I have never shot slugs don't care to as I have never had any issues taking any game with a standard pellet in my Air rifle. Me personally I think slugs are overrated and just hyped up because it is the newest thing out there so everyone is jumping on the band wagon. and as your test showed the H/N hunter had better accuracy and penatration then the slug. So no real need to spend the extra money on shooting slugs in my opinion.
I was just like you for the longest time and only shot pellets, didn't really think there was any advantage to using slugs. But after seeing these results first hand my opinion has been slightly shifted towards slugs in some cases. I believe they retain their energy better and that's why the slug spread out the led whereas neither of the pellets did. For the most ethical kill I believe the slug would do a better job at distances farther than say 35 or 40 yd. It's retaining more energy and it's going to kill whatever you hit faster that way equaling a more ethical kill.
@@ShootingGearReviews Well I agree that the slug spreads out more on impact but to me it is not enough to make that much of a differeance. And since I take head shots on just about all the small game I shoot it is lights out instantly for those critters with a pellet. even with shooting pest like mice and rats I go for head shots as well as birds. I think one thing that is really and most important is your accuracy and shooting skill level with an air gun. See I am a big spring air gun shooter even though I own a few PCP air irfles as well I prefer and hunt with spring air rifles and not to toot my own horn but I am pretty darn good with a spring air rifle at long distances. I also shoot a lot with open sites over a scope and still can get great head shots on animals with no problem. Most do not practice shooting open sites they get there air gun and throw a scope on it and there off to the races which I feel is a big mistake. they should learn to get good with open sites first then transition to a scope. they also do not pratice shooting and proper shooting that much either and you know as well as I do that when shooting air rifles exspecially spring air rifles it takes practice to get really good with them. I am all about the best eithical kill when it comes to hunting but with great accuracy comes good eithical kills as well. Now if we are talking big game like deer and larger well then that is a different conversation all together when it come to the ammo and caliber we are going to be using.
again im going to cut in and say i strongly believe the added expansion you saw from the slugs was purely due to the fact that it was made of a softer lead. a hollowpoint pellet and slug of the same weight a design should have identical expansion the driving mass behind the projectile should be the most significant factor here i.e. weight that slug was lighter than the pellet also allowing for more velocity upon impact.@@BravoBassin ps i make ammo for a living. i can make lead softer than you would believe. these tests were inconclusive to say the least but awesome that he did them all the same. now if he follows up this video with a part 2 we got something special.
@auntysocialist well seeing as we are talking budget air rifles as to what this video was referring when coming to slugs I will stand by my statement that I have never had any issues with shooting pellets to take game so there is no need for me to spend more money on the latest and greatest fad that has come a long in the air gun world. And I think if you do a little more research you will find that there are pellets out there that can hold there own and shoot just as accurate as a slug. But buy what ammo you want and shoot what you want all I said as I have no need to buy or shoot slugs and I think they are over hyped and that is just my opinion. If I do not need it why would I buy it. Just because some of you think it is better? No thanks I am good shooting pellets all day long. And if you had payed attention to the video the H&N hunter pellets had better accuracy and penetration in his video as well which is very important when hunting or target shooting for that matter and proves my point and my comment.
@auntysocialist Oh so we are talking facts not opinions ok. So fact in this test he did the H&N pellets had more accuracy and more penetration and the range he was shooting. Fact I never said there was anything wrong with slugs I just said I think they are over hyped. but in his testing it proves my point that Pellets can hold there own against the slugs as this test showed and have more penetration as well. So explain to me how that is genius? Oh but lets ignore those facts because you what to try and prove your point that slugs are better. I have zero issue with slugs and as I said I just have never seen the need for them for me because I have zero issues shooting at hitting what ever I want at the ranges i shoot at which is between 10yds and 100yds. And I do not care what ammo you shoot if you are not a good shooter it will not matter. And you can't insult my choice because my results in my shooting shows me and his results in his test just re affirms the fact that you really do not need to shoot slugs unless you just want to shoot slugs so relax dude I like shooting pellets you like slugs good for us.
I've always has great expansion with the H&N Crow magnum pellets out of my Brocock concept XR in .22 from 20 to 50 yards, I need to try some H&N Slugs and see how those do too. Nice testing and great videos as always. Cheers 👍🍻
@@tonyfarrar1218 wow I never would have guessed by reading the title and watching the video, I was only sharing results i got with the airgun I own geez, I really enjoy his testing and videos. Lighten up..🙂👍
I used to be an avid spearfisher and the ever lasting question is how thick a spear. Of course it depends on the target, but the bottom line is that lighter projectiles start off faster but lose their speed quickly. So for longer distance the heavier is always better. But you need a strong enough gun. If your gun can give a slug 600 fps out of the barrel and your target is 50+ yards, possibly the the slug might be better. HOWEVER the lighter the projectile is, the more energy is transferred to it vs the gun recoil. This is because of the conservation of momentum principle m1×v1 = m2×v2.
