Anyone shooting .20 cal here?

[Franklink]

Scott,

I want to note that none of the guns/barrels I've owned have liked two different weight JSB pellets (@ the same or different fps) as much as this .20 seems to in Travis's videos. All my other guns in different calibers have just liked one weight of JSB and not cared much for others.

You hear about dies wearing out and pellets not being as accurate from lots that were produced later in the life of a die.

Makes a guy wonder if fewer .20 pellets sold means fewer made which means less wear on the dies which equates to better (more consistent) quality pellets. 

[gendoc]

my shinsung .20 barrel is not choked, so i'd like to try slugs.

being not choked, it seems not to effect accuracy out to 35yrds,
could this be another mystery 


 35-40yrds is my hunting limit and i'm not concerned about any further.

[Motorhead]

Scott,

I want to note that none of the guns/barrels I've owned have liked two different weight JSB pellets (@ the same or different fps) as much as this .20 seems to in Travis's videos. All my other guns in different calibers have just liked one weight of JSB and not cared much for others.

You hear about dies wearing out and pellets not being as accurate from lots that were produced later in the life of a die.

Makes a guy wonder if fewer .20 pellets sold means fewer made which means less wear on the dies which equates to better (more consistent) quality pellets. 

No idea on the JSB manufacturing of .20's ?
I do however have still @ 4 tins of the Older GOLD / BLACK label which shoot phenomenal, the more recent RED label shoots so well in comparison I don't shoot the old stuff and keep it just because.
Honestly in shooting .20 cal in FT competition now for 4 seasons using production red tin .20's I've never seen much if any notable shift in QC.   pending how pellets get handled, shipping or personal indeed has effect ... there thin skirts do damage easily.

[Hoosier Daddy]

I have a couple... 'Dan Pumper, Beeman Springer, and CO2.
The CO2 gun is based around a NOS,  LW .20 barrel from Sterling I found on ebay and built a gun around it. I have JSB, H&N, even Benjiman pellets, they all shoot well.
 I don't think there is anything magical about the .20, but it sure is accurate enough for me.

[Ribbonstone]

An econmic "loser" for any pellet maker....but there are a few old PCP's that really thrived on heavier weight 5mm pellets (and if there is an advantage to the ballistics of a 5mm, it wouler be with the heavy weights...like 20-25 grains).

Actually, I'm (pleasantly) surprized that JSB intorduced the 15.9gr....really aren't that many 5mm shooters, and fewer still that could actually make use of the weight.


The lkife exepctancy of my old Sumatra could be measured in the number ot tins of 23gr. pellets...lets sayn 6 1/4tins of those still stashed away.   Considering all the 5mm'S ever made, likely the Summatra is the only reason that weight was ever made.

With those at 900-950 fps (still not max speed) was my frist experice with a "laser" type trajectory.

With today's pellet/slug slection,and the more powerful PCP's to go along with them, the .22's and .25's do the same thing better.


Can see for the above post, I like the 5mm....but it ain't magic.

[SAGERAT NITEMARE]

I had a Sheridan Blue Streak about a thousand years ago...can't remember WHAT brand pellet I used but there was only one brand anyway as I recall that I could find locally and I liked that is was nicely round nosed nosed. 

I LOVED that gun.

Had it rebuild twice when the "chains/o'rings" went bad.  Used it on crows, rabbits, quail, dove and, of course RATZ. 

Kept my refrig stocked with edible game while going to college,(some from the college campus)...VERY cheaply.

Nostalgia keeps me looking at today's offerings...Maybe one will find it's way into my locker someday.

Good Shooting

[Franklink]

.......I like the 5mm....but it ain't magic.

I've shot A LOT of .177 pellets at 20fpe and about 8tins of. 22 at 20fpe with a Veteran, and 12 tins of .22 @18fpe with an old Disco. A lot of that has been in windy conditions. I live in a place where 20-30mph winds are normal and 70mph gusts happen probably 10-15 days a year. The air will get brown on those nasty days from all the dirt picked up, can literally taste the air and feel the grit in mouths and eyes. I feel like I've got a good handle on 20fpe in the wind.

