JSB Archives

In addition to firearms, I like pellet guns and use them quite a bit for pest control. Along the way, I’ve had a chance to try quite a few different varieties of pellets and do have a favorite maker – JSB, For my needs, they have worked great in both break barrel springs as well as precharged pneumatic (PCP) which is pretty much all I use now.

Like with firearms, you need to find the brand, style and weight of pellet that works best for your needs be it plinking, punching paper or hunting. For example, the main PCP airgun I use is a FX Impact Compact Mk.II in .25 caliber. I’ve found the JSB Exact King .25 Diabolo 25.39 grain pellets work exceptionally well for that rifle both in terms of accurace and the ability to deal with squirrels, rabbits and the occasional raccoon.

I’ve looked at these 25.39 grain JSB pellets and often wondered how they are made

Who Makes Them?

I knew they are made in the Czech Republic – I got that much right but I thought JSB was the company and that is only partly right. The company was founded in 1991 by Josef Schultz (the “JS” part of the name), who was a competive shooter and coach, with the express intent to make airgun ammunition. The “B” is from the town he lived in – Bohumin.

The current company’s name is “JSB Match Diabolo Bohumin” and was a merger of Josef’s pellet making activities as well as others – if I understand some of what I read, he design some of the machines and they are all under that “JSB Match Diabolo A.S.” corporate name, which was established in 2007 in the town of Bohumin.

On a sad note, Josef passed away due to complications following a surgery in 2020 at the age of 76. He definitely left a legacy behind.

Videos

Lately I’ve been watching a lot of airgun videos on Youtube and encountered two different videos that have factory tours of JSB that are fascinating.

This first one is three years old and has the most detail including explanations by a tour guide in English:

This second one is shorter, set to music, has some really great details and is from early 2022:

Summary

Thought I would share these neat videos with you and hope you enjoy them. Kudos to the folks who took the time to put them together for us.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

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I have a Hatsan Gladius Long precharged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle in .22 caliber that I use to dispatch garden pests and have written a number of posts about it. It’s extremely effective because it has power, is accurate and relatively quiet. The one challenge I have with it is over penetration. It does have adjustable power settings but I find that I can’t go below the “3” setting (out of five) to have the range I need and enough power for a humane kill. The problem is that the domed JSB Diablo 18.13gr pellets I’ve used since the start shoot right through a squirrel if I am going for a heart shot vs. a headshot and really wanted to reduce this so I started reading on pellet types.

First off, I really like JSB pellets. They are made in Czechoslovakia and are really uniform. I shoot them in both my PCPs and have no complaints. I saw an advertisement for their new “Hades” series of pellets and started searching on what people were saying about them.

Basically the Hades are a form of hollow point that really need the power of a PCP to mushroom. The ones I bought at 15.89gr and have a very intriguing shape to the head.

A 15.89gr Hades is on the left and an 18.13gr JSB Jumbo Heavy Diablo is on the right. The Diablo has proven to be wonderfully accurate and my farthest shot has been about 50 yards with it.

My Real World Review

There are guys out there with chronographs, blocks ballistic gelatin and what not. I’m not one of those guys. However, I can tell you want I’ve noted after about 150 real world shots.

Most of my pest control happens within 60 feet – yes, feet. I set up a target at 30 feet and zeroed my scope. In firing groups, it seemed consistent enough.

Did I see anything different with garden pest control? Not really to be perfectly honest. I can tell you the exit wound was bigger than what the Diablos would leave and it was somewhere around half again the diameter of the pellet.

I still have over-penetration with the Hades and the need to be very careful is still true. Both tree and ground squirrels are small and soft. There’s simply not a lot of mass there to stop a pellet. If you have bigger pests, you might see a difference.

I did one close range headshot of a racoon at the rifle’s highest power setting and did not see a difference over what Diablos would do.

My Hades pellets are on the left. I bought two of the 200 round tins initially and backordered two of the 500 round tins that have since arrived. I have about 1200 rounds of the Hades left as the first tin is almost empty and then I will go back to my Diablos as I have 3-4 of the big 500 round tins.

Conclusion

For my use as described above, I did not see a big difference between the Hades and the Jumbo Diablos. The Hades seems to be a decent pellet as long as you have accurate shot placement. I bought a ton of Diablos way back when so I’ll use up my Hades and then go back to my supply of Diablos.

I hope this helps you out.

9/18/23 Update: I am now using Hades pellets in my .22 Leshiy 2 and I do think they make a difference when it comes to dispatching tree squirrels for pest control. It may be the Hatsan just didn’t push the pellet fast enough – I’m not sure. Amazon is carrying a number of calibers so click here if you’d like to see them.