Does The M29 BB Gun Shoot Pellets? It Sure Does!
The forthcoming S&W M29 air pistol is specifically marketed as a BB gun. However, the most common question is this: Does the M29 BB gun shoot pellets?
Well, HAM has made some further tests. The answer is that – yes – it sure does shoot .177 caliber pellets very well!
HAM specialist Pistol Tester Doug Wall grabbed the pellets and started shooting. Here’s what he found…
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Smith & Wesson M29 CO2 BB Revolver 0.177
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Smith & Wesson M29 BB Revolver
LOADING AND FEEDING
All five of the standard HAM pistol test pellets loaded into the M29’s “cartridges”. There were no problems with this and no jams or mis-feeds were experienced during pellet testing.
ACCURACY AND POINT OF IMPACT
On average, the HAM test pellets hit the target slightly higher than the BBs. This was with the sights unaltered from the BB tests.
The difference averaged about 1/2-Inch at 6 Yards. As you can see from the test targets, the M29 still shot a little low, but most pellets impacted within the bull of the HAM “Soda can” test target.
As we know, the M29 tested by HAM demonstrated excellent accuracy for the replica BB pistol. When shot with pellets, the accuracy was generally similar.
However, it should be noted that it shot best with lighter pellets of 7.0 Grains and less. In fact the best target of all was achieved using lead-free pellets, the 5.56 Grain H&N Field Target Trophy Greens. You can see the pellet test targets below.
MUZZLE VELOCITY
The FPS when firing pellets averaged 310 FPS. This compared to the 337 FPS average from the BB tests.
This is as expected – after all, pellets are heavier than BBs. But the Muzzle Energy from the pellet tests was slightly higher at an average of 1.53 Ft/Lbs compared to 1.34 Ft/Lbs for BBs. But no-one buys a gun of this type for power, so this really is an insignificant difference.
CONCLUSIONS
So, does the M29 BB gun shoot pellets? Based on HAM testing, it definitely does!
In fact, performance was very similar to the results obtained when firing BBs. But given that airgun pellets are MUCH more expensive than BBs, why would you want to?
SAFETY FIRST. Due to the realistic appearance of this product, handle it as you would a firearm. Do not display it in public or in any place where it could be mistaken for a cartridge firearm.
6 YARD TEST TARGETS
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Smith & Wesson M29 CO2 BB Revolver 0.177
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Smith & Wesson M29 BB Revolver
This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.
