by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Walther Parrus with wood stock.
This report covers:
- 5-shot groups
- The test
- H&N Field Target Trophy
- RWS Superdomes
- JSB Exact 15.89 grain
- Eley Wasp pellets
- Baracuda Match 5.53mm heads
- Last pellet — JSB 18.1 grain
- Summary
Today I begin testing the accuracy of the .22-caliber Walther Parrus with wood stock. Since the rifle has open sights, I used today to sort through 6 candidate pellets for future tests.
5-shot groups
I only shot 5-shot groups today, because I’m not testing the ultimate accuracy of the rifle — just the potential for certain pellets to be accurate. Also I had to shoot left-handed because my right eye is acting up. I can’t see the target with my right eye when I look at the front sight. The good news is my retina specialist tells me that it’s time for me to get a pair of glasses. Looks like the eye is healed as far as it’s going to. At least with glasses I should be able to see things with both eyes again.
The test
I shot from a rest at 10 meters. With the target brightly lit by a 500 watt halogen light, I am able to see a squared-off front sight post instead of the fiberoptic dot. Aiming precision is greatly improved. All the bullseyes are shown in the same attitude in which they were shot.
H&N Field Target Trophy
The first pellet I tested was the 14.66-grain H&N Field Target Trophy. I have never had success with this pellet, though others swear by it. I tested the pellet with the 5.55mm head.
Five pellets went into an open group that measured 1.438-inches between centers at 10 meters. They are all over the place, and I know this is not the right pellet for the Parrus under test.
Five H&N Field Target Trophy pellets went into 1.438-inches at 10 meters. Not a good pellet for the Parrus being tested.
Are you concerned? I’m not, and I’ll explain why. I knew the FTT pellet was probably not a good one for this rifle. It fit the breech really tight, and I have never had any luck with this particular pellet.
I also know I’m shooting left-handed, which will affect my accuracy a little. Some shooters might feel daunted by this, but I have done it enough to know that it does work. Just look at what the next pellet did and you’ll understand.
RWS Superdomes
I get mixed results from RWS Superdome pellets. Some airguns like them and others don’t. This Parrus I’m testing likes them a lot. Let me show you what a good group looks like. Five Superdomes went into 0.61-inches.
Now this is a group! Shooting left-handed, this is about as good as I could do on this particular day. At 0.61-inches between centers at 10 meters, it’s much better than the FTT group. This pellet is worth testing further in this rifle.
JSB Exact 15.89 grain
I tested the JSB Exact 15.89 grain domed pellet next. Five of them went into a vertical group measuring 0.588-inches between centers at 10 meters. That’s so close to what the Superdomes did that I would call it a tie. This is another pellet to be tested later.
Five JSB Exact 15.89-grain pellets went into almost exactly the same size group as the Superdomes. Five in 0.588-inches at 10 meters.
Eley Wasp pellets
Think I’m on a roll? In the groove? Watch what happens when I try 5 Eley Wasp 5.6mm pellets. The group opens up to 1.334-inches between centers and you see right away that there is a big difference in pellets. Wasps fit the breech tight and are not for this Parrus.
Five Eley Wasp pellets scattered at 10 meters into this 1.334-inch group. There is a definite difference in performance, depending on which pellet is used.
These large groups don’t bother me because I’m also getting the smaller ones. Shooting left-handed with open sights is enough of a handicap that I can tolerate the size of the groups for now.
Baracuda Match 5.53mm heads
The fifth pellet I tried was the H&N Baracuda Match pellet with the 5.53mm head. I had a feeling these would be good and they didn’t disappoint. Five went into 0.664-inches at 10 meters. They strung vertically, which seems to be a common theme when I shoot left-handed.
Five H&N Baracuda Match went into this 0.664-inch group at 10 meters. This is another pellet I will try again.
Last pellet — JSB 18.1 grain
The final pellet I tried was the 18.1-grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets. They fit the breech very well and seemed to be a natural choice for the Parrus. Five went into an identical 0.664-inch group at 10 meters, but within this group is a smaller group of 3 pellets in 0.273-inches. Does that bode well for the future? Who knows? It was enough to land them in contention.
Five JSB Exact Jumbo domes went into 0.664-inches at 10 meters, but three of them are in a tantalizing 0.273-inch group.
Summary
Today I tried something different. I shot 5-shot groups that allowed me to test more pellets for accuracy potential. Once again, 5 shots are not an indicator of true accuracy, but as you see here, they do separate the wheat from the chaff. This is a good way to test a lot of different pellets fast.
