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Pellet Wash and Lube

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If you haven't seen lead pieces/shavings in a tin of pellets..... it's because you haven't washed any. I always have small lead debris in the bottom of the white plastic colander that I use in the washing process and I shoot H&N, JSB, Air Arms, all quality pellets. Does washing & lubing help with accuracy? I certainly believe that it does or can help with certain barrels and pellets. As far as what to lube with? I've used Ballistol, Napiers, Lemon Pledge, etc. Now I only use what is in the pic below and will continue to do so. What to wash the pellets with? I use to use warm water and Dawn dish soap. Now......I use isopropyl alcohol in a zip lock bag. It dries much quicker than water and removes all the casting oils from the pellets really well.......Good luck!



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Myself I probly have all of the Teflon in my bloodstream that I need. Most of us in the world are contaminated with it. I would not want to breathe anymore of the stuff in.
 
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An interesting story related to washing.

In 2000, my wife an I were pretty serious about FT. We only shot Premiers as nothing else was close. I found that washing them with white gas would remove ALL the crap that Crosman left on them and leave them shiny and clean where Dawn, acetone, alcohol, etc, would not. Then we lubed them with Slick50 1Lube. We sorted enough pellets to head to the Nationals but not for sight in and I didn't even wash the sight in and practice pellets, but just lubed them. During the match, we both found ourselves missing some far shots... mostly high. When I got home, more careful testing showed that the clean pellets were 1+ moa higher at 50 yards than lubed from the box even though velocity was identical. I proved it multiple times in 3 different rifles. Needless to say, I was more thorough in future matches.

I've not experienced the same with JSB's. The lube residue seems not as nasty as Premiers. For sub 900 fps, I mostly don't worry about washing or lubing. In our RW's, the MRD's going 980 need some lube or the barrel leads up too quickly . I clean my barrels with Gunzilla and use it to lube pellets as well. I haven't tried beeswax but 1Lube and silicone give more poor accuracy.

I guess that just like sorting , there's a big variation in people's preferences , but that's mine.

Bob
 
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I bought hBN as a dry lube (possibly for slugs) and also to mix with 90% (or higher) alcohol as a cleaner for my barrel/liner.

hBN is an amazing dry lubricant meant for metal parts under extreme heat. ELR shooters use it on their slugs (they usually roll them in rock polisher with some BB's) which apparently helps with accuracy.

I tried it on some slugs they unquestionably felt smoother and more slick, but you can also probably get the same results with some silicone lubricant and it would take much less time. I didn't see any downside to using hBN aside from the tedious process.

Like other people have said, test some different lubes out and see what, if any, work for your set up
 
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I have tried several different cleaning solutions, mostly Dawn with warm water in a ziplock. Followed up with a dry-lube bicycle chain lube, Finish-Line. My groups seem better and the barrel stays cleaner longer.

Lately I've tried a product you can find at almost any grocery store: Goof Off Heavy Duty Cleaner. I put a tin of pellets in a clean plastic salsa container and give a few sprays to the pellets. After two minutes or so, I agitate the container for 30 seconds or so and then rinse well with warm water. Spread them out on a microfiber cloth and let them air dry. There is some sort of emulsion that is used in this cleaner, and the dried pellets feel like they had been lubed.
 
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You just have to try it and see. I used to shoot the old brown box Crosman Premier pellets, still have some. They are good pellets, but filthy with lead shavings and residue. I washed and lubed them. JSB pellets are usually very clean, and I generally shoot them out of the tin. I've never noticed an adverse effect from washing and lubing, and can't document an improvement from it either. As for the bent skirts, I wouldn't worry about it. 3,000 psi will straighten them out. If you are a high level BR shooter, any slight edge might help. If you are are a 50 yard hunter/plinker, I wouldn't spend the time on pellet prep.
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The problem I see is that if you are using a regulated airgun, the pellet will never see 3000 psi in most cases. I think this is at least part of the cause of my trouble getting good groups using a Fortitude Gen2 in .177.

The pellets never see enough PSI to fully open up the skirt. There's a joke in there somewhere, but I won't go there! (chuckle)
 
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The long and short of washing and lubing is:

You have to try it for your situation to see if it has a positive effect. That includes trying different solutions for washing AND for lubing.

I have only used dish washing liquid and water for washing and silicone oil (in various formats) for lubrication.

My results seemed to depend on the particular gun/barrel combination. When my Nova Vista Freedoms (.177) worked, neither washing nor lubing seemed to make much difference.

With the Fortitude Gen2 (.177), it *seems* that washing and lubing does help in accuracy in that my groups are slightly better. However, the difference is not large.

Those guns (Nova Vista Freedom .177) were tack drivers out to about 60 yards, which is the outer limit of MY ability to shoot accurately even with my improvised rests.

The Fortitude Gen2 .177 is capable of MOA at ~60 yards, but not nearly as consistently as the Freedoms. So, I try for any help in accuracy for the Fortitude. (grin)

YMMV

P.S.

So far, I have seen NO negative effects from washing OR lubing.

