Today we’re taking a first look at the ZAN Pellet Sizer. HAM readers first saw this product in our March 2025 report from the IWA OutdoorClassics Show in Germany.
Now it’s here in the USA and you can buy it from Pyramyd. The product itself looks to be almost identical to that Zan showed me several months ago.
I am interested because it’s an innovative, interesting tool that has the potential to enhance the consistency of both head and skirt diameters. Zan is displaying some exciting thinking in the airgun ammunition world and this is part of his obviously fertile imagination.
Now it’s clear that this is not a mass-market product. The average Joe is never going to buy one of these – particularly at the not inconsiderable cost of $251.99.
So the target market is dedicated competitive shooters who have invested heavily in their gear and will pursue any avenue to gain that vital competitive edge.
If the ZAN Pellet Sizer gains you an additional point or two in a neck-to-neck competition, you might win, rather than finish second. In that case, Zan’s sizer would be a bargain!
But there’s another possible use case…
We all have tins of pellets sitting around that do not “like” the barrels of our airguns. Maybe sizing could make some of this lead stockpile usable? At $20 for a tin of pellets, there’s even a chance that the sizer could pay for itself. Maybe.
Zan Pellet Sizer .177 Caliber
| Head Sizes | 4.49 mm | 4.50 mm | 4.51 mm | 4.52 mm | 4.53 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skirt Sizes | 4.56 mm | 4.60 mm | 4.64 mm | 4.68 mm | 4.72 mm |
Zan Pellet Sizer .22 Caliber
| Head Sizes | 5.50 mm | 5.52 mm | 5.53 mm | 5.54 mm | 5.55 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skirt Sizes | 5.59 mm | 5.61 mm | 5.64 mm | 5.66 mm | 5.70 mm |
Zan Pellet Sizer .25 Caliber
| Head Sizes | 6.33 mm | 6.34 mm | 6.35 mm | 6.36 mm | 6.37 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skirt Sizes | 6.58 mm | 6.60 mm | 6.63 mm | 6.65 mm | 6.68 mm |
Zan Pellet Sizer .30 Caliber
| Head Sizes | 7.62 mm | 7.63 mm | 7.64 mm | 7.65 mm | 7.66 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skirt Sizes | 7.69 mm | 7.72 mm | 7.75 mm | 7.80 mm | 7.81 mm |
Let’s Take A Closer Look At The ZAN Pellet Sizer
As we can see from the heading photograph above, the ZAN Pellet Sizer comprises a base unit, five head sizers, five skirt sizers and a pellet pusher. All are contained in a hard clamshell-type case. It’s a very professional presentation.
The Pellet Sizer is available in multiple calibers. These are .177, .22, .25 and .30 caliber. Each kit includes the same parts – the differences are only for the precision-machined holes in each of the 10 sizer plates.
We have the .177 caliber kit here.
The core component of the kit is the sizer plate. As we can see below, there’s a central hole machined through the plate. That’s where the pellet will fit. The four large disks are very strong magnets which hold the sizers together in use.
The four ball bearings ensure precise location of the plates with each other and the base.
In use, the desired head sizer plate is set on the base, with the skirt sizing plate above it. Like this…
The skirt sizer plates have notches in two sides. These enable the plates to be separated from each other using the tool included as part of the pellet pusher. However, I found it more effective to use a stubby, flat-bladed screwdriver.
The tool or screwdriver fits into the slot and the skirt sizer plate can then be levered off.
At this point, I should say that these magnets are extremely strong! They really snap together and – if you’re not careful – they can actually take a bite out of your finger. Ouch!Evidence below.
And – whatever you do – do not allow two head size plates to become attached together. If they do, there’s no useful leverage slot and it’s close to impossible to separate them. You can probably guess how I know this…
Unfortunately using either the Zan tool or screwdriver tends to mar the nice black finish, even if it does not impact the functionality, as you can see in some of the photographs. (Sorry, Pyramyd). I recommend finding a strong plastic spatula or similar non-marring tool for your own use.
Having decided on the required head and skirt sizer plates, the pellet is simply loaded from the top and pushed through with the supplied tool. Easy.
To extract your sized pellet, push the handy-dandy plunger in the base of the unit.
How Do You Use The ZAN Pellet Sizer?
Well, that’s an interesting question. Personally, I have never sized an airgun pellet in my life!
So I am starting completely from scratch…
Unfortunately ZAN’s kit comes with only limited instructions. The owner is advised to “attach the head sizing plate with your desired diameter to the sizer base”. Yes, I understand that. But the question is “what is my desired diameter?”
From here I’m in uncharted territory.
Starting from real basics, it’s clear that the ZAN Pellet Sizer can only “size down”, that is reduce, the diameter of a pellet. It’s never going to make either head or skirt diameter larger.
Zan’s instructions also recommend that the pellets are not “sized too much” in one pass. In other words, don’t look to reduce the diameters so much that the head and skirt lose flakes of lead. If necessary, two steps can be taken in the sizing process, Zan says.
So this raises the possibility that some pre-sorting of the pellets to be sized could be beneficial. This could weed-out the undersized pellets that will be unaffected by sizing. It could also identify those pellets that are waaaay larger than your sizing target diameter.
An obvious way to make this sort is to use a Pelletgage.
The Pelletgage is a “go – no go” head diameter gauge. There’s no doubt in my mind that the head diameter is more critical than skirt diameter when it comes to airgun pellets. So it seems logical to start our pellet sizing based on head diameter.
So what does a sized pellet look like?
Let’s take a H&N Field Target Trophy pellet. Straight from the tin, the head size measured 4.52 mm using my Pelletgage.
For this example, I chose to size this pellet down to 4.49 mm head size. (The skirt sizing plate was the largest 4.72 mm diameter, so that it would be un-sized).
The photograph below shows the result. The reduction of head diameter is clear.
But how would I know that 4.49 mm would be the correct “desired head diameter”?
To be honest, I don’t know.
But I had one idea. This was to push an oversized pellet through a barrel and establish what the “slugged” diameter is.
So I took another 4.52 mm head diameter Field Target Trophy and pushed it through an old (and obviously dirty) barrel that was readily to hand. Below we can see the result. The head of the pellet is now notched from the lands and grooves of the barrel where it passed through the choke. Ditto with the skirt.
Then I took that “slugged” pellet and offered it into a Zan gauge head sizer. It fitted into the 4.51 plate, as you can see below.
My thinking is that I would start my head sizing using the 4.51 sizer. I’d size 20 pellets, then do the same with the 4.50 and 4.52 head diameter sizers.
Then I would shoot those pellets in my chosen air rifle and observe the accuracy of each batch. I would compare the results to a “control batch” of un-sized pellets. After all, accuracy is the goal when sizing pellets.
So that’s how I would get started.
As for skirt sizing, I have absolutely no idea where to start!
Hopefully, some knowledgeable HAM Community readers will be able to chime-in on this topic. One thing’s for certain, there’s a lot to discover using this tool.
I can see it being an essential part of the equipment of every serious airgun shooting competitor for years to come.
BUY FROM PYRAMYD
ZAN Projectiles Pellet Sizer, .177 Cal
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