Boolits in PCP

[para45lda]

Good afternoon all!

I'm posting this in hopes I can get a good answer to the question of using boolits in a PCP rifle.

I'm leaning towards a 30 cal PCP as that is what I have what I hope to be a boolit mold already for it.

Too big? Too large? Are you powder coating them?

I'm really looking for a do-it-all unicorn. Big enough to hunt medium sized game but also just to punch holes in various targets.

If you are currently doing this I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Best wishes and God bless.

[dtknowles]

The only ammo to use would be soft lead bullets, cast or swaged. I don't know what you consider medium sized game but I don't think a 30 cal PCP is enough gun for even small deer. I have a 9mm PCP and I think it is marginal even at very close range. In some ways the 30 might be a touch better with deeper penetration but only with heavyish bullets. You would need to check your velocity. I am expecting that you can barely match .32 S&W Long ballistics which is not a deer cartridge in anyone's mind. You can cast and shoot lead bullets just fine if you size to your groove diameter.
TEK

[dverna]

I am a fan of PCPs but see no good reason to hunt game with them.

Use the right tool for the task.

I know people who have killed deer with a .22LR. They do not talk about how many are wounded and not recovered.

[2TM101]

An air gun can be compared to a black powder gun. Both fire a pure soft lead bullet at limited velocity. Caliber you need is likewise basically equivalent. If you would use a .45 Muzzleloader, use a .45 Airgun.

Use Texas as an example. Your .30 Airgun (minimum caliber in that state) would be legal for hunting deer if it gives you 215 FtLb of energy. A typical .30 airgun pellet is 50 grains - it would have to be moving 1400 fps to do that. And those pellets slow down rapidly. Airguns powerful enough to do this typically cost way over a thousand dollars.

For comparison a .22lr is a 40 gr bullet gives you 131 FtLb.

[Outer Rondacker]

It would help to know the PCP you had in mind to buy. Some of the AEA big bore stuff is shooting heavy ammo and getting ok results. If you are looking at an edgun or a gauntlet then I think small game and light pellets are the only things on the table. You can cast light pellets.

I went down this hole a few years ago. 357 AEA BIG 9. It was ok but not worth it as I do not wish to hunt large game. Very few shots per fill. You could always go Airforce Texan and that will take full cast size and make big power. Will also sound just like a gun so not sure the benifet would be.

[para45lda]

I guess I need to clarify my question

I am looking at one of the Airforce Texan air rifles in a .30 caliber. I believe I can use my 110 grn boolits (maybe larger, that's why I'm asking) in this gun.

I'm fully aware of the ethical aspects off hunting game, so let's stick with paper targets for this exercise.

I appreciate all the help I can get on this so I would love to hear from anyone that may have experience with this type of airgun

Thanks again

Wes

[dverna]

You will have more responses on the Gateway to Airgun forum:

https://gatewaytoairguns.com/

There are folks there that cast pellets/slugs. When I got into PCPs I wondered about casting pellets and spent some time there. That was about three years ago.

This links to the casting sub-form there:

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA...hp?board=229.0

BTW, I decided early on that casting pellets/slugs was not for me. I have not kept up with it but back then, what some guys called "accurate"...well...I have nothing kind to say. Seems like a waste of time to get mediocre results.

Good luck.

[chutesnreloads]

Like Don said, check out the GTA site.
If not for hunting, I can't see a reason for air power over .22 cal. unless there's a longer range target sport I'm unaware of.
You'll just expend a lot more air needlessly and spending more time filling the gun than shooting it.
Yes there are guys out there shooting boolits.
Will the boolit you're talking about work for you? Only way to know for sure is get the gun and try them

[dverna]

Hey,

Sorry if I came off like a jerk about using a PCP for hunting "medium game".

I had intended to use my PCP on chipmucks and ground squirrels. After a few months shooting hundreds of groups, I decided it was the wrong tool. My PCP is sub 1" at 50 yards so the accuracy is there, but pellets do not handle wind well. I reverted back to the .22LR. The .22LR gives me more power, flatter trajectory, and is better in the wind. I can get ranges up to 100 yards occasionally so why limit myself with a 50 yard gun? If lived-in built-up area, and range was less than 50 yards, the PCP would have been the choice.

