# Pellet alternatives?



## darkgael (Feb 10, 2006)

The discussion in another thread about long distance shooting involved mention of a number of quite powerful air rifles. 
I started wondering whether it was possible/productive to move away from air gun specific lead pellets. 
Would it be possible/productive to cast lead bullets meant for the .22 centerfires and, swaging them down appropriately, shoot them from a .22 air rifle? Yes, velocity would be down but the weight would be up.
Inexpensive sizing dies are available from Lee Precision. 
If you have a .25 cal airgun, have you tried #3 Buckshot (.250")? RCBS makes a bullet mould for 25 ACP bullets that drops 50 grain slugs at 0.251". Would they work? Would 35 grain jacketed bullets work? I wonder.
I have a big bore PCP rifle in .45 cal. I use muzzleloader round balls at 0.457" and lead bullets that I cast for my .45 Colt. I bump them up to. 458" and they shoot very nicely. That's partly what made me wonder if the same thing was possible in the smaller bores.
Pete


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## Ambush Hunter (Jun 29, 2009)

Pete,

Some folks do cast their own bullets, but these are mostly big bore ammo. Also keep in mind that 17 HMR is not the same as .177, .204 Ruger is not the same as .20, .22 LR is not the same as .22, and so forth. For instance, .22 LR is between .221 and .223, while .22 in an air gun is actually .218. So, the firearm ammo is not suitable for airguns due to dimension differences. Also, never ever try shooting jacketed and steel ammo in airguns - you will ruin your barrel. As far as small bore ammo, there is no need at all to cast bullets/pellets. There are dozens and dozens to choose from already. So, it is not worth the stretch - very time consuming. When I had my .25 Condor, the heaviest bullet I could shoot was 42 grain around 86-88 FPE. Anything heavier did not work efficiency-wise. You'll have to match the energy output of your rifle with the ammunition. It doesn't make any sense to shoot a 7.9 gr. pellet at 1200 FPS, so doesn't shooting 450 gr. (.458) at 400 FPS. You'll have to find the "golden middle" between efficiency, energy, and accuracy.

Here are few sites worth checking. I will have a custom DAQ in .458 by the end of this year. It's a pure hunting machine running at 500+ FPE. Accurate, too.

http://www.thegunworks.com/custprodgun. ... %20Bullets

http://www.adventuresinairguns.com/ammo-c-9.html

http://www.hunters-supply.com/shop/inde ... c0e6ecb730

http://www.quackenbushairguns.com/index.html

http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2008/12/ ... uette.html


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## darkgael (Feb 10, 2006)

Ambush: A DAQ, huh. I'm jealous. Wouldn't do me any good for hunting as airguns are not legal for hunting in PA. But....just to own one. Nice. 
I have one of the Korean guns and am very happy with it. I use the same molds that I use for my muzzleloaders and my .45. I just cast them in pure lead for the PCP. Not nearly 500 fpe - more like 160-180.
I was wondering what the dimension was for a .22 pellet. Thank you for that info. I'm away from home and could not measure. Even the .218 - if one really wanted to try it - is not a problem. Lee Precision will make a custom push through sizing die for $25. Taking a cast bullet at .223 and sizing it down would be easy. Maintaining concentricity might be the killer.
You no longer have the Condor? I've been looking at the .22 version for some years now.
Pete


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