Round balls

[frozenveinz]

Has anybody tried using round balls in their AG's?  Specifically the .22 ones by Gamo. Are they accurate? I doubt they are good for long range as rifling won't help for them, but maybe they are. Saw them for $6 for 250 on amazon with free shipping so thought I'd give them a try.

[yote300wsm]

1 word: Shotgun. My experience has not been good. Gonna turn them into bigger round-balls for the ML.

[Rescue912]

I have some in .177 and .22 that don't shoot well out of anything I've tried them through. At 10m I shoot 3"x5" index cards with notes on them for reference. Last time I shot round balls, after sighting in with CPHPs, only 2 of the round balls hit the card - one at the very top and the other at the very bottom. Not a fan ...

[Pete]

Hi..
research the "magnus efect"

ever wondered how a tennis player/base ball ball player/soccer player.
can turn a ball "sphere" in flight..?  make it spin & you get
positive & negitive pressures on oppisite sides...so the high pressure side
pushes the sphere  to the low pressure side making it turn in flight..
The last thing yer want is a rifled barrel to shoot
round balls...

Pete

[coopieclan]

I bought Gamo round balls in .22 size for my Schimel.
My Schimel is still not working but I have tried the balls in all my .22 airguns and a muzzle loading powder burner.
The balls do not work in the Crosman 600 or the 38c.
They are OK in the 2240 but not as accurate as a Diablo (hourglass shape) pellet.

[rsterne]

RE Magnus Effect....

As I understand it, the direction of flight of the sphere in the diagram above is right to left (notice the direction of the "wind").... That is the only way that the "windspeed" can be higher on top and slower underneath and cause lift.... the ball has a "backspin".... Roundballs (or any bullet) do not normally tumble in flight, so the Magnus Effect of the "headwind" that the bullet sees in the direction of travel would be zero....

If that were a "rear view" of a bullet in flight.... ie going away from you.... the spin would be imposed by the rifling.... but there would only be "wind" if there was a crosswind.... If the crosswind is as shown, left to right, then the bullet would rise.... If the crosswind was right to left, the bullet would fall.... If the bullet was spinning in the opposite direction, then the opposite would occur.... In theory, spinning bullets fired in a crosswind should hit the target in a diagonal pattern depending on the strength and direction (L or R) of the wind and the direction of spin of the rifling.... This would take place regardless of the shape of the bullet, spherical, pointed, diablo, whatever....

Bob

[rkr]

Nickel plated lead shots are best, the'll do about an inch groups at 10 meters

[Pete]

RE Magnus Effect....

As I understand it, the direction of flight of the sphere in the diagram above is right to left (notice the direction of the "wind").... That is the only way that the "windspeed" can be higher on top and slower underneath and cause lift.... the ball has a "backspin".... Roundballs (or any bullet) do not normally tumble in flight, so the Magnus Effect of the "headwind" that the bullet sees in the direction of travel would be zero....

If that were a "rear view" of a bullet in flight.... ie going away from you.... the spin would be imposed by the rifling.... but there would only be "wind" if there was a crosswind.... If the crosswind is as shown, left to right, then the bullet would rise.... If the crosswind was right to left, the bullet would fall.... If the bullet was spinning in the opposite direction, then the opposite would occur.... In theory, spinning bullets fired in a crosswind should hit the target in a diagonal pattern depending on the strength and direction (L or R) of the wind and the direction of spin of the rifling.... This would take place regardless of the shape of the bullet, spherical, pointed, diablo, whatever....

Bob

HI..
yer i know what yer saying... in fact thats a poor digram
for a bullet  pellet or BB...
thats a better diagram for a flettner rotor...

[SAADE]

Just shot some Gamo .177 balls in my AR2078A this weekend, hit 1" dia. knockdown target paddles at 25 yards no problem.

Not sure what they would do at longer range or in other guns.

[rsterne]

thats a better diagram for a flettner rotor...

or for a golf ball with backspin, showing the way they lift.... It just doesn't apply to a bullet because they don't tumble end over end....

Bob

[oldpink]

Be careful about what sort of guy you fire round balls in.
NEVER fire them in a spring piston or gas ram powered gun, unless you want to beat it to a pulp.
They should be okay in PCP, CO2, and pumpers, though.

[SAADE]

Be careful about what sort of guy you fire round balls in.
NEVER fire them in a spring piston or gas ram powered gun, unless you want to beat it to a pulp.
They should be okay in PCP, CO2, and pumpers, though.

Because....? weight? resistance/size? other?

[rsterne]

I would think it would depend on how they fit in the bore.... The weight is pretty normal.... for lead anyway (and I wouldn't use anything else in a rifled barrel)....

.177 cal lead roundball = 8.3 gr.
.20 cal lead roundball = 12.0 gr.
.22 cal lead roundball = 15.3 gr.
.25 cal lead roundball = 23.5 gr.

Those weights are for pure lead, of course.... Providing they fit the bore OK, I can't see any problem weight-wise with any springer....

Bob

[oldpink]

Be careful about what sort of guy you fire round balls in.
NEVER fire them in a spring piston or gas ram powered gun, unless you want to beat it to a pulp.
They should be okay in PCP, CO2, and pumpers, though.

Because....? weight? resistance/size? other?

Because round balls don't have the skirt that regular pellets have to blow out and make a nearly perfect seal in the bore.
In other words, they tend to send your piston crashing into your compression tube.
Predictably, bad things then start happening to your seal and spring/gas ram.
It's your gun, but don't say you haven't been warned.