Today we’re looking at HAM’s 2021 most popular airgun ammo reviews. This year three slugs and seven pellets make your “Top Ten” list. Eight are in .22 caliber, the remaining two in .25 cal.
For the first time ever, no .177 caliber pellet appears in this list of most popular airgun ammo reviews. That’s likely an indication of declining interest in this caliber among “serious” airgunners.
As for manufacturers, JSB dominates with six out of the Top Ten. H&N, Daystate, FX and Crosman all have one entry each.
Here’s the summary…
1. JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy .22 Caliber
First in HAM’s 2021 list of most popular airgun ammo reviews, JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets are well-priced and give excellent quality of manufacture. It’s easy to see why they win a coveted HAM Gold Award!
These pellets would be ideal for airgun hunting with a powerful PCP air rifle. But they’re probably somewhat heavy for a mid- or low-power springer, resulting in a rather elliptical trajectory with lower powered air rifles.
JSB pellets have a great reputation for accuracy. If your gun likes these pellets and has enough power, why look further?
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JSB Match Diabolo Exact Jumbo Heavy .22 Cal, 18.13 Grains, Domed, 250ct
2. FX Hybrid Slugs .22 Caliber
FX Hybrid Slugs are projectiles of an unique design with enormous potential for shooting at extreme range. So long as you have a very high powered PCP air rifle with a barrel that tolerates slugs…
If you have a Power Plenum-equipped FX air rifle or similar powerhouse, these are likely to be great slugs for long-range hunting.
So why not a higher HAM ranking than this Bronze Award? Well, these slugs are expensive and they don’t really match the manufacturer’s specs in all respects. But if you have an appropriate air rifle, you really need to try them!
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FX Hybrid Slugs .22 Cal
3. JSB Hades Pellets .22 caliber
JSB Hades 15.89 Grain .22 caliber pellets are a dedicated hunting pellet. Although new to the market this year, they already have a great reputation with airgun hunters. That’s undoubtedly why they feature in your list of 2021 most popular airgun ammo reviews.
The domed head has three very deep indentations molded into it. In a way, it’s a type of hollow point design. However you describe the design, Hades pellets mushroom on impact in a devastating fashion! That’s why it’s so good for hunting.
In spite of this pedigree, JSB Hades 15.89 Grain .22 caliber pellets are not expensive. When purchased in a 500 count tin, they’re 4.0 cents each. This is exactly the mean (or average) price of pellets being sold today in the US market. That makes them great value for money!
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JSB Match Diabolo Hades .22 Cal, 15.89 Grain, Hollowpoint, 500 Count 0.22![]()
4. H&N Slugs HP 25 Grain .22 Caliber
Gold Award! That’s the result of this H&N HP Slug review.
The 25 Grain, .217 diameter slugs tested by HAM displayed excellent manufacturing quality with particularly good weight consistency. H&N’s policy of providing Sampler Packs of multiple weights for a specific caliber makes it easy to find the configuration that performs best with your air rifle, too.
This would be a great choice for use in a powerful PCP for medium- to long-range hunting or benchrest shooting.
H&N offers a very wide range of slug weights and actual body diameters. The 25 Grain weight is right in the middle of H&N’s range for this caliber.
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H&N Airgun Slugs
5. Redesigned Jumbo Monsters .22 Caliber
The redesigned JSB Exact Jumbo Monster 25.39 grain pellets are a great choice for airgun hunting with powerful PCP air rifles.
They easily achieve a HAM Silver Award for quality and value. Had the test pellets matched JSB’s usual standards for cleanliness and weight variability they could have achieved a Gold Award.
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JSB Jumbo Monster Pellets .22 Cal
6. Daystate Howler Slugs .22 Caliber
This Daystate Howler slugs review reveals a great value product that easily earns a HAM Gold Award in our industry-leading testing.
These slugs have good downrange performance and excellent expansion results in the target. Being relatively light, they could be suitable for use in a wide range of PCP air rifles – not just those from Daystate. The strong expansion makes them ideal for hunting.
Some may prefer a heavier weight slug with a higher Ballistic Coefficient. But for many shooters looking for a .22 caliber slug for their PCP, these Howlers are definitely worth trying.
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Daystate Howler Slugs .22 cal
7. JSB Exact King .25 Caliber
Twenty Five is a primary airgun hunting caliber. JSB Exact King 25.36 Grain .25 Caliber pellets are the most popular out there and it’s easy to see why from this HAM test review!
The relatively high Ballistic Coefficient of 0.038 gives these pellets good downrange hunting characteristics and the head sizes are very consistent.
This is an easy HAM Silver Award winner and – without one short pellet in the test sample – would have achieved Gold.
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JSB Exact King 25.39 Grain .25 Cal Pellets, 150 Ct
8. Crosman Premier Hollow Point .22 Caliber
Crosman Premier Hollowpoint 14.3 Grain pellets are far from being the most consistent pellets available. But they do work well in a wide variety of airguns and sometimes can match the accuracy of much more expensive pellets.
Crosman’s distribution muscle means that these pellets are available everywhere airguns are sold. That’s another great benefit, although it doesn’t factor into our scoring.
These Premiers justify a HAM Gold Award because their remarkably low price makes them outstanding value. If you’re looking for a “go to” pellet at a very low price, this is the place to start!
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Crosman Premier Hollowpoint 14.3 Grain, 500 Ct
9. JSB King Heavy MkII .25 Caliber
JSB Exact King Heavy MkII 33.95 Grain .25 caliber pellets combine heavy weight with a high Ballistic Coefficient and excellent control of head diameter.
This is a great pellet for the long range shooter. The high weight of these pellets is combined with a high Ballistic Coefficient of 0.046. This means that the King Heavies are attractive to both the long range airgun shooter and hunter for larger game.
King Heavies earned a HAM Bronze Award on test. That backs-up their outstanding reputation for long range accuracy. HAM will be including them as a standard test pellet for our high power .25 caliber PCP air rifle reviews.
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JSB Exact King Heavy 300 Count
10. JSB Exact Jumbo Diabolo .22 Caliber
JSB Exact Jumbo Diabolo pellets represent good value at a relatively low price. They would be an effective hunting pellet, particularly for more powerful air rifles.
These pellets are priced exactly (pun intended!) at the median cost of .22 airgun pellets for the 250-count tin. They’re also available in 500-count tins, where the price per pellet is lower.
This makes them great value for money from such a prestigious pellet-manufacturing name.
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JSB Exact Jumbo Diabolo 15.89 Grain .22 Cal 250 Ct
The post HAM’s 2021 Most Popular Airgun Ammo Reviews appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.