Matt Dubber's latest Review

[subscriber]

Good to know.  Most of the .22 are pretty fast, like 16 or 18 twist.  I think sizing is the number 1 issue.  Being there are no standards in airguns, makes it hard to come up with a one size fits all slug.

Considering that the .22 Short rimfire uses a 1:20 or 1:24 twist, airgun slugs that weigh less than 30 grains should work with similar twist. 

Yes, the .22 Short velocity is a little higher, but that is actually worse, as it is closer to the speed of sound.  Also, pointy hollow nose slugs have their center of mass even further back.  This increases their twist requirement.

As for the diameter question, Matt originally asked for a "nice tight fit", rather than providing actual diameters.  So, I started out at .2215" and then made smaller and smaller dies.  After Matt came back from FX earlier this year he said that .217 was the magic number.

My last efforts along these lines were projectiles with a cylindrical section at .210" diameter.  At the front of that cylinder was a short bearing band at .218".  The base had a slight hollow that was flared to produce a short driving band at .222".  The idea was to reduce friction down the bore, yet not allow the "pellet" to slop around, while still passing through a tight choke with minimal effort.

It was while making the dies for the bearing band projectile that Matt reported mediocre accuracy with the projectiles pictured above; and that I suggested he contact you...

In the message from Matt about twist rates, he did expressed concern about shooting solids though a choked barrel.  I suggested he ask FX to make him some unchoked liners, or ones with no more than 0.001" choke in diameter.

[skorec]

I was out testing today and shooting in a Daystate Airwolf, Cricket, Sumatra and Hatsan Barrage.

The 22 caliber Cricket did not do well with them (the 25 caliber Cricket is fantastic with 39 grain slugs).  I believe they are the wrong size for the barrel, I will look further into that and see what the Cricket may want.

The Airwolf does amazing with them.

Sumatra did well, better than I expected but I have not shot that gun much so I do not know what to compare it to.

The hatsan barrage did very good with them, we only shot at 53 yards with a 5 power scope and shot it pretty rapid fire.

We are intending  to use  slugs mainly/only  for long distances.
Taste  them at 100 yd and 1000 FPS whit  scope magnification  more then 24 .