Part 4.- Pellet selection and Chronoing
Sorry for the delay in getting to this point. I have been extremely busy with some ABP's, but those are done and hopefully, we can now get to work on other things. Though an ABP would seem an ideal addition to the 430L, LOL!
I need to find a a way to make them less complicated. ;-)
Anyway, after a full tin of pellets had been put through the 430L, we started testing pellets:
I need to find a a way to make them less complicated. ;-)
Anyway, after a full tin of pellets had been put through the 430L, we started testing pellets:
We tested the old trusted standby's, as well as some innovative pellets that I received from unexpected sources. Funny how things happen just out of the blue, but it is rewarding to see that the Blog is read and respected all over the world.
Rifle is a Brazilian company, they make pellets in two different "categories" the sport line (which we would call "plinking" here and the Premium line, that we would call "shooting" in the US.
Their Sport line produced "minute of can" groups, not bad, but not what we are looking for.
Their Premium line, however produced some interesting groups.
COAL is a Central European company that makes pellets the old way: rolled. And for the technology, they make interesting designs, however, none of their offerings produced acceptable results from THIS gun. We will be testing them in other guns and we will be offering some advice to the "Rifle Company" because they do have the potential, they only need to polish up some points in their production.
Having said that, we will concentrate then on four different pellets for the 430L:
First, the Baracuda FT, a pellet that is not easy to make shoot well. It has a very rear-wards CoG (Center of Gravity), and therefore requires a somewhat "tight" rifling, but it seems the 430L likes them.
Because the group in the test target above was "tainted" by another group made by pellets that I will not even name, I shot another test group, but this time 10 shots:
Rifle is a Brazilian company, they make pellets in two different "categories" the sport line (which we would call "plinking" here and the Premium line, that we would call "shooting" in the US.
Their Sport line produced "minute of can" groups, not bad, but not what we are looking for.
Their Premium line, however produced some interesting groups.
COAL is a Central European company that makes pellets the old way: rolled. And for the technology, they make interesting designs, however, none of their offerings produced acceptable results from THIS gun. We will be testing them in other guns and we will be offering some advice to the "Rifle Company" because they do have the potential, they only need to polish up some points in their production.
Having said that, we will concentrate then on four different pellets for the 430L:
First, the Baracuda FT, a pellet that is not easy to make shoot well. It has a very rear-wards CoG (Center of Gravity), and therefore requires a somewhat "tight" rifling, but it seems the 430L likes them.
Because the group in the test target above was "tainted" by another group made by pellets that I will not even name, I shot another test group, but this time 10 shots:
On purpose, I didn't shoot anything else in this target.
Just to show how clean the group is.
Now, 11.3 ft-lbs is nothing to sneeze at, specially if part of the interests of the shooter is an occasional FT Match here and there. But because the BFT (Baracuda Field Target) is a heavy pellet (9.57 grs.) the MV is rather slow: 731 fps.
Those of you that went to Pyramyd Air Cup, received two samplers of this pellet, classified by lots.
PLEASE, if you have not tested them, do so. H&N went the whole 11 yards to get market feedback, and they deserve our attention.
You do not need to make public your findings (I will not), but a short Email telling them what lot you found best, or if no pellets shot good from your gun, and what gun / lube / MV you are using, is good information for them.
They are NOT doing this as a marketing gimmick, they are really and truly interested in YOUR results. So, please, take the time to shoot some groups, measure them and send the data to H&N. As airgunners WE WILL ALL be better for it.
The BFT is an interesting pellet when it shoots well out of the specific airgun you are interested in because it has very little susceptibility to wind.
Part is due to the weight, and part is the slow MV, but also part is the design of the head...
Will your gun like them?
You need to test, after all, it is part of the fun!
Curiously enough, I found that this particular gun likes the 4.53's JSB's (only offered in 8.44 grs.). It shoots acceptably well the FT Premium, but the EXACTS are truly amazing.
Just to show how clean the group is.
Now, 11.3 ft-lbs is nothing to sneeze at, specially if part of the interests of the shooter is an occasional FT Match here and there. But because the BFT (Baracuda Field Target) is a heavy pellet (9.57 grs.) the MV is rather slow: 731 fps.
Those of you that went to Pyramyd Air Cup, received two samplers of this pellet, classified by lots.
PLEASE, if you have not tested them, do so. H&N went the whole 11 yards to get market feedback, and they deserve our attention.
You do not need to make public your findings (I will not), but a short Email telling them what lot you found best, or if no pellets shot good from your gun, and what gun / lube / MV you are using, is good information for them.
They are NOT doing this as a marketing gimmick, they are really and truly interested in YOUR results. So, please, take the time to shoot some groups, measure them and send the data to H&N. As airgunners WE WILL ALL be better for it.
The BFT is an interesting pellet when it shoots well out of the specific airgun you are interested in because it has very little susceptibility to wind.
Part is due to the weight, and part is the slow MV, but also part is the design of the head...
Will your gun like them?
You need to test, after all, it is part of the fun!
