Weighing .22 cal. Baracuda Match pellets.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
L

lamarkeiko

Member
Jun 22, 2017
129
2
Oregon, United States
I have a Hatsan AT 44 QE .22 cal. that I have been shooting since last summer. After experimenting with many different pellets, I came to the conclusion that H&N Baracuda Match 21.14 g @ 5.53 head size gave me the best accuracy. I do almost all my shooting from a bi pod bench rest at 50 yds. When conditions were very good, I have gotten 10 shot groups 5/8" c-c and 7 shot group under 1/2". That is rare though, because there always seems to be at least one flyer in my groups. I started inspecting, washing and lubing pellets, and that seemed to help some, but not completely. I then decided to try weighing pellets, so I purchased a scale that has an accuracy of .1 grain, which I figured was accurate enough.
I weighed 257 pellets from the same batch number, and sorted the pellets into 5 different batches by weight.
20.8 g 47 ea
20.9 g 52 ea
21.0 g 81 ea
21.1 g 47 ea
The 5th batch was a 30 pellet group that was over 21.1 g or under 20.8 g.

My first question is, what is an acceptable weight difference to expect. When the spec. weight of the Baracuda Match pellets is carried out to the hundreth of a grain, I was expecting a lot less variance in pellet weight than I got?
My second question is, do I need to sort my pellets to within a tenth of a grain for the best accuracy?

I haven't had good conditions to shoot the pellets since sorted by weight yet, but i would appreciate your opinions.

Lamar

 
I too weigh pellets to a tenth of a grain. I've found for accuracy shooting that I can't tell the difference between say 18.1 and 18.2 but start to notice a slight difference when I get 2 tenths difference (say 18.1 grain and 18.3 grain). I go ahead and keep them sorted by tenths of a grain and put them in their own marked tin. I could easily group them as 18.1 and 18.2 grain in one tin, and then 18.3 and 18.4 in another, though.

That pellet range distribution is very normal for all pellet brands that I've weighed.
 
Upvote 0
I have a question for you guys weighing pellets. Do you wash and lube the pellets (or at least wash) before you weigh them? The reason I ask is some of my JSB 33.95 gr Kings are very slimy and have very small shavings on them and in the cup end. I wonder if this makes a difference? I dont shoot "competetively". I only shoot against myself and dont weigh pellets at all. But if I was shooting in competition i would want them washed first to remove any manufacturing waste first. Thanks.
 
Upvote 0
Thanks guys for your replies back. Once I have some good shooting conditions, I'll shoot the pellets I've grouped by weight to see if I can tell any differences. The 30 pellets that had various weights out of the weight range of the other sorted batches I will also shoot for grouping. I'm hoping that those pellets will show a lot higher number of flyers.

In reply to crittahitta, I have noticed an improvement in my groups after washing and lubing. There seems to be a lot of lead shavings in the bottom of the container I wash in, and to me it seems logical that if these shavings are stuck on your pellet when you shoot, it will definitely effect your accuracy.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu