Barnes Pneumatic Main Web site Page
Link to Page of Targets Shot with Barnes Raptors
Welcome to Barnes Pneumatic ................
The team of Barnes Pneumatic and Surefire Casting are offering .....
25 caliber custom cast slugs.
We understand that there are a number of commercial/modified PCP's that could benefit from heavier slugs, in order to produce better power/air ratios, than are available with lighter commercial pellets.
For Example: Take a 25 caliber Barnes Carbine here in testing .....
It shoots the 25 caliber Beeman Kodiak @ 1,111 fps.
I weighed 3 and got 92.9 ... divide by 3 ... get an average of 30.9 grains each. That's 84.7 fpe
I like to set up this type of penetration tests. That's 1/2" plywood. There's 1/2" plywood spacers between the panels too (in order to let the debris from the slug get away from the slug's nose - rather than clog up in front of it, and prevent penetration).
In this test, the Kodiak (@ 1,111 fps) penetrated three complete panels of 1/2" plywood, and bounced off the 4th, laying in the bottom there between the #3 and 4 panels. Not too shabby at all!
Now, with the gun set exactly the same, and charged to the exact same 3,400 psi, we load a Barnes 80 grain slug.
The Barnes 80 grain goes 804 fps in the carbine
That's 114.8 foot pounds of muzzle energy
The Barnes 80 grain (@ 804 fps) fully penetrates 5 panels of 1/2" plywood. If you count from right to left, you see the slug laying on the bottom between the 5th and 6th panels. (Note: the nail is a stray from air nailing the test waffer test panel together). The bullet trail is up a couple of inches from the bottom. I had to "jog" the panels and spacers in order to get the test grid to fit between the jaws of the big machine vise.
Here's a sneak pic deep between the panels where the slug exited the 5th panel. You can see it was still moving debris in front of it. Making a huge mess as it plowed thru.
Here's both recovered projectiles. Top is Barnes 80 grain 25 caliber slug (cast by Surefire Casting). The bottom is a Beeman 25 caliber Kodiak Pellet.
For the exact same setting of the rifle - you can see the difference in real work performed for the expended air. Driving alot of mass always does far more work than a faster light weight projectile. You may wish to try any of our 25 caliber slugs from approx 40 grains to 80 grains. Just FYI ... Barnes Pneumatic gets nothing from the sale of these slugs (other than perhaps a friendly smile if you enjoy them).
I did my testing with an "unfinished" Barnes Carbine ...
... actually it was made for a customer who's waited quite a long while too ... name of ... Kelly Barnes. It stays unfinished in order that it doesn't get sold! haha.
Went back 8-02-08 and tried some modified slug designs.
Here's the 7 ring slug @ 75-78 yards. Shooting off my truck's tailgate.
This wasn't too hard to do. Some "bench craft" would improve things. I think the mods will be great. I have some 8 and 9 ring targets I'll post as I get a chance.
Gary
Below: find information on 45 caliber Barnes slugs ...
Alteration: Roll-back of Custom Fee. We've added production molds and sizing dies to round out the field.
.452, .454, .457 are now standard sizes. We also currently have sizing dies for .4515 and .4535 as no cost options, in the event at half a thousandth would make the difference for you. We'll do others if there is enough requests.
And, thanks for your orders!
If you've ever wondered what sort of ammo Barnes' Custom Pneumatic Rifles shoot, I want to give you an opportunity to try some.
For the first time, I've decided to release one of my custom designed series, for public trial. The slug I've chosen is the Barnes 45 Raptor.
Red is the default color for the Grade #1 Barnes 45 Raptor.
Gold is the default color for the Match Grade Barnes 45 Raptor.
Nominal weight for the Barnes 45 Raptor is approx. 220 grains. (Why would it ever change? Lead alloy from batch to batch, different production molds, the differences would be miniscule, but possible.)
The reason I've chosen this slug, is the fact that I've learned, thru customer trial, that the slug works extremely well in the popular Korean 45 caliber barrels. If you own one of these, or have a friend who owns one, you may care to try a package of Barnes Raptors.
Just FYI, for some reason, the early versions of these guns were called 44 caliber (though they liked .452" size slugs)
The Red is the default color for the Grade #1 Barnes 45 Raptors.
By now, you will have noticed a number of unique qualities about the custom cast slugs. Not the least, the striking color! Color slugs? You bet - why not?
We spent some time, developing a treatment, which would coat the slugs ... thus lessening our need to handle raw lead slugs.
After alot of development time, we determined that the coating also helped prevent lead oxidation of pellets in storage. Many customers like to stock up - and want the slugs to remain fresh over extended periods of time.
