Rangemaster pellet range - overview

Dave Barham explains the ins and outs of the extensive Rangemaster brand of pellets from Daystate

Through exhaustive testing by its Accuracy Research Team (ART), Daystate continues to develop its Rangemaster-branded airgun pellets in collaboration with the world’s finest pellet manufacturers. They’ve been extremely clever by not actually manufacturing a range of their own, but testing literally every single brand and model of pellet on the market, which is still an ongoing process, to hand pick the very best styles and bring them all under one umbrella in the brand ‘Rangemaster’.

THE ART

Daystate’s Accuracy Research Team was set up three years ago to specialise in accuracy testing of a new type of barrel, this soon expanded into pellet testing and the ART is now tasked with testing and selecting all the pellets available on the market and adopting the best into the Rangemaster Brand. Sometimes, this can mean not only testing pellets from many different manufacturers, but also many different weights and head sizes to select the best available.

Although the ART team specifically test with Daystate and Brocock rifles, the rule of excellence will most often apply to other makes of airgun as well. To date there are 19 types of pellet in the Rangemaster line up. Precision-made to exacting tolerances, the Rangemaster Kaiser, Sovereign, Sovereign Hunter, King, Emperor pellets and now Juggernaut Slugs between them, cover calibres from .177 to .30 (4.5 to 7.62mm) and weights from 8.44 to 50.15 grains (0.547 to 3.240 grammes). Each of the Rangemaster types has been especially matched to suit specific purposes, from short- and long-range hunting, to field target and Benchrest competition, with ballistic configurations to cater for rifles that produce sub-12 ft.lbs. (16j) power output, to those in excess of 100+ft.lbs. (135+j). Supplied in new, easily identifiable colour-coded tins (of 150 to 500 according to type/calibre), Rangemaster is the line that’s got every shooting scenario covered.

BEHOLD THE JUGGERNAUT!

Recently announced is the Rangemaster Juggernaut .22 airgun bullet. The latest ammo to be adopted in this ongoing program – a .22/5.5mm calibre ‘slug’. Extensive performance tests on the range and in the field over the past year have proved this 25.39-grain (1.645g), solid-body slug to produce a superior level of accuracy, both in high-power Daystate and Brocock air rifle models, along with many other air rifles with power output levels in excess of 30 ft.lbs. (40j). The Czech-made Juggernaut is the first slug in the range.

From a market that didn’t exist 2-3 years ago the range of available airgun slugs has climbed to a market full of different weights, brands and sizes. Daystate has cut through this with its Rangemaster brand, and has adopted and branded this 5.5mm, 25-grain, hollow-point slug as its contender of choice – and what a choice!

The team has tested more than 20 different types to bring you the best the market currently has to offer, in their opinion. High-power airguns have been having a renaissance of late, and companies like Daystate are making far more high-power airguns than the UK unlicensed 12 ft.lbs, so with power levels creeping up and up, the pellet manufacturers have been rushing to develop specialist ammunition to take advantage of it. The new .22/5.5mm Rangemaster Juggernaut is supplied in tins of 200, costing £13 per tin, whilst the soon to be launched .25 is also supplied in tins of 200 and costs £15 per tin.

PERSONAL PREFERENCE

Although I haven’t had much experience with the entire range, I have been using the Sovereign and Sovereign Hunter pellets in .22 for some of my rabbit and rat hunting over the past six months. They’re extremely accurate and I’ve had no problems at all with knocking quarry over consistently.

I particularly like the heavy (18.3gr) Sovereign Hunters for shooting rats in barns; they really don’t mess about, and the likelihood of a through-and-through is reduced due to their mass over short distances.

INFO

For more info, visit: www.daystate.com