The Big HAM H&N Slug Guide

Today we present the big Hard Air Magazine H&N Slug Guide.

As many of us know, accurate slug shooting requires tuning the airgun to optimize the velocity and pressure settings, as well as finding the right diameter and weight combination for the slug.

This adds complexity to the shooting experience.

It is therefore no surprise that H&N Slug portfolio is huge – at the time of writing this, we count no less than 52 different SKUs – not including those very useful slug sampler packs.

New H&N Slug Sampler Packs Available

So we’ve brought all the details together in one place. This should make it easier for you to decide on the H&N slugs that are best for your needs…

For simplicity, we’ve broken-down the H&N slugs range by nominal caliber, eg .22 cal. Then we’ve sorted by micro-caliber – eg .217 or .218 – then by weight. We’ve also listed all the BC figures from H&N test data.

As we can see from this chart, the Ballistic Coefficient of H&N slugs generally increases with weight. The sole exception is the .22 caliber Precision Slug, which is designed for PRS use, rather than hunting, with completely different characteristics.

The Big HAM H&N Slug Guide

Finally, we added the slug length. This is becoming an increasingly-important factor, particularly for heavier slugs. Generally, heavier means longer in the slug world. Will they fit into your magazine?

A Beginner’s Guide To Airgun Slugs

Before going any further, I’d like to thank Jörg Siemens, the Head of Sales and Marketing for H&N, in checking and correcting this guide. Thanks Jörg!

(But there’s a lot of data here and if there’s any inadvertent errors, they are MY fault).

The Big Hard Air Magazine H&N Slug Guide .177 Caliber

There’s four SKUs in this caliber, with weights between 10 and 20 Grains.

These are all of the “H&N Slug HP” design. These slugs feature the original, small hollow point (“dimple”). Due to the small size of the projectiles, it is still used in the .177 caliber.

H&N Slugs Deliver Greater Expansion

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Slug HP	4.51	.1775	10	0.080	6.0
Slug HP	4.51	.1775	13	0.084	6.0
Slug HP	4.51	.1775	16	0.089	7.0
Slug HP	4.51	.1775	20	0.094	8.4

The Big Hard Air Magazine H&N Slug Guide .22 Caliber

This is where it starts to get complicated! I count no less than 22 H&N Slug SKUs in the “.22” nominal caliber. There’s also four different designs of H&N slugs in this caliber, as follows…

H&N Slug HP

These slugs feature the original, small hollow point (“dimple”). Due to the small size of the projectiles, it is still used in the .22 caliber for the 21 and 23 grain weight variants.

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Slug HP	5.51	.217	21	0.091	6.7
Slug HP	5.53	.218	21	0.091	6.7
Slug HP	5.51	.217	23	0.094	7.1
Slug HP	5.53	.218	23	0.094	7.1

HAM has tested the .217, 25 Grain Slug HP. It earned a HAM Gold Award for manufacturing consistency and we would expect that performance to be mirrored in other H&N slugs.

The Big HAM H&N Slug Guide

H&N Slug HP II

To enhance the deformation characteristics on impact, H&N developed and introduced a new design called the “T-Slot”.

The T-Slot is a two-stage hollow point: the upper part with a shallow angle ensures a quick start of the deformation. The lower part with an acute angle keeps the deformation going.

H&N Slugs Deliver Greater Expansion

The result is what H&N describes as a devastating, massively expanding projectile, ideal for long-range hunting and precision shooting in high-powered air rifles, as the ballistic gel impacts show below.

H&N Slugs Deliver Greater Expansion

In “.22 caliber”, there’s seven H&N Slug HP II SKUs. These cover the weight range from 25 to 30 Grains.

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Slug HP II	5.51	.217	25	0.100	7.5
Slug HP II	5.53	.218	25	0.100	7.5
Slug HP II	5.51	.217	27	0.095	7.9
Slug HP II	5.53	.218	27	0.095	7.9
Slug HP II	5.51	.217	30	0.106	8.6
Slug HP II	5.53	.218	30	0.106	8.6
Slug HP II	5.55	.219	30	0.106	8.6

H&N Precision Slug

This is a dedicated slug for PRS-style competition shooting. It’s only available in .22 caliber and 33 grain weight. Its hollow point is optimized for low drag and good in-flight stability.

Those characteristics are highlighted by the significantly-higher Ballistic Coefficient, as you can see.

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Precision Slug	5.51	.217	33	0.140	10.0
Precision Slug	5.53	.218	33	0.140	10.0

The Big HAM H&N Slug Guide

H&N Heavy Slug

In “.22 caliber”, there’s nine H&N Heavy Slug SKUs. These cover the weight range from 34 to 40 Grains.

Like the Slug HP II projectiles, these also incorporate the T-Slot, two-stage hollow point design.

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Heavy Slug	5.51	.217	34	0.108	9.6
Heavy Slug	5.53	.218	34	0.108	9.6
Heavy Slug	5.54	.219	35	0.108	9.6
Heavy Slug	5.51	.217	36	0.109	10.1
Heavy Slug	5.53	.218	36	0.109	10.1
Heavy Slug	5.51	.217	38	0.112	10.5
Heavy Slug	5.53	.218	38	0.112	10.5
Heavy Slug	5.51	.217	40	0.116	11.2
Heavy Slug	5.53	.218	40	0.116	11.2

The Big HAM H&N Slug Guide

The Big Hard Air Magazine H&N Slug Guide .25 Caliber

There’s 23 H&N Slug SKUs in the “.25” nominal caliber. This time, there’s three different designs of H&N slugs in this caliber, as follows. However – except for one – they are of the Slug HPII and Heavy Slug types.

H&N Slug HP II

Here we have nine SKUs. The weight range is from 28 to 36 Grains. They all feature the “T-Slot”. In-target expansion? Yip!

A Beginner’s Guide To Airgun Slugs

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Slug HP II	6.34	.249	28	0.096	6.8
Slug HP II	6.35	.250	28	0.096	6.8
Slug HP II	6.34	.249	30	0.098	7.2
Slug HP II	6.35	.250	30	0.098	7.2
Slug HP II	6.34	.249	32	0.100	7.6
Slug HP II	6.35	.250	32	0.100	7.6
Slug HP II	6.34	.249	34	0.101	7.9
Slug HP II	6.35	.250	34	0.101	7.9
Slug HP II	6.34	.249	36	0.105	8.3
Slug HP II	6.35	.250	36	0.105	8.3

H&N Grizzly

Is this a pellet or a slug? Either way, it has no “diabolo” waist to the design and feature a star-shaped hollow point for in-target expansion.

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Grizzly	6.35	.250	31	0.070	8,9

The Big HAM H&N Slug Guide

H&N Heavy Slug

Here we have twelve H&N Heavy Slug SKUs. These cover the weight range from 38 to 48 Grains. There’s micro-calibers up to .253 Inches for some of the range.

Like the Slug HP II projectiles, these also incorporate the T-Slot, two-stage hollow point design.

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Heavy Slug	6.34	.249	38	0.114	8.6
Heavy Slug	6.35	.250	38	0.114	8.6
Heavy Slug	6.43	.253	38	0.114	8.6
Heavy Slug	6.34	.249	40	0.120	9.0
Heavy Slug	6.35	.250	40	0.120	9.0
Heavy Slug	6.34	.249	42	0.124	9.4
Heavy Slug	6.35	.250	42	0.124	9.4
Heavy Slug	6.34	.249	44	0.128	9.8
Heavy Slug	6.35	.250	44	0.128	9.8
Heavy Slug	6.34	.249	46	0.133	10.2
Heavy Slug	6.35	.250	46	0.133	10.2
Heavy Slug	6.43	.253	48	0.135	10.6

The Big HAM H&N Slug Guide

The Big Hard Air Magazine H&N Slug Guide .30 Caliber

Just a couple of Slug HP II SKUs here…

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Slug HP II	7.65	.301	50	0.115	8.3
Slug HP II	7.65	.301	54	0.120	8.8

The Big Hard Air Magazine H&N Slug Guide .35 Caliber

Finally we have one for .35 cal.

Type	Caliber, mm	Caliber, In	Weight, Grains	B.C.	Length, mm
Grizzly	9.04	.356	82	0.101	10.3

Phew! That’s a lot of data. I hope that it helps you to decide on the best H&N slugs to try in your air rifle. And don’t forget those Sampler Packs. They make a lot of sense for experimentation…

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H&N Slug HP, .249 Cal., 36 Grains, Hollowpoint, 120ct 0.25

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