Curiously enough, I found that this particular gun likes the 4.53's JSB's (only offered in 8.44 grs.). It shoots acceptably well the FT Premium, but the EXACTS are truly amazing.
Do remember that the black "dots" are a little under ½" and do compare the hole made by the S-100 pellets (A Match WC) that is truly 4.5 mm's across.
It was notable that the JSB's 8.44's / 4.53's went into two distinct, but very close holes. There are three pellets in the top right section and two in the lower left. But they are so close together!
This points out to the need of controlling the barrel's harmonics, OR, preventing outright the generation of those. In here is where the ABP would probably help.
The S-100's shot better than the RWS SuperMag (a pellet I have found to be very accurate at or above 12 ft-lbs, where the normal Match pellets start destabilizing). But still the Exacts did prove to be the overall best pellet.
As to the Brazilian offerings, the Domed proved to be better than the WC, not surprising at this distance:
It was notable that the JSB's 8.44's / 4.53's went into two distinct, but very close holes. There are three pellets in the top right section and two in the lower left. But they are so close together!
This points out to the need of controlling the barrel's harmonics, OR, preventing outright the generation of those. In here is where the ABP would probably help.
The S-100's shot better than the RWS SuperMag (a pellet I have found to be very accurate at or above 12 ft-lbs, where the normal Match pellets start destabilizing). But still the Exacts did prove to be the overall best pellet.
As to the Brazilian offerings, the Domed proved to be better than the WC, not surprising at this distance:
Although I have noted the ME's for the pellets of interest, just to provide you with the data and not make you reverse calculate the MV's, they were:
BFT.- 731 +/- 3 fps
JSB.- 784 +/- 6 fps
S-100.- 815 +/- 5 fps
Rifle Premium "Round" .- 794 +/- 4 fps
Now, in case you are wondering why these groups were shot a 25 yards instead of the usual 35 yds/ 32 meters, the reason is the weather:
BFT.- 731 +/- 3 fps
JSB.- 784 +/- 6 fps
S-100.- 815 +/- 5 fps
Rifle Premium "Round" .- 794 +/- 4 fps
Now, in case you are wondering why these groups were shot a 25 yards instead of the usual 35 yds/ 32 meters, the reason is the weather:
There is a song in Spanish that says:
"Thank you, Life, for giving me laughs and tears
Through them I distinguish joys from heartbreaks
Specially through the eyes of my beloved"
And so, we need to learn to live through the winters and the summers; without both of them, life would be somewhat boring.
Now, indoor shooting also offers some rewards:
"Thank you, Life, for giving me laughs and tears
Through them I distinguish joys from heartbreaks
Specially through the eyes of my beloved"
And so, we need to learn to live through the winters and the summers; without both of them, life would be somewhat boring.
Now, indoor shooting also offers some rewards:
This doesn't happen as often as I would like, but when it happens, it makes you feel Oh, SOoooo Goooooood! LOL!
Conclusions and work for the future
The 430L is definitely an improvement over the 430 and the 440.
It shows clearly how the persons on the assembly floor can contribute to the products, if only management is willing to listen.
The added barrel and lever length make the gun an enjoyable experience.
Accuracy and Precision potential are there, and that is as far as a manufacturer can go, the actual achievement of that potential is up to the users.
Yes, there is still room for improvement but that will take a bit more than getting different parts together. It will take a re-design of the cocking linkages. We'll see where we get on that end.
On the piston end, the gun does exhibit a definite re-bound. A gas spring with its more constant-force curve would be one solution, but then we're back to the large cocking force needed, and straight from the start. Plus the challenges of making the piston a non-rotating piston are not easily solved.
Another solution would be an anti-bounce piston (ABP), we'll look into that later, but we need to re-define (and refine) the design.
The current Muzzle piece almost precludes the use of a Harmonics Tuner, or Harmonics Reducer, we will continue thinking about that, but it would be a funny looking contraption.
Hope you all are enjoying the seasons, the changes, and the challenges that life brings; after all, life is a trip and the final destination is not that enjoyable, ROFL!
Keep well and shoot straight!
HM
It shows clearly how the persons on the assembly floor can contribute to the products, if only management is willing to listen.
The added barrel and lever length make the gun an enjoyable experience.
Accuracy and Precision potential are there, and that is as far as a manufacturer can go, the actual achievement of that potential is up to the users.
Yes, there is still room for improvement but that will take a bit more than getting different parts together. It will take a re-design of the cocking linkages. We'll see where we get on that end.
On the piston end, the gun does exhibit a definite re-bound. A gas spring with its more constant-force curve would be one solution, but then we're back to the large cocking force needed, and straight from the start. Plus the challenges of making the piston a non-rotating piston are not easily solved.
Another solution would be an anti-bounce piston (ABP), we'll look into that later, but we need to re-define (and refine) the design.
The current Muzzle piece almost precludes the use of a Harmonics Tuner, or Harmonics Reducer, we will continue thinking about that, but it would be a funny looking contraption.
Hope you all are enjoying the seasons, the changes, and the challenges that life brings; after all, life is a trip and the final destination is not that enjoyable, ROFL!
Keep well and shoot straight!
HM
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