Weight variation???

[abunaitoo]

How many of you weigh each boolet???????
Is there a window of variation that is acceptable????

[44man]

How many of you weigh each boolet???????
Is there a window of variation that is acceptable????
NO, never. Maybe with tiny, tiny rifle boolits but not with anything else.

[Bullet Caster]

I do weigh mine. No matter what the weight is, I still shoot even the +/- 5% ones. I really don't think it matters, though. BC

[Shuz]

I only weigh boolits used for rifle competition. I only visually check handgun boolits and rifle boolits used for hunting as I size them.

[Old Caster]

I too only weighed my large BPCR bullets but we shoot rams at 500 meters and need every detail covered as well as possible. This was with a custom Brooks mold and it was single cavity plus I only ladle poured the bullets. My variation was probably about 1 grain and I would take the bullets and put them according to one tenth grain groups and then would shoot a sequence only with bullets that were in the same catagory. They weighed 420 grains so these are real close percentages. I have no idea what difference I was making but to really find out would have required so many shots that it wasn't worth the effort I just didn't wan't to take a chance. Two cavities are a whole different deal and would vary more or less according to manufacturer. For pistol, if it looks good it gets shot and I don't do any other kind of rifle competition but if I did cast benchrest I would do the same thing. -- Bill --

[stubshaft]

If I'm plinking then I shoot without weighing. If I'm using it in competition, then every one gets weighed and mic'd.,

[Muddydogs]

I have been going with a 3 grain window the same as I do with pulled jacketed bullets. I have found that most of the bullets I have casted fall inside this window. I did find it interesting that the Lee .401 175 grain mold cast bullets that weighted 180 to 183 grains yet the Lee .430 240 grain mold cast bullets out of the same lot of lead as the .401 mold at 240 to 243 grains. The .401 mold bullets where .401 and the .430 mold bullets where .430 to .431.

[lead chucker]

I have been weighing all mine and segregating them. I think it's a feel good thing. For hunting rounds I like them to be all the same weight. The rest get used for practice unless they are way off then they go back in the pot. That's the beauty of lead.

[brassrat]

I go on a tear and using a digital and a balance scale and sandpaper, I end up with 2 or 3 piles where they all weigh exactly the same. :D

[tenx]

generally being really critical in visually inspecting and sorting does wonders for groups, plus it's not as time consuming as weighing. However this dosen't catch the occassional bullet that has an internal void/air pocket. If you have the time weigh them, if not then visually check.

[ku4hx]

I stopped weighing pistol boolits circa 1975 and have never regretted it. I do, however; visually inspect every boolit when lubed or sized. I never found weighing to be any advantage for pistol boolits at the ranges I generally shoot.

I no longer cast rifle boolits but I suspect weighing them as I once did decades ago would be a good idea.

[sqlbullet]

I tend to weigh rifle bullets because it helps me quickly find boolits that aren't as well filled out or that have voids. I generally accept a .5% deviation. In a 200 grain boolit this is ±.5 grain for a total spread of 1 grain. Generally 85% of my pile falls in this range. At 100 yards these can create flyers. When I have weighed them I can only blame the flyers on me.

For pistol boolits I never weigh them.

[jimr]

generally being really critical in visually inspecting and sorting does wonders for groups, plus it's not as time consuming as weighing. However this dosen't catch the occassional bullet that has an internal void/air pocket. If you have the time weigh them, if not then visually check.

i believe all cast bullets have a air pocket hidden in there. i know when i cut a cast pure lead round ball in half with a razor you'll see it in the first or second cut,always there.

[nfg]

Whether or not you weight sort ANY of your components depends on your accuracy requirements...if keeping the shots inside a pie plate at 50 yds is all you want then don't bother, but if you want small groups then you must.

I think accurate rifles are interesting and the rest are basically worthless so I weigh EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.

I'm finding out that the heavy 600 gr plus cast bullets for my 600 NE wannabee had a 15 gr variation in the first 50 bullets I worked with..not counting those that fell WAY outside the mean. MOST fell within a range of +/- 2 gr and ~35 gr below, at 665 gr, what the 700 gr mold was designed for due to the particular mix my CasterMan is using. I cast a few with WW's only and the weight was within about 5 gr. There were 7 that fell below the average and 2 that were above....and two of the low end ones were 15 gr below so the probably had voids.

I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN THIS IF I HADN'T HAVE WEIGHED THEM...

So YOU HAVE TO decide what what you want. I certainly wouldn't want a trophy getting away because I was too lazy or...to weight my bullets and the one I happened to load up ended up a flyer because it had a big empty hole inside that I couldn't see with my non-operational EX-raay vision.

IT'S YOUR CHOICE.

[Bob Krack]

If you are willing to weigh each and every one then the rule I follow is one half of one percent. That means for a 200 grain boolit, 199 to 201 grains. 100 - 99.5 to 100.5 and so on. 500 grain - 497.5 to 502.5.

Just my opinion. Visual usually is fine for not critical usage.

Bob

[jimr]

+or - .5grain works well with all my rifle bullets . i don't weigh pistol bullets.

[Alan in Vermont]

I always weigh,,,,,,,,,,,,, one or two out of a new mold to see just how close it is to design weight. Beyond that,,, life is too short for me to even consider weighing boolits. Won a bunch of trophies in IHMSA matches, and scored way better in 1500 matches than I thought I could, with boolits that were visually inspected only. For me it's the shooting that is fun, not the inspecting. I'm not particularly obsessed with scores, if I was I might take a different approach.

[abunaitoo]

Thanks to all.

[fredj338]

I only weigh rifle bullets or my hunting buulets for the 44mag. I reject any bullets w/ weight variation of more than 1%. Does it matter, a little bit at the longer ranges.

[sparky45]

Let me ask this: As a Mold generally states the weight of boolit; what is the Alloy for that given weight. Is it Lyman #2?

[Old Caster]

Unless it is said different it is generally #2. On a BPCR mold it is probably 20-1 without antimony but will say in the literature especially if it is from a custom maker like Jones or Brooks. I think some RCBS molds were 10 -1 and the literature says this. -- Bill --

[koehn,jim]

AS far as I know the weight the mold is supposed to cast is with Lyman num2 formula. I weigh bullets used for load development or competition, plus or minus 0.1 I dont really know if it matters. I do know that it makes me more confident to have the best possible ammo that I can produce.

[1Shirt]

I weigh all of my 22's & 6mm's to exact weight. I weigh no pistol boolits, or any boolit over 200 gr. If I am going to shoot a postal match with cast 30's, I weigh to .03 gr.
1Shirt!:coffee: