Hard Air Magazine has been producing pellet reviews for some time. However, these reviews have not included any scoring or HAM Pellet Awards.
But now they do!
Why You Can Rely On HAM Awards
The primary feature of HAM reviews is their consistency. This means that review percentage scores are comparable against each other – within their category. So, air rifle reviews are comparable against each other while air pistol reviews are comparable against other air pistol reviews.
HAM Awards are the leading value comparison for the airgun industry worldwide. HAM Gold Awards make a clear statement that these products offer outstanding value in their price range. So, two products can have the same percentage scores, yet different HAM Award levels due to their different prices.
In order to generate Hard Air Magazine’s review scoring systems and Award levels, we need a huge amount of data. Until there’s a statistically-significant amount of comparable information, it’s not possible to make accurate, reliable comparisons.
This is the reason why HAM Awards take some time to appear. But when they do appear, you can rely on them.
Now that time has come for HAM Pellet Awards!
HAM Pellet Awards In Detail
HAM Tester Doug Wall has spent a huge amount of time testing pellets to an incredibly high standard of precision. Thanks Doug!!! HAM Publisher Stephen Archer analyzed and compared the all Doug’s test data, constructing the HAM Pellet Awards scoring structure.
To date, the HAM Team has analyzed 18 different types of .177 and .22 caliber pellets using this structured test methodology. Among these pellets are the output from manufacturing plants in no less than six different countries. We’ve tested pellets manufactured in Germany, the Czech Republic, China, Brazil, USA and Hungary.
We’ve also tested pellets at multiple different price points – from very expensive to the cheapest. Wadcutters, domed, and pointed pellet types have been tested, too.
All this testing has enabled us to compare and contrast a wide variety of pellets of different types from around the pellet-producing world. Bringing all that test data together and analyzing it thoroughly means that you can rely on HAM Pellet Awards and percentage scores.
The HAM Pellet Awards structure has been generated by analyzing approximately 4,000 – yes, FOUR THOUSAND! – different data points. That’s lengths, weights, prices and more.
This is the reason that HAM Pellet Awards stand completely alone as the premier independent, comprehensive source of pellet reviews, world-wide.
Variability Is The Key
The core of HAM Pellet Awards is an examination of manufacturing variability – or consistency – then comparing that to price.
It’s a fact that EVERY single example of “the same” product will be slightly different. That applies to all types of manufactured products from cookies to cars. And it applies to airgun pellets, too.
Because every air rifle will have its own “favorite” pellet, there’s no one pellet that will be the ideal for all airguns. This means that even the most perfect, consistent pellet will not be the most accurate in all airguns – you just have to look at the huge number of HAM Air Rifle test targets to see that.
But it is also 100% certain that even the best air rifle manufactured will give inaccurate results using inconsistent pellets. That’s why the top competitive shooters sort their pellets before use, discarding the ones that don’t make their grade.
Realistic Expectations For Pellet Quality
It would be great if all the pellets in one tin had the same weight, head diameter and length. But, we know that every one will be very slightly different – particularly given that airgun pellets are produced in huge numbers.
This is why HAM Pellet Awards are based on realistic expectations for pellet-to-pellet variability. HAM Awards relate variability against price. There’s a considerable spread in pellet prices, so we require tighter variability results from expensive Gold Award-winning pellets, compared to those which are cheaper.
As with other HAM Awards, we take all the review parameters and represent them by a percentage score. Then these percentages are weighted for importance and an overall percentage score is calculated.
Here’s how this relationship plays out, in full.
| Price Per Pellet .177 Cal | Price per pellet .22 Cal | GOLD Award | SILVER Award | BRONZE Award | No Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.40 cents and less | 1.99 cents and less | 46% and above | 42 - 45% | 40 - 42% | 39% and below |
| 1.41 to 2.39 cents | 2.00 to 3.59 cents | 59% and above | 48 - 57% | 42 - 47% | 41% and below |
| 2.40 to 3.00 cents | 3.60 to 4.40 cents | 70% and above | 57 - 69% | 46 - 56% | 45% and below |
| 3.01 to 4.10 cents | 4.41 to 6.00 cents | 78% and above | 68 - 77% | 67 - 58% | 57% and under |
| 4.11 cents or more | 6.01 cents or more | 85% and above | 75 - 84% | 70 - 75% | 69% and under |
Tomorrow, we’ll announce the first HAM Pellet Awards…
The post Hard Air Magazine Introduces HAM Pellet Awards appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.