Air Arms S510XS Ultimate Sporter with Laminate Stock.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Meopta MeoPro Optika6 3-18X56-scope: Part 1
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
This report covers:
- Before the test
- The test
- Baseline
- Hades hollowpoint
- Adjusted the scope to the left
- Norma Golden Trophy
- H&N Baracuda 18
- Predator PolyMag
- Summary
I used the Air Arms S510XS Ultimate Sporter with Laminate Stock as a test tool today, to test several new pellets that have come on the market. Also — I really wanted to shoot it again.
Before the test
The rifle had to be filled with air to 250 bar, which means using the Air Arms fill coupling that is unlike anything else on the market. That took several minutes of cobbling together a fill hose for that unique coupling.
I also had to mount the Meopta MeoPro Optika6 3-18X56 scope. It was mounted on the BSA R10 that I tested earlier this year. Fortunately the swap went quick and the scope didn’t require much in the way of a sight in. I was on target at 25 yards in 4 shots.
The test
Today was my day to vet several new pellets that I have been testing in other airguns. The S510XS is the most accurate repeating air rifle I own and it also has the best trigger of all of them. Throw in the scope and you have a package that is my finest repeating combo setup. It’s perfect for what I want to do today
I’m shooting 10-shot groups from 25 yards, with the rifle resting on a sandbag. I’m shooting at two clicks down from maximum power (the S510XS has 5 power settings). I’m refilling the rifle after 30 shots.
Baseline
The first pellet I tested today is the most accurate pellet in this rifle — so far. It’s the Air Arms 16-grain dome. Back in October of 2019 this rifle put 10 of them into 0.18-inches at 25 yards under the same conditions. Today the rifle put 10 of them into 0.193-inches at 25 yards. That’s close enough to say the rifle and BB are both doing their best.
The S510XS put 10 Air Arms 16-grain domes into 0.193-inches at 25 yards. That earns the trime for size comparison because it is less than 0.20-inches between centers.
Hades hollowpoint
Next up was the first new pellet to be tested today — the JSB Hades hollowpoint. This pellet has done very well in other accurate airguns and today I wanted to try it in the best.
Ten Hades pellets went into 0.296-inches at 25 yards. It’s a very good group, meaning this pellet works well in this rifle.
Ten Hades pellets went into 0.296-inches at 25 yards — another great one!
Adjusted the scope to the left
After the second group I adjusted the scope three clicks to the left. That did move the impact point of the next three pellets ever-so-slightly.
Norma Golden Trophy
Another domed pellet I have been testing is the Golden Trophy that comes to us from Norma. The S510XS put 10 of them into 0.414-inches at 25 yards. While that is a little larger than the first two pellets, it’s still pretty good.
The S510XS put 10 Norma Golden Trophy pellets in 0.414-inches at 25 yards.
H&N Baracuda 18
The H&N Baracuda 18 is a new domed pellet from H&N. I have tested it in several pellet rifles so far and it has done quite well. So today it gets tested in the best repeater that I own.
Ten of them went into 0.309 inches at 25 yards which was very good. In fact we could call it a draw with the Hades pellet. That makes it second (with the Hades) behind the Air Arms 16-grain dome that we know to be the best.
The S510XS put 10 Baracuda 18s into 0.309-inches at 25 yards. That’s great!
Predator PolyMag
The final pellet I tested was the Polymag from Predator. This isn’t a new pellet but I haven’t tested it in this rifle yet, and I wanted to see what it might do. I have shot these in other .22 pellet rifles recently and they did well.
But not in this rifle! Ten pellets went into 0.727-inches at 25 yards, which is by far the largest group of today’s test. This is not the pellet for the S510XS. But with the Hades hollowpoint I guess I don’t need a second hollowpoint pellet.
Ten Predator Polymags went into 0.727-inches at 25 yards. This is the largest group of the test, by far.
Summary
I did today’s test because I don’t often get the time to devote to just one pellet. And the three I tested today all needed some more exposure.
Why the Polymags did so poorly I don’t know. But at least we all know they were tested in the most accurate repeater I own!
