{"id":4632,"date":"2018-11-16T06:28:22","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T13:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/?p=4632"},"modified":"2018-11-05T06:32:34","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T13:32:34","slug":"lets-talk-pellets-a-daystate-rangemaster-sovereign-22-cal-pellet-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/lets-talk-pellets-a-daystate-rangemaster-sovereign-22-cal-pellet-review.html","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Talk Pellets – A Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign .22 Cal Pellet Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Let\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s my strong conviction that – even now – people spend too little time thinking about pellets!<\/p>\n

Many airgunners I know spend endless time and effort on their air rifle, but more-or-less take the pellets for granted. In fact, there\u2019s much to be gained by a careful choice of pellets, as we\u2019ll read in this post\u2026<\/p>\n

They\u2019re Great Value.<\/h3>\n

Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9 Grain .22 caliber pellets<\/a> are manufactured by JSB in the Czech Republic specifically for Daystate.<\/p>\n

These dome head pellets have been selected and tested to work reliably in Daystate PCP air rifles without further selection. They are intended for use in high-powered, long range PCPs fitted with Lothar Walther barrels.<\/p>\n

As these pellets are used to test guns at the Daystate factory, that would clearly seem to be an strong validation of that claim!<\/p>\n

However, as you would expect, they also work well in many other air rifles, too.<\/p>\n

\"Let\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign .22 caliber pellets are priced at $16.95 for a tin of 500. This makes the cost of each pellet 3.4 cents. This is surprisingly cheap and makes these pellets an absolute bargain!<\/p>\n

As a heavy domed pellet, these Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign pellets are normally used for hunting and other general shooting. Of course, JSB has an outstanding reputation for producing quality pellets. So \u2013 combined with the Daystate name \u2013 expectations are high for the Rangemasters.<\/p>\n

Detailed Test Results.<\/h3>\n

We tested these pellets in considerable detail and here\u2019s the results\u2026<\/p>\n

Achieving a consistent head size is a major aim for most pellet manufacturers. For the Sovereigns we tested, it was extremely well controlled. No less than 88% of the tested pellets had a head diameter of 5.52 mm, with a very few outliers \u2013 only 0.01 mm (that\u2019s less than 4 Thou) smaller or larger \u2013 on either side of this as you can see from the chart below.<\/p>\n

\"Let\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

The actual average weight of the pellets we tested was 15.88 Grains. This is within 0.02% of the claimed weight of 15.9 Grains. Very close indeed!<\/p>\n

So, the average weight of the Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9 Grain .22 caliber pellets we tested was very, very close to the claim at 15.88 Grains. However, only 6% of the tested pellets actually weighed 15.90 Grains.<\/p>\n

Ten percent of the tested pellets weighed 15.91 Grains. This was the most common weight, as we can see from the chart below.<\/p>\n

\"Let\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

The lightest pellets tested using our \u201claboratory grade\u201d milligram balance weighed 15.65 Grains. The heaviest 16.07 Grains. That\u2019s a variation of 2.7%.<\/p>\n

Twenty percent of the Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9 Grain .22 caliber pellets we tested measured 7.46 mm in length. The shortest pellets measured 7.41 mm, the longest 7.59 mm, that\u2019s a spread of 2.4%.<\/p>\n

\"Let\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Such consistency in manufacturing is a major cause of both consistent muzzle velocity and accuracy.<\/p>\n

As a\u00a0 part of this comprehensive pellet-testing procedure, we washed the pellets and weigh the amount of dust that\u2019s an inevitable by-product in the manufacture of lead pellets.<\/p>\n

The tin of Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9 Grain .22 caliber pellets we tested contained 0.23 Grains of dirt. That\u2019s 0.046 Grains per 100 pellets, or 0.00266% of the pellet weight. That\u2019s extremely low and another indication of quality manufacturing!<\/p>\n

Downrange Performance.<\/h3>\n

We tested the actual Ballistic Coefficient for these pellets using a Labradar Doppler radar system and found it to be 0.029. This is exactly the same figure as claimed by Daystate. It\u2019s also relatively high for a .22 caliber domed pellet and indicates strong downrange performance.<\/p>\n

Due to the high BC of these pellets, they retain 70% of that initial Muzzle Energy out at 45 Yards. So, it\u2019s clear that the Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9 Grain .22 caliber pellets are suitable for hunting at long ranges, especially when fired from a powerful PCP air rifle, as intended.<\/p>\n

Packaging.<\/h3>\n

Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9 Grain .22 caliber pellets are packed in a push top tin. There\u2019s a disk of foam inside the tin so provide protective padding during transport. The large diameter tin matches the volume of the pellets and padding well, so no rattling is heard when the full tin is shaken.<\/p>\n

\"Let\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll go on record as saying that I much prefer screw-top pellet tins. I tend to have unintended disasters when opening push-top tins and one happened to me during this test!<\/p>\n

Of course, that\u2019s the reason to decant your pellets into one of those beautiful leather Wilkins pellet pouches<\/a> before you go shooting\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Let\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

And, of course, the Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign pellets are, of course, very far from the only ones that ship in push-top tins!<\/p>\n

Summary.<\/h3>\n

Daystate Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9 grain .22 caliber pellets<\/a> combine good manufacturing consistency with a below-average price.<\/p>\n

The head diameter, in particular, was extremely consistent. These are also very clean pellets.<\/p>\n

That’s a great combination. If you\u2019re shooting .22 caliber and not using these pellets, they\u2019re definitely worth trying.<\/p>\n

But even with such good manufacturing quality, it\u2019s clear that all pellets are not absolutely identical. If you\u2019re looking for match-winning performance, it\u2019s definitely worth washing and sorting your pellets, even when you\u2019ve found the \u201cperfect\u201d pellet for your gun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s my strong conviction that – even now – people spend too little time thinking about pellets! Many airgunners I know spend endless time and effort on their air rifle, but more-or-less take the pellets for granted. In fact, there\u2019s much to be gained by a careful choice of pellets, as we\u2019ll read in this…»<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[157,81,113],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4632"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4632"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4651,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4632\/revisions\/4651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.airgunsofarizona.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}