QYS Domed 9.56gr pellet test with Mike Morton

QYS’s Domed pellet is joined by a heavier sibling, and Mike Morton finds out whether a little extra weight will make it great

Finding the right pellet can be a little intimidating for the new shooter, with brand, type and head size all to consider. Then there’s weight to take into account. But while a wide choice may inded be intimidating, it also means there’s a greater chance of finding the perfect pellet for your particular air rifle or pistol.

QYS has a history of making international medal-winning 10 Metre airgun pellets, and has concentrated on making pellets in .177 calibre, although larger calibres will come. 

While the company’s pellets may be world-class, the names are a little less inspiring, with the one on test here officially being known as the “Domed 9.56gr”, a heavier version of the regular Domed, which I’ll refer to as “Heavies”. As the name on the tin spells out, Domed 9.56gr have an advertised weight of 9.56 grains compared with the 8.48 grains of the original Domed design.

QYS Domed 9.56gr – pellet test

Pellet: Domed 9.56gr
Manufacturer: Qiang Yuan Sports (qiang-yuan.eu)
Supplied by: The Shooting Party (shootingparty.uk)
Type: Domehead diabolo
Calibre tested: .177
Head size: 4.50mm
Supplied in: Tin of 500
Price: £15.99
Advertised weight: 9.56 grains
Measured weight: 9.80 grains
Pellet length: 6.69mm
Suggested uses: Target shooting, hunting, plinking

Before I go into more details about these particular pellets, here’s a quick update on the packaging. With the exception of some of the 10 Metre match ammo, QYS pellets used to be supplied in an unconventional clear plastic tub. 

This was great, as you could examine the pellets without having to remove the lid. Nevertheless, these tubs were easily damaged and most QYS pellets now come in a metal tin. The company has still managed to make them stand out though, thanks to the tins’ striking black and gold colour.

QYS Heavies are an elegant looking design, with a long skirt and narrow waist topped by a head that looks slightly squashed, which is quite a common shape for pellets of this type. They’re only available in a head size of 4.50mm at the moment, but that’s set to change. Heavies come in a tin of 500 and my test began in earnest by tipping the whole lot onto a microfibre cloth to check for overall cleanliness, deformities or damage, of which there was none. 

After that, it was a case of picking out 50 pellets at random and weighing them on my digital scales. QYS’s listed weight is 9.56 grains, and although my scales didn’t return the same measurement, all 50 came in at 9.80 grains, a wonderfully consistent result.

Test Conditions

The day chosen for my test shoot was damp and dull, but fairly mild and wind-free. All shots were taken at 1” Birchwood Casey Target Spots, and the pellets were taken straight from the tin, with five shots being taken at 20, 30 and 40 yards, with the rifle having been zeroed at my regular distance of 30 yards.

Downrange

I did some initial zeroing in a couple of rifles before settling on my Weihrauch HW100 BP, which was shot off the bench, supported by Dog-Gone-Good shooting bags at the front and rear. 

The pellets chambered very easily, which I initially put down to the smoothness of the lead, but with hindsight probably indicated they were a little bit too small for the bore of this particular rifle.

My venerable Shooting Chrony F1 was used to test muzzle velocity, which averaged 722.5 feet per second over 10 shots, with a muzzle energy of 11.36 foot pounds and a pleasing variation in velocity of 4.6 feet per second, this being one occasion when less really is more.

At 20 yards, my HW/QYS combo delivered a tight group measuring 5.6mm centre-to-centre. 

I used the same amount of holdover – 5.6mm – but although the group was slightly high, I maintained the same aim point to keep the group consistent. Next up was the 30-yard group, which measured a respectably tiny 7.7mm centre-to-centre. So far, so good.

Back at 40 yards, the Heavies formed a group measuring 17.5mm centre-to centre, with me using 19mm of holdover. This group actually comprised six shots rather than five, as I lost count of how many I’d taken. 

Manufacturing quality was simply astounding. These pellets are beautifully made and consistent in weight. They weren’t perfect for either of the rifles that I tried them in, but they still shot well, and l’ll certainly be testing the Heavies again when another head size becomes available. 

According to distributor The Shooting Party, these pellets are suitable for Field Target, HFT, Benchrest and hunting, but I’d add precision plinking into the mix too, as there are plenty of shooters out there who don’t hunt and don’t shoot competitions, but still enjoy attaining excellent accuracy on the plinking range.