We tested the coating to be assured that it didn't leave a residue in the bore (no more than a normal slug shot thru the same bore).
We tested to make certain that our treatment did not degrade the superior accuracy demanded of any Barnes Pneumatic PCP or Ammo.
We tested to make certain that the treatment was not easily degraded by the normal bullet lubes we recommend: those being light machine oils and synthetics - such as "Barnes Lube". In our testing, the color has not bled off the slug during oiling and loading. Even with slugs which have been lubed, and then left for some time, the color did not bleed. (Now: obviously we can't claim that nothing on earth could possibly degrade the color ... but, with our favorite Barnes lube, and several other normal pellet lubes, it has not).
The color, came as a special bonus. We realized that we would be able to offer a stunning array of color to go along with the exceptional accuracy we've achieved with our slugs.
Our slugs are custom cast, all casting flashing is removed, and each slug is examined to make sure it's of grade #1 quality. Each slug is sized, to assure consistency.
Finally, we made every effort to offer our slugs at a market price.
Shown is a bag of 25 custom Raptors. They are sold per 50 - and you will get two bags (to keep the others fresh).
50 Barnes 45 cal. Raptors - Red .............. $19.00
Red is the default color. You may order ... orange, green, blue, purple, or black ... for another $1 per bag. Or ... $2 per the two bags. Yes ... you can have a bag of each of two colors, IF you spring for the custom color for each. And, just to beat it to death (smile) you can have the one default red bag and the other custom color for $1 more for that second 25 bag.
Now, what happened to the "Gold" slug color? That's reserved for the "MATCH GRADE" slugs. Match grade are given just that extra attention to make then nearly perfect.
For match grade 45 calibers, each slug is weighed, and those selected that weigh within +/- one half of one grain of nominal weight. For the number crunchers out there: that means - take any slug from the lot of 50 match grade slugs, and any other slug from that match grade group will weigh within one grain of the first. Any two slugs anywhere in the group of 50 - within one grain of each other
The Gold color is reserved as the default color for match grade slugs.
50 Match grade 45 Raptors are $25
If you want a different color ... the same deal applies. $1 per bag for color change. 2 bags per 50 slugs = $2 for red, orange, green, blue, purple, or black.
We've added .454", and .457" as standard sizes. We also have .4515" and .4535" sizing dies, if you want to really custom tune your barrel with a half a thousandth of an inch change. For instance, .4535" is one half of one thousandth of an inch smaller than .454". We've rolled back the price for these (originally announced as cost options) and dropped the custom fee by adding extra molds and dies. This now also makes the average Raptor, approx. 220 grains.
Shipping will be by USPS flat rate boxes for $13. The cost of shipping, as it relates to a "per pellet" cost, will depend upon how many you wish to ship in the container. We don't make a dime off of shipping. Maybe you want to order a bag or two with a friend, or several. I'm sure several lots of 50 can go into one box. However; we don't control what the post office will do for postage. We need a secure, solid box in order that your slugs won't be beat up during shipping.
We hope you enjoy your slugs.
Please Note:
I'm sure that you realize you should still observe normal care and caution when handling Barnes lead slugs. We make no claim that we make them safe to handle. We've simply tried to move in the direction of improving the process of handling lead slugs. The air gun's rifling will still cut the pellets into the raw lead. That lead dust and lube will be expelled by the barrel. Avoid the expelled materials. Use care when cleaning your barrel. Wear proper gear - avoid eating and drinking. All the normal, rational precautions that come with our shooting sport of airguns still apply.
Enjoy.
In the future, we'd love for you to send us digital pics of groups you've personally shot with our Barnes Raptors thru your guns. We'll make a page of these target pics.
;?)
Before you e-mail, please make sure you know:
Number of slugs you want (50 slugs each unit) ....
Decimal size of the slugs you want for your gun (ex. .454"). We can only make what you tell us, we can't guarantee that what you've told us is correct. We suspect that you will know your gun, from past experience ...............
Color of Slugs you want (Red is default - Others are custom). Gold is the default for Match Grade - Others are custom.....
Don't forget the $13 for shipping when figuring your cost, and when sending your payment ...
Plan on using Pay Pal or sending a Money order once contacted by Jerry. He will have given you the exact price, and they work quickly. So, please don't order, and then vanish so he can't get back in touch with you.
Take note too ... if you are watching the cost, you don't need Match grade slugs just to see if these will work in your gun. The grade #1 are excellent. When you want to wring the best groups from yourself and your gun, use the Match Grade.