HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT AMMUNITION FOR YOUR AIRGUN?

One might say that air guns simply include a pellet or a shot. However, when he subsequently finds out in a stone shop or online store that there is already a large number of pellets and shots today, he is suddenly surprised and does not know what to choose. In the following lines, we will try to advise you on how to choose the right ammunition for your air gun.

NEED TO KNOW THE CALIBRE OF YOUR GUN

It often happens, especially in stone shops, that a customer comes and asks for pellets in an air rifle. Then comes the first question from the seller that what calibre of pellets the customer needs. The customer's response is sometimes very surprising, and the answer is that he does not know, just the "ordinary pellets". Such an answer for gun dealers sounds like answering a question from a pumper at a gas station about refuelling with petrol or diesel, saying you don't know, just "ordinary fuel." Subsequently, the seller tries to find out from the customer at least the name and model of the gun, but even this often does not lead to success. Therefore, it is really important that you know the calibre of your gun and also the name and model of your gun. The calibre characterizes the diameter of the pellet and is expressed either on a European scale (e.g. 4.5 mm) or on an Anglo-American scale in tenths, hundreds and thousands of inches (e.g. .177). Nowadays, there are already air rifles of various calibres. The most common calibres are 4.5 mm (.177) and 5.5 mm (.22). Other calibres are 5.00 mm (.20) and 6.35 (.25). The least widespread calibres in Europe are 7.62 (.30) and 9 mm (.35).

Especially in the case of air guns with the so-called cylinder magazine you must also pay attention to the length of the pellet. The pellet must not protrude from this magazine.

YOU NEED TO KNOW THE POWER OF YOUR GUN

Popularly, the potential of an airgun is referred to as power or force. However, the potential of an air gun is not measured in units of force (Newton) or units of power (Watt). They are measured in Joules as the so-called projectile energy at the muzzle of the barrel. Why is it important to know the energy of your air weapon?

Not only are there many calibres of pellets, but within a particular calibre, pellets are also distinguished by their weight. Our recommendation of which weight of 4.5 mm calibre pellets to use according to the energy of the airgun:

• Energy from 3 to 5 Joules – weight from 0.20 g to 0.40 g
• Energy from 5 to 10 Joules – weight from 0.40 g to 0.60 g
• Energy from 10 to 15 Joules – weight from 0.60 g to 0.90 g
• Energy from 15 Joules and more– weight from 0.90 g and more

Please, understand our recommendation as a guide, it is not written anywhere that you cannot load a pellet weighing 1.10 g into your 15 Joule air rifle. However, we definitely do not recommend experimenting with such a heavy pellet in an airgun with the energy of a projectile, e.g. 3.00 Joules. In this case, it could happen that such a heavy pellet would not even fly out of the barrel. Always remember the rule, the heavier the pellet, the lower its muzzle velocity and the smaller the range. But what if you don't know the energy of your gun's bullet?

If you do not find this information on the package of the airgun, directly on the airgun, or you do not know how to check the information from the supplier, in that case you have only one option left, namely to measure the energy of the projectile. Either you can search for the dealer who offers such a service or you can buy the device for measuring the energy and projectile velocity called Chrony. The energy of a projectile fired from a weapon can be calculated according to the formula (0.5 x M x V²) / 1000. M represents the weight of the pellet in grams and V represents the speed of the pellet in m/s.

SELECTING BY PURPOSE

Pellets must also be selected according to the purpose. The purpose can be mainly leisure, sport shooting or shooting of pests such as rats. If shooting is just an occasional hobby for you, the pellets  of lower price ranges will definitely be enough for you. However, if you are an experienced shooter who trains regularly and improves, you will need something better. In this case, we recommend pellets from quality manufacturers such as JSB or Handler and Natterman. If you are looking for hunting pellets, be sure to check out the pellet models like Hornet, Metalmag, Rocket and Polymag.

SPECIAL AMMUNITION FOR AIR RIFLES

Special ammunition different from pellets are lead and steel shots. Lead shots is more suitable for some old, weaker types of air rifles. We recommend using pellets in modern air guns. Steel shots are designed mainly for CO2 pistols with a smooth barrel without a rifling. Never load lead shot into such guns, as this can seriously damage the gun. Therefore, always use ammunition of the appropriate calibre and type. If you are unsure of your choice, always consult with your dealer.