Range Test: Hatsan .22 caliber Supercharger with Millet Red Dot

RANGE DAY! Just me and Yuri, father and son, punchin' some paper!

Weather: Bright and sunny. Occasional gentle breeze.
Pellet in use: Beeman Crow Magnum .22 Caliber
Today almost didn't happen; the battery in my red dot died! Luckily, the range shop had a spare!

This is what I have in the Hatsan today.

My target: 10m distant.

My Targets.

Yuri's Target: 5m distant. (Hey, he's 6 years old!)

My stance: Standing, arms at full extension, police-style cup-and-saucer grip, using the red dot. Final groupings with the Crow Magnum pellets:

With the red dot, I am now able to notice how badly I shake. I need more arm strength.

The 9 and 10 rings are half-inch rings. I fired 16 shots, 15 of which were in the black, and 7 of those (almost half) were in the center 1.5" area.

Yuri's stance: Most of his were from a seated position, using a bench rest, but for a few of them, he stood up and tried to do what I was doing. Here is his final grouping. He was shooting the Diana P5 Magnum, open (Tru Glo) sights, using .177 caliber RWS Super H-Point pellets:

Not bad for a 6-year old!

By the way, I believe that I have mentioned this before, the black circle (Rings 7-10 + Bull) is 5.25 inches in diameter. Yuri fired 18 shots, and got 15 of those shots in the black.

Does anyone have any pistol groupings they'd like to share, for comparison's sake?

Some Interesting Data

I noticed, while playing around with the calculators on Airguns of Arizona, that there is an advantage to middle weight pellets vs. heavy pellets.

Look at this:

9.3 grain RWS Supermag pellets (.177 caliber)
Ballistic Co-efficient = 0.012
Average muzzle velocity in the Diana P5 Magnum: 450 fps (4.18 FPE)


8.2 grain RWS Meisterkugeln pellets (.177 caliber)
Ballistic Co-efficient = 0.010
Average muzzle velocity in the Diana P5 Magnum: 507 fps (4.68 FPE)


Not only do the lighter pellets provide slightly more power at the muzzle, they retain it better initially as well:


Supermag retained velocity at 10 yards = 406 fps (3.4 FPE)

Supermag retained velocity at 20 yards = 365 fps (2.75 FPE)

Supermag retained velocity at 30 yards = 329 fps (2.24 FPE)



Meisterkugeln retained velocity at 10 yards = 447 fps (3.64 FPE)

Meisterkugeln retained velocity at 20 yards = 395 fps (2.84 FPE)

Meisterkugeln retained velocity at 30 yards = 349 fps (2.22 FPE)


At shorter ranges, the medium weight pellet performs better, but starting at 30 yards (which is long range for a pistol like the P5) the heavy pellet starts to edge out the medium weight pellet. That's because FPE (Foot Pounds of Energy delivered) is a delicate balance between velocity and mass; once the pellets are traveling at roughly the same speed (329 fps vs. 349 fps), the mass of the heavier pellet is going to enable it to deliver a harder punch. The heavy pellet is traveling 20 fps slower at 30 yards, but still hitting harder.

However, at shorter ranges, the medium weight pellet's advantage is that its lighter weight helps it to retain more velocity.

CONCLUSION: Under 30 yards, the medium weight pellet packs more of a punch. At 30 yards plus, the heavy pellet has the edge.

I just thought I would make a note of this. I love examining data like this. It really helps one gain a better understanding of the physics involved in this enjoyable sport.

Diana P5 Magnum Second Range Test

Well, I went to the range yesterday, and here are the targets and results. I was going to shoot 25 of each pellet, but when I got to the Hyper Max pellets, they were shooting such tight groups that I had to shoot a lot more of them in order to see the true range of variability. (I ended up shooting 40 Hyper Max pellets.) I think you can see by these pictures that the Hyper Max is the true champion when it comes to accuracy; 58% of the Hyper Max pellets went through the same, quarter-sized hole. Only 40% of the Crosman pellets hit the same mark. Both targets were shot standing, at a distance of 7 yards (21 feet) with open sights, using a police-style, 2-handed grip.

25 shots with Crosman SSP 4.0 grain pellets @ 7 yards, police-style 2-handed stance.

About 10 of the 25 shots hit this quarter-sized area.

The red area is 3 inches in diameter.

40 shots with RWS Hyper Max 5.2 grain pellets @ 7 yards, police-style 2-handed stance.

Again, the red area is 3 inches in diameter.

