VALUE FOR MONEY
Predator GTO 11.75 Grain .22 caliber alloy pellets have a great reputation in the market as quality lead-free pellets. It’s clear from this review that this reputation is justified!
Alloy pellets are inevitably more expensive – make that considerably more expensive – than lead pellets. However these GTO 11.75 Grain pellets are still below the Median price for .22 caliber alloy pellets. This makes them excellent value for money, so long as they prove to be a good match for the barrel in your particular air rifle.
Compared to traditional lead pellets, the GTO alloys look very “white”, clean and sharp.
Given the increasing pressure on lead pellets – and other ammunition – in various geographies around the world, this is likely to be a much more familiar look for airgun pellets in the future.
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Predator GTO .22 Cal, 11.75 Grains, Domed, Lead-Free, 200ct 0.22![]()
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Predator GTO 22 Cal 11.75 Grain Pellets, 200 Count
TEST DATA SUMMARY
| Price per Pellet | 9.00 cents |
| Most Common Weight | 11.68 Grains |
| Pellets at That Common Weight | 10% |
| Variation in Pellet Weight (Smallest to Largest) | 3.5% |
| Most Common Head Diameter | 5.54 mm |
| Pellet at That Common Head Diameter | 72% |
| Variation in Head Diameter (Smallest to Largest) | 0.18% |
| Most Common Length | 7.77 mm |
| Pellets at That Common Length | 54% |
| Variation in Length (Smallest to Largest) | 0.26% |
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
The manufacturers claim that these pellets weigh 11.75 Grains. The average weight of the pellets tested by HAM was 11.73 Grains. That’s a difference of less than 0.3%, so we’d say that claim is exactly met. This is probably the closest match to the claimed pellet weight that the HAM Team has yet recorded.
Obviously a major claim is that these pellets are lead-free and that’s true, too.
The claim for GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets having “match grade accuracy”and being a “lead-free alternative for competition use” is more difficult to validate. The HAM Team is not aware of any success for ANY alloy pellets in competitive airgun shooting at major events like the Pyramyd Air Cup, Extreme Benchrest or the Rocky Mountain Airgun Competition, for example.
Another claim is that these pellets “perform like lead”. It’s true that – at 0.023 – the Ballistic Coefficient of Predator GTO 11.75 Grain .22 caliber alloy pellets is comparable to that of lead pellets. However, the lighter weight – around 20% less than comparable lead pellets – will inevitably produce somewhat different kinetic energy to lead pellets, particularly in PCPs.
There’s a claim of 200 pellets in the tin. To our great surprise, the HAM Team found 250 pellets in our tin – an overage of 25%!
This was traced to a simple glitch that had been immediately corrected. It seems we just got lucky! You are likely to find exactly 200 pellets in your tin of GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets.
CONSISTENCY
No damaged or malformed pellets were found during the course of this test review.
The GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets tested by HAM showed great consistency of head diameter. As can be seen from the chart below, head diameters were well controlled. The variation between the largest and smallest head diameters tested was just 0.01 mm. That’s under 4 thousandths of an inch.
The average weight of the GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets tested by HAM was right on the money at 11.73 Grains. However, no individual pellet actually weighed the claimed 11.75 Grains. The most common weight was 11.68 Grains, which was achieved by 10% of the test sample.
The variation in weight between the heaviest and lighted pellets in this tin was 3.5%. This is a little below average compared to the lead pellets tested by HAM.
Pellet lengths usually show the greatest variability in HAM testing. However, the GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets displayed outstanding length consistency.
These are by far the most consistent pellets ever tested by HAM for length. No less than 54% of the test sample had the same length – 7.7 mm – and the variation between longest and shortest was just 0.26%. These are exemplary figures!
DIRTINESS
Because of the “white”, shiny nature of alloy pellets, it was difficult to see any dirt in the tin of GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets. However the HAM precision balance detected 0.636 Grains of dirt and dust for every 100 pellets which is slightly below average. At least it’s not lead!
The camera found it easier to see this junk than our human eyes, as we can see from the photograph below of the dirt. It seems to be composed mainly dust and tiny shavings.
DOWNRANGE PERFORMANCE
Chairgun shows that GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets have an effectively “flat” performance between 11 and 41 Yards when fired from HAM’s standard “1,000 FPS” Beeman 1074 air rifle. This is achieved at a zero range of 38 Yards.
HUNTING USE
HAM’s standard test with ballistic soap showed the penetration to be 52 mm. By comparison, this slightly exceeds the 50 mm penetration recorded under identical test conditions with 15.89 Grain JSB Exact Jumbo Diabolo lead pellets.
However, the remaining kinetic energy retained by the pellet at 30 Yards is already down to 73% of the Muzzle Energy. These GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets would be suitable for relatively short range hunting use only.
In contrast to lead pellets, the GTO alloy pellet showed almost no expansion in diameter after being retrieved from the soap block. The head diameter before firing measured 5.53 mm. After firing it was just 5.54 mm.
This is clear from the comparison photograph below. Also apparent are the pronounced rifling grooves in the head and skirt of the fired pellet (left).
BUYING AND OWNING
GTO 11.75 Grain alloy pellets are readily found at specialist online retail stores such as Pyramyd Air and Airgun Depot. But you’re unlikely to find them at big box or other local sporting goods stores.
As regular readers will be aware, the HAM Team does not like push-on pellet tin lids. However, Predator International advises us that all GTO pellets will move to screw-top lids over time. The plans are in place! That’s great news and removes the only downside we see…
TEST DATA
For background details on HAM’s Pellet Test Review methodology, check out this link.
Chairgun is a product of Hawke Sports Optics LLC and is used with permission. Check out http://www.hawkeoptics.com
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Predator GTO .22 Cal, 11.75 Grains, Domed, Lead-Free, 200ct 0.22![]()
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Predator GTO 22 Cal 11.75 Grain Pellets, 200 Count
Understanding HAM Pellet Awards
HAM Pellet Awards come from the most rigorous, professional and comprehensive pellet testing by any independent publication. They are the result of much precise measurement and analysis using high precision measuring devices and highly-experienced testers.
Note that accuracy is a product of the complete “system” of airgun, scope, atmospheric conditions and shooter ability – not the pellet alone.
This means that no pellet test review can predict the accuracy of a particular pellet with YOUR individual air rifle. That’s why we do not measure accuracy in these pellet tests.
What HAM Pellet Awards do recognize is manufacturing consistency. Inconsistent pellets definitely will be inaccurate, consistent pellets are much more likely to be accurate.
HAM Awards also recognize value. There’s considerable variation in the price of airgun pellets. This means that an 8 cent pellet needs to score higher than a 2 cent pellet to achieve an award.
For full details of the HAM Pellet Award scoring methodology, please check out our Pellet Testing page.
For a full listing of HAM-tested Ballistic Coefficients, please see our Ballistic Coefficients page.
This entire article including scoring, data etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.
The post Predator GTO 11.75 Grain .22 Caliber Alloy Pellet Test Review appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.