Budget Pellets are Crap and warrant a rant

[PCPShooter]

Here is a great place to say negative stuff about cheap pellets, if you have nothing constructive or helpful to post re what budget pellets might be worth shooting !!

[Murphy]

Some expensive pellets are crap.

[ash_410]

TBH saying brand x are crap is irrelevant.
Brand x may give a single hole group in one rifle but group like a shotgun in another.
Can't beat matching a pellet to your own rifle, even a different head size in the same brand may give different results.

[PCPShooter]

Yes, this is the sort of stuff that belongs here - GREAT !

[Dornfelderliebe]

I came across some .22 Spitfires they were diabolical.

[EricP]

And pellets are like clothes. In Marks and Spencer a 36” waist is different to a Matalan 36” waist.
My German guns all like AA Diablo Field 4.52. They fit nicely. So since people here rave about H&N FTT, I bought some of them in 4.52. Same head size, practically had to force them into the breech, and grouped like a shotgun. I suppose AA 4.52 is H&N 4.51 or 4.50, but I didn’t try any further experimentation.

[Strimmer]

Eley wasps. They are crap. They used to be great, but as we know they changed hands...
Last 2 tins I tried, 1 tin had holes clean through the head, the other tin the skirts were all over the place like they'd been crushed before putting in the tin.
Also accupels used to be great when crossman made them, since Webley took them on they aren't near the same

[Dakine]

RWS pellets are crap in all of my rifles with the exception of my old Webley Vulcan. My Falcon Prairie .22 hates anything made by JSB but loves H&Ns. My Kral Puncher Maxi will eat anything and throw out decent groups where as my girlfriends Kral Puncher Pro can only be fed on 4.50 JSB Exact, anything else it just can't group with. I've got dozens and dozens of pellet tins in the pile that none of my guns like so when I buy now I just get 10 tins JSB in .177 and 10 tins of H&N FTT in .22. buying anything else just seems like a waste of money.

[BC312]

I suppose when you think about it, its like finding a decent non lead pellet, same problem as lead, matching up pellet to gun.

[angrybear]

All Hatsan's in .25 seem to like Marksman pellets, you can pick the 10 worst in the tin & still get a good group, so not all budget pellets are crap.
I've got one rifle that loves JSB's another that hates them, another that seems accurate with every pellet I've ever put through it.

The only constants I have found are that slugs are crap unless the barrel is designed for them, & lead free are crap in 9/10 rifles,
neither of which can in any way be described as "budget".

[rapidresponse1]

you get what you pay for

[TonyL]

My only experience of "budget" pellets in recent years was with some Marksman in .22. I only tried them (briefly) in my 2240 pistol, intended purely for the back garden. Not good. May have performed better in other guns but I wasn't tempted to try. They looked quite "shabby" and almost of oxidised appearance. I'm not sure if that's how they are or if they were very old stock?

Back in the day my worst shocker with pellets were the Lane's Heavyweight Special. Awful. They differed hugely in length from one another, maybe by as much as about 1mm?

[rovercoupe]

Tried a old tin of milbro Caledonian thinking how bad can they be and could just about get them to hit the target at 10m, tried new wasps and they were poor and the third and fourth pellet jammed and gave up after that.

Tried both of lanes offerings pointer and bulldog and they were not great but if you are just hitting cans in the back garden at close ranges they are at least cheap and did hit the target.

[look no hands]

Eley wasps. They are crap. They used to be great, but as we know they changed hands...
Last 2 tins I tried, 1 tin had holes clean through the head, the other tin the skirts were all over the place like they'd been crushed before putting in the tin.
Also accupels used to be great when crossman made them, since Webley took them on they aren't near the same

I've never found a single rifle over all the years I've been shooting that liked Accupels, complete waste of money.

Recently was trying to work out why Karen's HW30 wouldn't group with the recommended JSB RS's and was passed a tin of Excite Hammers to try by Tone at the bash and it instantly became a smile inducing machine that has given Karen the confidence to aim it at targets which should be out of reach for said rifles power and her skill level but she hits them with gusto and the excitement of a child at a fairground when they spin, now those pellets are at the moment just under six quid a tin for 250 (posted to my door) compared to sixteen quid a tin for 500, cant complain about that.

Pete

[Bellycrawler]

I don't mind cheap rubbish pellets or ones that don't suit my rifle. I hunt & plink to practice. Sometimes expensive ones are a waste of money. Move the target closer, turn down the mag or simply have cheap tin can fun. Doesn't have to allways be one hole groups at 50yds