U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- If you’re an airgunner then you know that JSB makes the most accurate pellets. Even though it doesn’t look aerodynamically stable, the Diabolo-shaped dome pellet shoots best for me. I hunt a lot with airguns so I’m always interested in pellets with better killing properties but accuracy trumps all so I always hunt with the dome-shaped Diabolo-designed pellet. With airguns, you’re hunting small game with a small kill zone.
A year ago Umarex sponsored a Texas hog hunt and axis deer hunt. For the hunt, I was going to be shooting their Umarex .50 cal. Hammer. The pellet they had me using strongly resembles the JSB Knock Out pellet that I’ll be writing about today. It looks like a normal lead .38 cal. bullet except that it was a definite hollow point. As slow as they travel, I automatically assumed that the hollow point was just a placebo, surely it wouldn’t expand to any degree.
Boy, was I wrong, I dug the slug out of a hog that I shot and it had expanded nicely. I didn’t have a scale but it appeared that it retained at least 80 of its original weight. You may crease your eyebrows over that statement but think about it for a minute. Your 223 is zipping along at somewhere around what, 2,872 fps as compared to the pellet that is not even traveling as 900 fps? I can only assume but the pellet has to be softer or it won’t expand. So, I think we have to expect to retain less weight. Of course, on the 350 gr. slug, so what if it loses up to 20%, it is still over 280 grs.
So with the above said, when I received the JSB Knock Out pellets I was excited to test them out. I hunt ground squirrels and pigeons big time with airguns so if these expand anything like the pellet did in the Umarex Hammer, then I’ll have a lot more whistle pigs and pigeons DRT (Dead Right There).
But one thing that I was apprehensive about was the accuracy. I don’t know why because I had gotten some good groups with the Hammer. I guess I was just used to shooting the JSB Dome pellets and didn’t trust anything else. But I was pleasantly surprised.
I had promised the family that I was going to take them to Barbacoa’s in Boise to celebrate my youngest daughter’s birthday. They have the best steaks in the world. They bring them to you on a 600-degree rock and you cook it to your own perfection. I was also about to fly out for another 2-week trip.
I say the above to make an excuse and cover for screwing up. I had run out to the high desert to test a Bog Bipod, Caldwell shooting bags, Bowden Tactical trigger and the JSB Knock Out pellets. Maybe I was in a hurry. Maybe I’m going senile. Or maybe I just wanted to go home and be with my knock-out wife before I flew out. But for whatever reason, when I was testing the pellets, the scope was super blurry. We have a ton of forest fires right now in Idaho but it shouldn’t have blurred my scope that bad!
As I was shooting, I could barely see the target. Dang, I had a $500 Leupold airgun scope mounted on the Benjamin .177 Marauder so it should be clear and crisp. I did the best that I could but I could only get ½-inch groups. Usually it will shoot better than that.
Upon getting home I started unloading so we could run to the dinner. I complained to my wife about the scope and told her that I would send it back to Leupold in a few weeks to fix it. Then I looked at the end of the scope. What a dork. The exiting lenses was covered with dust. Big time.
I used to be on Pro-staff with Benjamin/Crosman but have since started dealing with Umarex. So about two years ago I had thrown the .177 cal. Marauder in the corner of the office. With Umarex I’ve fallen in love with their .25 cal. Gauntlet and have quit shooting the .177 cal. so I didn’t have a .177 Umarex so I grabbed the Benjamin Marauder had been setting in the corner for 2…maybe 3 yrs.
I say all of the above to tell you, I bet I can get a lot better group next trip out. But regardless, I know you’ll get better than a ½-inch group with the JSB Knock Out pellets and a good airgun. So if you’re an airgunner you need to check em out. The MSRP on the JSB Knock Out pellets is $14.99. And as is usual, we will close with the specs.
JSB Knock Out Airgun Slugs Specs
- Caliber .22″ (5.5mm)
- Ammo Type Slugs
- Suggested for Hunting
- Weight 25.39gr
- Ammo Shape
- Deviation 8.00%
- Quantity 200
- Ballistic Coefficient 0.084
- Muzzle Velocity 918 fps
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoor writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”
After much fruitlessness hunting with a Gamo pellet rifle for the predatory birds that try to limit the mitgratory songbirds that nest on my property I surrendered and purchased an expensive 22 caliber FX air rifle. Albeit, a used rifle. I have been stunned and so very pleased at the results. It doesn’t take long in the springtime to convince the particular predatory birds that visiting my property is not in their best interests. In the fall after the migratory songbirds have fledged their young and started the journey to their winter ranges, I stop hunting because winter is simply… Read more »