The higher BC of the slug might be giving it significantly more retained velocity at 50 yards, enabling better expansion than the pellets at that distance. Nice test, thanks for sharing!
wouldve been really interesting if you had a chrono downrange to confirm or deny that. great video@@ShootingGearReviews i use a small piece of sheet steel to protect my caldwell downrange. i tape it over the screen. personally i am thinking its more to do with a softer lead on the slugs vs bc having affected it at that range.
My reason for wanting to shoot slugs in my break barrel is because I can melt down the lead and make a slug much easier than I can make a pellet because I can make my own mold to make a slug but I don't have the artistic ability a pellet mold without seeing if I can purchase one
The Barracuda Hunters work well in my LCS also but no luck with slugs yet in this LW polygonal barrel. The only super accurate pellet with down range energy I found so far is the 34 grain FX pellet. Lights out accurate at 100 yards @ 960 FPS. Still...would love to find a slug to shoot this good. Got any suggestions Ben?
I have a purpose built gauntlet G2 in .22 caliber. In its current configuration I cannot shoot anything lighter than 18 grain because it'll go supersonic. I use it for squirrel hunting and i use slugs exclusively for hunting. Pellets (i believe) use a harder lead alloy and have found that most, if not all, hollow point pellets are pretty much a gimmick. They just don't expand as effectively as do slugs. On my last hunt i used 28grain Zan slugs at 970fps and took 5 squirrels home. All were 1 shot humane kills. 1 through the chest 4 headshots. In my own experience using pellets ive had to take many more follow up shots than with slugs. Slugs expand more and more readily than do pellets, therefore are a more humane and effective way of taking game animals. Period. Shot placement is paramount when using pellets, not so much when using slugs because thay are way more devastating to the target. Like i said, my rifle is purpose built to shoot slugs at higher velocity so this may not be relevant to your case concerning "out of the box" air rifles. However, i believe a stock Gauntlet G2 can shoot Fx 22 grain Hybrid slugs at a high enough velocity (maybe 900fps) to achive expansion. They are very effective on small game as ive taken many squirrels and a raccoon with them. Just my 2 cents. With hunting, slugs are the way to go.
Please correct me if I am wrong. This is a summation. I own the KERVAN Airboss K-1, 25 caliber. Barrel length is 58 cm. Muzzle velocity. Max. 1100 FPS. 335m/s. I’m using the JSB exact King Heavy Diablo and JSB slug knockout. - If i am target shooting/marksmanship from 50 to 100 yards then standard pellets should be fine? - If I am going for long range target shooting/marksmanship, then I should be using slugs? For example, anything over a 100 yard distance you are going to get less of a trajectory curve fall off, thus in turn more accuracy at long distances? - If you’re hunting small game at say 50 yards to 75 yards you should use pellets? - If you are hunting larger game at say 50 to 100 yards, then use slugs because the impact of the slug will be greater than a pellet with more expansion?
@surreallife777- The Slugs have the most expansion= the most stopping power, the most mass, and less fall off of energy with distance= Best for hunting. Target shooting would get better results/accuracy with a pointed type pellet, lighter grain for short distance= Less than 50 yards, and heavier grains for longer distances.
🤠 Great video on a key subject👍 I am just beginning to get over the PCP learning curve, and my opinion is that bigger caliber PCP projectiles are the way to go. Because spending anywhere from $1000 to $3000 to kill tiny critters is kind of lame, considering you can do that with a $2 slingshot, trap or wire snare. So, the question that remains is what is more important for medium+ sized game hunting; Penetration of pellet or spread of slug? Personally I choose penetration; to ensure organ damage; like breaking ribs, crossing both lungs, etc., and leave the slugs for long distance shooting in general, because their stability. The gel test does not explain the downside of how the slug can get stuck by spreading too soon if you encounter boar thick skin or bone of any game. But since I am no expert, I am interested in learning by everybody's opinions on the subject.
Hmmm I feel a future video definitely on the way with a full balistic dummy. I want to be able to answer your questions. In the meantime I'll venture to say that I think the slug is going to be the way to go in most hunting cases. If the caliber is to small/gun to weak to use a slug thats sufficient for the game your after the answer is to get a bigger/more powerful airgun.
🤠 Sounds good. What would be the minimum speed for .30 and .35 slugs to penetrate as much as a pellet at 50 yards? is 850 fps enough, or has to be in the middle 900s? @@heathhalfhill6401
🤠 Thank you for your repply 👍 I copy my answer to another post: 🤠 Sounds good. What would be the minimum speed for .30 and .35 slugs to penetrate as much as a pellet at 50 yards? Is 850 fps enough, or has to be in the middle 900s? @@ShootingGearReviews
@@travelcompass591 that would really depend on what slug you're shooting and how much they weigh. When I was shooting 35 Calle 175 grain slugs out of the Rattler at about 780 ft a second they nearly went completely through the gel block.