BB,
Oof! Initially I would have blamed the weight of the Predator Polymag but the JSB Hades, Norma Golden Trophy and the Air Arms are all nominally 16 grain pellets. So the only thing I can think of is the weight distribution of the Predator Polymag which seems more to the rear than the other three. Good to see the Air Arms S510 see some daylight again.
Siraniko
B.B.
Nice shooting. Nice shooting gun. I assume the crony test will be next. Wondering how fast those pellets were going? Maybe a little shower might be better with the good barrel and good glass.
Please please convince Meopta to make a dedicated FT Hunter class scope. Needs to have a nice ranging reticle.
-Y
BB
Try the Polymags on another day.
Do you a baseline with the 16 grn. AirArm pellets. Then shoot the Polymags.
Maybe you were tiring a little by the time you got to the Polymags.
Gunfun1,
Did you do the conversion of a 1077 to HPA? How did you go about it?
Siraniko
Siraniko
I did put a air resivour tube from a WildFire in a 1077 with a Huma regulator. Worked great. Set the regulator at 900 psi. No leak down problems and shot great. Still got it I think. I believe I put it in its box and put it away.
I have a wood stock 1077w that I want to convert also. Haven’t had the time. But I need to see if Crosman is still selling parts for the WildFire first. It’s a pretty easy conversion if you have the parts.
Gunfun1,
With parts importation near impossible, I’m just wondering if the endcap can simply be drilled and threaded to accept a male Foster plug then call it a day upon hooking up with a hose to a 800 psi regulated tank. I’m really asking for a friend.
Siraniko
Siraniko
Nope won’t work. The air tube Crosman uses for the 1077 has about a 1 inch diameter hole cut in the bottom of the tube back by where the Co2 cartridge is located when you drop the cartridge in the tube.
I think that hole is to relieve the Co2 pressure from the tube when your changing out a 12 gram Co2 cartridge.
Now you could do something like I did on one of my Maximus. There is a drop down adapter that you can put on the front of a WildFire tube so you can use a 13 cubic inch regulated hpa bottle. The adapter I have on my Maximus had to have the threaded end cut off and two holes drilled for screws on each side of the tube to secure the adapter after you slid it in the tube. Did that at work to get the screws in the right location. Had to be right or wouldn’t of lined up.
Gunfun1,
Thanks! I’ll tell him that the conversion will not be straightforward but there is some hope.
Siraniko
Siraniko
There is something that could work like your talking about.
If you know a good welder they could weld a piece of steel over that hole in the 1077 tube. And a groove would need cut in the end cap for a o-ring to seal the cap after you drilled and tapped it for the Foster fitting. I would run a regulated pressure no higher than 900 psi though or you will have leaks. Also risky business with running alot of psi if you do have the steel welded over the hole in the 1077 tube. No telling what the steel or weld would hold up to.
Gunfun1,
Thanks again for the idea! Hmm it might be safer to make that drop down tube though. We’ll think about what direction he wants to go.
Siraniko
Siraniko
Yep.
BB,
I am glad to see the Baracuda 18 did well. I picked up a tin to give a try, but I misplaced my round tuit again.
BB,
When you talked about testing some new pellets, I was thinking you were going to test that new “line” I have been “hearing” about. I would tell you the name of them, but it must have fallen out along the way.
Norma??
-Y
Something that did not fall out and all of you need to know about is this:
8th Annual North Carolina Airgun Show
October 15th and 16th
Be there!
RR,
I have not been able to contact Tony about Hickory. He does not respond.
I sure want to go!
Have you heard from him?
Lots of locals want assurance that it will be happening.
Do you have details of where it will be held? Save me from doing a search?
Fred formerly of the Peeples Demokratik Republik of NJ now happily in GA
BB,
2019?! Is that the last time you played with this?! You really need to take more time and play with your own toys some. Of course you do get to play with a whole bunch of other toys. I can see where it might be difficult to find time for your own.
It’s a rough life, but somebody has to live it.
The Gamo Red Fire .22 cal 15.4 gr pellets I picked up while traveling thru NC in July seem very close in shape to the Polymags; Gamo rated the pellets a one out of five stars for target and competition shooting. Maybe the design of the pellet works against it being accurate. It does do the job on the pests, however. They work well enough in the HW-95 at moderate distances, say 10-15 yards. Good enough for FM purposes.
