Types of ammunition for air rifles

Compared to other types of firearms, air rifles have one advantage – in normal use, the risk of fatal injury is minimal, and thus it is possible to acquire them (at least in the Czech Republic) even without a firearms license. That is also why they are so popular in our region. The popularity of air rifles has also been noticed by ammunition manufacturers, whose offerings are, at least for laymen, difficult to navigate. How to choose ammunition for an air rifle, we will discuss in the following article.

The most common ammunition for air rifles, regardless of caliber, are so-called pellets. They have a very specific shape, which makes them easily distinguishable from other types of ammunition. We will discuss the different types of pellets below. Besides pellets, you can also get so-called BB shots of the corresponding caliber for air rifles (however, be careful, these cannot be used in all types of these weapons).

The shape of diabolo pellets is crucial for this type of shooting.

Orient by the borehole

The main parameter for selecting ammunition for an air rifle is the caliber. According to the law, you can purchase an air rifle without a firearms license if you are 18 years old and if the caliber of the weapon does not exceed 6.35 mm. However, from time to time, you may also encounter air rifles with larger calibers (up to approximately standard 9 mm), but the most common are 4.5 mm air rifles.

When choosing pellets, it is necessary to be guided by the bore diameter. However, hundredths of a millimeter can also play a role here. For example, the Czech manufacturer JSB Match Diabolo, known even abroad, offers precise pellets in the 4.5 mm caliber with the most common diameter being 4.50 mm, but also 4.52 and occasionally 4.51 mm. There are also the one millimeter larger "Jumbo" variants, but again dealing with hundredths of a millimeter. Particularly with cheaper air rifles, there can be certain inaccuracies in the bore diameter.

As an ideal solution, it seems best to test in advance which pellets fit your weapon the best and with which shooting is simply the most accurate. For these purposes, there are also test sets, thanks to which you don't have to immediately buy a whole "ill-fitting" package. Some pellets won't even load into the weapon. If you try to force them into the barrel, you could damage the pellet and lose its accuracy.

Just like with other types of weapons, you can have an rifled or smooth bore with air guns. For the first type of bore, we have pellets and lead BB shots. Steel BB shots must only be used with air guns with a smooth bore barrel, otherwise, you could damage the weapon.

Types of diaboloes by shape

So we have the caliber, what about the shape of the pellets? That is also critically important due to the purpose of the shooting itself.

With a flat head

The most common purposes include target shooting. Pellets with flat heads are excellent for this function. Their main advantage is the easier reading of shooting results from the paper target (they can create a precise hole in the paper), while the disadvantage is lower accuracy at longer distances because the flat head loses speed quickly due to poorer aerodynamics, and thus deviates from the original direction.

From the offer on Rigad.cz, we can select Target Sport pellets by JSB Match Diabolo in 4.5 mm caliber, or Jumbo Match in 5.5 mm caliber from the same manufacturer.

Recommended product

Target Sport Pellets 4.5 mm JSB® / 500 pcs

€ 9,7In stock

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With a rounded head

Hybrid pellets are pellets with a rounded (or semi-round) head. They are referred to as hybrid because they are suitable for target shooting and other purposes of owning an airgun, such as hunting. Pellets with a semi-round head have better aerodynamics compared to flat-headed ones, making them more accurate even at slightly longer shooting distances.

In our range, you will again find the proven brand JSB Match Diabolo in this segment, specifically its pellets Exact Diabolo in a 4.5 mm caliber or the same ones in the Jumbo variant. Absolutely precise shooting is then ensured by specially balanced pellets, such as Exact Beast.

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JSB® Exact Beast 4.52mm pellets / 250 pcs

€ 8,2In stock

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With a pointed head or with a tip

And then we have special pellets for hunting, which can have various shapes. However, it is important to keep in mind that hunting with an airgun is prohibited in some countries, although the hunting of small pests (rodents) is often quietly tolerated. For small pests, we offer pellets JSB Match Diabolo Heavy Ultra Shock, but this time only in 5.5 mm caliber.

Hunting pellets are special models with a tip that have high penetration. The ammunition is sometimes designed with a metal or polymer tip affixed to the lead body of the pellet. We also offer such models, specifically, for example, Predator Metalmag caliber 5.5 mm, which JSB Match Diabolo develops in cooperation with an American partner.

High penetration is also offered by other types of pellets with a pointed head, this time made from a single piece of lead. For example, there is the Straton model, of course by the brand JSB.