TargetTalk

I read Vladamir uses RWS R10, but I don't know if that's the regulars or Plus. Can anyone confirm what others use? I really like our hosts Vogels.

Thank You,
Scrench

It doesn't matter what they use. What matters is what YOU use and what shoots good in YOUR gun.

I have seen R10's, those new Chinese match pellets, JSB's, H&N, Vogels, all used in national matches. Can't speak for Olympic matches but I would guess a lot use R10's.

R10's and R10 plus is the same pellet. The only difference is they are camera inspected, packaged in foam and with a complimentary 5x price increase!

And that is what I am playing with. I've read all of the posts ranging from "it makes absolutely no difference, save your money and buy cheap" to "finding the correct pellet and head size as well as tuning the velocity of your gun to match the pellet is critical". Just wondering what the big boys use, and what the heck was used on the test target with my Walther LP400. All it says is Match-kugel with 4.49 head. No such pellet just called Match-Kugel, and they didn't specify a weight either, pistol or rifle? The only pellets I can find right now with a 4.49 head are H&N Match Finales, but no one has them in stock. Ordered 4.49 Vogels but got 4.5 instead. Every review I've read on LP400's say the 4.49 size works better in these AP's, so I'd at least like to try them out.

Don't they all use whatever they get supplied for free by sponsors or their team or Olympic committee? Isn't that why "most percent of amazing people shoot Eley", for example?

To answer your question, in no specific order:

RWS R10
H&N Finale Match
Quian something (chinese pellets)

The head size and weight of the pellet are determined by the barrel, not the shooter.
Other makes may appear it top competitions, but these three are the most common.

To pistol shooters, specially those scoring under 560-570, it makes very little difference what pellet they use, as any "decent" brand will group within the 10 ring.
But, depending on how your brain works, it can be worth to test it yourself. It was to me...

Have a look at a pellet test I did a couple of months ago: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=51440
Read those posts to find out more about this.

Hope this helps

Re: pellet size. The manufacturer does not do pellet testing for you, so whatever you got on your test target doesn't mean a thing except that they happened to have a tin open on the bench at that moment. Besides, you can't buy that lot.

Fortunately for you, I recently put together all the info you need in one place.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=52250

Well, I pretty much expected this.

I read all that you suggested and compiled, and unfortunately, I fall into that 480-500 score range with a PR of 510, single target of 90/100, which means according to you guys, the pellet I use won't make any difference until I'm hitting around 550 or better. More unfortunately, I live in an area where 10m Olympic pistol shooting is nonexistent (although I just managed to talk a few others into trying it), so I have no way of getting any kind of coaching or more importantly, criticism of what I'm doing wrong. I notice there are two copies of the book by the Russian A. A. Yur' Yev for sale on TT. Perhaps instead of wasting money on more pellets I should buy one of these books. Do any of you recommend it? $120 must be cheaper than a coach. Otherwise, besides Pilk's site, do you know of any website you would recommend that can get me to the next level (assuming I do my part)?

Thanks,
Scrench

I notice there are two copies of the book by the Russian A. A. Yur' Yev for sale on TT. Perhaps instead of wasting money on more pellets I should buy one of these books. Do any of you recommend it? $120 must be cheaper than a coach.

The revised, updated Ragnar Skanaker book is excellent and available as a download pdf for around $20.

Most use the R10 heavy pellets. Jin Jong Oh uses R10 .53g pellets. I know it because the RWS website sometimes boasts Athletes using their pellets after they win medals. (pistol shooters use eley tenex) Whether he indeed uses them IDK.

The Chinese probably use the Qiang Yuan.

However, many factory tests are done with JSB. I don't know why, but I've never heard anything bad about them and I myself shoot .52g yellow JSB.

Don't use R10 for training though, it's simply too expensive if you shoot a lot. If I did use R10 I'd probably spend around $500 per year, instead of $250 or $300.

Always go for heavier pellets, from a test sample you will always find they group better than light pellets. If you can't do ammo test, you can blindly buy RWS Training 0.53 pellets or Meisterkugel.

But these expensive pellets (Training and Meisterkugeln are also quite expensive) indeed makes sense only when you're consistently shooting 550+. There you hit the 10 more often, you don't want any 9.9 hits.

On the size of the pellets:

The difference between 4.49 and 4.50 can only be appreciated by a micrometer, at first glance it is impossible.

In theory, the new pistols used size 4,49 because the barrel is unused.

An air pistol with 15 years of use is assumed that the barrel is a bit tired and can use pellets 4.51 or 4.52, but that's just theory.

I have a 10 years air pistol and use 4.50 because the best groups, if someone gives me a can of 4,49 immediately use it to train.

You can see how delicate are the lead pellets, only with your fingers you can crush, can you imagine what is going through a steel barrel, the pellets will adapt immediately.


Nano

Yes!!!

But I also say use RWS Diabolo Basic because they're cheap and will probably test as well as some of the others.

Here's what the guy who makes pellets says about them:

http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php?t=17682

Rover wrote:Here's what the guy who makes pellets says about them

Indeed, including on the subject of more expensive but only marginally better pellets "We may offer these eventually though, just because there are people who will pay for the psychological advantage".

Don't underestimate that psychological advantage. Knowing that you are using the very best equipment you can afford is worth points.

If you're curious a pellet test is worthwhile to prove cheep pellets from a good brand group well. RWS Meisterkugeln & Hobby grouped only slightly better than the less expensive RWS Basic. The R10 was better but not by much. That said some of the cheap pellets were awful... the H&N Excite Econ shot like my pistol wasn't in a vise.

Indeed, but is it worth 50-60 points?

Rover wrote:Indeed, but is it worth 50-60 points?

Probably not but, apart from competitions between vastly mis-matched competitors, when was the last time that you saw a competition won or lost by that much.

You obviously (or not) had a reason for asking about 50-60 points. Even 20 years of only shooting <100 shots/month isn't worth that much.

Is the psychological advantage worth 1-2 points over a 60 shot match? Quite possibly and, if so, could easily be worth a 50-100% increase in pellet cost.

NanoZ. wrote:In theory, the new pistols used size 4,49 because the barrel is unused. An air pistol with 15 years of use is assumed that the barrel is a bit tired and can use pellets 4.51 or 4.52, but that's just theory.

Ed, believe me, you'll spend a small fortune in your lifetime before you can even wear down your barrel with pellets made of pure lead. However, harder pellets (with antimony and tin) will wear down an airgun barrel overtime, since the steel used is softer than ordnance grade steel.

"What is the Most Used Pellet for 10m Pistol at the Olympics?"

Do I misunderstand? I believe none of the pellets are used more than once.

william wrote:"What is the Most Used Pellet for 10m Pistol at the Olympics?"

Do I misunderstand? I believe none of the pellets are used more than once.

OOOOOhhhh!

william wrote:"What is the Most Used Pellet for 10m Pistol at the Olympics?"

Do I misunderstand? I believe none of the pellets are used more than once.

Answer...lead
and I do use them more than once.....they melt to make great Blackpowder balls.

The most known manufactures produces quality pellets. The H&N 'sport' pellets will hold the 10 ring in AP, so will the basic RWS. I went to Vogel to select pellets for my LP10. And indeed, Vogel selected a lot that cut out a 7 mm hole. With irony, I told M. Vogel that I now was going to be champion! I made him laugh and he confirmed that selecting pellets was maybe interesting for 20 or 30 world class shooters. The rest may have a mental advantages as Levene states.
So it is more in the mind than in the gun.
Shoot 'cheap' pellets and shoot a lot! That will lead to results.

And above all: have fun when shooting.

Regards,
Guy