Post by Who? on Mar 27, 2024 21:17:04 GMT
I've had conversations and heard of other conversations about Baracuda 8 (B8) pellets being slower than the JSB Exacts. Having been happy with the group size of B8s in my two rifles, I hadn't compared their fps with JSBs - remiss of me. Due to the conversations, I wanted to see just how much slower the B8s are in my Pulsar - ok at the back, I'll give you some time to get all your jokes about Daystates done...
Are finished? Happy?
Ok, as I was saying, I wanted to see just how much slower the B8s are than JSBs. The B8s, according the manufacturers, are 0.04gr lighter; or, stated another way, the JSB Exacts are 0.48% heavier. I used the pellets straight from the tin (no specially prepared pellets). I had a Combro chrono on the barrel and a Caldwell chrono out at 25yds, thereby recording the muzzle and 'down range' fps of the same pellet. Wind was not a factor as I conducted the experiment in my shooting tunnel. I shot a few B8s to settle the rifle, then recorded the fps of the next 4 pellets: 739/649; 739/648; 741/653; 741/649. I repeated the same with JSBs, and recorded: 752/643; 754/652; 748/651; 746/650.
Some comparisons of the data:
1). Muzzle fps spread of the B8s was 1 fps. With JSBs it was 8 fps. 8 fps is generally held to be a good result - but the B8s and (my) Pulsar combination is extraordinary.
2). 25 yard 'down range' fps spread of the B8s was 4fps. While the JSBs was 8 fps.
3). fps drop over 25 yards for the B8s was, on average, 90 fps, with a spread of 4 fps. The JSBs average drop was 101 fps, with a spread of 13fps.
4). Average B8 muzzle fps was 740 fps, against 750 fps for the JSBs.
5). B8s average 25 yard 'down range' fps was 650 fps, against 649 fps for the JSBs.
Ok, lots of numbers, so here is a short conclusion, with my Pulsar:
The fps variation between B8s and JSBs is small. Should we worry about them? General airgun community hold that 10 fps is not significant.
A similar test with a different rifle will probably give different results. The considerable variability in JSB pellets between batch numbers will also be a factor; refer to my previous posts to support that criticism. I used batch 51110018 in this test, which, in my rifles, are the best JSB Exacts I've found - we are seeing JSB Exacts at there best here. Across the four batch numbers of B8s I've bought, the group size has not varied.
I'm still hoping for a cheaper pellet with even smaller group size.
Are finished? Happy?
Ok, as I was saying, I wanted to see just how much slower the B8s are than JSBs. The B8s, according the manufacturers, are 0.04gr lighter; or, stated another way, the JSB Exacts are 0.48% heavier. I used the pellets straight from the tin (no specially prepared pellets). I had a Combro chrono on the barrel and a Caldwell chrono out at 25yds, thereby recording the muzzle and 'down range' fps of the same pellet. Wind was not a factor as I conducted the experiment in my shooting tunnel. I shot a few B8s to settle the rifle, then recorded the fps of the next 4 pellets: 739/649; 739/648; 741/653; 741/649. I repeated the same with JSBs, and recorded: 752/643; 754/652; 748/651; 746/650.
Some comparisons of the data:
1). Muzzle fps spread of the B8s was 1 fps. With JSBs it was 8 fps. 8 fps is generally held to be a good result - but the B8s and (my) Pulsar combination is extraordinary.
2). 25 yard 'down range' fps spread of the B8s was 4fps. While the JSBs was 8 fps.
3). fps drop over 25 yards for the B8s was, on average, 90 fps, with a spread of 4 fps. The JSBs average drop was 101 fps, with a spread of 13fps.
4). Average B8 muzzle fps was 740 fps, against 750 fps for the JSBs.
5). B8s average 25 yard 'down range' fps was 650 fps, against 649 fps for the JSBs.
Ok, lots of numbers, so here is a short conclusion, with my Pulsar:
- JSB are, on average, 10 fps faster at muzzle; but 1 fps slower at 25 yards.
- At 45 yards (assuming liner deceleration) the B8 is, on average, faster by 10 fps.
The fps variation between B8s and JSBs is small. Should we worry about them? General airgun community hold that 10 fps is not significant.
A similar test with a different rifle will probably give different results. The considerable variability in JSB pellets between batch numbers will also be a factor; refer to my previous posts to support that criticism. I used batch 51110018 in this test, which, in my rifles, are the best JSB Exacts I've found - we are seeing JSB Exacts at there best here. Across the four batch numbers of B8s I've bought, the group size has not varied.
I'm still hoping for a cheaper pellet with even smaller group size.
