by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
This report covers:
- It begins with lead
- Lead becomes wire
- Wire becomes balls
- Clean and lubricate
- Swaging
- Hot off the press
- Production begins
- Pack and ship
Airgunners are naturally curious, and when it comes to their ammunition, their curiosity piques. Today we will take a look at how JSB, the Czech Republic pellet manufacturer, makes pellets. This report was made possible by information and photos supplied by JSB.
It begins with lead
The process naturally begins with lead — a lot of lead. JSB buys lead in ingots that are at least 99.97 percent pure. They melt this lead and add a small amount of antimony for optimal hardness and to prevent rapid oxidation. This process is entirely controlled by them so they know the quality of the end result.