Time constraints have required, that I change my original plans, about an in depth test of the Baracuda Green non-lead pellets until Spring. I won't need them until then anyway, so the test will have to wait.
I did shoot one 25 yard group with them, while sighting in my AA 410 CRBSL carbine, with 21 grain Kodiak lead pellets.
I got my wind flags set up, and since I had a fresh, newly cleaned barrel, I decided to shoot five of the Baracuda Green, 12.6 grain pellets, and see what they would do at 25 yards. This rifle shoots the 14.5 grain DYNAMIC tin pellets at an average of 911 fps, so I'm guessing that these 12.6 grain Baracuda's are probably close to, or maybe a bit over 1000 fps.
In my experience, light pellets don't generally do real well when driven overly fast, so my expectations weren't very high, but I had them with me, and a clean barrel, so thought what the heck, I'll put five down range and see what I get. I was actually surprised by the result.
Shooting stand and wind flag set up. Shooting off of bags front and rear.
The first shot out of the clean barrel, on the target below, is the one at 6 o'clock. Shots two, three, and four, followed each other, pretty much through the same hole, and shot five was just slightly low right at 4 0clock. The orange dot measures 3/4ths of an inch. I'm sure these are doing around 1000 fps. My plan is to start slowing them down using the power adjuster on the rifle, and try and see if there is maybe a sweet spot where they group exceptionally well. As in, through the same hole at 25 yards.
I would like to see if the AA 410 would shoot like that at around 20 fpe muzzle energy. This would make for a great light weight ground squirrel gun, and at 20 fpe, would be plenty of power to kill them out to 70+ yards or so. The clean barrel flyer, kind of screwed up the group, but the other four tell me they want to shoot. For sure, I'll be spending more time testing these H&N lead free pellets.
Five 12.6 grain Baracuda Green tin pellets shot at 25 yards.
Next, I put the target out at 40 yards, and sighted in the AA 410CRBSL with the 21 grain Beeman Kodiak lead pellets. The shot at 12 o'clock, was the first out of the barrel after shooting the tin. The next four clustered nice and tight just below it. The orange dot measures 3/16ths of an inch in diameter.
I'll see that first shot flyer quite often, when switching from tin to lead, or back, when I don't clean the barrel in between. Actually, I'll sometimes see the same thing, where the first shot or two are out of the rest of the group, even when switching between brands of lead pellets.
Sighting in with 21 grain lead, Beeman Kodiak pellets.
Next, holding at 6 o'clock on the eye, I fired a couple of shots at the head of a Prairie Chuck target. After that I decided that the gun was sighted in, and ready to hunt. The eye measures 5/16ths of an inch in diameter.
I spent a couple of hours putting the sneak on the resident tree squirrels. I saw three, but never got a shot at any of them, but still, it was great being out in the forest with an airgun, doing what I love to do.
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