VALUE FOR MONEY
Pellets are not the first thing you think about for FX. However, the FX Air Rifle Pellets tested by HAM are very good. There’s no great secret that these pellets are produced for FX Airguns by the Czech manufacturer JSB, so the good consistency is not exactly a surprise, either.
What is more surprising is the price. At only 2.99 cents each, this is a very low price for pellets of this quality. That compares to the average price of 4.0 Cents per pellet in the US market today for .22 caliber.
As you would expect, these FX Air Rifle Pellets are fairly heavy for shooting in powerful PCP air rifles.
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FX Air Rifle Pellets, 16 Grains .22 Cal.
TEST DATA SUMMARY
| Price per Pellet | 2.99 cents |
| Most Common Weight | 15.86 Grains |
| Pellets at That Common Weight | 16% |
| Variation in Pellet Weight (Smallest to Largest) | 2.90% |
| Most Common Head Diameter | 5.52 mm |
| Pellet at That Common Head Diameter | 72% |
| Variation in Head Diameter (Smallest to Largest) | 0.36% |
| Most Common Length | 7.44 mm |
| Pellets at That Common Length | 30% |
| Variation in Length (Smallest to Largest) | 6.70% |
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
The FX Air Rifle Pellets tested by HAM were very close to the claims in all but weight. And even the weight was pretty close to the surprisingly unspecific weight claimed on the packaging.
The manufacturer claims that FX Air Rifle Pellets are supplied in tins of 500. The tin reviewed by HAM contained 501 pellets.
The claimed weight for these pellets is 16 Grains. (Not 16.00 Grains). The average weight of the pellets tested by HAM was 15.86 Grains. Just 6% of the pellets tested weighed exactly 16.00 Grains.
The head diameter is indicated on the base of the tin as 5.52 mm. This is exactly the average head diameter of the pellets tested by HAM. No less than 72% of the FX Air Rifle Pellets we tested had that head diameter.
CONSISTENCY
There were no damaged or malformed FX Air Rifle Pellets found during this HAM test review.
The Standard Deviation – a measure of shot-to-shot variability across a 10-pellet string – was 5.46 FPS. That’s just 0.84% of the average Muzzle Velocity, a slightly better than average figure.
Head size consistency of the FX Air Rifle Pellets tested by HAM was slightly above average. 72% of the tested pellets had the same head size of 5.52 mm. The variation between largest and smallest head diameters was just 0.02 mm, as can be seen from the chart below.
Weight distribution for the FX Air Rifle Pellets tested by HAM was approximately average, with 16% of the pellets tested having an overall length of 15.86 Grains. The variation in weight between heaviest and lightest was 2.9%, again about average.
Length variation for the FX Air Rifle Pellets tested by HAM was very well controlled. 30% of the tested pellets were 7.44 mm long – the most common length. The variation between longest (7.47 mm) and shortest (7.42 mm) pellets tested was just 0.67%, a very low figure in comparison with other pellets we have tested.
DIRTINESS
The amount of dirt, dust and junk included in the tin of FX Air Rifle Pellets tested by HAM was 1.45 Grains. Of course an amount of surplus lead is almost inevitable in the manufacture of pellets. For the tin capacity of 500 pellets, this works out at 0.29 Grains per 100 pellets. Again, this is a better than average result.
DOWNRANGE PERFORMANCE
The FX Air Rifle Pellets are clearly too heavy for our standard Beeman 1074 test air rifle, being intended for powerful PCPs. However, the Chairgun ballistics chart shows that these pellets retain their energy well downrange. This is a function of their high – 0.032 – Ballistic Coefficient.
Even at 50 yards downrange, these FX pellets still retain 70% of their Muzzle Energy. A higher-powered air rifle would shoot them with a flatter trajectory, of course, but even the 1074 gives effectively flat shooting from 9 Yards to 34 Yards, when sighted-in appropriately.
HUNTING USE
This high retained energy downrange means that the FX Air Rifle Pellets are ideal for hunting with powerful PCP air rifles.
The standard HAM soap block test showed strong penetration of 47mm, combined with an entry hole of 8 mm diameter in the ballistic soap.
As can be seen from the photograph below, the fired pellet – left – had expanded from 5.52 mm diameter to 5.59 mm. It had also shortened appropriately and showed distinct rifling marks on the head and skirt.
BUYING AND OWNING
FX Air Rifle Pellets are not easy to find. However, they are readily available from Airguns of Arizona and precision Airgun Distribution dealers across the country. In other words, airgun specialist locations.
These pellets are well packed with foam disks in the base and top of the tin. The result was no damaged pellets in the tin shipped to HAM.
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
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FX Air Rifle Pellets, 16 Grains .22 Cal.
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.
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