.22 JSB Hades - Expansion and Accuracy - First Impressions

[wordsmith]

First post after lurking here for awhile, thought this might be interesting to some.  Tested the new 15.89 gr JSB Hades in my custom M-rod for general accuracy and expansion, with the JSB 18.1's as my standard pellet. 

Test Platform
.22 Gen 2 Marauder - Full Tim Hill Premium Regulated Parts Kit
Marmot Militia barrel
Regulated / suppressed
Chrono - Magnetospeed v3

Control pellet - pelletgage sorted 5.54mm JSB 18.1's
Lightly lubed - FP10

Shot into ziploc sandwich bags filled with water at 40 yards
Estimated impact velocity - 790 fps

I have it dialed in to shoot the JSB 18.1's at 880 fps, and they are extremely accurate.  The Hades left the barrel at 945 fps at the same hammer spring setting.

Results

Accuracy - Hades were very close in accuracy to 18.1's, with the caveat that they need a more frequently cleaned barrel.  Anything over 50 shots and groups started opening up with my Marmot Militia barrel.  Groups held sub 1/2" at 40 yards, all touching.  No complaints there.

Expansion - as seen in the attached pictures, the Hades expanded significantly from 5.51mm to 7.04mm.  That's to be expected, I suppose, from the relatively high impact velocity (790 fps) and shooting into water, which in my experience provides an indication as to maximum potential expansion.

Bonus Info - I measured about 50 of the Hades with my .22 pelletgage, and the heads were very uniform and centered around 5.51mm.  With that same recent order, I also purchased additional JSB 18.1's and measured some of them, and they too measured 5.51mm.  Contrast that with the 2-3 year old current tin of 18.1's I'm shooting that 90% measured 5.54mm, with the rest at 5.53mm.  The new 18.1's shoot accurately, but seem to require more frequent barrel cleaning than the old 5.54mm batch to maintain accuracy.

[screwwork]

Nice review on the Hades, good to know the like the MM HF barrel too.
I have been thinking about getting some Hades for the Prod home mainly for perimeter defense ammo, for the occasional Coon & C-rats removal.

[cpool]

Good to hear. Just ordered some to try in my disco