Archer Pellet Guns

There are many types of pellets available. Here are some guidelines to help you choose.

Flat-fronted wadcutter pellets are best used for shooting paper targets as they give good, clean holes. They are also best used with relatively low muzzle velocities, such as 800fps or less, as their aerodynamics are poor. But these are typically the most accurate pellets available and can be used for close range hunting, too.

Dome pellets have a rounded front. These pellets cut through the air better than wadcutters and can be considered as general-use pellets for plinking, hunting and everyday shooting.

Pointed pellets have a sharp nose and are typically recommended for small-game hunting and longer-range shooting. Their accuracy is normally not as good as that of domed pellets, but is in an acceptable range.

Whatever the pellet design, lighter pellets shoot faster than heavier ones in the same gun. Lightest of all are the non-lead PBA pellets: these give very high muzzle velocities but often show poor accuracy. They also have low knock-down power (muzzle energy) and thus are not suitable for hunting.

 

A heavy pellet is much more humane in providing a one-shot kill. This is why larger calibers of .22 and above are more suitable for hunting than .177; the pellets are heavier so they travel slower, but they hit harder.

All pellet guns will work better with some types of pellets and are less accurate with others. This is a function of each individual gun. It is why we encourage you to buy a range of different pellets with your gun. Try shooting with different pellets and you can often be amazed at how the accuracy changes. Finding the best pellets for your gun is part of the fun of shooting!