Again... YMMV
 
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I fell down the wash and lube hole once. I used CPHP for the test. They are a relatively clean cheap pellet and they shoot very well in my test gun (Hatsan AT44). Here is what I tried: Straight from the tin (nothing done to the pellet). Dry cleaned (a poured the pellets into a wire strainer and sifted out the lead dust). Wet wash (dawn dish soap 2 washes, numerous rinses and careful dry). I also tried all of the above with the addition to lemon pledge. Then tried with pell gun oil, WD40, Silicon lube, AT fluid. SO what were the results? Every single attempt resulted in a 3/16" group at 40 yards. Yup no conclusive winner! I even went as far as to shoot single shot and magazine loaded. I cleaned between each group, and shot 25 pellets from each group. Results did not lie. BUT I am glad I made the attempt. It put my mind at ease that I was getting the absolute best I could out of my pellets and that my Hatsan was indeed not pellet fussy. I gues in hind sight I should have made the same attempt with a higher end pellet as well, but this testing took me the better part of 3 weekends and honestly I just moved on and enjoyed shooting "right out of the tin"
 
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Stefanjan - really glad you posted your experience! Quite honestly I have seen very little lead "dust" in the tins of pellet brands that I use - JSB, FX and Air Arms. I am a hobbyist and a tinkerer and would not mind the time spent on washing or lubing or both, but definitely not interested in doing it if it didn't produce obvious results. I may do a test but not anywhere near what you did!
 
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Allow me to toss this idea out. An inexpensive ultrasonic cleaner in a basket to clean the pellets. Water and Isopropal 

I ran a comparison on bent skirts and unbent at 27 yards and there was a significant difference, under .5" 10 rounds unbent, closer to 1" bent. Now to be honest it's new gun (Zbroia Sapsan 550 .22 cal) and as it turned out the barrel was beyond filthy, it took close to 20 patches with Hopps bore cleaner to get it clean. But I've been shooting good groups with the dirty barrel and different pellets.

I went through the list of lubes, if you want something that beats everyone of the ones listed. Mobile 1 the lightest stuff you can find, I will guarantee that you what ever you apply it to will slip, I really recommend it for triggers, anything that slides or rotates. I have a feeling it's going to work great in the barrel, will have to try it on clean pellets and a lubed barrel. I use it on my firearms with zero issues. Tomorrow will be a fun day to test....if it isn't raining out. These were at 25 yards , clean barrel, cleaned pellets, lightly lubed with Mineral Oil, 55 deg, strong wind from the NW.





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MikeAllen said:
I agree with what you have both said. I haven't seen lead dust or shavings in the tin of premium pellet brands like JSB, FX and Air Arms - all surprisingly from the same factory! I discard pellets with bent skirts as I load magazines. The time I might spend on washing and lubing might be better spent on shooting technique!

Thanks for your replies!
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Don't discard your bent skirt pellets. Reshape them. This picture shows my preferred method, using small vise grip pliers to hold a pellet. Gently pushing and twisting makes most pellets perfectly round. There are many threads on the topic, most finding through actual shooting a slight increase in accuracy. One test I remember showed groups shrinking from .36 to .31.

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Lightyear68 said:
Don't discard your bent skirt pellets. Reshape them. This picture shows my preferred method, using small vise grip pliers to hold a pellet. Gently pushing and twisting makes most pellets perfectly round. There are many threads on the topic, most finding through actual shooting a slight increase in accuracy. One test I remember showed groups shrinking from .36 to .31.

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Yeah, then throw them in the trash!
BUT - can pellets with bent skirts be used for chrono testing? Wouldn't a slightly to moderately bent skirt straighten out enough when shot to give a good chrono reading?
 
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MikeAllen said:
Yeah, then throw them in the trash!
BUT - can pellets with bent skirts be used for chrono testing? Wouldn't a slightly to moderately bent skirt straighten out enough when shot to give a good chrono reading?
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Sure why not? I've shot thousands of bent skirts and minimal, as in not detectable difference in speeds. They account for SOME errant shots but....good for practice. Someone has said that the air pressure bends them out, but, I haven't tested this. Be a fun experiment.
 
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MikeAllen said:
Yeah, then throw them in the trash!
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People with a wide range of accuracy demands view threads like this, so perspective is important. For those who want competition level precision, shooting a reshaped pellet skirt might not be an option--so the trash can comment might apply. But for those who are ok with 1/4 inch groups at 25 yards, reshaped pellets will do the job. And for those who just want to hit a rabbit or squirrel from 50 yards, shooting bent skirt pellets right out of the tin is usually not a problem.

Like most hobbies or sports, there is a continuum of preparation. Some might even sort, group by weight, wash, and lube their pellets. Some might shoot out of the Tin as is. And most fall in the middle.

Figure out where you fit by reading a variety of opinions and perspectives. I think that's what forums are for.
 
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Lightyear68 said:
People with a wide range of accuracy demands view threads like this, so perspective is important. For those who want competition level precision, shooting a reshaped pellet skirt might not be an option--so the trash can comment might apply. But for those who are ok with 1/4 inch groups at 25 yards, reshaped pellets will do the job. And for those who just want to hit a rabbit or squirrel from 50 yards, shooting bent skirt pellets right out of the tin is usually not a problem.

Like most hobbies or sports, there is a continuum of preparation. Some might even sort, group by weight, wash, and lube their pellets. Some might shoot out of the Tin as is. And most fall in the middle.

Figure out where you fit by reading a variety of opinions and perspectives. I think that's what forums are for.
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The trash can comment was tongue-in-cheek since he showed the vice grips totally crushing the pellet skirt ;)
CrushedSkirt.jpeg
 
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