Copper versus lead versus lead free pellets in .22 

Great video👍 the reason you getting low speed with the copper coated pellets it's because they are only made in 5,50mm and cannot expand the skirt due to the copper hardening,therefore some air is going get through to the barrel,and loose FPS. With the lead you get 5,51 5,52 5,53 and the soft lead skirt will expand with the air blast and totally seal for max air blast to the lead pellet,unlike the 5,50 on copper hard skirts pellets will let some air escape through,and therefore you loose FPS 💪👊

The ban seems a bit silly. We mine lead up out of the ground, it shouldn't hurt to give a little back.

Lead is a self lubricating metal. Copper and the lead free are not. There is a reason that lead has been used as the main metal for bullets and pellets since gun was invented.

Excellent comparison video!!! We US folks get spoiled by our firearms so a good air rifle video is exceptionally relevant. Thank you for taking the time on this.

We used to put lead in petrol to slow the burn rate, prevent pre-ignition. As a by-product the lead helped to lubricate the valve seats. It's close to self lubricating like brass and bronze alloys

Reference lead pellets, I was born in 1956, I had my first air rifle when I was 11, and the practice at the time was to grab about 5 or 6 pellets, pop them in your mouth for convenience while shooting, I still use this technique when out pest controlling and I have never suffered any ill affects

Thank you for speaking the truth. Lead is not nearly as evil as it's made to be.

Thank you for bracketing the speeds as you always do. Finding your videos as someone brand new to air gunning, this saved me a lot of frustration in understanding precision. I might have been chasing my scope around for days otherwise. It's very interesting to see how each pellet has its sweet spot and how sometimes it's just tens of feet per second that make the difference.

Wow! I would have never thought that copper would actually run SLOWER than lead!

Lead shot is very effective. When steel shot mandatory wounded and lost ducks showed up all over the marshes. Crickets from all press. Sad! Lead free are weak on target. Sporadic inaccurate are the general scuttlebutt.

Barracuda green alloy pellets in 25cal 21gr take out squirrels every time in the low 800s

Great testing as usual. You definitely have the best pellet tests on RU-vid! I had a slightly different experience using the same brand & model copper coated pellet in my .177 Umarex Gauntlet. My chronograph did not show the copper speed slowdown nearly as much as you experienced. So perhaps it is also due to the way FX Smooth Twist barrels interact with the copper?

When you go to non lead alternatives then you need to be so much more careful with ricochets. It would not surprise me if they came back at you off a metal backstop. What I have seen/heard so far the lead ban(s) that are being proposed are for shotguns and bullets for rim and centre fires. There has been a ban on lead shot being used on waterfowl in/over water for sometime now. The bans proposed do not, I believe, include pellet guns. It is interesting that Denmark(?) banned lead and have now gone back to lead. So we wait and see what happens.

Very interesting Gert. Thanks for posting.

thank u. i did not buy coppers by now. an d i think i wont(after watching). was expecting way more, but u were proofing me wrong.thanks 4 the content

great vid as usual, love your style and humour. I am in the UK and may be able to get a FAC soon. Your vid shows how important being able to adjust your power is.

Very interesting: I have tried the H&N Copper pellets in various break barrel and CO2 rifles and they all hate them... now I know why.

The ban on lead doesn't make sense. The lead in pellets comes from the ground anyway.

Ur an awsum guy test pellets really good & love ur sense of humor 🤙

also when you shoot them they put off a glint in the Sun as they travel to the target almost like a bloody tracer round .

The guys I know who have tried non lead pellets said they didn't work well.

Just come across your channel and I must say it my new go to channel, So much useful information.

Hello sir i really like all your experiments on ballistics with air guns .I also want to tell u with really kind and good intensions that if you shake and rattle the tins with the pellets like the way u do it in the video u damage the pellets for sure and u effect the pellets accuracy . Keep going with the experimentations they express a lot of us from the airgun shooters family

Great vid ,,,,,I'm in the UK and this lead thing drives me mad,,,,, , new sub.💥💥

cant beat the super field RWS pellets👌👌super fantastic vermin sniper pellets & very accurate indeed👌👌👌👌def my favorite pellets for sure👌👌👌👌

The copper plating ( depending how thick the coating ) will reduce leading but may ad copper fouling to the mix. The deeper the rifleing , the greater resistance. However I have found that using a mop lightly coated with Mobile 1 synthetic oil down the barrel after a day of shooting will help with the fouling issue. This oil penatrates the surface of the steel and helps lubrication. Have had no ignition problem ( dieseling ,sp ).

