Regarding weighing pellets - The scale matters.....

Here are my thoughts on the scales and methods used to weigh pellets.

We should focus on three key aspects:

**Accuracy** - Is the measurement correct when the scale indicates that a pellet weighs 1.175 grams? Is it necessary for us? Alternatively, are we more concerned about consistency so we can categorize all pellets of a given weight together?

**Precision**—Your scale should be able to read at least two decimal places, but preferably three. If a scale with two decimal places shows that two pellets weigh 1.15 grams each, one pellet could weigh 1.15 grams, while the other could weigh 1.59 grams. Therefore, three decimal points are necessary for precise measurements.

**Repeatability**—This is the most critical aspect. If I weigh a tin full of pellets, I need to ensure that the weight of each pellet reads the same at the beginning and end of my session. Otherwise, what's the point?

Additionally, when choosing a scale, consider the weight of the pellets you are measuring. If you shoot pellets that weigh between 1 to 3 grams, a scale that can measure 50 grams or more may not be ideal, as your measurements would be at the lower end of its range. Instead, look for a scale rated closer to the weights you typically measure. Since I only shoot .22 caliber pellets, I prefer a scale measuring 0 to 20 grams. (Finding a budget-friendly scale with a smaller range can be challenging.)

It's also worth noting that most scales include a calibration weight for their upper weight limits. For example, a 50-gram scale often comes with a 50-gram weight. My scale, however, has a 10-gram weight, which allows me to verify its accuracy much closer to what I typically measure.

Scales come with valuable instructions, such as allowing them to stabilize at the ambient temperature where they are being utilized and ensuring that the surface they rest on is level and stable.

I routinely check the calibration of my scale with the designated weight approximately every twenty pellets to ensure that it hasn’t drifted and to confirm that its accuracy has not been affected by my overloading it during pellet insertion or removal. It doesn't take much.

Please let me know if any of this was helpful.

Geneeus
 
I agree with all of this, primarily for ease of weight sorting. Nothing worse than doing a half-hour of sorting and then realizing that the zero has drifted off and you don't know when in that half-hour that it happened.

While I have found that weighing can single out oddly light or heavy pellets are defective in some way and shoot as flyers, I have not yet found a case where weighing and sorting into groups (say, 4 groups of keepers and a too light and too heavy group) that those keeper groups performed any better. But if you're competing and willing to put work into various activities that *might* help, this can be on your list. For me, a quick weight sort to cull weirdos and group the keepers into light/medium/heavy piles is plenty, with my remaining time investment going into visual inspection or head diameter measurements.

I agree to have a check weight that is in the working range for your application. I have a 2 gram check weight that comes in at 30ish grains and I think it was $25. It is far more relevant than the 50g and 100g weights that came with the scale I had at the time. That said, we're sorting so it doesn't actually matter if the weights all come in slightly heavy or slightly light because we're doing relative comparisons. But I think it helps because relying on return to zero can be maddening in a different way.

Make sure the scale is level, on a surface free of vibration or wobble, and has good clean power. Battery powered scales, interestingly, can be more stable than AC plug-in types due to their physical isolation. Likewise, fluorescent lights can cause some interference but I haven't observed that myself.

It's important to verify zero frequently, as less expensive scales do drift from zero. My Sartorius** does not drift from zero but it can spend time wandering above/below zero whenever there is a disturbance to the air or the pan (like switching pellets to be weighed). Static electric charges can cause more drifting, so wipe down with a dryer sheet to reduce static. And some scales drift regardless, forcing you to re-zero regularly.

** no you don't need a Sartorius to weight sort pellets. It's not even truly necessary for long range handloading, which is what I bought it for. But it does work great.
 
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I agree that the actual weight isn't the issue, it's the variation. It seems to make a bit of a difference at 100 yards. I usually use the tare feature, picking a "standard" pellet, and comparing all other to that reference. I'm really nutty about repeatability, hysteresis, and precision because of my previous life in a calibrations lab. And don't get me started on pressure gauges!! <grin>
 
I suppose I’m fine with all that but I still recommend testing your sorted pellets at 100y to see how much (if any) the weights and velocity variations cause vertical on the target.

There are many factors that tend to add up and amplify error on a long range target, but reasonable weight and muzzle velocity variations have a tendency to cancel somewhat and give you much less vertical dispersion. I do not recommend aggressively pursuing weight while only assuming it’s improving the vertical on target. Take the heaviest keeper weight and shoot it next to the lightest keeper weight. The difference on target may be nothing. That’s been my experience.
 
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I appreciate your response. Please note that I'm not advocating weighing pellets only to shoot closely matched weights, but also as a way to remove outliers. In fact, I'm not advocating weighing pellets for anyone except myself. What I'm saying is "If you're going to do it, understand what you're doing, and do it right."
I certainly agree. In business they often brag about following the data. What they often ignore (the question pops their brains) is to consider if the data is good or not. It’s easy to make bad data and harder to make good data. So if that question comes as a surprise, you likely don’t have good data.

FWIW I got my calibration weight from McMaster Carr
 
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