Q) Can you explain the difference between air rifle pellets and airgun slugs? Both of these were stocked by hardware and sports shops more than 60 years ago, but now I can only seem to find the waisted or diabolo type pellets. Are slug type pellets still available? J. HUDSON By email
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Q: Can you explain the difference between air rifle pellets and airgun slugs? Both of these were stocked by hardware and sports shops 60 years ago.
A) At the beginning of the 20th century most, if not all, ammunition for air-powered firearms was in the form of cup-shaped lead slugs. These were made by a number of manufacturers in various sizes.
Airgun slugs were marketed for use in smoothbore airguns, and air rifle pellets were introduced for rifled airguns. They were not fully interchangeable, but pellets dominated the market despite being twice as expensive as slugs.
The cheaper slugs were the most popular pellet until serious target shooting with air rifles became popular in the early 1900s. When air rifles became more sophisticated, better precision-made pellets took over the market.
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The cheaper form of the waisted pellet has replaced the old slug and they seem to work fairly well in smoothbore barrels.
Your choice of rifle will not only come down to personal preference but will also depend on which species you plan to stalk, writes Bruce Potts.
