Pellet inspection and the magical 10

[bandg]

Having trouble understanding what you are saying. "pellet is as good as new by the time it leaves the barrel" vs. "a little nick in that skirt. I'll bet you THEN you'll see some negative affect". Are you saying you believe HPA would blow out and seal a pinched skirt but would not seal a nick?

 

[VETTNUT]

Just a thought from the past and a LOT of shooting, about 15000 rounds a year.

. Years ago I had a book written by PO Ackley. A man that spent most of his life trying to put a bullet through the same hole every time. He tried to make a gyroscope so perfect that it would spin continuously. He did wonders with bullets but he concluded that the tip/nose of the bullet could be damaged and had little effect on accuracy. However he would put slight damage to the base and the groups were lost. I had a gun shop and we did some similar tests. We even cut the nose of some bullets off at an angle and they were still pretty accurate. We then filed a small place across the edge of the base and accuracy went down the tube. Whatever this is worth.

 

[SPAW]

I've found that head size, head deformities & imperfections, affect flight a lot more than bent skirts. I certainly would use bent skirts in competition though.

i agree, the blast of air tends to straighten the skirts and conform to the barrel. IF its not bent tooo too bad....

 

[bandg]

I certainly do not know which is more important (head or skirt) but the above quoted section and the post above it seem to be diametrically opposed to each other. One suggests head size/damage is most important and one suggests skirt/base damage is most important. Could it be different for bullets vs. pellets? Possibly I guess. I can see how HPA COULD flare and seal a pellet skirt. But it seems it should do so for any nick/minor damage as well as for "bent" skirt due to softness of the lead. Could nick/damage mean missing lead and thus out of balance whereas out of round would not be out of balance if flared by the air? Possibly I guess. Would be great to have a definitive answer but I don't expect to see that.

 

[Crusher]

I've found that head size, head deformities & imperfections, affect flight a lot more than bent skirts. I certainly would use bent skirts in competition though.

i agree, the blast of air tends to straighten the skirts and conform to the barrel. IF its not bent tooo too bad....

That is what I'm seeing too Ken. If the skirt is just bent inward, it flies alright because I think it gets straightened out. But if it is not bent in, but crushed toward the front of the pellet or if there is a nic in the skirt, it makes a difference. 

Granted, I wouldn't shoot these in a match. But for chrono testing or seasoning a barrel they work just fine. And I wouldn't be afraid to shoot them at a pest critter. They seem to shoot pretty good MOST of the time.

Crusher