Should you sort pellets? (the final answer)

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I weight sort every projectile I have (no .177s). I also size all projectiles .25 cal and above. This is just part of my air gunning fun after the sun goes down. It is just part of the work needed for the precision shooting I enjoy doing. It is just eliminating factors that could affect consistency. It does make a big difference compared to just pulling from the tin. It is certainly not for everyone, but I enjoy it and have made spreadsheets to aid with sorting and keeping track. It would be a rare thing for me to see a flyer. being also a hunter, I like that.
 
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I weight sort every projectile I have (no .177s). I also size all projectiles .25 cal and above. This is just part of my air gunning fun after the sun goes down. It is just part of the work needed for the precision shooting I enjoy doing. It is just eliminating factors that could affect consistency. It does make a big difference compared to just pulling from the tin. It is certainly not for everyone, but I enjoy it and have made spreadsheets to aid with sorting and keeping track. It would be a rare thing for me to see a flyer. being also a hunter, I like that.
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Well said!

-Donnie
 
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As an experiment I shot this at 100Y with my Thomas HPX. It was all of the worst pellets in the tin. .003" head size difference, .5 gr weight difference, and funky skirts, a hair over an inch tall and the rest was from wind.

The overall group size wasn't any different than the best pellets in the tin on my 100Y EBR target which scored 239.

I think if you have a good gun and good pellets the biggest detriment to accuracy are mistaken wind calls, as well as not understanding how high or low to aim when the flags change. Not that each pellet is exactly the same as the next, in other words actuality swallows up any slight differences. 
 
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But Steve, I’m pretty sure I saw you using sorted pellets at the EBR and EFT this past May in Oregon? Or was I mistaken? ;) So you don’t feel it’s necessary but you do it anyway “just in case”?
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Those were all the pellets that I already sorted for this experiment so I used them. I haven't sorted any since then and aren't planning to.
 
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Ok just curious. Thanks. I was thinking of sorting mine for next week. Looks like a pain. Maybe just a visual, that’s faster. I do know that certain pellet inconsistencies can cause fliers. I had it happen yesterday when an RD Monster went so low as to be off the target. Like 6 inches low.
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Weird stuff happens and I guess we'll never know exactly why but sorting could help ensure that a totally wacky pellet was identified. If I saw one I certainly wouldn't shoot it except to see where it would go for the fun of it but not in a match of course!

A long time ago my Steyr LG100 used to have large flyers. I called AZ and asked him what the deal was with that. He said that if I lubed the pellets it wouldn't do that anymore. His opinion was that with unlubed pellets lead would build up on the edge of the crown to the point that when that build up broke off the effect would change the poi. He was correct I guess because when I started lubing pellets the flyers stopped, or at least they were small ones. That was only half the story though, the other part was that the barrel band was not relieved and when that was fixed the POI shifts stopped too. 

I lube the pellets for Surely because Mike says the barrel doesn't lead up as fast and maybe there's more too it than that after thinking back to the previous story??

Though I don't lube pellets for my MAC1 USFT anymore like I used too, but that thing is super reliable in maintaining zero and it doesn't seem to throw flyers. 


 
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Nice demonstration. I do sort when shooting for accuracy. My theory goes like this:

  1. weight - JSB Pellets can have quite a variation. Example the 18.3 .22 cal for me at least run from 17.9 to 18.8. That's almost a full grain variation. That's about 5%. If weight translates directly to pellet speed. If your desired speed is 880 fps, the variation in pellet weight alone can account for 44 fps. That's a BIG difference. don't think it's direct relationship, even 2% change in velocity can really impact accuracy.
  2. Visual inspection - If it isn't round, it won't go down the barrel at the same speed as a round pellet. Friction with the barrel will be different. How much velocity change? I guess the more mangles, the bigger the difference. Depends on level of mangle.
  3. Head Size. I use FX guns for the most part. The pentagram shaped barrel seems to reshape the pellet enough I don't worry about head size much.
  4. I also tend to wash and light lube. No evidence it helps or hurts, but do like to keep that nasty release agent out of my guns when I can.
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    Lastly, I will give Crosman a shout out for consistency. I weighed out a batch of Premier Hollow Point (yeah, the $6.24 per 500 stuff from Walmart). Supposed to be 14.3 grains. 99% of the pellets were within half a grain of the 14.3. Vast majority were 14.3 and 14.4. low of 14.1 and high of 14.5. Couple outliers, but only about 10 per tin. I haven't tuned a gun for them yet, but it'll be an interesting experiment.
 
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Nice demonstration. I do sort when shooting for accuracy. My theory goes like this:

  1. weight - JSB Pellets can have quite a variation. Example the 18.3 .22 cal for me at least run from 17.9 to 18.8. That's almost a full grain variation. That's about 5%. If weight translates directly to pellet speed. If your desired speed is 880 fps, the variation in pellet weight alone can account for 44 fps. That's a BIG difference. don't think it's direct relationship, even 2% change in velocity can really impact accuracy.
  2. Visual inspection - If it isn't round, it won't go down the barrel at the same speed as a round pellet. Friction with the barrel will be different. How much velocity change? I guess the more mangles, the bigger the difference. Depends on level of mangle.
  3. Head Size. I use FX guns for the most part. The pentagram shaped barrel seems to reshape the pellet enough I don't worry about head size much.
  4. I also tend to wash and light lube. No evidence it helps or hurts, but do like to keep that nasty release agent out of my guns when I can.
    [/LIST=1]

    Lastly, I will give Crosman a shout out for consistency. I weighed out a batch of Premier Hollow Point (yeah, the $6.24 per 500 stuff from Walmart). Supposed to be 14.3 grains. 99% of the pellets were within half a grain of the 14.3. Vast majority were 14.3 and 14.4. low of 14.1 and high of 14.5. Couple outliers, but only about 10 per tin. I haven't tuned a gun for them yet, but it'll be an interesting experiment.
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  1. Exactly. And combine weight variation with size variation in terms of tolerance stacking and some odd results can occur. Some will say that they shoot at "high competitive levels" and that the people doing so rarely sort. I'm sure the best shooters just can't wait to tell the competition exactly what they do to win.
 
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I’m considering sorting the RD Monsters for 100Y BR comps this Summer. However, I shot .30 JSB 44.75 at EBR 2019 and ,25 King Heavy Mk1 at Oregon EBR 2021 and did pretty good both times. I had no unexplained flyers from either pellet.

I do think I get the occasional flyer shooting .22 RD Monsters from my Daystate RW HP (Bleu) and I’ll be shooting that gun in the two major 100Y BR events this year, EBR and RMAC. I’m going to sort for visual issues and for head size since the gun seems to shoot better with 5.54 and 5.55 head size compared to the smaller sizes. 
 
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I don’t sort, wash, weigh anything. I seem to do ok in competitions at high levels. I know lots of other guys that are as high as it gets to being at the top of BR and Field Target that don’t do anything, either…despite it constantly being said that you must to be at the top. 

Mike
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I would never be so bold as to tell anyone else what they should do.

I would, however, provide physical evidence that differences in pellets can (and do) lead to quantifiable differences in both velocity and accuracy.

There will be a "Part II" to this video that will address accuracy coming soon.

As I did in this impromptu video, I'll again be providing physical evidence.

Something that can be quantified and measured, and repeated by anyone else willing to invest the time.

I place very little stock in anecdotal evidence.

Perhaps you all just shoot better than the rest of us?

Perhaps Thomas airguns are magical in some way that makes all kinds of different pellets act precisely the same?

That may or may not be true, but I have heard no argument and seen no evidence that what I've presented is untrue.

I mean no offense to anyone about anything by posting any of this.

And SURELY not everyone would notice any effect by bothering with sorting.

As I've said elsewhere, you don't NEED to sort pellets to have fun with an airgun.

Nor do you NEED to sort pellets to do well with an airgun.

My only point, to which I've provided physical evidence and anyone with a chronograph can try for themselves, is that differences in pellets DO matter to pellet velocity.

From this we can safely infer, will also affect accuracy.

If it didn't, why do we bother putting regulators in our guns?

To what degree it will affect accuracy will be addressed in the upcoming "Part II" video.

I very much enjoy and welcome discussing this, and thank all who have posted.

-Donnie




 
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The bottom line is that if you need to sort pellets to improve their accuracy….then the pellets are no good for serious competition anyway. You can only identify good pellets by shooting them. This is where the “magic” gun comes into play. You won’t find the good pellets with an 80% gun. It will be plenty obvious if pellets are good with a near 100% gun. Once you find them…there will zero benefit from sorting them for head size or weight. You will also find that the head sizes and weights are just as random as most any other tin of pellets…which should be a big red flag for the sorters, but it never is. The problem for most people is that they lack patience and planning…so they only find the good pellets by chance once in a while and constantly try to sort out the problems. If people want to believe they can make match grade pellets from mediocre ones, that’s their choice. It is an exercise in futility.

Mike 
 
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