and again imo ). Atb: G.

[coburn]

I find H&N Field Target and RWS Superdomes very good in my L Pattern with perhaps the H&N's having a slight edge.

[Caddy]

I am with the RWS hobby crew. I use them in my H lincoln and improved model D. They just seem to be very consistent, especially for 6-10 yard bell ringing. Best of all they are Cheap!

Caddy.

[pennineway.fswo]

In my BSA .177 Club Special model, JSB and Air Arms group best at long range

For .22 have you tried H&N FT with the 5.54mm head size.very few gun shops sell this size but they are available These are the biggest they make They also go well in Mk1 Mk2 Airsporters.

An alternative .22 pellet that does well in early BSA's is the 5.6mm Markman pellets specially made for J Knibbs.
However the quality control of the tail diameters is not good and you have to measure them to identify those with a tail diameter below 5.78mm or so (about 1 in 20). A bit of a chore unfortunately. But when selected for form and size they group very well at long range

.22 Bisley Practise wadcutters also do well up to about 30 - 35 yards

John

[fat man]

I have a standard with cs prefix so could be a club special , i have found air arms diablo, and hobby work wellin her. atb forgot to say .177.

[Pagoda113]

RWS Hobby for the 0.22" calibre.

[edbear2]

Thanks to all who have posted so far...I've been out and got some of each, and have a nice warehouse to play in on monday!......As an aside, the "adder" pellets in the very old BSA catalogues which were recommended at the time give head/skirt sizes as high/low limits

.22......head 0.215/0.217......skirt 0.226/0.229....so I thought I would get some old tins from my collection and investigate......

I have just cut the seal on a 1950's paper label wasp tin, and they vary from 0.226-0.230 (skirt)

ditto with a 1950's cloth taped oblong webley special tin........0.224-0.227

the ftt's by H+n I bought today in .553 size came in at 0.225-0.228....so are no more consistent in dimension from pellet to pellet than the 40 year old webleys!!!!...that said the majority were pretty much around 0.227 and the finish under a glass is streets ahead, even allowing for how long the oldies have been sitting around......anyway, all this is academic until I get some serious time in down the range...will post my personal findings to add to list.

[Mike95]

I found a tin of Milbro Select in .22 at my club and they shot well in my older BSA and Webley barrels. otherwise, Superdomes seem a decent fit. I have old tins of 5.6 Wasps/Bulldog etc and their efficacy varies from gun to gun. Accupells almost fell down the barrels! Hobbies also did well in some guns but not others.

Mike95

[Ol' Timer]

RWS genarally good but I have been using JSB's 4.52's in my .177 BSA (1908) model d for the last 3yrs and have won 3 years in a row at bisley so I would say they are pretty good

[Caddy]

RWS genarally good but I have been using JSB's 4.52's in my .177 BSA (1908) model d for the last 3yrs and have won 3 years in a row at bisley so I would say they are pretty good

Giving away your secrets, careful. Caddy.

[Phil Russell]

Very interesting thread. As some will know from other threads, I am working on an old Stutzen and a S Airsporter at the moment, both .22. Both originally had pretty low performance and I am slowly sorting them out. My main test pellets to date have been AA Field in 5.52 as a reasonably heavy one at 16 gn and Defiants, again in 5.52 at 14 gn.
Out of curiosity I tried some Marksman 5.6 pellets yesterday ... I had bought then from John Knibbs a couple of years ago as being best for the really old BSA models ... Standard etc. I think they weigh around 14 gn. They were a little tight in the tap so I gently seated them. Result was amazing ... instant increase in fps of 50 - 80 fps. Out of curiosity I tried seating both the AA Field and Defiants even though the tap would close without doing this. Again, velocity increase, but only of around 20 - 30 fps.

I would like to try some more 5.6mm pellets.
Does anyone have a list of which pellets are 5.5 and which are 5.6?

As a footnote, I am now experimenting with piston weights in the Airsporter and Stutzen. I felt I had reached the limit with new springs so just tried some extra weight in the 'S'. Velocity increased by about 40 fps with no undue harshness. Current power is hovering around 10.4 ft lbs.
Cheers, Phil

[pennineway.fswo]

hi Phil
From the many .22 pellets that I have checked and measured, I have only found the Wasps and JK's Marksmen with head sizes nearer 5.6mm than 5.5mm
I have found that even pellets with 5.5mm heads still show shallow rifle marks around the head when shot from a 5.6mm bore barrel such as an old Mk1/11 Airsporter
The skirt diameter seems perhaps more important. JK's 5.6mm Marksmen pellets generally have skirt diameters of 5.8mm plus. Some are smaller than this and any less than 5.78mm I usually throw away as they can result in my older guns diesel badly. The bigger the skirt diameter the better (in these old loading tap guns) but you may need a pellet pusher to seat them deap into the tap

I was given a tin of very old Eley Wasps some time ago and the average pellet skirt diameter in the tin was arround 5.9mm. Some pellets were up to 5.94mm
These pellets certainly needed to be seated in the tap with a pusher but performed very well in Mk1 and 2 Airsporters
John