We just wrapped up the first week of opening week for Michigan deer season and so far we are three for three: two does down and one buck, all taken while hunting with my friend Jeremy from High Pressure Pneumatics. This trip has been as much about ethical harvest and herd management as it has been about real-world performance testing, as we’ve been putting brand new slugs through their paces alongside some proven big bore airgun setups with the DonnyFL Emperor.
This season we’ve been testing Wicked AirMunition Copper Fragmenting Slugs, a new projectile that will be hitting the market soon. Behind the performance we witnessed in the field is a story of precision-driven collaboration between innovators who refused to accept the limitations of traditional projectile design. Chad Simon of Lethal Air reached out directly to DonnyFL’s R&D and manufacturing team to take the next step in the evolution of copper slug design. What followed was a hands-on partnership, working side by side to refine a concept that Chad and Chris Turek of UpNorth Airgunner had been developing and testing for several years into a viable, production-ready solution for serious airgun hunters. Chad used a previous version of these slugs to harvest a World Record Deer taken with a Airforce Texan big bore airgun.
The challenge was immense. Copper, while exceptional for terminal performance, is notoriously difficult to work with in airguns due to its lower density and its tendency to behave unpredictably when pushed hard. To overcome this, DonnyFL leveraged its ecosystem of precision manufacturing partners to prototype an extremely tight-tolerance projectile that could meet the demands of high-powered airguns while maintaining consistent stabilization through the barrel.
Early accuracy testing started at 50 yards, and while the initial results were acceptable, the tuning characteristics of the AirForce Texan quickly revealed how sensitive these copper slugs can be to velocity and pressure. Because copper has significantly lower sectional density than lead, pushing the Texan too hard caused the rear of the slug to get kicked around slightly as it left the muzzle. Excess air discharge and turbulence resulted in groups hovering in the two to three inch range at 50 yards — not great, but far from ideal for the ethical shots we demand in the field.
The trade-off, however, is where these copper slugs truly shine. On impact, the terminal performance is completely different than traditional lead slugs. These copper slugs behave much like a broadhead: four petals deploy on impact, creating extensive internal damage, while the weighted base continues through with deep penetration. The result is massive tissue disruption combined with full pass-through penetration — an ideal blend for reliable blood trails and ethical recovery.
The breakthrough came when we mounted a DonnyFL Emperor suppressor onto the AirForce Texan. Immediately, group sizes tightened dramatically. Instead of scattered impacts, we were stacking slug on top of slug with tiny, touching groups at 50 yards. The Emperor didn’t just reduce sound signature — it stabilized airflow at the muzzle and cleaned up the shot cycle, eliminating the disruptive blast that had been pushing the copper slugs off axis. This became the turning point in our testing and ultimately the key to our field success.
Opening weekend brought a flood of deer activity, particularly Does. Here in Michigan, the doe-to-buck ratio is significantly out of balance due to hunter pressure focused largely on antlered deer. While trophy hunting has its place, failing to manage doe populations can push bucks off properties entirely as does become territorial over food sources and space. Proper herd management starts with harvesting does, so we went into full doe patrol mode early this season.
On the second day, I was first on the board. A doe came in at roughly 50 yards and slowly closed the distance to about 35–40 yards, presenting a perfect broadside shot. I was using the AirForce Tex-Rex, the newest .50 caliber AirForce platform, capable of generating over 1,000 foot-pounds of energy. I had it tuned down slightly, filled to 3,600 psi and pushing the copper slugs at 1,080 FPS. On impact, the slug passed completely through the deer, creating a substantial exit wound and an immediate, highly visible blood trail. Recovery was swift and ethical.
One thing many people misunderstand about big bore airgun hunting is that it behaves far more like archery than centerfire firearm hunting. You don’t get the massive hydrostatic shock that drops animals instantly. Instead, you rely on precise shot placement and effective internal damage — and that’s where these copper slugs truly excel. With traditional lead slugs, I’ve taken dozens of deer over the years since starting in 2017, but partial pass-throughs often resulted in minimal blood trails, especially problematic in thick cover or swamp edges. These copper slugs changed that equation completely.
Jeremy’s experience further reinforced this reality. While he initially took a doe using lead slugs, the absence of a blood trail made recovery difficult, requiring thermal scanning to locate the deer after it ran approximately 80–100 yards. The following day, after switching to the copper slugs and re-zeroing his AirForce Texan LSS, he encountered a large seven-point buck. At 70 yards, with no broadside opportunity, he took a precise neck shot that severed the spine. The deer dropped instantly — testament to both shot placement and the superior penetration of the copper slug design.