BB,
The S510 is a really nice rifle – was seriously considering one but ended up getting a HW100 (the S510 wasn’t regulated at that time and there are a couple of features on the HW100 I prefer). Still stop to admire the S510 every time I see one.
I view those two rifles as prime candidates for the “if I only could choose one airgun” category. Hope I never am forced to make a choice like that!
Wanted to comment on the Hades pellets. I’ve been using them for pesting (half way through my second tin) and can say that the 16 grains are performing extremely well out of the HW100 @ 881 fps. They are accurate and judging by the damage, the Hades dumps a lot more energy on target than a regular domed pellet. Think the Hades are excellent for pests but I would avoid body-shots on small game with them.
Wish that JSB would make a Hades version of their 25 grain Monster Redesign pellets – that would be an awesome pellet for the more powerful PCPs. I’m getting about 45 fpe with the Monsters out of my Impact.
Hank
Hank,
Those Redesign pellets are my goto pellet for long range. They need quite a bit of energy to do their best though. They hold up well out to 50 plus yards but start falling off at 100 yds.
Don
Thanks for the comments Don!
I’ve just started working with the Monsters – like them so far.
Hank
BB, For pellets of roughly the same weight class, whats going to do better in the wind, a heavy, accurate .177 or a mid weight .22? A very heavy .177 pellet is 16 grns, and a light weight .22 is 14grns? I think the issue is the wind at longer ranges, even if you can shoot either at any veloccity you want. That is a sweet shooter you brought out today, nice groups! My guess is the .177 will get pushed around less than the .22.
Rob
Rob,
Time in the wind is the biggest factor. So — .177 if it’s faster.
BB
that rifle is screaming to be shot at 50-70 yds if you got a place to do it. oh I just saw in part 7 you did that. my Walther LGU shot just like that at 50 yds
Rob,
You’re trying to generalize/simplify a complex topic. Good for you.
I think wind drift is more proportional to the pellets BC. So a .22 RD Monster with a BC of 0.052 would drift half as much as a .177 Exact with a BC of 0.026
And that same .22 RD Monster would actually drift less than the .30 cal JSB 50.1 grain with a BC of 0.046. Makes you think doesn’t it?
https://hardairmagazine.com/ham-columns/the-external-ballistics-of-diabolo-pellets/
Kevin,
Need to add this bit of work to help folks see a bigger slice of the Ballistics Pie for airguns and the effect of BC.. :https://hardairmagazine.com/ham-columns/the-external-ballistics-of-slugs-in-airguns/
I will add that BC doesn’t actually exist…you Readers doubt that? It is a made up concept that simplifies the heavy calculations that computers/Apps need to do to get close. Check out the discussion about how a RADAR measurement is needed to get a almost Absolute number for the drag count for a Particular Projectile shot from a Particular Gun with specific conditions of load and environment.
A great many assumptions go into the handling of Wind Drift on a Ballistics Calculator. One of the most flagrant is the wind vector (direction & velocity) is the same at all distances from muzzle to target. Is that then the average wind vector that we need to use?
Since you are a student of shooting you know that already but many shooters don’t know that.
When we talk on the topic we also need to include a discussion on accuracy of the Drag Models used on the various External Ballistics Calculators. Very few of them are ever spot on accurate for a specific bullet/pellet/gun combination. A surprising fact many shooters in the field or at the range who don’t verify results on paper or steel in advance find out the hard way; or never do and blame their equipment or themselves.. That growing error happens especially the longer the range is that we are talking about for both Ballistic trajectory and Wind Drift. I think highly of Bob Sternes work so this is not intended to take away from his service to the shooting community; especially the airgun portion of the fraternity. Plinking is great fun and provides great basic skill and understanding but the science is often simplified far too much because the Maths get so difficult for many so fast. Even Bob’s charts are only of limited help because he limits most of them to “typical” airgun performance limits which is great for most but not for all of us.
End of Rant!
shootski
Shootski,
The winds a whiping today at the cabin. I shot 6 of 7 silhouettes in a row with a 1.75 windage and 1.0 holdover then took 20 shots to get the last two. The wind was so squirrelie that my holdover went to zero with a 1.0 windage. Love it, I was getting bored. Finally can get fresh air outside after 6 weeks of smoke. Probly back to smoke tomorrow.