Next I’ll mount a scope and go for accuracy at 25 yards. If we see results that are good enough there, I will also go to 50 yards.
BB,
Link to Part 2 is showing
Not Found
The requested URL /blog/2016/08/walther-parrus-with-wood-stock-part-2/ was not found on this server.
Siraniko,
I’m aware of that. I tried several times to get it to work, but it won’t. The address I have programmed is correct.
I will have to let the IT team look at it.
B.B.
B.B.,
I typed in Parrus in the search box and it pulled up Part 2 and was able to read it fine. I too like to go back and do a quick “recap” just to refresh my memory on what has occurred prior.
By the way, fine shooting. I can not even imagine shooting opposite (right). I tried it once and felt like I had 6 arms. Looking forward to the 50 yards,… if you deem it worthy. Good news on getting new glasses too.
Chris
Chris,
I bet you would do better than you think. If you want to exercise your brain, try doing some normal things, like brushing your teeth or shaving, with your opposite hand. It takes a while before it seems “natural”, but doing things like that are supposed to be really good for brain health as we age. Plus, those “simple” chores build your confidence in doing other things with your non-dominant hand.
Jim M.
Or you can try this exercise from this guy who won a MacArthur genius award for his juggling ability. With the forefinger of each hand, draw a square in the air with your right hand and a triangle with your left hand, making sure that each finger hits a vertex at the same time…
Matt61
I think that might short-circuit my left and right lobes! LOL!!
That means you’re doing it right. It was funny watching people in the audience trying to do this.
Matt61
Matt61
I learned to shoot left handed after I developed macular degeneration in my dominat right eye. I can pick out shapes and colour, but no detail like a ten ring, or tin can at 20 meters. I started about 3 years ago, and was grouping as well as I had when I shot right handed after about a years practice. I love the Walther LGU, and Weihrach’s newly stocked HW77 for their ambidextrous stocks, however I had no trouble with any of my right handed airguns either. I still cock, and load my guns as if I were right handed.
I’ve got some English longbow information you might find interesting concerning the heavy pull, and scoliosis of the spine found in skeletal remains of the time period when the longbow ruled the battle field , but it will have to wait another couple of weeks until they spring me from my hospital bed.
I’d like to thank everyone who wished me well. This blog is truly a family to me.
Caio
Titus
Titus,
Continued best wishes,….. You need one of those kid/toy suction cup/dart pistols to stay in practice. They have any issue with that? Shoot the TV, the I.V., the heart monitor,…. the nurse…… in the butt,.. on her way out,……. 😉 😉
Stay strong my friend,….. Chris
BB,
I think I figured out what is wrong.
Searching for it as Chris USA did shows the address to be:
/blog/2016/08/walther-parrus-with-wood-stock-part-2/
It is those extra characters that got snuck in the end that is leading browser to the wrong address.
Hope this helps.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Thanks but I had entered the correct link without those extra characters. WordPress was adding them automatically.
IT fixed it.
B.B.
BB,
The ability of a pellet to be accurate appears to be related to the ease/difficulty in inserting into the breech. Finding the “Goldilocks” pellet can lead to very large groups to very small holes. The pellet cannot be too loose nor can it be too tight. It just has to just right. This is also probably going to be affected by the purity of the lead composing the pellet. This is easily felt in manually loaded airguns, but how about in airguns that use a bolt? That I think requires more experience to help determine the optimum pellet for that particular airgun.
PS Thanks for your prayers. My wife has been discharged from the hospital.
BB,
The more you show us of this little gun, the more I like what I see. If it can shoot well at 25-35 yds, I can’t see any reason to not invest in another break-barrel. And if it can do decently at 50 yds, I won’t be buying near as much air in a bottle! This looks like it could be a great little hunter and I am anxiously waiting for more tests. Thanks,BB!
Bruce
B.B.
So far does this rifle seem to be hold sensitive?
David
David,
Not as sensitive as I would have expected. Certainly nothing like an R1.
B.B.
Hi BB
Walther makes some really great guns & the quality is so apparent even from the photos. Pity that they aren’t available here. Sorry to hear about your eye. Hope it comes good soon. I too am forced to shoot left handed as my right eye is still not good after a cataract surgery. I have to wear glasses(progressive lenses) to see well & read but I can’t see a clear picture through the scope with my glasses on & it’s a bit blurry when I look through the scope with my right eye without them. My left eye is very good so I just use it. Sorry for the long story but I really appreciate your advice on whether it’s not possible to use a scope with glasses on due to image distortion. Thanks & God bless you.
Errol
Errol,
I will try to keep you informed of any progress with my eye. I would sure like it back!