I'm with Travis that I dunno what's going on in with how resistant the .20 is in his videos, but that much movement on a wind flag will REQUIRE accounting for the wind, even if trying to time shots between gusts. He's holding dead on and not getting any lateral drift

Physics is physics so there's no magic here, but I can't wait to do some shooting in serious wind and see what's going on.

[Hoosier Daddy]

 AirForce is seeing a need on new .20's.
 Their Talon and Condor both can be bought that way.

[Ribbonstone]

Best effort from years ago...with most of the pelletw shown in my last post and an open-sight Sheridan C.



Gave that rifle to my oldest nehew to take cae of a squirrel problem...so there is at least one clean example of the  Shreidan "C" in Apison, Tenn.

[BackStop]

I think I misspoke here.   Amplitude, like amps in electricity, IS the volume.   The pressure is like watts.

100,000 watts can be relatively harmless if the amps are low enough.   Increase the amps (volume) enough and 120 watts can be deadly.

Perhaps the dynamics of air don't work exactly that way, but at least it sounds good.  (grin)

Might want to stop here as you are still "mis-speaking". Replace "watts" with "volts" and you will be a whole lot close to being correct. Power (wattage) is the product of voltage and amperage. W=VxA
Amps are the "volume", but the "pressure" is the voltage.

Yes, I meant volts.   It was late when I posted that and I had a brain fart.

[c_m_shooter]

I have the .20 barrel on my Condor SS right now.  It seems good, but I haven't got it dialed yet.

[Ribbonstone]

Franklink:

We think down different paths.  Low sales may mean the dies see service for a longer time, but once they do wear out and need replacement....the choice for the maker is to spend the $ for new dies and production runs for a LOW sales item, or spend the $ on new dies and production time for a higher sales item.

Which kind of explains why the 5mm once had 17-20 choices in pellets...and it pretty much down to 4 now.

[oldpro]

Franklink:

We think down different paths.  Low sales may mean the dies see service for a longer time, but once they do wear out and need replacement....the choice for the maker is to spend the $ for new dies and production runs for a LOW sales item, or spend the $ on new dies and production time for a higher sales item.

Which kind of explains why the 5mm once had 17-20 choices in pellets...and it pretty much down to 4 now.

Agree completely its just not a popular bore size but once was.

[JBinCO]

.20 cal Raptors start making noise at field target competitions this spring that trend could start swinging back the other way...I have a call into JSAR about barrel kits....if Travis will do one I would go with the .20 cal kit for my .30 cal raptor and give it a run this summer in Utah competitions (Bench and FT Hunter Class).  Travis where will you be shooting your first FT?  I would love to see that!

[Hoosier Daddy]

With JSB offering their new "Heavies" I do not feel the .20 is being forsaken.

[Franklink]

.20 cal Raptors start making noise at field target competitions this spring that trend could start swinging back the other way...

Hate to say so, but I doubt it. There just isn't much noise to be made about field target. Other than WFTF, I haven't seen much sponsorships or money being thrown towards field target by the big industry players.

Most of the attention the industry gets by manufacturers seems to be pointed at the big events like EBR, RMAC, and PA Cup. Even though there are only those 3 in a year. Volume-wise, there seems to be many more field target competitors. Some places in the US even have a match every month. Big money isn't paying much attention to FT, even the bigger events like Nationals dont garner the sponsorship money and buzz that you see with those three events.

It would be pretty awesome if FT matches started offering prize money and could turn the sport into a big corporate draw.

For example, Motorheads been shooting the .20 for, four years I think he said. He won the Hunter Class Nationals in PHX in 2018, and was also the match high score, and I'm pretty sure that was with a .20. That didn't make JSB jump on the .20 bandwagon and start making a bunch of new pellets in .20. (Well I guess the 15.89 gr came out since then but I think unrelated).

FT is just low-key and doesn't have the buzz of the big events. Too bad, cuz most field target guys are willing to throw the dollars at equipment. So, there's gold to be had there, for a manufacturer and retailer, they just don't seem to put much emphasis on digging for it.

