Bullet weight clarification?

[Canuck Bob]

When guys talk about a mold throwing 180 grain bullets or a load with a certain bullet is it normal to use the all up weight of lead,gc, and lube?

How much would one estimate a gc and lube add to say a medium size 30 cal and a heavy 44 cal lead bullet to suggest a range. Of course the fact I will cast for a 32-20 and 444 might also be a reason for this range.

Sometime it is self evident from a post what condition the bullet is in but then again sometimes its not.

For purposes of load development I assume the all up weight is critical to understand the pressure limits due to bullet weight.

[noylj]

5 grains up or down does not really affect load weight. You will find that the difference in starting/max loads for a 5 grain difference in bullet weight is the same as the variation between different reloading manuals for the exact same bullet. This is not nuclear physics.
Thus, it just doesn't matter.
If you are going to separate bullets by weight, it is best if you do it without lubricant.

[mpmarty]

+1 air density will have more effect on pressures than the weight of a check and lube.

[montana_charlie]

If a mould throws a 180 grain bullet, it comes out with no lube or gascheck...unless it's from a magic mould.

CM

[runfiverun]

usually the boolits are referred to as what the mold says .
if i called my 429421 the lyman 247 gr swc kinda keith boolit, or my rcbs 240gr swc the 243gr rcbs gas check boolit it'd be confusing.
they are just generally referred to by the mold, like "the lee 240 t/l".
it don't weigh 240 grs b.t.w.

if being more specific such as "i weight sorted my rcbs 55 gr g/c"
it means we are looking for a bell curve in weights and picking out the closest to the top.[usually the largest amount of boolits] 55.2 55.3 55.4 etc..
i sort my 22's a bit differently.
sorting the castings by weight [after picking through by eye] then sizing/lubing and checking.
then lubing again.
then weight sorting one more time, for the best [another bell curve hopefully much tighter] of the bunch.
this is when trying for under 1/2" groups at 2750 fps.

if it's in a load it's the boolit used. [rcbs 180 t/c p/b]
actual weight will vary from caster to caster and frequently from session to session.
and definately from what the manufacturer's specify, even [usually] using their specified alloy.
unless it is a custom mold made for a specific alloy.
but a few grains of weight really don't matter, even if it's cause you got a bit more tin,or antimony in there.

unless you are going out on the edge for accuracy and velocity, and the rifle/handgun is capable of noticing.

plus what they said^^