B.B.
B.B.
Please do Sir. It pains me to know that you have to endure issues with your shooting eye of all things, in your much appreciated work. I pray that the Good Lord will restore your sight so you can continue what you & all of us love.
Errol
Me, too, Errol!
Sounds like you’re making good progress and you’re already ahead of 98% of people with this condition.
Matt61
Hello BB I am new to logging in here but have been reading I’m glad to hear your on the up and up I have had the same type of op due to bad diabetes thanks for sticking with us we need the godfather!
Hi BB
Try the 5.53mm heads on the FTT. It seems that the rifle prefers the smaller head size. Also what is the head size of the JSB Exact and Ecaxt Heavy that you used? Nice shooting from the left hand, perhaps finger placement on the trigger shoe makes the group vertical. Also assuming that you use 6 o’clock aim and the front sight just touching the bull, i see that the pellets land at the same spot (6 o’clock). I wonder if these pellet holes disturbing you sight picture thus lowering the point of aim shot after shot.
Bullseye,
I will look and see if I have those pellets. But like I said before. the FTT has never been accurate for me.
B.B.
I have friends who shoot FTT pellets in field target competition, but I have seen at least a few tins (measured) of this that had a great size variance. Discussing that after a match, Jeff C pulled out his tin and we checked a couple of dozen with my Pelletgage, they were quite consistent. IMHO, this variance between lots represents something in the _process_ that is inconsistent.
Recalling some other discussions about this pellet, one theory is that they control the .177 production better than the .22. Cliff Tharp posted this online when he sorted a tin of .22 caliber FTT’s. Cliff is a very serious airgun hunter, his blog, Varmintair details his rifles and just how he prepared everything for his hunting trips, mostly for Airzona prarie dogs. http://varmintair.typepad.com/varmintairs_blog/2015/06/okay-lets-get-real-about-head-sizes-and-pellet-weights.html
Hi Jerry,
I really enjoy Cliff’s blog. You and I talked about him a little at the TX airgun show. Cliff is the one who wrote the piece about pellets with damaged skirts — he did not notice any significant decrease in accuracy with the pellets he tried. What was it you said — you think maybe the skirts were soft enough the pressure “blew them into shape” so they engaged the rifling?
Jim M.
Bullseye,
Per the P.A. catalog, 5.52 mm. on both. Of course, you know how that goes,…. the Pelletgage has 10 holes for a reason. The same can be said for weight.. I can often get a spread of +/- .05 grains with the majority falling in 3 of 10 weights.
It is interesting how the pellet makers carry both the weight and head size out to the 2nd. digit.
Bullseye,
I must correct my weight statement,….. should say +/- .5 grains, not .05. As in a 33.95 will vary from 33.4 to 34.3, with some even going outside of that.
BB,
As David is, I too am curious as to whether the Parrus is hold sensitive. With the reputation that the Terrus has earned, it would be great to see Walther carry that performance forward into the Parrus.
I missed out on the Meteor report yesterday. That is a nice little plinker you picked up, and with the scope! The scope itself was probably worth the whole deal.
RR,
It’s not that sensitive.
B.B.
I am being tempted on this rifle…as a plinker and accurate varmint gun – .22 would seem to be the choice – right?
Jerry,
Given the power I think .22 is the only logical choice.
B.B.
Jerry,
I would not think of this for plinking. This is an uber magnum sproinger. It is looking and sounding like it would be a great hunter, but for plinking you might want to go with the Terrus. It likely will not take long for that 40 pound cocking effort of the Parrus to tire most people out.
RR,
Yes, the Parrus for hunting and the Terrus for plinking.
B.B.
Based on how well the H&N’s heavier Baracuda performed, I too would be interested in how a similar head size FTT performs…. If you have any handy.
For any Goldilocks out there looking for their pellet: H&N makes a nice sampler pack that has 3 head sizes of the FTT and 3 sizes of the Baracuda. Nice variety without having to buy 6 tons of pellets.
On my Gamo Whisper (gas spring) After going through all 4 types in the JSB sampler pack and the RWS superdomes, I switched to the largest size H&N (5.53) in the sampler.
Was astounded, everything else was around 2″ groups, and the 5.53 FTT just delivered under 1″.
The Baracuda produced very similar shaped results, just with a lower POI.
I now am now shopping chronos so that I can measure muzzle energy.
Perhaps the pistons and compression timing on these powerful (800-1000) springers like a heavier pellet than traditionally seen.