About 23 of the 40 shots went through this quarter-sized hole.

I also chronographed these two pellet types. Here are the results. The first Hyper Max result was due to dieseling, I believe. I cleaned the barrel with an alcohol swab, then put a drop of silicone lubricant on the breech seal just before shooting the chronograph test.

Hyper Max 5.2 Grain: 718, 683, 663, 650, 639, 658, 644, 659, 656, 649

Average: 661.9 (662 fps)

Taking off the first 2 results: Average: 652.25 (652 fps)

Foot Pounds of Energy (FPE): 4.91 [Let's round this up to 5.0, since our last result was 5.17]

Crosman SSP 4.0 Grain: 787, 792, 789, 784, 782, 775, 785, 785, 785, 786

Average: 785 fps

Foot Pounds of Energy (FPE): 5.47 [Let's round this up to 5.5, just to be fair to the Crosman pellet.]

As you can see, while Hyper Max gives superior accuracy, the Crosman SSPs deliver more velocity and power.

785 vs. 652 = Over 130 fps faster!

5.5 vs. 5.0 = 10% more energy delivered.

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EDITORIAL NOTE: (This comment was added 03-19-2014, more than 2 years after the original post, by an older and wiser Scientific Airgunner!) The super-light-weight pellets (less than 5 grains in weight) should not be used, because they put additional and unwanted stress on the gun's mainspring; thus, despite the fact that SSPs deliver slightly more velocity and power, Hyper Max pellets are a better choice, because they aren't hard on your gun. However, I wouldn't shoot anything under 7 grains nowadays, because retained energy at the point of impact suffers greatly in lighter pellets. Look at the following post for details:  

http://thescientificairgunner.blogspot.com/2013/09/some-interesting-data.html

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You may have noticed the "flyer" at the bottom of the Hyper Max target, this is not an error of the gun, it is human error. I was at the gun range on a very busy day, and there were large caliber pistols going off all around me, and at times, that made it hard to concentrate. That particular shot came after a cease-fire had ended, and I kind of jumped when all the shooting commenced again.

Well folks, that's all for now. I hope to make the next post about my new Crosman Titan GP rifle. I have toyed around with it a little, but I haven't taken it to the range for any serious target work (yet!)

Pellet Data Chart For The Diana P5 Magnum

Data for Diana P5 Magnum

The other day, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to have the data that I posted on other websites posted here as well, in case the other websites happen to either go away, change web hosts, or lose their data to an unexpected crash. So here it is, complete with bar chart. Each pellet (listed by brand and weight) was chronographed ten times, and then the average of those results was used to calculate FPE (Foot Pounds of Energy.)

Cabela's Ultra Mag (10.56 Grain) = 417, 410, 394, 408, 402, 416, 414, 418, 411, 421

(avg = 411.1) @ 411 fps = 4.11 FPE

Gamo Rocket (9.6 Grain) = 451, 450, 451, 457, 453, 454, 440, 434, 472, 445

(avg = 450.7) @ 450 fps = 4.32 FPE

RWS Meisterkugeln Pro Line (8.2 Grain) = 504, 504, 510, 505, 498, 512, 516, 510, 512, 499

(avg = 507) @ 507 fps = 4.68 FPE

Gamo Tomahawk (7.8 Grain) = 531, 506, 526, 533, 525, 509, 503, 537, 527, 524

(avg = 522.1) @ 522 fps = 4.72 FPE

RWS Hypermax (5.2 Grain) = 671, 667, 664, 673, 669, 668, 663, 670, 675, 675

(avg = 669.5) @ 669 fps = 5.17 FPE

I find it interesting that the FPE was greatest in the lighter pellets. It would seem that although mass plays a large factor in the hitting power of a projectile, velocity can have a pronounced effect as well.

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EDITORIAL NOTE: (This comment was added 03-20-2014, more than 2 years after the original post, by an older and wiser Scientific Airgunner!) The Hyper Max pellets WILL get you close to the 700 FPS that is promised on the box, and they weigh JUST ENOUGH that they aren't hard on your gun. (Pellets that weigh 4.9 grains or less will place additional stress and "wear & tear" on your spring; pellets that weigh 5.0 grains or more won't. That's why RWS makes their "light pellet" heavier than most other manufacturers.) However, I wouldn't shoot anything under 7 grains nowadays, because retained energy at the point of impact suffers greatly in lighter pellets. Look at the following post for details:  

http://thescientificairgunner.blogspot.com/2013/09/some-interesting-data.html

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