The UK is banning lead pellets I wouldnt be able to do airgunning anymore lead free pellets are so expensive I can't afford it

Watching your video, enjoy the discussion. For me personally, I prefer not to shoot lead, not because I'm particularly concerned about my own health but having created videos for a number of tactical rifle shooting competitions etc, many of the beautiful range locations in effect become toxic dumps because of the lead contamination. So for me its just my small contribution to not spread lead around the environment even if individually its on a very very very small scale. Plus I have a young child that I would like to teach to shoot without exposing them to any lead...or shoot in the small backyard not wanting it to become a toxic dump.

I am new viewer and really appreciate your knowledge and sense of humor. Thank you Sir!

To add to this discussion. I have an FX Maverick, 700mm Superior barrel .22, and the copper pellets go slower as well, but only 12-15 fps slower

I 3d print cf pellets for indoors, the lead free plumbing solder is also easy to cast.

Very good discussion on pellets. I only shoot at paper and silhouette targets at 30-45 feet. Tin may be the way to go for my shooting style and training methods.

I shoot the crossman copper plated 10.6 gr. sometimes. The are excellent. 🎯

Pienso que pará tiro deportivo en clubes, polígonos y torneos y esas cosas se podría seguir usando plomo y tener controles para reciclarlo,en campos abiertos habrá que buscar otras alternativas y poner grandes multas a quienes usen plomo si está prohibido.

Have you looked at powder coating? The plastic provides a soft layer for the rifling, and acts as a lube. It does increase the size, so they really need to be run through a sizer before shooting. Mostly this is being used on slugs, especially for cast slugs.

I love 10.6gn copper .177 . I push rim fire 22cal. ram set blanks into my target 20yd away and shoot at those for exploding targets . Those coppers are hole in hole for myself, love em 200 for $9 US

Great presentation bro!

Hello. I use my copper´s only in my sub 12 fpe springers ! Both .177 and .22 cal and they work brilliant ! In my FX Bobcat mk II , you know this barrel will not like those! Not even at slower speed . And they are expensive here in Norway.

The last two rats I took out were immediately pounced on by a hawk... I definitely don't want to be poisoning that hawk with leaded pellets. It feeds its babies with those rats.

...and of course you cleaned the barrel after moving from copper to lead?

Ballistically we all know lead is the best material for pellets/bullets. Banning lead would put the shooting community in somewhat of a headache. There should be more effort made in collection and re cycling, than an outright ban.

Great job!

Nice testing.....✌️

I bought a set of 500 diablo 22 pellets for £22 pounds then I bought 500 marksman pointed 22 pellets for £6 pounds and the cheapest are better in my opinion the lead seems softer

I have a QB79 repeater and it will put the Baracuda Power pellets through a squirrel at 20 yards.

Thank you !!

Like you, I was concerned that if the alternative pellet material was harder than lead, would there be excessive wear in the barrel? I'm not sure what effect the ban on lead in ammunition in the UK will have, I've already heard that shotgun cartridges will no longer be sold with lead shot, the most likely replacement seems to be steel. I haven't heard whether air gun pellets made from lead are to be banned from the same date but it would be an odd exclusion if it carried on as it now.

Thinking of having a few non lead on hand when I dispatch a nuisance squirrel so I can leave it in the field and not lead poison anything that eats it. .177 cal DANA. Last year I live trapped and relocated over 30 squirrels. Driving each one across town to the park is getting old. Due to about 6 pecan trees in the yard anytime I look out the window there are about 5 squirrels in view.

