New HW30S .177 had some pellets stick in the barrel......

[Sandaholic]

Since I am new to this I figured I might a well get some opinions.

Just got the rifle in the mail today. I bought some of those Beeman cleaning pellets and a sampler pack of pellets as well.
First thing I did was put some goo gone on one of the pellets then stuffed 2 more in behind it. Fired it and then repeated twice more with dry cleaning pellets (3 at a time).

Then I started trying to get the sights dialed in. And I was using a variety of the pellets. As I didn't want to use them all up. I should have bought a full tin of something but didn't know what to get. Anyhow I got the thing shooting pretty good and I was just running through pellets having a good ol' time. Earlier I had shot some heavier pellets with no issues. They were:

HN Rabbit Magnum II 15.74 grain
And
H&N Barracuda Magnum 16.36 grain

Am I just not supposed to shoot pellets that heavy? Was I a bonehead for disregarding the 'magnum' designation? Everything else shot great.

And if you're wondering "how in the world did he get not one but TWO pellets stuck?". I'll explain 

I had been sitting at the table out back for most of the shots. I decided to take some shots further back standing. IIRC I loaded up the heavier pellet first. Fired it and it got stuck. Since I was standing and had moved back I thought possibly I just missed seeing the pellet fly, had also whiffed on the target and the pellet had hit the dirt backstop. I loaded up the next lighter pellet down and took a shot..........okay something is not right here, where the heck did that one go? I break the barrel open and what do I see a pellet maybe 4" down the barrel. With a shameful sinking feeling I flip it around and check the other end........same!

So I grabbed some wooden shish kabob skewers. Cut the pointed ends off so they were flat and tapped the pellets out. The rifle shot fine afterwards with seemingly no ill effects. I will probably never again use anything much heavier than a 10grain so this will probably not happen again. But I would still appreciate any input or thoughts you may have? If I am in doubt you can be sure I will be checking for daylight down that break barrel from now on!


So recap.

Am I not supposed to use over a certain grain of pellet?
Has anyone heard of this particular scenario happening with an HW30S or an R7?
And did I possibly hurt the rifle by firing it with another pellet in the barrel?

[ptpalpha]

Generally speaking, most advice I've seen has springers in the power level of the HW30's shooting pellets weighing between 7-9 grains. 
I'm guessing that the more you shot, some of the pellets were a tighter fit to load.  By the time you got to the magnum loads,  a combination of factors happened:  your bore was leaded, the magnum pellet's diameter was probably too large, and the cleaning pellet method you used didn't sufficiently clean the new barrel.
My advice is to buy or make a pull-through bore cleaner (Bore-Snake .17cal airgun model or Crown Saver) and give the barrel a good cleaning by pulling 3/4" x 3/4" patches through.  The only thing I use felt cleaning patches for is to stuff in the muzzle if I'm working on the crown.
The heaviest pellet I'd shoot would be the JSB 10.34grain, and even that's pushing it.
But look on the bright side: you weren't shooting a centerfire!
It's all good, bro.  You've got a really great rifle in the HW30.
-Pual

[mtsheron70]

Roy I would say those pellets you bought and at those weights are way too heavy for that rifle which is a low power springer.  I would look to 7-8 grain range.  I shoot only 14.72 grain in my HW97K which is a .22 caliber.  So I bet you have a pellet too heavy for that rifle.  Those weights are generally best used in PCP rifles in .177 caliber.

[palonej]

Yup!!! 7.3 - 8.64 should be perfect for your rifle!!
I would bet the JSB 7.3 would perform great.....and your gun will thank you!!
Lose the cleaning pellets and check out Timmy Mac's site for a crown saver like Paul said. Great tool!! You'll find Timmy in the GTA Mall.

[flyer]

          If you care to check on the specifications of the pellets you used from the H&N site you will see that they are recommended  for airguns producing more than 25 Joules (18,5 ftlbs) of energy at the muzzle, definitely NOT suitable for a low power air rifle like the HW 30/R-7.

        http://www.hn-sport.de/en/products/air-gun-pellets/hunting-and-field-target/rabbit-magnum-ii.html

        http://www.hn-sport.de/en/products/air-gun-pellets/hunting-and-field-target/baracuda-magnum.html

               As you can see the same piece of information is printed on the metal boxes too (the new ones at least).

        Make some chronograph tests with medium weight pellets like the JSB Exact or Express, RWS Superdomes, Crosman Premier Lights etc and see how the rifle behaves. If the pellet speed is like before the incident then you have nothing to worry about.

       

[Calmark]

I would definitely suggest lighter pellets too.  Try out some JSB in the 7.3, 7.9 and 8.4grain weights.  I've shot R7/HW30s that like all of those weights and different rifles have tended to like one weight slightly more than another.  The two R7s I have right now both like the 7.9 JSB the most.  I tend to stay away from Crosman Premier Hollow Points (CPHP), since I find the harder lead generally slows down velocities.  These can also be pretty accurate and mine shoot them decently.  They weigh 7.9gr, so a good one to try.  Good luck and enjoy your HW30!   

[Sandaholic]

Thanks for all the replies! I will try and stay around the 7-8 grain weight in the future. I just went to Fred Meyer and picked up some Crosman pellets (all they had) 7.4 grains IIRC.


@Flyer I suppose I could have checked the website to look into those pellets........thanks. As to the information being on the tin I wouldn't know.These came from Straight shooters as a sampler pack in a plastic case with separated bins containing the different pellets.

[flyer]

                 Since there was no harm done it's just something to remember for the future.

                       Enjoy your rifle!   

[Doctorsolo]

FYI CPL's are an extremely tight fit in my HW30.