RWS R 10 Match Pellets Availability

[Whizzzz]

Hi in the UK we seem to have a dearth of R10 Match pellets. The last remaining tins are super expensive (if you can find them).

Anyone know why?

Or, what other pellets are there available in 4.49 sizes over here?

[Gwhite]

Unless you are shooting at an extremely high level (like 580 & up), just shoot RWS Basics. They aren't graded by size, but again, 99.9% of shooters couldn't tell the difference.

[Whizzzz]

Unless you are shooting at an extremely high level (like 580 & up)...

Sadly no, but I need all the help I can get :-D I will have a look and see what I can get to test. Cheers!

[Gwhite]

If you use the search feature, you will find that testing pellets is largely considered a waste of time. YOU are the reason they don't all go in the middle, not the pistol, not the pellets. You will be far better off if you use the time practicing and training.

[PirateJohn]

Unless you are shooting at an extremely high level (like 580 & up), just shoot RWS Basics. They aren't graded by size, but again, 99.9% of shooters couldn't tell the difference.

This for sure. I shoot in the 560s and still train on cheap Champion's Choice pellets. Even once I get into the 570's I'll probably still use cheap pellets for most training drills and only go to expensive pellets when prepping for a big Championship-level match.

[Rover]

Don't bother.

[crankythunder]

Ok, Just got into air pistol and struggling with a 540 average but I am looking at the cost of pellets for a tin of 500 and they range from approximately $8.00 to $20.00 for the 500 pellet tin.

Coming from the rimfire and centerfire competition world, pellet costs are minor and people are trying to save a couple of bucks for 500 shots out of a thousand dollar air pistol?

Not sure that I understand.

[Skellocks]

Whizzz is in the UK, and prefers 4.49 head size pellets as a known commodity. Some pellets are hard to find, now, including here in Ireland. Is this a supply issue, or something else?

[PirateJohn]

Coming from the rimfire and centerfire competition world, pellet costs are minor and people are trying to save a couple of bucks for 500 shots out of a thousand dollar air pistol?

Not sure that I understand.

Depends how much you train. I go through two tins a week on average, so those few dollars add up fast. Plus, for most things I do, I don't need expensive pellets. The Champion's Choice match pellets I get for $9 a tin are perfectly fine. As long as you don't get pellets that gum up your barrel, you should be fine.

[Gwhite]

The college team I help coach shoots about 30,000 pellets a year, so about 60 tins. We buy RWS Basics by the case, at a cost of ~ $6.50 a tin (including shipping). One of our students out shot a member of the US Olympic team a few years ago at the National Championships using RWS Basics and a 30 year old Hammerli 480K air pistol. Within limits, it's not the pellets or the equipment that make the difference.

R10's would cost us almost twice what we pay for Basics. That's several hundred dollars a year that we can better spend elsewhere. WHY pay extra for something that gives you NO practical advantage? If you want to continue thinking that spending more on pellets & equipment is magically going to help your scores, go right ahead. We have decades of experience (and money in the bank) that says it ain't so.

[Whizzzz]

Whizzz is in the UK, and prefers 4.49 head size pellets as a known commodity. Some pellets are hard to find, now, including here in Ireland. Is this a supply issue, or something else?

Thanks @shellocks, indeed! I think the issue is a change of importers. If so I really hope they will catch up with demand really soon.

Thanks to all who replied.

[KDZ]

This may help allay doubts about the need for expensive pellets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22q5mjHsGTQ&t=1s

[Ade C]

I'm also in the UK, and even though I have a stash of R10's I find no difference between them and the super cheap H&N Econ for under £4 a tin!

[brent375hh]

I have long suspected the RWS Meisterkugeln where just R10 that are just not weight sorted. They are a one holer out of my Steyr, and less expensive.
I was once like you, but after exhaustive testing, I have come to find that my pellets are not important outside of decimal scoring.

[JRV]

I have noticed one difference between the tins of Meisterkugeln pellets and R10 pellets I have shot:

In every 500ct tin of Meisterkugeln, there is one pellet that is “wrong” enough that it makes a difference. It usually has a weird soft report, feels different in “recoil” (I do not shoot a gun with an absorber), and hits 6 o’clock in the 5 or 6 ring. I presume it’s just an undersized pellet or maybe a pellet with a skirt defect.

It’s only happened a couple times for me, and it’s wholly irrelevant (it does not affect the quality or value of practice), but it’s a concern for matches.

Either way, that phenomenon has not happened with any tin of R10 I have shot.