*I own an Air Venturi Avenger in .25 caliber. After testing about a dozen different pellets and slugs, I've settled on the FX Hybrid slugs. The primary criteria for me is shot consistency; I want to have the confidence of knowing that every shot I take is going where I aim. I've found this has been best satisfied with the FX Hybrids.* *Everything else I've tested just has not produced consistent enough results for my taste. Too much variation / flyers with the pellets I've tried. The FX Hybrids, by contrast, consistently hit point-of-aim. And this is important to me as my application is Ground Squirrel hunting where sometimes I get just half a head sticking out from behind a tree, planter, rock, etc. as a target. The FX Hybrids hit where I aim every time.*
@@Jeeper1378Using a Caldwell chronograph, full tank of air, and 2,800 psi on the regulator, I'm achieving an average of 930 FPS for the first 8 shots with very consistent shot-to-shot to placement. After those first 8 shots, I'm getting about 1/2 MOA drop for the next 8. By 16 shots it's a full 1 MOA drop. I repressurize after every 8 shots, though, to maintain consistency. In the interest of full disclosure, on first blush it would appear this is overkill for Ground Squirrels. It is; it shoots the slugs right through them rather than expanding and dumping all energy inside their body. However, there's a rationale behind it. I leave the squirrels out to be eaten by whatever finds them. I don't want lead slugs inside the squirrels being consumed by the wide variety of wild life on the property (we have a lot of turkey vultures and owls that may not be as discerning as raccoons, coyote, etc.). I want them going _through_ the squirrels and burying themselves in the ground rather than in the stomachs of scavengers. They're still dying pretty quick; they don't seem to be taking any longer to perish than anything I've seen in RU-vid videos.
The irony is that shot gunners are now embracing a slug called the Diablo, which looks just like a giant airgun pellet. So if I can steal your pellets for my shotgun, you can steal my slugs for your airgun.
Can I expect to blow up my gun and hurt myself by shooting .22 slugs from my pistol? Like the caliber and size is the same right? I've seen 21 grain pellets shot from the gun and have found equally weighted slugs so should I expect anything other then maybe less velocity and more power within range of course?
Hey Brother..i just ordered the benjamin armada 25 cal...first PCP rifle. Watched a lot of vids but never laid my hands on one. Is it safe and okay to shoot slugs out it or would you not consider it a (slug barrel gun?) Thank you for all of your videos..about to continue this one now
I mean I have the Siracusa standard in .25 and the slugs are coming out fast enough to do their job right I’ve tested almost every kind of projectile that’ll fit and like 85% of them I consider very useful at 50-80 yards and the rest I just use up close there is definitely an advantage to them too I’d say from up close on out….. I made a 125 yard shot the other day but I really should get a mil dot scope on there for that far so I can be as precise as possible with my holdovers even still I’m nailing soda cans and birds out there consistently. Also I think the expansion has just as much to do with what the bullet hits as the velocity but I don’t have a chronograph yet but if I was to guess I’d say that the slowest projectile is still leaving the muzzle in the high 700s
@@ShootingGearReviews ok cool, can you help me pick slugs out ? I normally only shoot paper, bottles, small birds, pigeons, ground hogs, an I want to try coyotes wen they get close to the barn an start taking pets out again.
Depending on where you shoot and how far. Doesn't make much sense to shoot rabbits and birds at 50 yards with a slug that costs 3 times as much as a pellet. Pellets have been dropping animal for decades. I love my slugs as well, but there are reasons for both. But like you I shoot a crap load of slugs, but prefer the pellets or polymags for yard busting
@@woogieman02 I was just leaving a snotty "pro-slug" comment lol I feel ya and you're right of course. Cost aside (and its veryyy minimal..pennies) I just think shooting a projectile w 2x the bc is just better...in almost every way. I wish I enjoyed pellets more...there are rifles Id want to buy but they are clearly made for pellets (ex Caiman) Your rifle really needs a slug-specific barrel/liner to shoot slugs well.
Very disappointing from the g2 .25 in power, they put out rifles that require putting money into them to have the right power. They are the kings of putting out half assed rifles. I had to put about $400 into my g1 , but it is now a beast Shooting 34.9grain nsa slugs at 920fps hitting targets out to 302yrds so far, had to tune barrel for slugs, get new reg higher output pressure , opened up transfer ports on both barrel and cocking block, installed hammer adjuster, polished all internals. Funnest rifle i own, i find it funner to shoot than my .22lr
🤔 everyone says that you have to shot slugs at 950 fps + but i've sean some very good accuracy and fpe with slugs at 800 fps in you tube videos ! So what is the right fps to shot sugs at in a 22 or 25 cal ???
Super awesome video 😎; you need a lab coat when doing these 😁. At Shot, we need to convince Balliatic Dummy Lavs to send you a dummy for use with all the calibers
🌟 "Shooting Gear Reviews replied: "Interesting theoy, but I doubt very much if you picked up any other Gauntlet or budget airgun for that matter that it would perform much different. It's my job to test these " ---------- THIS WAS YOUR COMMENT AND REPLY TO MY COMMENT < WHERE DID THAT AWESOME PIECE I WROTE GO < I CANT FIND IT ANYWHERE ? i been one of your first subbers for years son , why was that awesome write up i did took down , i found your reply in my noti's !!!! ??????????????????????????????????????????????