Now let’s talk about the DonnyFL Emperor in real hunting conditions.
For many hunters, mobility is everything, and big bore airguns already carry length and weight. Some avoid suppressors purely to keep the setup compact. But the reality is that suppressing a big bore airgun fundamentally changes the hunting experience. The Emperor not only drastically reduces the sharp, shotgun-like report of platforms like the Texan, but also preserves hearing safety — especially when hunting inside enclosed blinds. Anyone who has fired an unsuppressed Texan knows how punishing that blast can be.
Beyond personal comfort, sound suppression keeps the woods calm. On this very hunt, we observed deer returning to the same area within hours of the first harvest. The surrounding herd simply wasn’t spooked. Jeremy, hunting 300–350 yards away on the opposite side of the hill, had no idea a deer had even been taken.
Compared to suppressed centerfire hunting, such as a 6.5 Creedmoor, the difference is striking. While suppression tames the report, there is still a noticeable echo and shockwave through the woods due to supersonic ammunition. With the Emperor on a big bore airgun shooting subsonic, the sound profile becomes far more contained, allowing continued hunting activity without blowing deer off the property.
This combination — optimized tuning, copper fragmenting slugs, and the DonnyFL Emperor — proved to be an exceptionally effective system for ethical, efficient, and responsible deer harvesting during this opening stretch of Michigan season.
This combination — optimized tuning, copper fragmenting slugs, and the DonnyFL Emperor — proved to be an exceptionally effective system for ethical, efficient, and responsible deer harvesting during this opening stretch of Michigan season.
One of the most overlooked performance benefits of the DonnyFL Emperor isn’t just how quiet it makes a big bore airgun — it’s how dramatically it can improve accuracy by stabilizing the projectile as it exits the barrel. With the Emperor in place, the chaotic blast of air that normally follows the slug out of the muzzle is tamed and redirected, allowing the projectile to remain on-axis and undisturbed during its most critical moment of flight. In our testing, this wasn’t subtle. It was the difference between mediocre groups and true precision, especially when running copper slugs that are more prone to instability if the tune isn’t perfectly dialed.
With the Emperor mounted, what had been two- to three-inch groups at 50 yards tightened into near single-hole clusters. That stability didn’t just show up on paper — it translated directly to confidence in the field, where every shot carries real consequence.
Jeremy was set up roughly 300 to 350 yards behind me, on the far side of the hill, and when my shot broke he never heard it. Not the crack, not the echo — nothing. I had to pull my phone out and text him just to let him know a deer was down and that I could use an extra set of hands for the drag and load-out. That moment alone reinforced what the accuracy testing had already proven. The Emperor wasn’t just making the Texan quieter — it was refining the entire shot cycle and preserving consistency where it mattered most.
In a quiet Michigan woods where every disturbance affects movement patterns, that level of control changes the structure of the hunt. Deer filtered back through the same travel corridor within hours, as if nothing disruptive had ever happened.
For anyone running a big bore airgun — whether it’s an AirForce Texan, Tex-Rex, Umarex Hammer, Zeus, or another large-caliber platform — this is where DonnyFL’s big bore suppressor lineup truly separates itself. From .35 caliber, .457, .50, and all the way up to 72 caliber Zeus setups, these suppressors are engineered not only for sound reduction but for airflow management and projectile stability.
And that detail matters. Suppression in this context isn’t just about courtesy or hearing safety. With certain projectiles, especially lighter or copper-based designs, a quality suppressor can be the dividing line between inconsistent performance and repeatable precision. In our case, the Emperor turned unpredictable behavior into reliable accuracy — the kind that earns trust when a mature deer finally gives you one clean window.
If you’re a whitetail hunter who’s ever been curious about big bore airguns, this is worth serious consideration. Deer hunting is how I entered the world of airgunning, and that path naturally led into every other corner of the sport — tuning, precision shooting, long-range work, and the deeper science behind projectile performance. There’s a level of intention here that feels closer to archery than centerfire hunting, and that’s exactly what makes it rewarding.
A properly tuned big bore airgun shooting the right ammo paired with the right suppressor is quiet, controlled, and incredibly effective — but more than that, it elevates the entire experience. Not just for the shot, but for the way you move through the woods, the decisions you make, and the respect you carry for the animal on the other end of the trigger.
