A possible game changer - Slugs for sub12 rifles - short review

[bootneckbob]

I kinda hope (perversely) they aren't good at 55yds. At £12 per 100 the cost per comp just went up significantly. SWEFTA comps tend be be HFT and FT same day and 80 shots, both comps out to 55yds. Just going to make the divide even bigger in FT for those with cash and those without. I know expensive rifles and scopes don't buy targets but it all helps when there's some talent. Having a pellet which bucks the wind and groups at 55. Where's the fun in that?!;-)

[Born Again]

People will be thinking "if shoot-through is a risk don't take that shot", sensible, but there are situations where even though there is a big safe area or backstop you still don't want shoot-through. My polytunnel is a good example. There are acres of land behind it, but I avoid shooting holes in it when shooting rats by using strategically placed sandbags and breeze blocks.

[robs5230]

I kinda hope (perversely) they aren't good at 55yds. At £12 per 100 the cost per comp just went up significantly. SWEFTA comps tend be be HFT and FT same day and 80 shots, both comps out to 55yds. Just going to make the divide even bigger in FT for those with cash and those without. I know expensive rifles and scopes don't buy targets but it all helps when there's some talent. Having a pellet which bucks the wind and groups at 55. Where's the fun in that?!;-)

Hi Rob
Yes the cost may be prohibitive for some, but they're comparable in price to the other brands of slugs that aren't mass made.

They may give a comp shooter with a cheap rifle, an ability to mix it with those shooting more expensive rifles. I'd say thats lots of fun

And the big win with these, is that they were designed for sub12 from the off.

[bootneckbob]

Well there's 30mph winds forecast tomorrow up the club; I'm game if you are!

[Anothermiss]

Whilst the slug concept interests me, the price is a massive turn off. How is that price justified in comparison to the diabolo pellets? It can't be anything to do with mass production runs because if the slugs are as good as described, they'll need to undertake mass production runs to keep up with demand. Will cost fall accordingly?

[Shed tuner]

Whilst the slug concept interests me, the price is a massive turn off. How is that price justified in comparison to the diabolo pellets? It can't be anything to do with mass production runs because if the slugs are as good as described, they'll need to undertake mass production runs to keep up with demand. Will cost fall accordingly?

if and when they are manufactured in similar quantities to JSBs, yes, then we can do that analysis. But right now the volume would be what, 0.01% of JSB volumes ? If succesful, maybe 1% ? if they are so sucessfull they get to 10% of the volume, that would be frankly amazing....

[Anothermiss]

if and when they are manufactured in similar quantities to JSBs, yes, then we can do that analysis. But right now the volume would be what, 0.01% of JSB volumes ? If succesful, maybe 1% ? if they are so sucessfull they get to 10% of the volume, that would be frankly amazing....

Why only 1%? If they are as good as described above (and I genuinely hope they are, as someone who hunts and only shoots targets in preparation for hunting) these will take off like a rocket. People from the HFT circuits are already pricking their ears for the benefits. Word will spread like wildfire. Likewise with hunters... Air gunners are quite a well connected breed and word gets around. So the serious hunter/hft/pest controller will hear of the successes quite quickly.
As for the casual garden plinker? I'd suggest the vast majority probably aren't the ones buying jsb pellets and are the type (on the whole) that keep spitfires and bsa type pellets in production, solely on price.
However that still leaves one of my original questions unanswered... Will price fall as demand rises?

[robs5230]

Will price fall as demand rises?

Thats a question you need to ask the maker.

But...
These are hand made and selected / graded.
Cheaper end user costs are only achieved by mass production / automation.

These are really niche products aimed at a pretty specialised market.

There are brands of other slugs out there, produced in similar ways (though heavier and not as suited to sub12), that are sold at similar prices.
They won't be for everyone, and the price will put some shooters off.

I always use the best pellets for my rifles, even for ratting. For the uses I'll put these slugs to (daytime rabbits and greys), my consumption over a season, will be relatively low, so not really a probem for me.

Bootneck Bob, mentioned the cost of comp shooting with these, with possibly 80 (maybe 100 with zero checking) shots taken on a comp day. So at the current costs, thats about £25 quid for using these slugs.
Just to put that in perspective, in the 80's, I used to shoot clays (reasonably competetively). My costs for a shoot day back then were about £60. Thats nearly 30 years ago.

[robs5230]

Well there's 30mph winds forecast tomorrow up the club; I'm game if you are!

I'm 75% of the way through a gun cabinet build, so wouldn't be able to get over today Rob (not that I fancy shooting in 30mph winds ), though if it eases off later, I' may pop out to the rabbit perm.

My next order of these, should be with me early next week. I will get in touch and drop over with some to let you have a look at.

[Born Again]

Makes quite interesting reading

Quite a few people have tried over the years, the same problems kept coming up though - airguns lack the power / pressure to properly engage the solid sides of the slug with the barrel rifling. Attempts have been made to make a "bore rider" type, where the body of the pellet rides inside the minor barrel diameter and a tiny "lip" at the back of the pellet engages the rifling. The problem with that is that different barrels are different sizes, and some have chokes at the muzzle. When you consider how even standard design pellets like JSB have varying results at 4.51, 4.52, 4.53mm you can imagine how difficult matching a slug to a barrel will be.

Hugh Earl at Pax guns got around the problem to an extent by designing his Piledriver slugs with ribs down the side that were able to deform into the rifling, but these were only successful in long, heavy types and for best results needed a special loading probe that held the slug central as it was loaded into the barrel. In the right rifle they were accurate, in the wrong rifle they weren't.

ps/ I hope I won't get banned for mentioning Hughs pellets, it's relevant to the thread.

[angrybear]

At £12 per 100 they aren't worth it (imo) for the rare occasion when they give benefit over a std diabolo.
Interesting they may be, a game changer ?? nope

[Black Beard]

They look like they are lead cups with the noses swaged into a curve. That would be possible to turn into a mass production item if there was sufficient demand. I hope it goes well for the manufacturer.

[TopDog]

There's the difference between you and me Rob, you're worried about pass through, I'm more thinking of missing entirely!

Ah! Nick; you're such a wag (but honest about it!)

atvb
David

[hillbill]

At £12 per 100 they aren't worth it (imo) for the rare occasion when they give benefit over a std diabolo.
Interesting they may be, a game changer ?? nope

Have you seen the expansion they offer at sub 12? They expand from 4.5mm to 7.5mm reliably. I also tried them, shooting through the bottom of 2 litre pop bottles filled with water from 20 yards. I compared them to JSB Exacts, and H&N terminators. Neither of those expanded or even deformed in that test. The Mako slugs basically tore themselves into pieces. You wont get any over pen with these.

[GoodWILLHunting]

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. At £15.25 delivered they won't break the bank so ordered a tin/box/bag etc. And we'll see how they perform at some point before the midges put a dampener on hanging around for precession...