Ultimate .177 destruction- at a price

“Ultimate .177 destruction- at a price”

Written on: 01/07/2012 by Kimm742 (56 reviews written)

I just had to try these. Who wouldn't want to try a pellet that looked like every rocket or spaceship they had drawn as a boy? And then there's the manufacturer's claims- "match grade accuracy", "incomparable penetration and expansion", and "superior take-down punch". And when that maker is JSB, the pellet maestros in the Czech Republic, you sit up and take note.
First point of note- they're not easy to find.Ended up getting them on E-bay from a dealer in Portugal (though to be fair it was a very routine process, with 48 hr delivery).
These pellets are NOT like the "armour piercing plastic-and-steel" jobs that are on offer, they are a lead pellet designed to kill by way of penetration then expansion.
These are long pellets, touching 10mm in length, so if you have a multi-shot, check the depth of your magazine .

Manufacturing quality is high, and having sample-weighed some I could not find a single pellet which varied measurably from the stated weight of 8 grains.

They have a thin body and a hollow point, from which protrudes a hard conical pointed red plastic spike. Some say that this spike punches through sinew, saws though bone etc, but I disagree-every "autopsy" I performed showed that the spike had detached soon after entry into tissue. Therefore, I believe it is an "enabler" i.e. allows other things to happen such as a) providing an aerodynamic shape, which helps maintain velocity b) drilling a "pilot hole" through tissue which allows the main pellet body to enter more easily, and C) delaying expansion until the pellet is inside the quarry (whereupon it breaks away, exposing the hollow point to the resistance of muscle, bone and tissue and allowing expansion to happen).

Do they work? Yes, very much so.
They are extremely accurate, 1/2" groups at 25 yards without much effort.
And the tissue destruction caused is even greater than that of Crosman's comparable pellet, the Destroyer (which I have also reviewed). Nothing will hop or flap away from a hit from one of these.

So, time for Crosman, RWS et al to shut up shop and go home?
No. Why not?
Because these little beauties cost me £12 for a tin of 200. That's £30 for 500, when 500 Destroyers will set me back around £7.

If I shoot rabbits out to the extremities of my range, these will most likely be the pellet of choice. And if money were no object, I'd use these for everything.Back in the real world, it will be the Destroyers most of the time- 95% of the effectiveness, less than 25% of the price .