When it comes to pellets, there is a plethora of choices and prices out there. The line of Predator International Polymag™ pellets is the subject of this blog and to find them on the Airguns of Arizona website, (www.airgunsofarizona.com) navigate to the “What’s New” section.
The patented Polymag is a premium quality hunting pellet combining a hollow head with the sharp polymer tip to make a devastatingly effective pellet for use on small-to-medium sized game. The concept of the Polymag polymer tipped pellets originated in Buena Vista, Colorado back in the 1990s. At that time the inventor, Tom May, obtained the hollow headed pellets from JSB of the Czech Republic and built a special machine in Colorado for installing the tips. He created small batches and started selling them in 2000 via mail order and by 2007 Mr. May decided he wanted to sell the company. Enter two friends with many years’ experience in sales and manufacturing, Dick Dixon and Jay Cogswell, who purchased the company and opened their doors in Englewood, Colorado as Predator International, Incorporated. Once the company changed hands, Dick and Jay realized their plan to grow the company would require increased production capability. There were some challenges with the “tipping” machine invented by Tom May, so Hungarian engineers were given a chance to work through the problems by moving the machine to Hungary. Hungary is in close proximity to the Czech Republic and the Hungarian engineers worked closely with JSB. It was enough of a challenge that it took several years to completely work out the kinks. Luckily for us, they were very successful and now there is an entire line of Polymags to satisfy any airgun hunter. Still made by JSB, the demand has increased over time and in the last 18 months, demand has outstripped supply capabilities. JSB has added additional manufacturing lines and they operate 24 hours a day, 7 days per week except on Christmas. Additional expansion is also underway at this time in order to increase production to meet the demand. The Predator International operation continues to be the single biggest distributor of JSB products in the United States.
Predator International’s signature red polymer-tipped hunting pellets were the seminal product in .177 and .22 caliber. Now, Polymag’s are offered in several sizes and styles:
The Original Polymag Pellet in .177, .22, .20, .25 and .30 caliber. They all feature the polymer tip in the head of the pellet which implodes into the rest of the pellet upon impact, making for a devastating wound channel. They are also lighter due to the polymer tip.
Polymag Shorts: Offered in .177 and .22 caliber. The shorts were designed to fit airguns with a magazine. They are identical in every other way to the original Polymag with the exception of being shorter.
There is also a Metalmag Pellet offered in .177 and .22 caliber. This pellet features a metal tip rather than polymer, making the pellet slightly heavier, but provides for deep impact and penetration.
What’s next? Watch for a .35 caliber Polymag and contact www.airgunsofarizona.com to order up some because you won’t find them in the big box stores at the present time.