Mike Morton loads up with QYS Pointed, and has to eat humble pie after finding a pellet that manages to dispel a life-long belief about their accuracy.
I admit it. I’ve never been a fan of pointed pellets. This type of pellet was developed specifically for hunting, the idea being that the sharp point provides maximum penetration on small quarry.
But I couldn’t see the point of them, if you’ll pardon the pun. Over the years, I’ve shot plenty of pointed pellets, but I always came to the same conclusion: while they may well have extra penetrative powers, they just weren’t very accurate, even at shorter distances.
But the pointed pellets on test here, the aptly named QYS Pointed, have caused me to seriously rethink my ballistic bias against this type of projectile.
Qiang Yuan Sports makes some excellent indoor match pellets and hybrid outdoor competition and hunting pellets, but the Pointed is the company’s only hunting-specific ammo.
Apart from its conical nose, which really does come to quite a sharp point, the rest of the pellet closely resembles the Domed and Streamlined, QYS’s other FT/HFT and hunting-themed projectiles.
These pellets come in a clear plastic tub of 500 – a QYS staple – which lets you see the cleanliness and quality of manufacture of the pellets even before you pop the lid. However, from the New Year they will be sold in screw-top metal containers, still containing 500 pellets and still for the same price of £12.99.
My tub contained no damaged pellets and no lead detritus, so after counting out a random selection of 50, it was time for the weigh-in. My scales had 47 pellets coming in at 8.6 grains and just three weighing 8.4 grains, giving an average weight of 8.58 grains against QYS’s stated weight of 8.48 grains.
KEY SPECS
Pellet: QYS Pointed
Manufacturer: Qiang Yuan Sports (www.qiang-yuan.eu)
UK Distributor: The Shooting Party (www.shootingparty.uk)
Type: Pointed diabolo
Calibre tested: .177 (4.50mm)
Head size: 4.49 and 4.50 (tested)
Supplied in: Tub of 500
Price: £12.99
Advertised weight: 8.48 grains
Measured weight: 8.58 grains
Uses: Hunting
TEST CONDITIONS
This shoot was conducted outdoors from a covered firing point on a cool, but largely wind-free day. It was a cloudy day too, which I prefer as cloud tends to filter out any distracting glare from the sun.
All shots were taken at the centre of a 1” Birchwood Casey Target Spot to check group size at 20, 30 and 40 yards, with the rifle zeroed at 30.
I aimed on at 20 and 30 yards, but used a touch of holdover at 40 so all groups would fall on the target, making them easier to compare. The pellets were taken straight from the tin, and five shots were taken at each of the three Target Spots.
DOWNRANGE
I used a Brocock Bantam Sniper HR for this test, with the rifle supported up front by a carbon-fibre Javelin Lite bipod from Spartan Precision Equipment, and a Dog-Gone-Good wedge bag under the butt.
As usual, the test began with me shooting 10 pellets over my Shooting Chrony F1, yielding an average muzzle velocity of 752.2 feet per second, a muzzle energy of 10.78 foot pounds and a very pleasing spread of only 4.8 feet per second over the 10-shot string.
At 20 yards, the group size was 4.2mm centre-to-centre – that’s less than the width of a pellet – with the group falling 6mm higher than point of aim due to the rifle’s set zero of 30 yards.
To say I was shocked was an understatement. Pointed pellets that think they’re match-accurate? They must be having a laugh. So I took another five shots at 30 yards. No, the pellets weren’t having a laugh, because the group was a tight 5.6mm centre-to-centre.
Back at 40 yards, the group size expanded to 17.2mm centre-to-centre, with point of impact being 30mm below point of aim. Outside of this test, I managed to achieve an even better 40-yard group of 8.1mm, but the 17.2mm group was a more typical result.
Even so, this longer-range result is still pretty impressive for any pellet, let alone a pointed one. It was also interesting to note how the point managed to take out a tiny circle where it struck the target, with plenty of lead streaking being left on the remaining paper.
After all these years, QYS has given me quite a pointed reminder that I was wrong about this type of pellet and in fact it can be capable of some fantastic accuracy after all.
The Airgun Shooter verdict
Quality: 19
Weight: 19
Muzzle & Velocity: 19
Accuracy: 18
Suitability: 18
Overall score: 93
More pellet reviews from Airgun Shooter
- RWS Super Field: Pellet test
- Pellet test: Bisley Super Field
- Pellet test: Weihrauch Magnum
- Pellet test: Webley Mosquito Express
- QYS Training Grade review with Mike Morton
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