Belgrath04
My Stoeger ATAC demands large diameter .22 caliber pellets. I use H&N FTT 5.5 mm. We all know there is much variation in head diameter in the FTT pellet. I use Jerry’s Pelletgage to sort pellets greater than .5.54 mm which is the largest hole in the Pelletgage. These fit snugly and will deliver quarter inch groups at 10 meters using a strangle hold with the ATAC. I use the smaller pellets to warm up barrel and for rough optic adjustment when switching scopes. It is also fun to use them for a test against the larger sorted pellets. It will make you a believer.
Decksniper
Up above Chris USA wondered how this rifle would do at 50 yards. Like a lot of readers, I too would love to see how this magnum springer performs at that distance.
But perhaps more importantly I’d like to ask everyone what they would consider good “groups” that distance. I’ve had a Hatsan 135 and currently own a RWS 350 (both .22). So yes, I’ve been chasing accuracy in beasts like these for awhile. Based on my experiences with these rifles I have my own ideas of what “good” is, but what does everyone here think?
– Matt
Matt,
I have a TX200, so not magnum. But, I do have some data at 50 yards. It is in millimeters. Different pellets. .22.
10 shot groups: 64,40,45,51,50,38,51,60,56
Some of those same groups had 9 that were even tighter: 33,44
The best odd ball sub groups were 7@21, 6@20, 8@26, 7@11
That should give you a rough idea from an average shooter. Front rested, rear shouldered.
Chris
Matt,
So what do you consider to be a good 50 yard group?
Chris
Hi Chris,
My goal is to shoot 10-shot groups under two inches at 50 yards. While I cannot do this sub-two inch group regularly, here is one of the best groups I have shot with a magnum springer:
https://goo.gl/photos/LKfT6ReX7BoWKY6QA
These were shot with H&N FTT 5.54 mm pellets.
Matt,
Nice. Nice photo as well. I am going to try a Pelletgage in .25 for the M-rod. If I can eliminate flyers, I should be able to hold 1″ at 70 yards.
Best of luck with your adventures and keep us posted. Don’t those super tight sub-groups just drive you nuts? 😉 5/10, 6/10, 7/10,…….
Take care,….. Chris
With the left-handed shooting and such a range of performance, the accuracy is a little hard to judge, but the rifle seems basically solid.
Sirinako, maybe you’re right about heat transfer through metal allowing cases to cool in a bolt-action rifle, but that is quite a gradient of heat transfer. I’ve ejected cases almost instantly out of the Lee-Enfield and they are not even warm. I continue to wonder if the spent gases are somehow involved in heating up the cases of a semiauto. Apparently, the bolt of a gas impingement AR will rapidly become hot enough to sizzle steak and that’s what the cases from an M1 feel like.
ChrisUSA, you’re not going to hit any groundhog at 20 feet with throwing knives if you’re anything like me. I rejoiced to hit a telephone pole at half that distance. Now, more than ever I am envious of people with open space. What an opportunity for shooting tin cans, cornstalks, and dirt clods and how many things there are to be tested with knives, swords, and thrown tomahawks. It makes me want to sing the John Denver song, Thank God I’m a Country Boy.
What an interesting question about whether our top warriors today could match those in the past. Of course we’ll never know, but there are tantalizing comparisons to make. In today’s army, an enlistment is for four years. Is that right? In the Roman Army it was 25 years. In today’s army, one can get punished by being sent to the brig or even dishonorably discharged. A candidate can end his SEAL training by ringing a bell. In the Roman Army, they crucified their own soldiers, and there were plenty of lesser punishments that were highly cruel and unusual. The major physical test for Delta Force candidates is a 40 hour long session of marching and orienteering. The British Special Air Service (SAS) does something similar by leaving candidates out in the wilderness with nothing for a week. Daniel Boone said later in his life that he never was lost in the woods but for a couple of weeks he was pretty confused. Navy SEALs can stay in cold water until their bodies reach the point of hypothermia. Japanese samurai could disembowel themselves.
Surely, our top people would overlap heavily in earlier times, but as for the best of the past, I believe that they had a different starting line. It consisted of being immersed in a much more challenging physical environment from birth, having a lower sense of the quality of human life and what they were willing to do to people, and having a continuous culture of fighting over centuries that was for the highest stakes and was not diluted by the complexity of the modern world. Notice how sports have changed in our own time. Red Grange had 8.3 yards per carry in the early 20th century. (By the way, I once knew a nursing home resident in Illinois who met Red Grange at a cafeteria he used to attend. She said that he was a quiet guy who was not big but fit.) Anyway, Grange wouldn’t have had that same record against today’s players who are 250 pounds and can run the 40 in a flash. The same for basketball. George Mikan would be completely outclassed by today’s 7 footers who are lightning fast. As another example, the army has had to lower its standards for physical fitness significantly since the 70s because people are more sedentary. All these are significant changes in performance within a few decades. What if you had people improving at the same thing with the same tools for centuries. There’s a conversation in the book I mentioned about the unfrozen Roman gladiator where someone speculates about the abilities of the gladiators. He says, what if you had centuries of knowledge to draw on, and what if the prize for champions in modern terms was the whole state of Iowa. You must read the scene where the unfrozen gladiator fights an Olympic fencer! The book is called The Far Arena by Richard Ben Sapir.
