Skirts... Why worry..?

[Clean Shot]

Was thinking last night.

Why is it we discard pellets with the slightest little dent in the skirt..? Ok badly mangled ones are fair enough.
But isn't the skirts job to flair out when fired, to force itself into the rifling of the barrel.
So any little dings would be corrected in the process of firing anyway.

Where as damage to the head of the pellet will cause inconstancies for sure.

So shouldn't we be inspecting the heads, or do I have the wrong end of the stick...

Not that I really care as I just enjoy putting shots downrange, But I've a couple of tins of assorted pellets with some slight skirt damage. Just wondering how they would actually compare...

Any thoughts

P

[learningcurve]

I too have given this some thought, and came to the same conclusion as you regarding the flairing out of the pellet skirt, so I decided to conduct a little experiment. I loaded a few mags up with some perfect, and some deformed skirt pellets (noting where each one was), then fired them at a target. All I can say, is that I did see a pattern of inaccuracy with the deformed pellets, as opposed to the ones that looked right.

My solution? I bought a pellet sizer for £18 off that well known auction site. Any pellets that look misshapen, I put them through the sizer, it not only sizes the head of the pellet, it also reshapes the skirt into it's original state.

Sorted!

[peterd8877]

A simple solution.

[learningcurve]

Indeed! and a little tip if you decide to buy a pellet sizer, buy your pellets in the biggest size you can (4.52 or 4.53), then buy a 4.51 sizer. The extra resistance when pushing the pellets through, flares the skirts out really nicely.

[Murphy]

I add some pocket fluff just to be safe.

[learningcurve]

Here is the item number for where I got mine

151380351647

[angrybear]

I just use an old plastic biro tube or similar to push the skirt roughly to shape.

[beagle2]

I add some pocket fluff just to be safe.

I tend to find a bit of belly button fluff works much better.

[Clean Shot]

I add some pocket fluff just to be safe.

Ha well look at that...
how does it work what a clever device.

You think getting a smaller size than the pellet helps...
Might be usefull as my best pellets for accuracy only come in 5.52 and 5.51 suits my rifle best..

So this will actually resize my 5.52s to 5.51..s if so im proper happy..

p

[Murphy]

I tend to find a bit of belly button fluff works much better.

That takes a bit more effort.

Pocket fluff insertion device is totally automatic.

Just tip a tin of pellets into shooting jacket pocket and remove individually.

Pocket fluff is dispensed.

[Gwylan]

A friend amazed me when he pinched a skirt almost flat, and knocked down a reset at 35y.
I always check the skirts for serious target work however.

Gus

[Rickenbacker]

Was thinking last night.

Why is it we discard pellets with the slightest little dent in the skirt..? Ok badly mangled ones are fair enough.
But isn't the skirts job to flair out when fired, to force itself into the rifling of the barrel.
So any little dings would be corrected in the process of firing anyway.

Where as damage to the head of the pellet will cause inconstancies for sure.

So shouldn't we be inspecting the heads, or do I have the wrong end of the stick...

Although it may seem counter-intuative, "they" say skirt damage is worse.

Not that I really care as I just enjoy putting shots downrange,

I enjoy trying to make every shot count, rather than 'hosing' shots about like a minature blanket bombing.

...

Any thoughts

P

I like to polish the pellet head on my jumper just before loading. A shiny head has to have better aero' than a dull one, right?

HTH

[jackieboy69]

I used to think that if I dropped a tin of pellets I could pick out the ones that looked OK and use them. Makes sense but the lead is so soft and the tolerances so small that you simply can't see the damage done when you drop a tin.

Recently I dropped a tin of Bisley Magnum .177 before I opened them and not wanting to waste the tenner they cost me I picked out the ones with "completely undamaged" skirts and forgot about it. That was enough for me to waste hours chasing a zero that was not there and ruin 3/4 hunts, until I remembered what I'd done!

If there are any pellet dents in the tin after you've dropped it, then in my experience they are usually all useless.

Regards

[Murphy]

I like to polish the pellet head on my jumper just before loading. A shiny head has to have better aero' than a dull one, right?

HTH

Does that work with all heads?!

[learningcurve]

I guess when your plinking on the range (as we all do) using the pellets straight from the tin is fine, although you will get the odd flier, but when you are shooting a comp, one damaged pellet is the difference between a winning and losing score.

That is when it is worth the time and effort to size, weigh and sort the pellets. If you havn't tried it, you would be absolutely amazed at the variation in sizes and weights in a supposedly identical tin of pellets. In my experience by the way, the most consistent pellets I have found straight out of the tin, are JSB exacts, 8.4gr.