Vermin Archives

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.

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