The H&N Baracuda

[TonyL]

https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2021...-then-and-now/

This might prove to be a very interesting little mini-series from Tom.

It's a pellet that I've long respected. My first acquaintance was back in the early 80s when one of my friends (FAC holder) used higher-powered Sharps. And I'll never forget the figure.....686fps with 15 pumps from an Innova.....circa 21.5ft.lbs. Accurate, too.

This respect made it an easy choice for me to give the .177 Baracuda FT pellets a go in recent times, too, with excellent results. I hope Tom looks at the smaller calibre, too. I understand plenty of people will use the 10.5 grains Baracuda for hunting in PCPs?

[ZAKDINGEL]

Thanks thats makes very good reading imn also a fan of them -i have being building up a stock pile lately of pellets and most of the are barrcuda 18s crow mags etc --and jsb -this lead thing has me worried so i think putting them away will be good for the long run

[Born Again]

In the article the pics of the new barracuda looks like JSB heavy. Is it the same pellet ? Or have they taken some design cues from the JSB ?

[Murphy]

I remember being told Bisley Magnums where Barracuda's that failed QC.

[T 20]

I always chrono my Mowhawks and Sportsman with Baracudas.

[ZAKDINGEL]

I remember being told Bisley Magnums where Barracuda's that failed QC.

I herd the same many moons ago --But i was also told not long ago when i couldn't find any bisley mags for love or money to try H-N Barracuda and that they were a better finished pellet Well the member who said that was right 100% --so failed QC the ones i have most defiantly a no no---Strange how you hear these story's going around

[Frog]

My .177 pr900w likes baracuda lights 9.57gn - best pellet in that gun and very, very accurate it is too.
My .177 Huntsman likes Bis mags (the pellet recommended for it in 1996 when it was made!) which are very similar to Baracuda but the ones I have weighed have been consistently lighter by approx 0.2gns - whether they are the same and the bis mag batch I weighed was just a lightish one I do not know.

[Geezer]

The story that the Baracuda was introduced specifically for the Barakuda ether-injection rifles is charming and plausible, but is it true?

I don’t have 1950s/60s references to hand (eg WHB Smith). The oldest reference to the pellet I can find is in Walter (1981), where it is only listed in .22” and as the “Barakuda” pellet - both of which would be consistent with the story.

But is there hard contemporary evidence?

VAG includes an old Bob Law article saying two types of ammo are recommended. Lead balls and an H&N long range pellet weighing 31 grains. Whatever the latter is, it isn’t a Baracuda as we’ve known them since the 80s. Unless it’s a typo for 21grn.

[dearne75]

I remember being given some baracudas from the gun shop back in 1982.I tried them in my .22 webley vulcan on the rats at my then sewage farm permission.
I remember getting the scope cross hairs onto a rat and squuezed the trigger--i watched the rainbow like arc of the pellet and saw it hit the rat between the eyes like an excocet missile!
At 21grains they were too heavy for my sub 12fpe webley vulcan(it loved 5.6mm eley wasps)but i never forgot taking that shot at that rat!

[TonyL]

I remember being given some baracudas from the gun shop back in 1982.I tried them in my .22 webley vulcan on the rats at my then sewage farm permission.
I remember getting the scope cross hairs onto a rat and squuezed the trigger--i watched the rainbow like arc of the pellet and saw it hit the rat between the eyes like an excocet missile!
At 21grains they were too heavy for my sub 12fpe webley vulcan(it loved 5.6mm eley wasps)but i never forgot taking that shot at that rat!

THWACK!!. Yep, devastating for sure. But, as you say, too heavy to find favour with most sub-12 springer users.

[TonyL]

The story that the Baracuda was introduced specifically for the Barakuda ether-injection rifles is charming and plausible, but is it true?

I don’t have 1950s/60s references to hand (eg WHB Smith). The oldest reference to the pellet I can find is in Walter (1981), where it is only listed in .22” and as the “Barakuda” pellet - both of which would be consistent with the story.

But is there hard contemporary evidence?

VAG includes an old Bob Law article saying two types of ammo are recommended. Lead balls and an H&N long range pellet weighing 31 grains. Whatever the latter is, it isn’t a Baracuda as we’ve known them since the 80s. Unless it’s a typo for 21grn.

Very interesting, Geez.

[TonyL]

In the article the pics of the new barracuda looks like JSB heavy. Is it the same pellet ? Or have they taken some design cues from the JSB ?

Tough one to call. I wouldn't have thought that it's the same pellet, though. At the end of the day, H&N have been at it for a very long time, have a proud history and have been right up there at the very highest levels of competitive airgun sport for decades. Tom mentions the identical weights on a couple of those lighter Baracudas. Maybe intentional? Maybe co-incidence and for a certain weight / desired performance some parameters (length, cross sectional density, weight distribution etc) are relatively fixed?

[TonyL]

My .177 pr900w likes baracuda lights 9.57gn - best pellet in that gun and very, very accurate it is too.
My .177 Huntsman likes Bis mags (the pellet recommended for it in 1996 when it was made!) which are very similar to Baracuda but the ones I have weighed have been consistently lighter by approx 0.2gns - whether they are the same and the bis mag batch I weighed was just a lightish one I do not know.

Yes, I think I read that the Lights are the same pellet as the FT but don't undergo quite as strict a selection process (although, obviously, still very good) and are therefore slightly cheaper?
The other thing that made it a no-brainer for me to give them a go was the performance of the Silhouette in .177 back in the early 80s. Superb. And very good performance in crosswinds. As recommended by Jim Tyler and Dave Welham at the time. The FT / Light is nigh-on the same weight.

[TonyL]

Part two:-

https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2021...nd-now-part-2/

[rapidresponse1]

very interesting