One thing I see happening in the future when the US bans lead totally is a shift to air guns shooting longer bullets and probably some type of HP for hunting purposes. Tin weighs much less so you are going to be exceeding the sound barrier with some guns unless you lower your power. Kind of counteracting the benefits of air gunning. I don't think your barrel life will suffer because people now days are demanding firearm industry standard steel for their barrels. We are talking about Tin not copper really. Tin is harder than lead but I dont think wears like copper. Some big bore users have aready been using those all copper hollowpoints designed for firearms. I think I will stick with lead until people start freaking out about birds that generate an affinity for the stuff. I must add that when you increase length hopefully you have a design that overcomes the friction! If you do then a faster twist barrel will be needed. If you can have the power and the twist then your barrels will start to have the same properties of a firearm barrel (except smaller OD and probably longer). So, faster twist, better steels 1040/1050/416. Maybe lands and grooves will be a different configuration? But if we are in the firearm ballpark why cant we play with the same balls that the major-leagers play with?? Ok that came out wrong.... What I meant to say was maybe then we can leave the proprietary air gun pellet diameters behind and go to .172, .204, .224, .308, 312, 357, .400, .429,.457. Some big bores are already playing with the same balls.

4:03 don´t worry about the barrel ! Steel is much harder than copper and much harder than brass to !! :))

Lead spreads out for hunting while holding accuracy. Tin and others for targets.

If u have a big calibres rifle with low power for the calibre low weight of lead free pellets may help a lot

The tins have to fight through the lead debris causing them to fly.

I have about 4-5 kg of lead pellets and only one tin of copper coated,they do look nice and shiny but expensive AF,, but I live in Canada 🇨🇦 so it doesn't apply to me. I just need some more .22 and I am good for life.. Soooo is it true that British government doesn't want you to use lead pellets??? I find that stupid...

USA I find the copper a little more accurate but not enough to justify the cost. And you are still putting lead in the back stop.

lead pellets may be still used in the EU ,if the lead is shot in een pellettrap or indoors and can be recycled ,thats how its looks till now. do you get a clean barrel before switching the brand off pellets , if you want power at 100 meters ,,then a leadfree slug type of decent weight is the future

So where's pt 2?

Copper will harm the barrel?

Can you get them copper pellets in the store in the United

Not long till commyn laws say only GOLD for pellets under 100 fps!?!? Hoho

Hi! Very interesting comparation👍 Have you done penetration test of copper pellets vs lead pellets of aprox same weight&power shoot in pine board targets at 800-900 ft/s?

Gert we dont have a lead ban here at moment only for duck shooting! With shotguns Rgds steve

Best test and useful. Whats your reg pressure?

top akurasi call22 BM

You know at the velocities of airguns I highly doubt copper will put any appreciable wear on a barrel. Given a 22 LR barrel lasts arguably FOREVER using copper etc...airguns not a problem.

Would love to see nsa 17.5 slugs

How are the Brits sub 12 ft lbs gonna handle the heavier copper projectiles😢

I wonder if tungsten pellets would be any good

Very informative, thanks... I'm mainly interested in long range shooting. What would be your choice for the best .22 pellet used in a magnum springer, for best long range performance? Not just these, but any pellet. I was going to use those greens since they're the lightest I could find, but I didn't realize the speed is lower.

What is a great pellet 177 diameter that has either copper or brass tipped inside with tin outside instead of lead. How about the green alternative with copper point inside ??? Thanks

I had Grossman copper pellets and they got stuck in my barrel

How about making lead free pellets the same weight as lead by lengthening the pellets?

Interesting, I hit subscribe several times and it didn’t work.

You said higher power air rifle permit ??? Please explain Sir. Thanks

Hmmm, so the lead free are specifically rated for 30m, could you try 60m just to see what happens? Thank you again!

Can someone please help? Up to which caliber don't you need a license in the RSA.

If the copper is slower than led at the same power setting. Witch one has a higher energy?

Any silver pellets out there?🤣🇺🇸

What regulation for the UK?

R u r u r u ready or righteous

Oneself is not the best judge of being alright'ish ;)

so I can go out and kill 200 rats but it has to be environmentally friendly pellets O.O are they taking the piss ?

Copper is to dear

Non lead ammo sucks

Fmj pellets wtf

Lol tell your army to stop using it too

USELESS test. all pellets need different tuning in the gun to be accurate. some pellets work on one gun and not in the other.. You should clean the barrel and shoot a full tin of pellets before comparison...

It makes no bloody difference other than to make life more miserable

Believe in Jesus Christ and ask him for eternal life

keep the POLITICS out of the sport over lead.

Very long and boring

Too much talking a repeating