Average cast boolit deviation for handgun use?

[JWFilips]

Hi All,
I'm just trying to get an idea of what the standard accepted deviation of a cast handgun boolit would be?
I know when I used to shoot heavy benchrest in the 80's I sorted my bullets in .1 gr increments & I actually went that crazy in the 90's with Flintlock Round Ball competition shooting. Now that I'm older and enjoying shooting my S&W revolvers off hand I realize that I don't have to be so "anal" since my eyes & hands aren't that steady. I cast some boolits for the first time today and weighed my batch to within 3/4 grain ....Is this acceptable or am I too far off
Thank You
Jim

[williamwaco]

For many years I never weighed a cast bullet. Never occurred to me.
When I joined this forum, there was lots of discussion.

I started weighing them into groups of 1 grain spread e.g. +/1 one half grain

eg 156.0 to 156.9 - 157.0 to 157.9 - 158.0 to 158.9

Using my Thompson Contender in .357 Magnum, firing from bench rest, I can see NO difference in accuracy.

I no longer weigh them.


Exact same results with .30 caliber rifles.

Others will disagree.

You do what you feel comfortable with.


.

[Calamity Jake]

I never weigh pistol, just check for fillout, rifle I weigh and put into group of .5 gr total spread(190.0-190.5)

[asp]

I keep like-alloy bullets together and don't bother weighing more than 5 per batch. I haven't been casting very long, but I've been getting darn good accuracy out of it. FWIW, most of my casting is for use in pistol or low pressure rifle and not trying to squeeze every bit of speed or accuracy out of magnum rifle loads.

[Bigslug]

When Pops and I first got into NRA Highpower, we applied a whole lot of Benchrest loading techniques to the ammo - turning necks, uniforming primer pockets, sorting brass by weight, sorting the cheap surplus .308 bullets I was using for 200 and 300 yards by weight, etc. . .

We ultimately solved most of those issues by going to better brass (Lapua and Norma), but mostly we decided that, for that particular game, we were bringing more error to the party than could be realized by minute improvements in what was already pretty good ammo.

If you're are not only competing with your ammo, but are actually competitive in the game, it's worth looking for whatever edge you can get, otherwise, my attitude has become "LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR IT!!" - especially for short range pistol work. Give your boolits a visual inspection and call it a day.

[fredj338]

1/10gr increments is really being anal IMO, es[ecially handgun bullets. COnsider the variation in case volumes & powder charges, It doesn't matter, even for serious shooting @ distance. I don't even weigh my plinking bullets. I do weigh my hunting & long range bullets & cull those that deviate more than 1-2gr in 240-300gr 44mag.

[fecmech]

I look at the bases of the bullets when I open the mold and cull any that are not perfect. During the sizing & lubing i visually check and that's it. I did the weighing and sorting drill and found it a waste of time.

[JWFilips]

I look at the bases of the bullets when I open the mold and cull any that are not perfect. During the sizing & lubing i visually check and that's it. I did the weighing and sorting drill and found it a waste of time.

Yes Once everything got running for me I did notice every once in awhile when I opened the sprew plate a boolit base or two that was not fully formed. I should have culled these as they were dropped because they are hard to find afterwords

[44man]

Brass in the revolver is your enemy. (Brass in BR shooting is just too important too.)
How you cast is another and if you have piles of rejects, it can be a concern.
I never weigh a single boolit, never made a difference.

[mdi]

I don't weigh my bullets, other than to get an idea of what the mold is producing. But I do measure the diameter and sort with a minimum in mind, ie., all my .44 bullets from a certain mold must measure at least .432" as cast. My other molds have their tollerances too...

[HATCH]

I haven't sat down and measured all the weights of the boolits I cast.
That is really over kill for pistols unless it is a match pistol that you want to shoot in match rounds.
You would have to hand load the powder every time to make sure the grains were exact every time down to the 100th of a grain.

[captaint]

I will weigh boolits after I cast up a batch, just to make sure I haven't made a serious mistake in my casting practices. They are usually within 2 or 3 grains (and the difference should be smaller) and that 2 or 3 grains doesn't make any difference. They all shoot great. I don't shoot past 50 yards anyway. I only use the iron sights and my eyes are slipping. I am vertically challenged on the sights. Oh well, it's still fun. enjoy Mike

[**oneshot**]

I cull for visual deffects on my revolver boolits.

[JWFilips]

I cull for visual deffects on my revolver boolits.

When culling for defects Is it any little defect like small blems on the nose or more obvious wrinkles etc.... what I'm asking is how perfect should they look?

[Edubya]

I use to throw everything that had a blemish back into the smelting pot. I found that I was being way to picky. Now I mostly look at the base and grooves. If they're good it gets to fly downrange.

EW

[JWFilips]

I use to throw everything that had a blemish back into the smelting pot. I found that I was being way to picky. Now I mostly look at the base and grooves. If they're good it gets to fly downrange.

EW
Ah Just what I want to hear!

[NVScouter]

When culling for defects Is it any little defect like small blems on the nose or more obvious wrinkles etc.... what I'm asking is how perfect should they look?

I've shot both minor blems and perfect. They shoot the same to 30y but if your shooting over 70y you may see a difference. I did with one mould. Buy a thermometer and preheat your 6 banger longer. They will be perfect with less effort and less culls.

The thing about imperfections is that they can effect ballance and sizing, especialy at the base.

[mdi]

Here's an idea; shoot everything you cast. Then if you get fliers, tighten your sorting. I have been casting for a while and most of my bullets are "keepers" and only glaring wrinkles on the nose or unfilled bases will get one thrown back. Don't get so picky that you only shoot 1 out of 5 bullets you cast, even though casting is fun you do need good results!