PCPs have given me cheap trigger time. I get about 3500 shots from a 74 cu ft tank fill. Chutsnreloads makes a good point about the larger bore guns. They are air hogs, and if you go that way, a compressor might be worth considering. Pellets and slugs get pricey. I recall a guy posting a 1" group at 15 yards with cast bullets in a .30 cal. and proud of it...LOL. It worked for him. Like I said in my first post, I have never seen a good group with cast air gun projectiles.

One option I considered was swaging pellets. Not worth the investment when .22 pellets that cost $12/k give me sub 1" groups at 50 yards, but might make sense for .30 cals that cost over $125/k.

Here is what I looked at:
https://www.corbins.com/shop/s-press...5#attr=658,663

Good luck with your quest.

[elmacgyver0]

I thought a big bore air gun would be neat until I looked at the price of the ammo.
I decided to stick with my .25, 22, and 17 cal. pellet guns.

[dverna]

I thought a big bore air gun would be neat until I looked at the price of the ammo.
I decided to stick with my .25, 22, and 17 cal. pellet guns.

The prices are nuts because it's like buying .410 bore shells that cost double what 12 ga go for. Low volume. I see little reason for .30 cal pellets that weigh twice as much as .22 pellets to cost 8-10 times more.

If the larger bores become more popular prices will come down, but I will not see it in my lifetime.

[dtknowles]

Like Don said, check out the GTA site.
If not for hunting, I can't see a reason for air power over .22 cal. unless there's a longer range target sport I'm unaware of.
You'll just expend a lot more air needlessly and spending more time filling the gun than shooting it.
Yes there are guys out there shooting boolits.
Will the boolit you're talking about work for you? Only way to know for sure is get the gun and try them

Before you buy the gun, check the twist rate on the barrel. A 110 gr. .308 bullet can be happy with a pretty slow twist but you should check. I also think 110 gr. is heavier than necessary but should still work. I see these for sale

https://www.airgundepot.com/air-vent...int-100ct.html

So someone is using them in some PCP rifle.

On the other end of the scale is

https://www.airgundepot.com/umarex-b...gr-100-ct.html

Me I think I would cast from the mold I had knowing that if I got the rifle, I would probably get a second mold someday. I think I would look at cast bullets that are designed for 30 Mauser, Tokarev, 7.62x25. I would cast them soft and size them to no more than groove diameter.

The ballistic coefficient will be as high or higher than .22 lr bullets so they will handle the wind as well as a .22 lr.

People say .32 S&W long is a fine small game cartridge and you should be able to match or beat that. Some people make .32 S&W rifles and call them bunny guns. I don't see it as a medium game gun even at close range but I should be enough for stuff up to coyotes.

You should not need a tax stamp for a suppressor if it is permanently attached to the gun but the law is a bit fuzzy about this right now.

Lead for a 90 gr. bullet is like less than 2 cents.

No matter what I bet it will be fun to shoot.

Tim

[Rockindaddy]

I like PCP's Looking at the Texas Air Force guns. Lee makes some really nice 38 caliber moulds. Why couldn't a soft lead projectile run through the STAR sizer lubricator work in an air rifle? Waiting to hear if any good guys here on the Booit site have already experimented with that notion.

[dtknowles]

I don't have a bullet mold for a short enough bullet to test but I am sure they would work and I would size but not lube and yes, use soft lead. I would size to not more than groove diameter for highest velocity. I have shot these 9mm pellets



I even shot jacketed, the one on the right. The one on the left is too long to feed in my gun.



Those are meant for 380 ACP. I shot the hollow point into a board and fragmented.

Tim

[Chris S]

I shoot this Boolit in my Cothran based .308. Makes right at 175Lbft of energy and is decently accurate. I'd not be afraid to shoot a deer with it, as always, shot placement and decent hunting techniques apply.
https://noebulletmolds.com/site/prod...308-135-rn-g4/

Chris

[SEBroz]

I know this is an old post, but I have had luck with the NOE pellet molds in 59gr Magnum and 46gr Hunter. I have yet to try their slug molds.
https://noebulletmolds.com/site/prod...hunter-pellet/
https://noebulletmolds.com/site/prod...magnum-pellet/

Accurate Molds also have a good selection of made to order air rifle slugs. I have the 61gr rebated/heeled boat tail.
https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet...bullet=30-061C
There are a few others in their catalog I would like to purchase.

Im sure between to two sellers, you could find something you like.
Look into making yourself a hammer swaging die. Ive got some made up for all the common air rifle calibers, and they do surprisingly well.