Retaining Velocity
People shoot airguns all the time without understanding what the BC means or is. BC is the Ballistic Coefficient of a projectile. It determines the resistance to air drag. The higher the BC the more resistance and the better ability it has to retain its velocity.
Why is retaining velocity important? Accuracy, distance, and effectiveness depend on it! Velocity gives it a fight against the drag and other elements, it helps the projectile to travel further, and retain more effective energy.
May Not Be Important
For the airgunners that enjoy some fun backyard plinking with their Gamo Arrow or some backyard pesting with their Gamo Swarm Bone Collector, this information may not be important. For those that are interested in competition, long range, or hunting, this information only adds to your arsenal for success.
When shooting in competitions whether it be long range or short range, to prepare yourself for the competition you can never get too much practice. Practice means buying multiple tins of pellets or slugs. If you do your research it may narrow down your choices and save you from lightening your wallet or bank account much.
Pellets Or Slugs?
If you’re looking for some long range ammunition for a shooting competition, the first thing you’re going to look for is a high Ballistic Coefficient. Slugs or pellets? Slugs have a higher BC than pellets do because of their design.
The pellet has a round nose, hollow point, or some sort of hunting tip and a skirt which is great for short range stability. The slug has a typical bullet shaped nose and no skirt, giving it less resistance against air drag, making it a great long range projectile.
For instance the H&N Sport Baracuda 18’s a .22 caliber have a Ballistic Coefficient of .029 and the H&N Sport HP Slugs .217 caliber have a ballistic coefficient of .091. Has this short lesson taught you anything? For a long range competition, which one would you choose?
Do Some Testing
There’s more to finding the proper ammo than numbers. Not all airguns, barrels, velocity ranges will be friendly to the same types of ammo. You’ll need to do some testing, or if you aren’t able to do that, do your research and find someone who has.
Once you’ve decided on an ammo type, you may be able to tune your airgun for more precise accuracy. A rifle like the Karma Red Panda PRS is tunable but the Benjamin Marauder on the other hand is not.
Whether you’re looking for something to shoot straight out the box without adjustments, or something to tinker with a chronograph like the Pro Chronograph Deluxe is an important piece of equipment for every airgunner to track velocity and energy output.
If you’re a tinkerer and like to manipulate your air rifle, again, do your research and get the one that best suits what you’re looking for. Before making any adjustments to any air rifle read the manual, check the warranty, and get the appropriate equipment.
