Different pellets - weight and dimensions

[bennedose]

Need to make and updated post about Mastershot triple head with info on its cousin Mastershot double head.

Triple heads weigh : 1.16 grams each
Double heads weigh : 1 gram each

Both types are reasonably accurate using an IHP. I have not used them on an Orion. I did state earlier that they are hopelessly inaccurate from my SDB, which has about 30% less power than the IHP. These pellets will never win any shooting competitions so I was wondering what earthly use anyone would have for a triple head until I discovered that they were making insane large holes in tin cans at 20 meters. Judging from the profile of customer (rural farmer) at the shop that stocks these pellets I suspect their only utility can be varmint control.

[bennedose]

AIMCO only accepts a minimum order of Rs 1000. so along with 10 boxes of Wadcutter I ordered some AIMCO round head. here is an initial report.

AIMCO 0.22 round head pellets are light - I have not weighed them but they seem to be in the 11 grain/700 mg category. The pellets seem to have been manufactured by rounding of the head in a process that leaves a little sharp point or "crown" in the center (see photo) in some (but not all) pellets. I have posted an image of an unusually long retained crown.

Performance wise I have been very happy. The pellets are great for a dedicated plinker. They are consistent and accurate up to 20 meters on my SDB 50 and Orion. Have not tried them with the IHP 35 yet.

aimco-round.jpg

[brihacharan]

AIMCO only accepts a minimum order of Rs 1000. so along with 10 boxes of Wadcutter I ordered some AIMCO round head. here is an initial report.

AIMCO 0.22 round head pellets are light - I have not weighed them but they seem to be in the 11 grain/700 mg category. The pellets seem to have been manufactured by rounding of the head in a process that leaves a little sharp point or "crown" in the center (see photo) in some (but not all) pellets. I have posted an image of an unusually long retained crown.

Performance wise I have been very happy. The pellets are great for a dedicated plinker. They are consistent and accurate up to 20 meters on my SDB 50 and Orion. Have not tried them with the IHP 35 yet.

aimco-round.jpg

Hi Bennedose,
Are the pellets mfd by AIMCO themselves?
BTW - Faulty finishing of top dome of round heads will affect flight path & direction of the pellet...
One possibility why a sharp crown appears on the dome of the pellet - They may have used a die-cast process to manufacture them - A faulty 'die' can leave burrs on the product cast.
Briha

[Basu]

Dear benne & Briha,
Unique feature about this pellet is, its capacity to generate velocity.
I tested this pellet in Cannon 65,side by side MS round head.Aimco was delivering 475 fps and MS 365 fps.
Worst mould is the cause of such a poor finish.
A little makeover on this pellet, helped me to tighten grouping at 30 mts.

Basu

[brihacharan]

Dear benne & Briha,
Unique feature about this pellet is, its capacity to generate velocity.
I tested this pellet in Cannon 65,side by side MS round head. Aimco was delivering 475 fps and MS 365 fps.
Worst mould is the cause of such a poor finish.
A little makeover on this pellet, helped me to tighten grouping at 30 mts.
Basu

Unique feature about this pellet is, its capacity to generate velocity.
Basu are you sure its the Pellet that generates velocity or the Power Plant in an AR?
One possibility is that if the pellet fitment in the breech is loose then air could leak sideways / around the pellet and thus the pellet will not derive the full benefit of the compressed air from the power plant.
BTW - Does AIMCO have their own mfg plant for pellets?
Briha

[Basu]

Dear Briha,
Aimco pellet was snugfit, where as MSRH was a tad loose.
The cannon 65 was having cocking pressure of max
18 lbs.It belongs to our member , .22cal.
This pellet has much thinner skirt than MSRH.The gun surprised me due to its very low preload and velocity it generated.
I conclude that here the pellet was snug fit and with thin skirt so there was hardly any resistance at breech as such the energy transformation with least wastage.
I do not think AIMCO has any pellet manufacturing plant of their own.

Basu

[bennedose]

I used a Vernier caliper to measure a few pellets under discussion. I took an average of several pellets to correct for distortions caused in the box.

