Javelin Slugs FULL REVIEW
With the popularity of airgun slugs these days, there is no shortage of available options. So how do you choose among the myriad of offerings? First and foremost, you’ll want to try them and see which ones are the most accurate in your gun. Beyond that, you’ll want a product with a high level of consistency from slug to slug. You’ll also surely be interested in the terminal performance of the projectile. Today’s review is on the Patriot Javelin slugs in 34gr, 30gr, and 26gr. All are 0.218″. Below is a link to the full length review video that accompanies this written report. I suggest taking them both in for the full story.
As I said above, the most important part of your selection process should be to test the slugs for accuracy IN YOUR GUN. That is why I will not be including any accuracy testing in this review. It doesn’t matter how these slugs performed in my test gun. All that matters is how they would perform in yours. Even still, I’ll tell you that my test gun was an FX Impact M3 Compact with the slug power kit and Superior Heavy barrel installed. I would highly suggest trying different weights and diameters even in the same brand. I have seen spectacularly different results between a 0.216″ and 0.217″ in the same brand and weight of slug. Test them, guys….and don’t worry about how they shoot in your buddy’s gun.
As with anything that is mass produced, you will find variation in the product. To test for the variation in the Javelin slugs, I took a random 20 slug sample from each package. I both weighed them to an accuracy of 0.02gr, and measured their diameter to an accuracy of 0.0005 inches. Of course there is a margin of error in the measurement…but I believe the numbers are useful. In short, the Javelin slugs are EXTREMELY consistent in both weight and diameter. Below are charts showing my results.
When I do these reviews, I always write a written report as well as record and post a review video. I also always urge you to “…take them both in for the full story.” We’ll now discuss the terminal performance testing that I did with these projectiles, and you’ll be missing quite a bit of the story if you don’t watch the video. I recorded the gel testing in slow motion, and you can see quite a lot in the vid. The test was performed at 20 yards. Below is a chart of my results. The muzzle velocity and energy of the tests were as follows:
- 34gr, 840fps, 53.28ft-lbs
- 30gr, 885fps, 52.18ft-lbs
- 26gr, 950fps, 52.11ft-lbs
Below are some pictures of the gel and the recovered slugs. Please forgive how cloudy the gel is, as I’ve reused it quite a few times. Also, the pictures belie the actual measurements. You want to measure from the end of the wound track, and not where the projectile ended up in the gel.
As you can see, you can expect good expansion from the Javelin slugs. In the bare gel test, all three weights expanded to roughly .40 caliber. You should expect less expansion in an actual animal. You can also expect very shallow penetration in an animal, but probably a bit more than we see in the gel test. Though not by much, at roughly the same energy level…the heavier the slug…the more it penetrated. All in all, I’d say that out of a powerful .22 caliber gun…these would be very lethal projectiles on smaller animals.
Are the Patriot Javelin slugs consistent? Yes. Very much so. As much or more than any other projectile I’ve ever seen. Are they deadly? Again…yes. Very much so. Are they the right projectile for you? If they shoot well out of your gun, I’d give them some serious consideration. We have all three weights in stock now at Baker Airguns.
Donnie Reed is our Sales/Product Manager and general airgun guru here at Baker Airguns. He was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, and qualified as both a Rifle Expert and Pistol Expert. Donnie is now a competitive airgun shooter, focusing primarily on field target and benchrest competitions. He has won both PCP and piston class field target matches, as well as local benchrest competitions. Donnie also runs the Youtube channel and Facebook group ALL THINGS AIRGUN. His first college degree is in Mathematics and Sciences, but he is still pursuing another in Physics and Astronomy.
