Does size make a difference?

[nematode]

I'm a beginning match shooter and I'm wondering why some pellets ( such as the RWS R-10 ) are offered in different head sizes. Do the different sizes really affect accuracy or is it just a marketing ploy by the pellet manufacturers?

[RobStubbs]

Size really does matter. Different size pellets will give different group sizes which in turn will affect scores. You need to find out which ones work best with your gun and stick with that size.

Rob.

[Blankenship]

Bench rest you air pistol and shoot a group with any quality wadcutter pellet. Then turn the same pellets around backwards and shoot another group. I'll bet they are virtually the same grouping. I've experimented with this by shooting an entire match with the pellets loaded backwards and shot no better or worse than pellet forward loading.

Trust me, you are the variable in the accuracy equation, not the choice of pellet diameters. If forwards versus backwards loading makes no practical difference, what difference do you really believe .0005" one way or the other makes. Beside, they are all going to be the same diameter once you put them thru the barrel. Worry about you sight alignment, trigger work and follow-through.

Just use any quality pellet that you can most readily locate when you run low on ammo.

[Don]

I have to agree with Blankenship. What you do is much more of a factor than the pellets. I have flattened the skirt on a pellet, shot it and had it go into the same group, so size matters very little. If you do your job, the pellet and pistol will do it's job.
Don in Oregon

[Sparks]

No offense to Don or Blankenship, but to lift a quote from one of Scott's interviews (love those, btw, can't wait to see more!):

Do you take much time to test ammo?
Yes, I started batch testing pellets the first time I went to the German Championships. When I took my 600 to be serviced, to a gunsmith near my home town, he asked me if I had tested pellets. I told him no, I just bought them and shot them. He made me aware of the difference and I was very surprised that it could be better.

That's Torsten Krebs. At that time, he held 12 german national titles, the german national air rifle record at 598, and had previously held the world record at 597. So I'll trust his opinion!

(That's not to say batch testing is as important as it is in smallbore, just that every little helps when you're aiming to put a 600 down the range).

[mjfa]

I think it is only relevant on air rifle where the ten ring (dot) is only 0.5 mm diameter. On air pistol where the ten ring is 11.5 mm diameter is not of much importance.

[scout18]

This is really good question. I think that consistancy within a batch of pellets would be more critical. That is to say I want all of my pellets to be the exact same diameter what ever size I am shooting. I am fairly new to this AP business but I can tell the difference between cheapie crosman pellets and HN match grades. I am not sure how pellets are Quality controlled in the manufacturing process but IfI am paying for 4.55 mm pellets that is what I want. They had best all weigh the same to the grain too. (grin)

[JPOC]

While it might (or might not) be true that you find more batches of a particular size that shoot well in your air gun, the biggest factor is the particular batch (or "lot number"). Just because a batch of 4.50 pellets had the best group in your gun doesn't mean that all batches of that size or brand are best in it... it just means that particular batch was best. The next time you test, you could discover that a different brand or size may be best, just because of batch variation. It's not the brand or size, it's the individual batch.

In rifle, batch testing is more important, even for intermediate to advanced junior athletes.

In pistol, batch testing is of significantly less importance except at the elite level.

Of course... if it's in your head... then do the testing, find a batch you are confident in, and then "fugedaboudit". The gun and pellets are not the reason you haven't made the National Team.

If you do nothing else to improve your shooting, go read the 2 pistol shooting articles on Pilkguns.com by the Russian coach. Then train and learn to do as he says.

"Feel Center!" ...and "Enjoy!"

-JP

[Mark Briggs]

The last post here sums it up pretty well. The one point that's missing is that once batch testing is complete, buy several years supply of that particular pellet, then it will be a long time until you have to do batch testing again. My run rate is between 5000 and 10,000 pellets per year, so a case of pellets lasts at least two years. If I had only bought a couple of sleeves of my favourite batch I'd be doing group testing every year or less. This is too much pain and expense to repeat that frequently.

One other point... Don't limit yourself to pistol pellets if you're a pistol shooter, or rifle pellets if you're a rifle shooter. I was pleasantly surprised to see the improvement in groups when I switched my pistol's diet to rifle pellets. Turns out two of my three AP's really do prefer heavy pellets and the third one couldn't care less what it shoots!


Mark.