Henry Rifle Forums

I did some plinking today while my hamburger steak cooked. I was shooting the Peacemaker BB gun at the side gongs which is 15 yards. I stopped when one bb cleared the top of the backstop and hit the neighbors deck. The windmill was spinning and that was a third of the problem. Another third was the pistol was being shot beyond its accuracy and the final third of the problem was shooter error.

I was aiming for the big gong top center. I received the lead bb’s and shot a few of those. It was too windy to have any idea how accurate they were. I need to test them at 15 feet with the Winchester 94 BB gun when the wind isn’t blowing. The steak turned out great. I’m too lazy to do the fixin’s and I usually forego the bun.

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 02, 2021 7:03 pm

The steak turned out great. I’m too lazy to do the fixin’s and I usually forego the bun.

now that's talking my language ..

I can see how wind would affect something as light and low powered as a BB. It's bad enough with pellets at much higher velocity.

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 02, 2021 7:45 pm

I can see how wind would affect something as light and low powered as a BB. It's bad enough with pellets at much higher velocity.

I’ve always thought time in the wind (speed) mattered but not weight.

Maybe you were shakin from hunger or the smell of the steak cookin.

Yep it’s a plinker, a lot of fun and no doubt you will find it’s sweet spot for distance. But I don’t think you will win any turkey shoots with it.

Spin drift likely played a part. Any spinning round/cylindrical object is subject to it. Usually not noticable at short ranges tho.

I was thinking about the use of lead bbs with this gun. And I thought that the maker recommends using steel. But can’t find any reason for not using lead.
On my search I ran across an interesting post by Tom Gaylord from Pyramid’s Airgun Academy.
I have been thinking for some time about getting the Peacemaker pellet model. To see if it was more accurate.
This post by Gaylord reviews what he discovered shooting pellets from the bb model.
I am going to give it a try.
https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2015/07 ... un-part-4/

RetiredSeabee wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 03, 2021 9:37 am

I was thinking about the use of lead bbs with this gun. And I thought that the maker recommends using steel. But can’t find any reason for not using lead.
On my search I ran across an interesting post by Tom Gaylord from Pyramid’s Airgun Academy.
I have been thinking for some time about getting the Peacemaker pellet model. To see if it was more accurate.
This post by Gaylord reviews what he discovered shooting pellets from the bb model.
I am going to give it a try.
https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2015/07 ... un-part-4/

Great read. The CO2 Winchester 94 also takes the same cartridges. I wonder it a pellet would make it through the longer barrel? But seriously I bought these just for plinking at 15 feet and they are both accurate at that distance. After that distance the group really opens up. At twice the distance the group should be twice as big but the groups are maybe five times as big.

In most light you can see the bb’s flying through the air like a baseball. Or more like a curve ball. They don’t go in a straight line. Later today I’m going to test some pellets.

RetiredSeabee wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 03, 2021 8:43 am

Yep it’s a plinker, a lot of fun and no doubt you will find it’s sweet spot for distance. But I don’t think you will win any turkey shoots with it.

I bought it for personal protection!

Ralphie, “Flick says he saw some grizzly bears near Pulaski’s candy store. Everyone looked at me as if I have lobsters crawling out of my ears.”

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 02, 2021 8:11 pm

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 02, 2021 7:45 pm

I can see how wind would affect something as light and low powered as a BB. It's bad enough with pellets at much higher velocity.

I’ve always thought time in the wind (speed) mattered but not weight.

My mistake. The biggest factor in wind drift for pellets is B.C. That is the primary factor in how fast a pellet slows down and how fast a pellet slows down, not time in flight, is the biggest factor in wind drift. That's not quite the same as time in the wind, but close enough.

Me saying that light projectiles (pellets) are more susceptible to wind is definitely wrong. This is a common misconception and I should not be repeating it. Bottom line is that the lighter weight does not make a pellet more susceptible to wind drift. It's the lower B.C. we get with lighter pellets, assuming same caliber and pellet design, that makes them more susceptible to wind drift. That greater weight is more a factor in trajectory.

Looking at it the other way, all else equal, when we increase the weight of the same pellet, we now have a longer pellet. It's that longer length that increases B.C. and makes the pellet less susceptible to wind drift, not the weight.

This all explains why slugs are getting so popular for long range shooting in air rifles. The slugs are much heavier than standard diablo pellets, true, but it's that much longer length that gives air gun slugs that much higher B.C.

B.C is also a good way to understand why pellets are much more susceptible to wind and shooting conditions than standard 22 LR bullets. Standard 40 grain 22 LR bullets are not exactly power houses in the B.C. department, but pellets have only a tiny fraction of the B.C. we get with 22 LR bullets.

Again, assuming the same muzzle velocity for a pellet that leaves the muzzle at 900 fps and a 22 LR bullet that leaves the muzzle at 900 fps, the very low B.C. of the pellet means it has slowed down MUCH more by the time it travels 50 yards. That makes the pellet much more susceptible to wind.

My high end PCPs can compete with our best bolt rimfires at 50 yards for accuracy, BUT it takes a day of nearly perfect shooting conditions to make it happen. It's all a matter of B.C.

Thanks Joanie. I think we are on the same page.

For sure. Theory is nice, but shooting is a lot more fun.

Just below the picture of the gun on that page there are three links to part 1,2,and3 of his reviews on the gun. Gives his overall impression of the gun in part 1. Then 2 and 3 focus on the bbs that he tested.

RetiredSeabee wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:22 am

Just below the picture of the gun on that page there are three links to part 1,2,and3 of his reviews on the gun. Gives his overall impression of the gun in part 1. Then 2 and 3 focus on the bbs that he tested.

Thanks. I just watched them all and thought he was dead on. The only thing I do different is loading. I hold it in my left hand with my pointing finger rotating the cylinder while I load with my right holding all six in my hand. That is a handful and after the first two are loaded it is easier.

I bought extra “bullets” and the Winchester 94 came with ten more. I’m going to make sure all opened packages get used at least a couple of times so the speeds are all the same.

It’s an odd feeling to have the revolver (and all my CO2’s) cool the faster you shoot them. Most of us are used to slowing down to let the firearm cool down not warm up.

His accuracy is better than mine. I’m finding it difficult to shoot a handgun offhand without sometimes trembling. When I shot the 2300S I used the bench to steady my hands.