A friend wrote today with the following question:
<Does you remember how the RWS 14 Grain Meisterkugeln Match Flat Nose pellets shoot? They are about $5.00 cheaper per 500 than the Crosman Premiers in the 22 caliber. That's from MidwayUSA. >
Since I'm lazy and like to recycle such things I thought my answer might serve others here on this board. Tom @ Buzzard Bluff
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The Meisterkugeln have always shot very well for me in almost everything. They were once thought of as the 'standard' for match use but have generally been relegated to 'practice' shooting where their performance is entirely adequate while matches at the very top level are shot with far more highly precise (and higher priced!) fodder. Another very good pellet is 'Hobby' located a few steps further down on the Midway RWS pellet page for $2 less per tin.
<http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?pageNum=1&tabId=12&categoryId=10534&categoryString=10634***>
As the name implies they are intended for the hobby shooter or for practice for the match shooter on a tight budget. They are also considerably lighter and produce higher velocities if that is a consideration. I have always been very satisfied with their accuracy in most guns. The only downside if it truly is one is the relative tenderness of the thin skirt. Care should be practiced in handling, storage and loading to preclude damaging the skirt simply because damaged skirts produce bad accuracy. I have found them to perform well on small game inside of 25 yards. In fact better than most others in moderately powered guns because the thin skirts allow them to obturate quickly, reducing energy loss through pressure bypassing the pellet and expanding moderately at the terminal velocities produced by traditional domestic multi-pump pnuematics and CO2 rifles and pistols.
The translation from the German 'Meisterkugeln' to English is 'master balls' so you may well feel more masculine shooting Master Balls than Hobbys. :-D
The 13.9 grain .22 caliber Superdome near the bottom of the page was a standard for airgun hunting for many years. The advent of the Premier affected it's sales just as it did many others but I've always thought it a better hunting pellet than the Premier since it is made from soft lead and does have some expansion on game in mid power airguns unlike the much harder Crosman Premier formulation which requires much higher energy levels to usefully expand. They have proven almost universally accurate for me in everything except some very picky springers and some of them have liked it to the exclusion of others as well. Most pnuematics and CO2 guns are far less picky about their diet than springers although they too can register approval for some pellets above others. So long as you avoid 'gimmick' pellets promising higher velocity, greater deadliness and other such claims as well as pointed pellets and stick to traditionally shaped all-lead pellets resembling a Badminton shuttlecock you should be well served by what you buy. Sticking to high quality round-nose domed pellets or flat-nosed 'wadcutter' target pellets made by specialists such as RWS, H&N, Ely, Beeman (most are produced for them by H&N) or Crosman will keep you 'in the zone'. Spanish, Pacific Rim and a lot of English pellets are made to sell---not use.
<Does you remember how the RWS 14 Grain Meisterkugeln Match Flat Nose pellets shoot? They are about $5.00 cheaper per 500 than the Crosman Premiers in the 22 caliber. That's from MidwayUSA. >
Since I'm lazy and like to recycle such things I thought my answer might serve others here on this board. Tom @ Buzzard Bluff
************************************************************
The Meisterkugeln have always shot very well for me in almost everything. They were once thought of as the 'standard' for match use but have generally been relegated to 'practice' shooting where their performance is entirely adequate while matches at the very top level are shot with far more highly precise (and higher priced!) fodder. Another very good pellet is 'Hobby' located a few steps further down on the Midway RWS pellet page for $2 less per tin.
<http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?pageNum=1&tabId=12&categoryId=10534&categoryString=10634***>
As the name implies they are intended for the hobby shooter or for practice for the match shooter on a tight budget. They are also considerably lighter and produce higher velocities if that is a consideration. I have always been very satisfied with their accuracy in most guns. The only downside if it truly is one is the relative tenderness of the thin skirt. Care should be practiced in handling, storage and loading to preclude damaging the skirt simply because damaged skirts produce bad accuracy. I have found them to perform well on small game inside of 25 yards. In fact better than most others in moderately powered guns because the thin skirts allow them to obturate quickly, reducing energy loss through pressure bypassing the pellet and expanding moderately at the terminal velocities produced by traditional domestic multi-pump pnuematics and CO2 rifles and pistols.
The translation from the German 'Meisterkugeln' to English is 'master balls' so you may well feel more masculine shooting Master Balls than Hobbys. :-D
The 13.9 grain .22 caliber Superdome near the bottom of the page was a standard for airgun hunting for many years. The advent of the Premier affected it's sales just as it did many others but I've always thought it a better hunting pellet than the Premier since it is made from soft lead and does have some expansion on game in mid power airguns unlike the much harder Crosman Premier formulation which requires much higher energy levels to usefully expand. They have proven almost universally accurate for me in everything except some very picky springers and some of them have liked it to the exclusion of others as well. Most pnuematics and CO2 guns are far less picky about their diet than springers although they too can register approval for some pellets above others. So long as you avoid 'gimmick' pellets promising higher velocity, greater deadliness and other such claims as well as pointed pellets and stick to traditionally shaped all-lead pellets resembling a Badminton shuttlecock you should be well served by what you buy. Sticking to high quality round-nose domed pellets or flat-nosed 'wadcutter' target pellets made by specialists such as RWS, H&N, Ely, Beeman (most are produced for them by H&N) or Crosman will keep you 'in the zone'. Spanish, Pacific Rim and a lot of English pellets are made to sell---not use.