Sorting and weighing pellets for vertical accuracy improvement:

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1911Tex

1911Tex

Member
May 5, 2025
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Texas Hill Country
Just finished weighing a tin of 400 JSB .117 Diablo Match Exact Monster 13.43 gr. pellets. Why? Looking for a tighter vertical spread shooting my RWS Diana 48 at a 40 yard target using a bench sandbag rest and 6X scope. I am typically getting 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" vertical spread with a few outliers which could be me or the gun. Horizontal variations are very acceptable within 3/4" average pretty consistently. Here are my pellet weight sorting results from a new tin:

Only 56% of the 400 pellets are within 10 gr. +/- 13.43 gr.; which is surprising as the tin specifically states "Match"!!
29% are 11-15gr. over 13.43 gr.;
11% are 11-15 gr. under 13.43 gr. and
4% are deformed or obvious outliers.
I found this sorting and weighting experiment very interesting, though tiring. Took the 56% to the range and found a very positive 3/4"-1" vertical grouping with 3 targets, each with 5 shots. Horizontal spread actually improved to 1/2" average.
Happy it was not the gun or me; but again surprised how few pellets are within 10 gr. of labeled 13.43gr Match tin...barely over 1/2 tin !
 
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1911Tex said:
Just finished weighing a tin of 400 JSB .117 Diablo Match Exact Monster 13.43 gr. pellets. Why? Looking for a tighter vertical spread shooting my RWS Diana 48 at a 40 yard target using a bench sandbag rest and 6X scope. I am typically getting 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" vertical spread with a few outliers which could be me or the gun. Horizontal variations are very acceptable within 3/4" average pretty consistently. Here are my pellet weight sorting results from a new tin:

Only 56% of the 400 pellets are within 10 gr. +/- 13.43 gr.; which is surprising as the tin specifically states "Match"!!
29% are 11-15gr. over 13.43 gr.;
11% are 11-15 gr. under 13.43 gr. and
4% are deformed or obvious outliers.
I found this sorting and weighting experiment very interesting, though tiring. Took the 56% to the range and found a very positive 3/4"-1" vertical grouping with 3 targets, each with 5 shots. Horizontal spread actually improved to 1/2" average.
Happy it was not the gun or me; but again surprised how few pellets are within 10 gr. of labeled 13.43gr Match tin...barely over 1/2 tin !
Click to expand...

You gotta be talking tenths (or maybe hundredths?) of grains.

Cuz "10gr. +/- 13.43 gr." is a range of 3.43 gr. up to 23.43gr.

And your "gr." cant be grams cuz there's more than 15grains in a gram.

Your vertical dispersions are cuz you're shooting a springer, not b/c your pellets weigh a couple hundredths of a grain different from one another.
 
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yes, he forgot the 0.10
now i have dozens of these weigh the pellet posts over the years and they all have one thing in common
the pellets in the can don't weigh the same, most end up with 5 or 6 piles
now add in the pellet head size and we will send the men in the white coats to your house because you will really be have to much fun
 
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I sort my pellets quite often, especially my hades hunting pellets. I actually spend time on most pellets from JSB and FX and it pays off nicely.

I get much better SD and spread with sorting. I also lightly lube and remove any damage deformed pellets. 1 tin does produce a large variety of grain categories because of their inconsistencies and quality control. The time spent, at least for me does show up later in the data and the accuracy.
 
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As a plinker and casual shooter I shoot mostly straight from the tin but I do use sorted (weight and head size) pellets when testing, tuning and serious target work.

I'm seeing similar sorting results as mentioned above and am not surprised. Tins are filled with pellets produced from multiple swaging machines, with dies that may be slightly different do to tolerances and wear. Tolerances in the lead wire feedstock alloy and diameter can have a bearing on the finished product. Thermal change as the swaging machine comes up to temperature after starting a new production run or vibrations from external sources can impact consistency.

Outliers and damaged pellets aside (literally) the average shooter, using common airguns, at typical ranges, is not going to see much difference with shooting straight from the tin. Skilled shooters using finely tuned precision airguns at longer ranges will benefit from sorting pellets.

All considered, I think most decent brands of pellets are pretty good for typical use. Serious competitors would probably disagree with me. 😉

Cheers!
 
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Motorhead said:
Once you start to get a handle controlling valve dwell able to very controllably launch pellets w/o wasting air, the subtle weight differences won't matter as much.
JMO as seen time and time again over many years of observing said cause & effect.

Your result may differ ....
Click to expand...
He's shooting a springer. No valve dwell involved!
 
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More scope power will help you more than any sorting you do. Yes, in terms of consistency pellets are junk. I have weight whole time and had about one , that 1, dozen weigh what the tin says.They are the weak link in the system. So relax, shoot them our of the tin, work with your tune, refine your bench manners, and always have flags. Your group's will shrink.
 
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Vana2 said:
As a plinker and casual shooter I shoot mostly straight from the tin but I do use sorted (weight and head size) pellets when testing, tuning and serious target work.

I'm seeing similar sorting results as mentioned above and am not surprised. Tins are filled with pellets produced from multiple swaging machines, with dies that may be slightly different do to tolerances and wear. Tolerances in the lead wire feedstock alloy and diameter can have a bearing on the finished product. Thermal change as the swaging machine comes up to temperature after starting a new production run or vibrations from external sources can impact consistency.

Outliers and damaged pellets aside (literally) the average shooter, using common airguns, at typical ranges, is not going to see much difference with shooting straight from the tin. Skilled shooters using finely tuned precision airguns at longer ranges will benefit from sorting pellets.

All considered, I think most decent brands of pellets are pretty good for typical use. Serious competitors would probably disagree with me. 😉

Cheers!
Click to expand...
I agree! If you have time to sort, you would probably see a benefit If using the most common pellet manufacturers. But if you buy the brands known for better quality control and consistency out of the tin, sorting is not all that practical. Time + Benefit = ?
 
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