There are plenty more historical examples of what these people could do. Some have observed that medieval knights were Olympic level dressage riders who could charge at full speed over unknown ground while maintaining a tight formation. The sailors of that time were as strong as Olympic gymnasts and their balance was probably as good. The Olympics showed tiny girls doing flips on a four inch balance beam above a padded floor. The novel Moby Dick mentions an enormous sailor casually running along the circular crosstrees of a heaving ship without holding anything where a slip would have meant death. I had an opportunity to reflect on this myself over the holiday. On one day, I walked for four miles in a leisurely way, shoveled and bagged 400 pounds of sand, and loaded and unloaded 32 square feet of 3/4 inch plywood, and I was pretty gassed at the end, I can tell you. This wouldn’t even have been a warm-up for a laborer of earlier times, let alone a warrior. Anyway, we’ll never know, but the more radical possibilities are exciting to me.
Matt61
Matt61,
Thank you for that unbelievable insight of ancient and modern warriors and strength in general. You are right, we are all much softer than our predecessors. I would like to think though that the best of today, could keep up with the best of long ago. “Immersion and high stakes”,… you may have hit it on the head there. Pretty safe to say that there was a much higher percentage of “really bad dudes” back then.
As for throwing knives,… I need to revisit that again. I seemed to have a knack for it. The only set I ever had was a set of 3 that had SOG cut out in their handles. I sold them one day because I had not thrown them in several years. I must say,…. if anything required a “Zen” feel, or “being in the zone”, or “pure gut instinct”,…. throwing would have to be it.
I wish you had open space,… lot’s of it. Then again,…. that would mean that we would not hear from you but only about once or twice a year. 😉 As always,…. best of luck with all of your amazing pursuits. Inspiring.
Chris
BB
Excuse the digression, but did you ever partial pump the daisy 853 several times to see if you could warm up the pump cup to increase the FPS? I’ve done that with some of my multipumps and it seems to make them harder to pump. I’m thinking it’s because I’m getting more air into the valve by warming up the pump cup. Something to consider if you’re not done testing the 853.
Brent
Brent,
No, I never did that. But I know that it does work.
Thanks,
B;.B.
I am just starting my journey I just purchased a tech force m8 and a rws 48 both .17 I like target shooting and small game I hope to get accurate enough to shoot field target and hunt small game I have been shooting co2 pistols for some time now and am ready to step away from powder burning small game. What do you think a good scope and mounts for the rws so I can be competitive in ft? Thanks for all you do BB.
Kanthal,
Welcome to the blog.
I have addressed field target scopes in a re=cent report. Read this:
/blog//wp-admin/post.php?post=40144&action=edit
B.B.
I read your article and I think you must have known me in a past life i NEED some fun. I have a hard time standing unassisted and cannot walk without a cane or walker do to amputations and such. But I still miss the outdoors. Thanks a lot, if I put in the work in your opinion would it be worth putting on a high dollar high power scope on the 48 if I wanted to win someday or upgrade the gun first?
Kanthal,
You answered your own question.
Fun is always worth the price.
B.B.
Kanthal,
The link supplied might not come out right so here is a lead article. It is Part 3 of 3 parts but the links to the other 2 are embedded in the beginning of the article.
Siraniko
Oops. Forgot to paste the article.
/blog/2009/02/scopes-for-field-target-part-3/
Thank you fellas, I am planning on trying my hand at hunter class. I am so thankful to have found a place to feed my ocd for a new hobby.
Kanthal,
This is a good place. I wish you the very, very best with your “ocd” adventures! 😉 Air guns are fun, a lot of fun,…… but be careful of the OCD. That can take the fun out of it. Do not ask me how I know this,…… if you have been here long,….. you already know! 😉
Chris ( p.s. Keep us posted, please)
Not really interested in this particular gun, but I sure hope your right eye heals up 100%, otherwise, you’re like Beethoven losing his hearing. (though you at least have another eye)