Mastershot export quality round head : 5.4 mm
AIMCO round head : 5.4 mm
Mastershot Wadcutter 5.44 mm
GSmith Flat head 5.55 mm
GSmith round head 5.6 mm

On my SDB 50 rifle Gsmith pellets are a tight fit - even thefront diameter of gSmith Flat head (5.45 mm) is a tight fit and requires some force.

On the Orion, GSmith round head of 5.6 mm are a snug (in fact perfect) fit. Others are a loose fit.

Having said that I am certain that when even a slightly loose pellet is hit by a blast of air, the skirt simply expands to make the seal tight and unless the pellet is so loose that it falls down or out of the barrel, I doubt if there is too much of an air leak. Even tight pellets will simply be squeezed into the barrel distorting and compressing as needed - but this will lead to some loss of energy as friction.

The other point is that I did not measure the inner diameter of any of my rifle bores becasue I am not sure whether 5.5 or 5.56 or 5.6 refers to the diameter from the peaks of the rifling ridges or the depths of the rifling grooves. Having said that my SDB 50 comfortably takes pellets from 5.4 to 5.45 mm diameter. Anything over that is tight. I have forced GSmith Flat heads in. The skirt does not go in fully and gets distorted when forced. but no pellets ever get stuck and the accuracy remains good despite that. The funny thing about GSmith Flat head and the SDB is that there is a "double air seal" at the front and back because the front itself is a snug fit and the skirt has to be jammed in - usually only with finger pressure. But the skirt sticks out a bit and gets scraped by closing the barrel.

Maybe I should photograph this for the record

PS: AIMCO round heads weigh approximately 750 mg each around 11 grain I guess. (got 130 pellets to 100 grams)

[prudhviraju]

thank you sir for your information

[bennedose]

Here is what happens when I load GSmith flat head on my old SDB 50 - which is otherwise a rifle that I like very much. I will save writing a poem about it for some other day

Image 1:
The front of the pellet itself is tight and it sits snugly in the breech
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3JNY4I ... sp=sharing

Image 2:
After pushing the pellet in as far as it can go with maximum finger/thumb pressure - a small bit remains sticking out at the back
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3JNY4I ... sp=sharing

Image 3:
When the breech is shut he damage done to the skirt is revealed by re opening
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3JNY4I ... sp=sharing

[brihacharan]

Hi Bennedose,
> Well researched / experienced & documented - thanks for sharing
> In the final analysis - The fact remains that all Indian Brands of Pellets suffer from inconsistent dimensions
> Varying brands of ARS Vs Varying brands of pellets - Will the Twain ever meet???
> I repeat for the "Nth" time - Use & shoot the pellets most suited to your AR - Have Fun - Enjoy your shooting
Briha

[airgun_novice]

H & N Excite Econ: This is at the bottom end of the H&N stable. Look shiny and good. Closer inspection reveal some skirts with tiny cuts and notches. The flat face is also scarred and shows an indent here and there, off and on. Used them in AP FWB P34 standing freehold in a range environment on AP target. Shot 4 cards of 10 shots each. All the cards exhibited 80-90% convergence, i.e. 1-2 shots went out of #9 ring and one of those way out of #8 ring. Faulty flyers could be my error or could be due to variation of 0.03g in weight. The pellets shot at the range obviously were different from those weighed at home, but came from the same tin.

Weights of randomly chosen pellets (g) on a digital balance similar to sathya.sniper's or tirpassion's:
0.48, 0.5, 0.48, 0.48, 0.5, 0.49, 0.49, 0.49, 0.51, 0.48, 0.49, 0.48, 0.48, 0.48, 0.49, 0.48, 0.48

[bennedose]

The link below leads to an Excel sheet created by me with images, weights and dimensions of about 24 Indian pellet brands in 0.22 caliber. Hoping this wil serve as a database for those who want to compare and see what is available in India

[TheThirdEye]

Any valuable point for self manufacturing these pellets? I have seem many videos on it and hence decided to design a Mold and then cast it by myself.

[TheThirdEye]

DIY - Pellet Manufacturing Mold:

[pathak]

Bennedose
Take a look at this article on inserting pellets--
http://www.pyramydair.com/article/How_t ... er_2010/80