This version of the Pelletgage has been in development a long time. The first version was larger, more apertures. I now have metal gage plates 3.20 inches square with 48 apertures. Plastic parts (bezels, guide plates) are on the way after a minor revision. Initially, only .177 caliber will be offered. Gage sizes 4.50, 4.51, 4.52, 4.53, and 4.54 mm will be available.
I had initially thought that the product would be sold with two gage plates aligned and "stacked". Users would put a quantity up to 48 on the upper guide plate, and jiggle the pellets so that they drop into the apertures. The upper gage plate would be the larger aperture. Any pellet heads that don't enter the aperture are oversized. Pellets that drop through and "catch" in the lower gage plate are the desired diameter, and those that drop through both gage plates and catch on the skirt are undersized. This has been tested, and works quite well. A tin of pellets can be sorted in this manner in minutes, perhaps 20X faster than doing it with a standard Pelletgage, where you are working with one or two apertures, and handling pellets individually. With just sessions practice, a 500 pellet tin can be done in ten minutes or less.
Now, my intention is to sell the PelletgageR as individual sized assemblies, one metal gage plate with all the plastic components. Users will generally need two.
Assembling the PelletgageR with two plates requires careful alignment. If the plates are not registered, pellets may not drop clean through. And there is a concern that the complexity of supplying many combinations of diameters would be difficult. So for instance, if the customer wants 4.52 head size, he orders both a 4.53 and a 4.51 PelletgageR. Doing it in two passes, first using the 4.53 to sort out oversized pellets, and then using the 4.51 to sort out the undersized pellets simplifies the process.
Users who want to try the combined method can assemble it themselves with a few leftover plastic parts. Prototypes have been tested by some experts, and I positive feedback.
My thought is that the Pelletgage (standard, ten different apertures) is the first thing needed, to make some determination of the best size for a gun. Then, PelletgageR makes the process of sorting out that size MUCH faster. However, I do believe that since most pellets are nominally 4.52 mm, it will be beneficial to have a PelletgageR for 4.52 sizing. My theory (backed by some solid experimental tests) is that most guns can shoot a range of pellet sizes, say 4.51, 4.52, or 4.53 and achieve good grouping. However, if shooting a mixture of these sizes, the patterns will open. In my own tests, I find my Marauder will get the best groups with 4.53 head size, but the results with 4.52 are almost as good. 4.51 pellets are noticeably worse. I still see tins of renowned brands that contain +/- 0.02 mm or greater variance from nominal diameter, and strongly suspect these can be fliers.
Parts for 72 PelletgageR are on the way, as we are making a slight change in the engraving of the clear acrylic parts. The product will look almost identical to the photo in the first post. I intend to make an email offer to sell these to a list of historic customers at an introductory price.
If you've read this far, I'll repeat what I have told Pelletgage customers. When you get a new tin of pellets, sample about 50 for head size. You will find the mean size. For instance, you may get mostly 4.53, with a few 4.52 and 4.54 sized. I want to see some mean size, with EVERY pellet in the sample within 0.01 mm of that size (you'd want a steep bell curve if it is random variation), and that mean size should be within 0.01 of the nominal size stated by the manufacturer. If you get that (and my experience is that half the time you will not) you can shoot that tin with confidence. I think that's what many of our shooting friends are saying when they say "buy XYZ and don't worry". They seem to be right about half the time, but they may not worry about getting 1 or 2 percent fliers, or having 2 MOA instead of 1.
Now, if you do not achieve the statistical sampling result (and the above can be supported by old MIL STD stats, you can overcome the weakness of the manufacturers process controls by sorting your own efficiently with PelletgageR.
I welcome any feedback about this. Depending on how well this is accepted, I intend to offer .22 and .25 versions in 2019.
