Cheap Pellet Seater ...

[PelletBait]

... usually found in any trash can waiting for a second life.
I've used AAA batteries for seating .177 pellets and AA for .22's the past several years but just
recently posted this suggestion on another forum.  The battery nodes seat the pellet enough
to give a good seal while spreading the skirt.  I have noticed a more consistent target grouping
since pressing the pellet further into the chamber.  Sure I could have bought a genuine pellet
seater, but these batteries were recovered at no cost.  Since I'm on seniors subsidized entitlement
checks, I have to be frugal with my expenses.

Woops, disclaimer :  should have stated only intended for break barrels not fixed.

[Roadworthy]

Although using old batteries to seat pellets is economical and may work well with a break barrel, I don't think the technique would work with a fixed barrel.  To that end I made use of an old toothbrush and a very short piece of solid number then copper wire.

[anuthabubba]

A thumb or finger tip is the best tool. If you have a Diana barrel cocker you may need to 'sweep' the top side of a fingernail across the skirt to get it seated fully.

[longhunter]

I made one from a small clevis pin, a short bolt, and a cap nut. Works great for .177, and.22. I think it cost around a dollar to make.

[Ultramarine]

Hulo "Pellet Bait",

I'm a deep ignorant in airgun shooting and a genuine newbie in that forum, but I'm really interested in what you're talking about. Some months ago I bought, among other items, a box of JSB Exact pellets from a Czech reseller and I discovered, when I received them, that a mere quarter of them had their skirt deformed. Those pellets ain't the cheapest ones, so I decided I wouldn't throw them away but try to give them back a decent shape. For this I tried a large number of pointball pens ends, and I eventually succeeded (nice shots) , but I just can't remember now WHICH was the ballpoint pen I chose!...

Then I discovered your post but, and although I read news and other things in english every day, I'm basically french and can easily misinterpret what you said. So please just tell me : d'you think you can properly reshape a pellet skirt this way ? I tried it and it looks OK (have a good moment watching the pic  here attached).

regards,

Yves

[Timekiller72]

I purchased for containers of jab exact 16g and about
%35 percent of them had bad skirts I was going to throw them away but I'm a cheapskate so I figured why not straighten them out. what I did was I used the head of one of the bad pellet I stuck it in the skirt Of one of the bad skirt pellets twisted it until the skirt got its form back and it  work perfect for me just time consuming and a little tedious.

[PelletBait]

Hello Yves

 I press the pellet into the rifles chamber then press in further using one of the batteries.  Would seem easier to reform once in the rifles chamber.  Pressing your deformed pellets into the chamber would reform a little then forcing in further would give a good seal.

I apologize I can't type in French but I found a translation URL
Je appuie sur le culot dans la chambre des fusils puis appuyez utilisant en outre l'une des batteries . Semble plus facile de réformer une fois dans la chambre des fusils . En appuyant sur vos pastilles déformées dans la chambre serait un peu réformer forçant alors plus en donnerait une bonne étanchéité .

[Ultramarine]

Ouch ! I feel a bit ridiculous. I pretend using english and I just didn't know what "pellet seater" meant, I thought it was some device that could reform them. Actually I have only pumpers the chamber of which  can't be accessed. I also have a low end Gamo for kids but if I push a pellet too hard in it, it will just stay stuck in the barrel !
Anyway, your idea using the positive pole of a AAA battery  is great, thanks.

[PelletBait]

Bonjour Yves ,
Se il vous plaît ne vous sentez pas ridicule un terme familier pour vous . Triste de lire que tant de vos boulettes coûteux ont été déformées . Je suppose que vous montrez sur la photo serait aider à réformer les pellets .
Je espère que vous gardez revenir ici pour partager certaines de vos expériences des fusils à air en France .

[Ultramarine]

Hello Pellet Bait,

Don't worry, I felt ridiculous for a short while . As for the pellets, I was patient enough to reform all the damaged ones with my ballpoint pen trick (actually, you don't have to use the ballpoint but only the end of the pen, a sharp one, once the ball point hidden) and you know what : I think they shot better than the  stock ones !

I'm not representative of the average french airgunner : there are lots of experts hereabout, too, but it's not as easy on their forum as on this marvelous GTA one to get infos or advices. The "top shooters" are less prone to mix with the "amateurs"... So I surely won't quit GTA so soon !

[anuthabubba]

From old literature: In a spring piston airgun the pellet must remain in place at the breech taper until sufficient pressure builds to release/accelerate it toward the muzzle. Seating them past this point may reduce velocity and accuracy.

http://www.arld1.com/images/swfs/pistonpelletdynamics.swf

[Bicycleman]

Hi Terry

A while back, when I owned a Nitrogen Piston thingy, I tried both ways - pushing the pellet as far as it would go using my finger; and I also used this pellet seating tool. 

I didn't seem to make a difference in accuracy.

[Ultramarine]

From old literature: In a spring piston airgun the pellet must remain in place at the breech taper until sufficient pressure builds to release/accelerate it toward the muzzle. Seating them past this point may reduce velocity and accuracy.

http://www.arld1.com/images/swfs/pistonpelletdynamics.swf

Absolutely exact and thank you for that nicely documented info. Bought some "Gamo Match" pellets some months ago, and could hardly insert them in the barrel of any of my rifles. Jammed one in the only "spring piston" I have, a low powered Gamo Delta Fox for kids I barely use : once seated, I suppose it felt at ease there 'cause it just wouldn't move... I had to push it backwards with a rod.
As for the way I reform pellet skirts, I never had any problem with it. I suppose it increases the skirt diameter of the pellet in such a moderate proportion -if it actually does- that it can't make it jam.

[anuthabubba]

Hi Terry

A while back, when I owned a Nitrogen Piston thingy, I tried both ways - pushing the pellet as far as it would go using my finger; and I also used this pellet seating tool. 

I didn't seem to make a difference in accuracy.

Yeah. Guess I shoulda said, "can change the POI."

[Korak-again]

Some of the gadgets you guys put together are cool.  I use a wooden golf tee with the tip shaped for the particular gun/pellet combo. I got a hundred of them for a couple of bucks.

[WolfyW]

Tried this battery idea on my .22 cal Diana 34, and won't do that again. She detonated every time. The seating must deform the skirt or do something that allows air to get past. Thankfully no damage.

[longhunter]

if you deep seated a pellet, and, the gun detonated, you didn't have enough back pressure to keep it from doing so. the same scenario can occur with a pellet that is too light for the power that the gun is capable of.
 same as if your gun is dieseling heavily, to the point of detonating, you use a heavier pellet to keep the piston from accelerating as quickly. this keeps the temperature inside the compression tube lower, thereby preventing detonation.
make sense?

[WolfyW]

Makes sense to me to just not do it again 

[multipumpchump]

I know an old thread but I just started using the tip of the pellgun oil bottle and it works perfect for 177. Should be free since almost all here will have this or the silicon chamber oil in the same size bottle from crossman.

[Frank in Fairfield]

While I have an original Beeman Pellseat, I think the old stereo plugs work better.
If you look around the house you wilkl find one: