Pellet Sizers?

[luckymjr]

Hi guys.

Having shot air rifles now for many years but mainly for pest control, I've occasionally seen pellet sizers on different forums being mentioned and coming up for sale, so I was just wondering If they are really necessary or even improve accuracy at all?
Personally speaking, I have never owned or tried out a pellet sizer so any opinions both negative or positive will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers lads

[eyebull]

More for very fussy barrels or vintage guns tbh. Or if you think you can outshoot quality factory ammo in a modern barrel and feel you need that extra Edge.
Other than that the old adage about fishing tackle shops comes to mind - all those fancy gadgets are for catching fishermen, not fish!

[angrybear]

Two slightly different uses,
older BSA .25 calibre was actually .243" so a sizer is needed to take a 6.35mm pellet down to around 6.2mm to fit the barrels.
or
just to slightly finesse a *.53 pellet down to *.52, *.51 etc just gain accuracy from better conformity.

[luckymjr]

Thanks for the replies guys 👍

[les allam]

Two slightly different uses,
older BSA .25 calibre was actually .243" so a sizer is needed to take a 6.35mm pellet down to around 6.2mm to fit the barrels.
or
just to slightly finesse a *.53 pellet down to *.52, *.51 etc just gain accuracy from better conformity.

I have a U.K Neil sizer made for my bsa Lightning in .25 cal.
Once the Hn ftt pellets were sized it made loading easier, and improved power by 1.5fp.
A great bit of kit and nicely made.
Les..

[steptoe1966]

As some one who loves tackle shops and has been fishing over 50 years hmmm and also someone who has been shooting around 50 years , pellet sizers yup they improve things greatly once you find a pellet that loves you barrel sizing it makes the fit better but if you have a 5.52 barrel nice fit and you put a 5.54 in you might find it throws the shot of a touch might be a very small amount but when it comes to getting it right i would rather have a nice fitting pellet thn one i have to push in with a hammer ,

My point when loading the wifes AA S200 we found if you use a pellet bigger than 5.51 you have to force the bolt forward where as a 5.52 soft push and in she goes

[tinbum]

Personally I don't bother, they make a difference of mm and I miss by inches! My pellet prep is pulling the twigs and fluff off before loading them.

Having said that, I have a long list of emails with photos showing the benefits, mainly from US bench rest shooters.

[derekm]

More for very fussy barrels or vintage guns tbh. Or if you think you can outshoot quality factory ammo in a modern barrel and feel you need that extra Edge.
Other than that the old adage about fishing tackle shops comes to mind - all those fancy gadgets are for catching fishermen, not fish!

If you put a mike onto "quality factory ammo", you may well be surprised at the variations in dimensions from what it says on the tin. How much those differences make to accuracy, I'll leave to others to speculate.

[eyebull]

If you put a mike onto "quality factory ammo", you may well be surprised at the variations in dimensions from what it says on the tin. How much those differences make to accuracy, I'll leave to others to speculate.

I've no doubt top flight shooters can reach the point where their group sizes are being held back by weight and gauge inconsistencies, but realistically most of us plebs won't see any tangible benefit in weighing and sizing pellets.

If someone thinks the vital missing link preventing them from reaching the podium is a pellet sizer, then have at it!
But I'd venture to suggest that for 99% of shooters there are dozens of variables in technique best addressed first.