.25 vs. .30

[PaulFWI]

Just ordered a Crown in .30 and am already wondering if I should have gone .25.  I have a bit of time to change it.

One question for the group: Will wind resistance in .30 be any better?  Please don't answer unless you have direct experience or numbers.

The problem with data I see on the web is that BCs are all over the map - they can't all be right.

Specifically, is the BC of the 44 & 50 gr JSBs better than that of the 33.95 .25 JSB?

[Dairyboy]

Technically no the BC of the .30s aren't better but in my personal experience I find the .30s to be more accurate at longer ranges than the .25s I've owned. Martin at RAW also recommends the .30 for longer range accuracy. If superior BC is really wanted slugs would be the way to go honestly. I think just stick with the .30 you'll enjoy it. If nothing else it's just different than the .25. I don't like having multiple guns of same calibers but that's just me

[PaulFWI]

You've settled it for me. .30 it is.

This should also give me leeway maybe to take body shots on foxes if a head shot doesn't present itself.  Of course either will kill it with a chest shot, but a .30 will have a better chance of it dying on my property instead of the neighbor's.

(I do have a Wildcat in .25 also...)

[Dairyboy]

I thought you were the one who recently posted about looking at a Boss or Crown in .30 being you had the Wildcat in .25. I think you'll be very happy with the .30. And like you said more leeway for animals. I mean even with a lower BC they still have more fpe retained at 100yds than the .25 heavies shot at 55fpe (850fps) and will still have 40fpe at 100yds even if shot at only 72fpe (850fps).

[PaulFWI]

That's the slightly scary part.

(I don't shoot beyond 75Y, not on my land anyway.  Nearest neighbor in that direction is ~200Y, other side of trees.  Hard to imagine a pellet finding it's way there, but, well, I'll have to be even more careful with the elephant gun.)

[Prouzy]

I love shooting the .30 (had a few) and my Crown .30 shoots both 44.75 and 50gr very well.  Ernest Rowe has also done a hammer mod to get that rig to 90fpe while still on the reg for 150bar.  I also found no accuracy difference shroud in or out, and is a relatively quiet rifle, enough for me to take out some nocturnal varmint without too much disturbance; chickens didnt even flinch when shooting near them. I also considered getting the .25 and possibly adding the .30 later, you can certainly add the .25 later or better yet add the .22 slug barrel.

[Mont]

I cant tell ya what caliber is better, but I can tell what I saw at Rocky Mountain airgun challenge.  Fredric (owner of FX) was shooting .30

[PaulFWI]

I cant tell ya what caliber is better, but I can tell what I saw at Rocky Mountain airgun challenge.  Fredric (owner of FX) was shooting .30

Cool.

(I was actually supposed to be in Denver right now, but canceled the trip.)

[PaulFWI]

I love shooting the .30 (had a few) and my Crown .30 shoots both 44.75 and 50gr very well.  Ernest Rowe has also done a hammer mod to get that rig to 90fpe while still on the reg for 150bar.  I also found no accuracy difference shroud in or out, and is a relatively quiet rifle, enough for me to take out some nocturnal varmint without too much disturbance; chickens didnt even flinch when shooting near them. I also considered getting the .25 and possibly adding the .30 later, you can certainly add the .25 later or better yet add the .22 slug barrel.

With the stock gun what's the max velocity you can get out of the 44s and the 50s?

Does FX make a slug barrel?  I had tried cast bullets in my Wildcat and other .25 guns but they were much less accurate than JSBs.  Very bad.  Twist rate not right.

The interchangeable barrels are a great idea although they seem to cost more than what I'd read.  AOA told me a barrel is $400 and mag $80 so you are close to $500 to change calibers.  Still better than buying another gun.

[Prouzy]

With the stock gun what's the max velocity you can get out of the 44s and the 50s?

Does FX make a slug barrel?  I had tried cast bullets in my Wildcat and other .25 guns but they were much less accurate than JSBs.  Very bad.  Twist rate not right.

The interchangeable barrels are a great idea although they seem to cost more than what I'd read.  AOA told me a barrel is $400 and mag $80 so you are close to $500 to change calibers.  Still better than buying another gun.

I get a mean of 877fps with 44.75gr and 848fps with 50gr.  That is how it came from the factory and I did get some higher numbers but this is about where it settled for 30+ shots.  From what I read, the regulator is at the upper limit of 150bar, although certainly not the upper limits of a .30.  I tend not to run things to the limit.

They do make a .22 slug barrel, and you are correct in the $500 estimate if I recall.  Yes, twist rate the type of rifling in those barrels do not make it conducive to shooting slugs it has seemed.  I have some .30 slugs but have not bothered as reports have been unfavorable even in the smooth twist X barrels, which is fine as I wanted this to be primarily a pellet shooter with the idea of adding different configurations.  However, I have a .223 build shooting NOE 39gr IP and also a .300 pistol with a TJ barrel which should NSA pretty well. 

I topped the Crown off with the new Vortex Diamondback Tactical 6-24x 50mm EBR2c MOA and has been by far the most consistently accurate rifle I have ever shot past 50yd. 

A few groups from 100yd.  I was just on a stool, folding table, a lunch bag front rest and sweatshirt for the rear and shot these all in about 15 minutes, no doping just same POA.  Swirling wind too, but when all the stars aligned, it goes where you point it.  My thumb is exactly 0.75in across the nail bed, which is why I use my finger (0.5in) and thumb so much in pics.  You can see on the last three groups (4 shot groups), 2 groups had three almost in one hole, one just off, but the last group was all four in one hole!  The first 4 pics were 5 shot groups, still working on trigger.  I thought I had a good one, then wind picked up, you can see 5 shots same level just stringing completely right as wind kept pick up-lol  My best was that all 4 shots in same hole………..  These are all with the 44gr.

I havent taken any pics since adjusting the trigger, but it used to stick when depressing first stage and could not let off.  Ive since fixed that and have have been able to further tighten up.

[KnifeMaker]

Was thinking  of fitting a .30 pellet barrel in my Rainstorm, however, with the long ranges here in Texas, I am fitting a .257 TJ's to shoot slugs.


Just sent the bbl. out to JSAR for  fitting the O Ring groove in the breach.   


You'll love a .30. Wish I had ordered the .30 in the Storm to begin with. GRRRRR!!!


Knife

[Hobbyman2007]

Knife , how long of a bullet can you fit in the Storm mag? Do you plan on single loading ?

[ctshooter]

A little off topic - but do you think it is possible to tune the Crown in .30 up to 100fpe in its stock form using just the adjustments provided? How about the .22 - could it be brought up to ~40 ft lbs?

[Prouzy]

A little off topic - but do you think it is possible to tune the Crown in .30 up to 100fpe in its stock form using just the adjustments provided? How about the .22 - could it be brought up to ~40 ft lbs?

Im speculating mostly, as I have not exhausted all configurations, but I dont think 100fpe with any usable accuracy will be possible without any modifications.  First off, the stock regulator is mostly at its capacity at 150bar.  However, with minimal effort, Ernest did show 90fpe is quite feasible, on the reg, IIRC.  I can only imagine its feasible, given the platform possibilities, ie pressure etc. with some modifications. 

In the .22 I cant imagine 40fpe is even a challenge, given the adjustment ability, including pressure and barrel length.  I get that in other platforms with lower pressure with no effort using 25.4gr JSB.  I would love to see a Crown shooting the JSB Jumbo 34gr.  I would actually prefer shooting the .22 25gr than a .25 cal, and of the .22 would shoot well with the 34gr at distance, I would never buy another .25 diabolo..........unless they come out with a 40-45. I personally have not been overly impressed with the King Heavy 34gr in .25 compared to heavy .22 and .30, but thats just me having all the options.  A .25 is a nice tweener for sure, and a reason to own another    Now, if talking slugs, that is a different story, IMO.

[ctshooter]

I suppose I should have mentioned that I am considering this as a slug gun setup. I'd likely get the slug liner (well in .22 as there are none in .30 yet). My goal would be shooting the 28 grain .22 NSA boat tail slugs at at least 8-850fps. Preferably closer to 900fps.

[Dairyboy]

Yeah I'm with Chris. 100fpe out of a regulated gun is tough.

40fpe out of the .22 shouldn't be an issue. Honestly I'm also with Chris in I won't be buying another .25 pellet shooter. I have little faith in the .25 JSB pellets as I have 4 tins that are all different skirt thickness etc. I find them to be inconsistent. The 25.39 Redesigned monsters in .22 are awesome and find they shoot just as accurate as the 18gr so I'd go that route over a .25. But a slug shooter, trying to get one together in .25 shortly and leave my .22 and .30 for pellets.

If a .22 Slug shooter is what you want I believe there possible as well. Good luck with the boat tails though. For some reason many people haven't got them to shoot great. Most consistent and Nick confirmed are the 23gr slugs.

[ctshooter]

Thanks for that information. I figured the .22 boat tails have a better BC so I would get a nice flat shot with good accuracy.
Are you saying the 23 grain from a FX slug barrel or just in general?

Edit - and yes, definitely looking at the next gun purchase (which may be a while out) is going to be a slug shooter. If I go up to the .30 I'd be okay with using JSBs as well - I'd just like to get the 50 grains moving at a good speed too.

[KnifeMaker]

Knife , how long of a bullet can you fit in the Storm mag? Do you plan on single loading ?

.403 as issued from factory, however, the back plate can be removed and a spacer placed inside.


Since the bolt retracts so much, you could go wild with it by milling a portion in front of the probe from the breach and have a large opening.  

the NOE FP mold decked to 50 gr. fits fine. The Lyman is longer, and had to put two shims in the back of the mag plate. However, the lymans,(257420) has such a steep nose, that it wants to back out into the loading port under recoil. Will have to make one of the shims to cover it and only load thru the actual thru cylinder hole.

Poppet finally gave out. Says delivered today by UPS. Nope, once again, UPS dropped off my package some
where else. Twice in a month. GRRRRR!!!
Knife


Knife

[Prouzy]

Edit - and yes, definitely looking at the next gun purchase (which may be a while out) is going to be a slug shooter. If I go up to the .30 I'd be okay with using JSBs as well - I'd just like to get the 50 grains moving at a good speed too.

Of my three .30s, the Crown was the only one to shoot the 50gr accurately in the 800s amd past 50yd.  The Rainstorm has no problem slinging them, but only accurate in high 700s, whatever that might be good for.  The Crown and Ernest Rowe's mods will be high 800s/low 900s I suspect, on a regulator. I have heard the Daystate Wolverine 303 shoots the Daystate 50gr well, which is the JSB equivalent. 

You've settled it for me. .30 it is.

This should also give me leeway maybe to take body shots on foxes if a head shot doesn't present itself.  Of course either will kill it with a chest shot, but a .30 will have a better chance of it dying on my property instead of the neighbor's.

(I do have a Wildcat in .25 also...)

Especially having the Wildcat in .25, good choice, you will love it!

[oneshot61]

I ran the 44.75 and the 50 grain through my rainstorm.30. I size all that I shoot to .299. They shoot 20 FPS faster or better and equal accuracy. What I have noticed is the 50 grain are not consistent size coming straight out of the tin. Some barely touched the sizing die. Not so with the 44.75 which have been much more consistent in size. This may be causing some of the inaccuracy with the 50’s.