At what velocity do hollow points stop being accurate?

[johnbrown]

I also like the Daisy .22 hollow points and buy them when Daisy has them on sale.

I know that the Crosman Premier hollow point pellets are much closer to a domed pellet.
I remember that the Crosman domed and hollow point have the same ballistic coefficient, which means that they behave almost the same in flight.

[Pelletjunkie]

I try to shoot Crow Magnums out of every gun I buy or build. I do it because over the 30 years that I’ve shot them, they are an effective, safe short range pellet. They run out of juice very quick. My dad is currently shooting them out of a BSA Ultra SE .177 around 800fps. My bottled 2240 with a 14”LW barrel will shoot them great until 30 yards. Then they go crazy. None of my .25’s have ever shot them. My Webley Vulcan springer .177 and PP700 .177 will shoot them also. There is a noticeable difference in the sound of impact when using them but as far as expansion goes, that’s not happening. It’s a pellet. A bullet expands because it follows the rules of physics. Remember an object in motion will remain in motion until acted upon? A bullet has a dense rear section that continues to drive forward after the tip strikes something. With a pellet, it has a waist. The least dense part of the whole pellet. It can’t keep driving forward to create expansion. Unless you shoot a steel plate that abruptly stops everything.

You're wrong about pellets not expanding. I've shot many squirrels with .177 H&N Baracuda Hunter at about 18 FPE. When I'm able to recover the pellets, they're about .22 cal.

.177 H&N Terminator @ 15 FPE also expand, but not as dramatically as the above.

They won't all expand equally and a lot depends on where you hit, but most of them do expand. (Crosman Premier Hollow Point don't expand)

Don’t confuse expansion with deformation.

[ER00z]

Most of my hollow point expirence is with .177's, and for one reason or another I rarely recover pellets (mostly head shots). So take this with a grain of salt...

Crosman pellets are too hard to expand (reliably), Both the CPHP's and Piranhas (in .177 &.,22), although the Piranhas seem to "hit harder".  Used these at 500fps (.22) up to 1050fps (.177) and about everthing in between. Max range 50-60 yards (haven't tested further).

The destroyers (.177 & .22) if accurate in your barrel will hit the hardest, but I found useful range was limited to ~20 yards, but are the most likely to expand (or fragment). Hits like wadcutters, but may stop sooner in game (have paralysed pests at lower speeds, but failed to deliver killing blow). Accuracy falls off in the 750-800fps range (YMMV ).

H&N pellets (in .177) have an ok balance of hardness, and will most likely to expand compared to Crosman's. Never had luck (accuracy) with Crow Mags, but can't speak highly enough about Baracuda Hunters (not Extremes, never tested). Decent exit hole (expansion/deformation) 30 yards and under from 18+fpe .177 guns. Very effective out to 50+ yards on small game (52 yards is the max I've tested/shot on game with these). When pushed too fast spiraling will start occur somewhare around 50 yards, possibly sooner if there's a strong headwind. No issues at 25 yards or less from 24-25fpe guns (In .177). They fly like a dome, expand 30 yards and less, if slow down too much they hit more like a wadcutter. Best hollow point, IMO.

Daisy "old style" hollow points (.177), almost wadcutter shape with small hollow point sticking up, were dead soft and hit hard enough for "eye buldging" effect on small game, if you could hit your target. This was from a ~16f-17pe gun at 18-ish yards.

The "New style" Daisy hollow points (in .177, ~7.5gr) are also dead soft. Shot at 750-890fps+ at 20-25 yards, rarely had an exit. Just too much deformation, but hit hard. Seemed to get a lot of fliers with these (lots of flashing on pellets), YMMV.

If I know I'm going on a hunt/pesting mission, the hollow points I prefer are H&N Baracuda Hunters (my #1) or may use the "New" Daisy hollow points if over penetration is of concern. Occasionally use CPHP's/Piranhas, depending on what gun is on hand.

(Otherwise I use H&N FTT's or JSB/A.A.  domed pellets, whatever the particular gun likes. An honorable mention to CPUM/10.5's for my strong .177's. Accuracy comes first, if domes are better that's what I use). My best results for H/L shots (on small game) were never from a hollow point, but a .25 cal (25.4gr) at 700-705 fps. Enough to penetrate into vitals, but not exit. Because of diameter, no need to expand... 50+ yards

Apologies for straying a bit, I know you wanted just hollow point information. Using chairgun, I'd estimate 650-720 fps or so ON IMPACT for good expansion/deformation, depending on pellet hardness/mass. Useful accuracy is 20-50 yards, depending on the barrel, velocity and environmental conditions.

Hope this helps.

[JungleShooter]

JSB Ultra Shocks do disturbingly well in my Leshiy with a .22 350mm barrel at 930 FPS — every bit as accurate as the other "most accurate" pellet, the EdGun domes (made my JSB).

Peter,

I appreciate your input — I find very little info on the Ultra-Shocks (of either manufacturer). 

I'm trying to collect some info for a HP Specs and Performance Chart — and the OP's question on max. MV for adequate precision is indeed very relevant — like he says: 
To get expansion we need high velocities — but the HP shape doesn't usually favor precision at high velocities....

🔸So, would you fill in the blanks for me?
▪Pellet:  JSB Ultra-Shock .22cal 
▪MV:  930fps 
▪Range:  ...
▪Group size:  ... (an average group size — not cherry-picked, not tear-up-the-target-and-hide-the-shreds)


🔸You also mentioned that you didn't get expansion — I would love to hear more details about it, like:
▪Ranges?
▪Where the (unexpanded) pellets recovered from quarry, or how do you know? 


Thanks a ton!! 👍🏼😊

Matthias

[elh0102]

The hp pellets I've tried do not shoot as well as the conventional Diablo solid. I've killed a few squirrels with them, and they were no deader than the ones killed with solids. I don't think the trade off in accuracy gives much in return, so I quit using them. Dead is dead, but you have to hit your target.

[nervoustrigger]

The hp pellets I've tried do not shoot as well as the conventional Diablo solid. I've killed a few squirrels with them, and they were no deader than the ones killed with solids. I don't think the trade off in accuracy gives much in return, so I quit using them. Dead is dead, but you have to hit your target.

^ This.

My experience is precisely the same.  The opportunities I have for hollow points are limited mostly to suburban pest control inside of 40 yards, and preferably no more than 30.  Past that, a domed pellet wins out.

[anti-squirrel]

FWIW, while Sonja and I were up on the property over Christmas, we spent some time shooting.  Mostly the big-bore PCPs at a "gong", technically a cymbal I hung from a tree 80 yards from our pumphouse.  Despite a gusting quartering crosswind, I was hitting it at will using my 392 and Blue Streak.  I was using domes in the -Streak, but the 392 was used with HPs, both JSB and CP.  That's iron sights with a pumper at a 16" target with winds ranging from 10 to 25 knots.  The smallbore shots were distinctive as the lead "smear" was much smaller than the big-bores (and no dent!)... every .20 and .22 hit within a 6" area, so apparently, I either got really lucky guesstimating Kentucky windage or the HPs and domes were about equivalent.