Weighing Pellets

Do any of you wash,weigh or wax your pellets for competition? Or is it much ado about nothing.

Posted by: DomingoT

Lubrication: Until someone comes up with "statistically valid" tests, we won't know whether lubricating pellets makes a significant difference. Making statistically valid tests isn't easy.

Weight: Much ado about nothing. Reason is high quality pellets weight variability is within 1/10 grain, and 1/10 grain variability, assuming the gun fpe is preserved, results in less than 0.1 in POI variability at 55 yards.

I have never encountered a tin of pellets where ALL of them were within 1/10 grain.

There are usually a few pellets in the tin causing the extreme spread of mass to be closer to 1/2 grain. The object of weighing is to discover and discard the few outliers. I do it for some bigger matches.

I have been experimenting more with lubing lately. It seems to do better in some tests, with certain pellets. Not sold on it yet - but still
evaluating.

I agree with Scott. Out of probably 100 tins of pellet, l had one tin of 7.87 JSBs that all were within 2/10 of a grain. Usually get about 1/3 of a tin that are over 2/10 and some go 5/10. I have a RAW that loves 10.5 Crosmans lubricated with slick 50 but usually find about half weigh over 5/10 different. I have some guns that like lube and some that don't. Don

No weighing or lube for me. Using AA 10.34

Ive weighed 7.9, 8.4, 10.3, and 13.34 JSB 17 cal. It will find the pee wees, but checking head sizes will have the same effect. Real accuracy benefits with sorting head sizes.  Only the 13.43 have shown me any accuracy benefit in weighing.

I lube my pellets for two reasons:

1.- I have found that in MOST rifles (Out of hundreds only one or two exceptions), you can find a lubricant that will make the best pellet for that barrel shoot even a little bit better.

2.- It increases the shot count between cleanings.

If that is not enough for you to take the trouble of testing YOUR gun with the BEST pellets using:

a) Pledge (apply to one end of a tin, swirl the pellets around to coat the OUTSIDE, and bake the pellets for 2½ mins in a toaster over after lubing).

b) Boeshield / T-9 (apply by hammocking the whole tin of pellets in a cloth with the lubricant, then let air dry before using).

c) KryTech finish line ( apply same as Pledge, let air dry before using)

then I do not know what else to tell you.

It takes me all of 4 minutes to lube a whole tin, not doing would be a waste of time and money.

JMHO

HM

How do I check the head size? Micrometer?

Like this.

Thanks... ?  ? 

Bam....ordered one!

I have found that with some of the heavier pellets, one can forego weighing, they are pretty consistent.  As for most 8.44 Air Arms, and JSB's, weighing them is a MUST, particularly if you are a competitor that does not want to give up any points.  Take a look at my U Tube Channel, Field Target Tech. In several different episodes, I describe all forms of pellet treatment, from washing and lubing, weighing, using a Pelletgage properly for measuring head size, and rolling them.  I describe in detail what could happen to a pellets performance if these culling methods are not followed.

Tom Holland 

Tom, just got a pelletgauge, and so far the majority of the head size is 4.55. Then 4.54

I have yet to size the whole tin, bit I have a few at 4.51, 4.52 then will need to weigh, but not sure if my grain scale is as accurate for pellets, as it is for powder.

Falcon. 7.33 gr.

JSB Exact. 7.87gr.

oh yeah....Subbed

Domingo,

You understand correctly, but I've found from weighing a tin of JSB 8.44's, weights between 8.08, all the way up to 8.74.  This is a variance of .68 of a grain.  This is why I sort them the way I do, because that weight difference is a definite miss at 55 yards.  As for the Chairgun criteria, I don't know how they arrived at those numbers, but when I have pellets that have the same head size, but different weights, the Chairgun program is dead on as compared to my chronograph.....don't know how they do it.  I'm just very disappointed in the lack of consistency of Air Arms and JSB pellets over the last few years. This is one of the reasons I've been using H&N Sniper Mediums, and have been working closely with H&N's engineers to help develop a superior pellet design.

Tom Holland