[Franklink]

Franklink:

We think down different paths.  Low sales may mean the dies see service for a longer time, but once they do wear out and need replacement....the choice for the maker is to spend the $ for new dies and production runs for a LOW sales item, or spend the $ on new dies and production time for a higher sales item.

Which kind of explains why the 5mm once had 17-20 choices in pellets...and it pretty much down to 4 now.

Agree completely its just not a popular bore size but once was.

When put that way, yes, completely plausible take on the. 20 situation. I was just grasping straws as to why this small sample of .20 accuracy seems so promising.

Also completely plausible that I've just hyped myself up so much about my. 20 Raptor that I'm looking through rose-colored glasses.

Ah well, it'll be here soon enough for me to see for myself whether or not there's magic to be had with the .20.

[msurf]

Havent shot a .20 yet, but had started to build one on a Marauder platform (have some extra parts) with a TJ's barrel.
 I was ready to order the barrel early summer, but lots of bad things happened, one being my house flooded, and have been living in condos since July.  So no progress on the .20 build, nor any airgun shooting 
Anyway I had already started purchasing some pellets, two I haven't seen mentioned are the Benjamin P50 cylindrical pellet and the polymags.  I found a deal on the Polymags for 6.99 a tin and ordered like 9 tins.  Also have some Barracudas, and a few others to try.
 We shall see if they shoot at SOME point.  They finally started rebuilding my house 2 days ago 

[Ribbonstone]

Ture...the target posted a few slots above is an old one...and from a Sheridan (was kind of proof of why the reciver of it was getting several boxes of pellets he never heard of).

I've no complaints about the PCP accuracy of the Crosman CP's, JSB's in either weight. Althoughthe CP's are "gone".   THe H&N Field TArgets can be good in a 20 foot pound PCP,but haven't been good when driven toio fast (which some5mm  PCP's do tend to do in thier natural state).

I'll miss the 5mm once it takes it's fina; dirt nape...which isn't likely in the next 10 years or so (which is about right for me personally).

IF you were to take a jump into 5mm PCP waters, I'd add to the cost quite a bit....would test all the in productionpellets,and order as much of the best 5mm pellets I could affort.

May be wrong...maybe the 5mm will have a revival.....but even if you bought a bunch of 5mm pellets today,do you really think they'd be cheaper 5 or 10 years from now?

[Motorhead]

.20 cal Raptors start making noise at field target competitions this spring that trend could start swinging back the other way...

Hate to say so, but I doubt it. There just isn't much noise to be made about field target. Other than WFTF, I haven't seen much sponsorships or money being thrown towards field target by the big industry players.

It would be pretty awesome if FT matches started offering prize money and could turn the sport into a big corporate draw.

For example, Motorheads been shooting the .20 for, four years I think he said. He won the Hunter Class Nationals in PHX in 2018, and was also the match high score, and I'm pretty sure that was with a .20. That didn't make JSB jump on the .20 bandwagon and start making a bunch of new pellets in .20. (Well I guess the 15.89 gr came out since then but I think unrelated).

Factory support, Big money behind Who and What they shoot would do more harm than good in the Field Target game.    As it is, I see FT as a Gentleman's game played by most who wish to have fun and get along with others playing the same game.  You against the Course being a level playing field.  Money spent on equipment does not equate to being good shot.   The atmosphere now is one of folks doing there best, learning the game while being competitive too.    Add Big bucks it turns into an arms race with primarily the best shooters shooting the best equipment leaving everyone else as contributors to the Purse money they will likely never win.      Now ANOTHER ORGANIZATION removed from the AAFTA being a Professional FT Association with differing rules and a purpose of Air Gun promotion ... Absolutely


This is true and while looking at the nation as a whole in the FT ranks, with the success of the 2018 AATFT Nationals, the .20 cal definitely got a nod as a capable FT caliber.  As a west coast Caliber ( Where Lived and Shoot )  the lowly .20 cal has indeed been put into use at a much increased frequency.   Those shooting FT with .20's has absolutely increased with rave reviews in the > .20fpe classes.


Be careful what you wish for .... JMO

Scott