Mike Morton gets a feel for the RWS Super Field as he puts this versatile pellet to the test to see if it lives up to its excellent reputation.
The RWS Super Field has been a firm favourite for plenty of top-flight Field Target and HFT shooters over the years, and if the Airgun Hall of Fame actually existed, this pellet would have deservedly earned itself a place.
I’ve previously reviewed this pellet in .22 calibre, so this time I’m concentrating on the .177 version. RWS says this pellet is ideally suited for target shooting and hunting, and Super Fields are available in two head sizes in this calibre – 4.51mm, the ones shot here, and 4.52mm, both having an advertised weight of 8.4 grains.
The pellets used in this review came in a tin of 500, but like their .22 bigger brothers, Super Fields are also included in the RWS Field Kit – a sampler pack containing five small tins of various pellet types.
Another trait the .177 pellets share with their .22 brethren is the lead alloy used to make them, as they are distinctly shinier than most other pellet types I’ve seen. And while they appear to be a classic domehead diabolo design, the shape of the head is actually quite different.
Both the front and rear parts of the head are squashed, resembling the sherbet-filled Flying Saucers we used to buy from the sweetshop. This unusual shape creates a slight ridge around the circumference of the head that engages with the lands of the rifling when the pellet is seated in the barrel.
Although the alloy appears to be quite hard, the skirts are thin, and a few of my pellets had suffered some very mild crush damage, although none had been deformed to any appreciable degree. I always check pellets for general cleanliness and lead swarf by gently pouring the whole tin onto a microfibre cloth, and the ones in this tin of Super Fields were flawless.
Super Fields in .177 calibre have an advertised weight of 8.4 grains, and when I tested a random sample of 50 pellets, I found 10 weighed 8.4 grains, 35 were 8.6 grains and five came in at 8.8 grains, yielding an average weight of 8.58 grains according to my very consistent, but not necessarily perfectly calibrated, set of digital scales.
RWS Super Field: Specifications
Pellet: RWS Super Field
UK Distributor: RUAG (www.ruag.co.uk)
Type: Roundhead diabolo
Calibre tested: .177 (4.5mm)
Head size: 4.51
Supplied in: Tin of 500
Price: £6.70
Advertised weight: 8.4 grains
Measured weight: 8.58 grains
Uses: Target shooting, hunting, plinking
RWS Super Field: Test Conditions
This shoot was conducted from a covered firing point outdoors on a warm, bright and virtually windless day using my Daystate Pulsar that I’d zeroed at 30 yards.
I usually shoot at 1” Birchwood Casey Target Spots, but none were to hand on test day, so 15mm circles were used instead. The pellets were taken straight from the tin, and five shots were taken at each of the three targets.
Recommended viewing: Daystate Pulsar reviewed on The Airgun Show
RWS Super Field: Downrange
The Pulsar was shot off an Adras bipod with a Picatinny fitting up front and a Dog-Gone-Good wedge-shaped bench bag at the rear. When firing commenced, the pronounced lip around the head of the pellets provided some tactile feedback as the pellets were chambered, as I could feel the lip engaging with the rifling.
Shooting them over the chronograph showed a variation of seven feet per second over a 10-shot string, giving an average muzzle velocity of 742.35 feet per second, with the Pulsar churning out 10.5 foot pounds of muzzle energy with this ammo.
At 20 yards, the Super Fields managed a one-hole group that landed 6mm above point of aim due to my set zero. While the group did look a bit lopsided, it still measured only 8mm centre-to-centre.
Back at my zero distance of 30 yards, the group was still a one-holer and was actually more rounded, while being just 1mm wider at 9mm centre-to-centre. I have no scientific theory to back this up, but I do wonder whether pellets sometimes behave like centrefire bullets, needing to fly a certain distance before they fully stabilise.
Forty yards saw the group expand a little to 13mm centre-to-centre, well inside the 18mm diameter of a five pence piece, with a drop-off from point of aim which measured just 14mm.
As with any pellet, Super Fields have to gel with your specific barrel. It’s only fair to point out that I didn’t get as good results as these with another rifle I tested them in, but that’s only to be expected.
And as long as you get it right it’s easy to see why Super Fields were so well regarded on the competition circuit. So the target shooting box is firmly ticked. And with results like these you can add hunting and plinking into the mix too.
RWS Super Field: Verdict
Quality: 18
Weight: 18
Muzzle Velocity: 18
Accuracy: 18
Suitability: 18
Overall score: 90
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- RWS Super Field: Pellet test
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- Pellet Test: Power-Force Field
- QYS Training Grade review with Mike Morton
It got to be said Rws have always produced excellent pellets I always have a tin to hand used them for many years good hunting pellet and target pellet and one other real positive if your a zeroed on the 14.5g Domes then you do not need to re-zero because you are zeroed for the Pointed and hollow pellets also 14.5gr which is extremely hand if you want to change pellet type for a persivic quarry