Don
Benji-Don,
I was thinking about you an had hoped the worst you were dealing with was smoke. My son and a few of the family and friends live downrange/smoke and have complained for weeks now about the smoke from the fires. So far the monsoonal rains have kept the worst of the fires down in the Great Basin and the Intermountain West. I hope you get some stratiform rains soon to end this fire season. Wish we could send you some of the humidity and rainwater we have gotten by the bucket fulls. Have been lucky to have bought and built higher and prepared for even worse here in East’s deluge country.
So far the SkiShack out West has survived a few nearby small burns caught on my remotes even without my “skilled” forestry work but I do need to get rid of the new COVID19 brush before next years fire season. I may need to just drive out this coming Spring regardless of what the Pandemic does; it has been too long. I hope the booster shots work as effectively as the Israelie’s data indicates. I don’t trust the competence of our Public Health leaders and trust the Bi-Done administration even less to be honest or well informed!
Back to airguns! Or I’ll get started on Afghanistan….
I think since I got back to airguns it has made me a better wind reader for firearms.
Hey! you got the first 7 easy then it was time to be humbled by the breeze…know the feeling all too well.
Hope you get rid of the smokey days soon…and pray the stuff that makes that smoke stays away. By all means enjoy your shooting every chance you get!
shootski
1stblue,
Rob do you have Chairgun or some other ballistics calculator?
You can get answers (estimated) to questions like you are asking directly by plugging in different winds.
B.B. has given you the key that Time Of Flight (TOF) is the biggest factor everything else being equal.
I will add that the wind speed and direction right at the muzzle has a much larger influence on the total wind drift than the same wind farther down range.
Play with something like Chairgun; I think it is still a FREE download.
shootski
B.B.,
Which Norma Golden Trophy FT domed pellets were you shooting? The regulars are 15.9 gr and have a BC of 0.019 and the heavies are 17.6 gr with a BC of 0.023.
This is not a suggestion but merely an observation…..it would be interesting to try a higher power setting with heavier pellets in your S510 since you only shot a heavy pellet (JSB 18.1 gr) in part 4 at one click down from hi power. Yes, the new 18 gr Baracuda did well in the test with power two clicks down from hi power but having owned several AA SXX platforms I think this is an anomaly.
I don’t think it’s a blog but I wouldn’t be able to resist taking the FX 18 gr, JSB 18.1 gr, Norma 17.6 gr, Air Arms 18 gr and ?? to the range and shooting at 50 yards on the high setting.
Kevin,
I shot the Golden Trophy Heavies (17.6 grains).
Maybe I do need to spend more time with this S510XS. 😉
BB
B.B.,
Yeah, you need more things on your Airgun To Do List. Maybe I should instead categorize this as a justifiable reason to shoot that fine S510 again. 😉
kevin
Kevin,
I’ll Second your Motion!
shootski
B.B.
I think the shots were all at 25 yards? Under the pic of the Baracuda: “The S510XS put 10 Baracuda 18s into 0.309-inches at 20 yards. That’s great!”
Doc
Off Subject, Congrats to JB of Umarex! A win for one of the “good guys”
https://hardairmagazine.com/news/umarex-usa-appoints-jb-vp-of-marketing/
Doc
I recently started shooting RWS super field pellets, I found them in 5.51 and 5.52. None of my .22 like the 5.51, but the 5.52 shoot real well, particularly in the Gauntlet. I like the price of the cans of 500 as well. The Norma, none of my rifles liked the 15.9, but the Norma Heavies shoot well. Weirdly, I have a .22 Kodiak that only shot reasonably well with the Crosman Premier pointed. The Kodiak really likes the Norma heavies. To the eye the Norma and the RWS look like twins I might add. The Norma pellets are available locally, but the price of the Norma makes ordering the RWS cheaper. I find that the rifles that like the JSB 18, like the H&N 18 as well. What I wish I could get my hands on is .22 cal RWS Hobbys, I have a Xisico XSP pistol in .22 that is lights out with them, but I am all out…