RWS Pellets – Do The Facts Match The Marketing?

For RWS Pellets – Do The Facts Match The Marketing?

If your immediate reaction to this is “Huh?”, let’s explain. You see, RWS pellets are unique – in my understanding – in the way that the manufacturer comprehensively identifies the quality level of their products.

Other pellet manufacturers may call-out one, or two specific SKUs as having a particularly high quality level. Or they may grade a couple as – let’s be frank – lower than their usual quality. You’ll see these labeled as “practice”, or some similar descriptor.

But RWS comprehensively differentiates its pellets clearly with five different “Lines” or levels of quality. They are clearly marked on the packaging and in product descriptions. In addition, they are highlighted by color-coding the pellet tin labels.

These are (in order):
– Premium Line
– Performance Line
– Field Line
– Sport Line
– Basic Line

So is there any justification behind these quality levels (together with the associated pricing), or are they just a marketing scheme?

To find the answer, we are comparing the test results from Hard Air Magazine’s industry-leading pellet test reviews. Due to the structured, repeatable, scientific nature of HAM’s test protocols and reviews, we can compare results between products of the same type – in this case pellets – with a high degree of confidence.

HAM Scores And Awards For RWS Pellets

First, let’s cut to the chase and compare how the five types of pellets from RWS have scored in HAM test reviews, together with their value-based HAM Award levels.

If you would prefer to read the same data in a chart, here it is.

For context, the “Premium Line” R-10 pellets tested by HAM achieved the second-highest score ever achieved in our pellet testing. Coincidentally, the “Sport Line” Hobbys earned the second-lowest score we have ever awarded.

So there’s clearly a range there.

And yes, the “Professional” and “Field” Line pellets tested fit exactly where they should in the RWS quality hierarchy. WOW! The facts really do match the marketing!

For a fuller explanation, let’s dig down a little…

So How Do We Define Pellet Quality?

When ANY product is manufactured by ANY company, a strong indicator of quality is the degree of variation between one individual unit of that product and another. The less the variability – or, to put it another way, the greater the consistency, the higher the quality is likely to be.

This is particularly the case in products which are manufactured at low cost in high volumes. Just like pellets!

In our case, pellet consistency is a major component in downrange accuracy. That’s why HAM Tester Doug Wall spends so much time, effort, care and dedication measuring 50 individual pellets in multiple different ways for every pellet test review.

Below. Meisterkugeln pellets are available in “Rifle” (left) and “Pistol” (right) versions with different weights and calibers. All are Professional Line products.

Variability Measurements For RWS Pellets

Three of the key elements of consistency we measure in HAM pellet test reviews are head diameter, weight and length. So let’s look at the variability between these measurements for the five different RWS pellets that Hard Air Magazine has reviewed.

These results all factor into the overall test review scores shown above.

First we have head diameter. In this case, the larger the number, the greater the variability. Thus the lower the quality.

As we can see (above), the RWS Hobby pellets were by far the least consistent tested by HAM. However we should also remember that this “poor” 0.9% variability of head size is just 1.6 Thousandths (0.0016) of an Inch. We are really demanding for our pellets!

The next graph shows a similar relationship for weight. Here we see that the variation in weight ranges from just 1.35% for the R-10 Match pellets, up to 19.7% for the Hobbies.

The same trend can be observed with length measurement, too, below.

So all this HAM test data further supports the quality level structure the manufacturer indicates for RWS pellets.

Premium Line is best – just as described in the name. That’s why they are the most expensive. Professional Line products follow just behind that: they cost a little less, too. And so on…

Kudos is due to RWS for telling us about the quality levels of their products – and then delivering on that in reality!

Below. There’s a wide range or RWS Field line pellets available.

Ultimate Detail

Should you want to check-out the full detail behind the HAM test reviews of RWS pellets, it’s available in the following links:
R-10 Match Pellets
Meisterkugeln Pistol Pellets
Super Field Ultra Heavy Pellets
Superdome Pellets
Hobby Pellets

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