JUNK BOOLETS or are they?

[brassrat]

So I changed to another company and this one is worse. Last years order got me 200gr. .45 ACP running from 200 gr. or so, up to 207gr. Now I waited two months and the 158 gr. 38s are going up to 168gr. on half the order and the other half is pretty close to what it should be. I just sorted 1500 rds.. :shock: Is this close to be expected? Both companys have everyones praise on the gunboards.

[KYCaster]

How do they shoot?

Jerry

[MtGun44]

Probably nothing to get worked up about.

I second the question: " What does Mr. Target say?" He is the final arbiter.

Bill

[texassako]

If they really bother you but shoot ok you could sort them into lots by weight.

[Benjlan]

I sort mine that I cast by .5 grain increments. I'm anal though

[williamwaco]

I have done a lot of accuracy testing at 25 yards with the .38 - .357 I started out with half grain increments then tried 1 train increments then two and three grain increments.

Now I no longer weigh them at all.
I can tell no difference in accuracy at 25 yards.

[brassrat]

I was wondering the usual weight ranges out there with cast boolets. My guess was that within a grain or maybe two was about right.

[RobS]

Most of my molds are custom and from the same alloy they drop 1-2 grains maximal from each other from cavity to cavity with some being 4 cavity molds. I have a Lee 6 cavity mold that drops 5 grains difference between the 6 boolits that drop.

[dverna]

I did some tests on 20 bullets of each:

Dardas .45 200 gr SWC Extreme Spread 1.7 gr
MasterCast .45 -200 gr RN ES 1.7gr
Dardas .38 148 DEWC ES 2.4 gr
MasterCast .38 130 gr ES 2.7 gr
Precision 9mm 122 gr TC ES 2.2 gr

Your bullets are not up to industry standards. A 7-10 grain spread is too much IMHO. But if you are only interested in blasting ammo at 7-10 yards it does not matter much. Like others said, shoot them and see if you are happy with the results. You do not need great bullets unless you have the ability to shoot very well or want to reach out to 50 yards or more. But you should get good bullets for what these guys charge for them. BTW I bought 60k+ bullets from MasterCast and 25k+ from Dardas after testing them. Both are great suppliers with a quality product - at least that was the case 3-7 years ago when I dealt with them. I know Dardas used to use ONLY virgin alloy. With alloy costs going up, some of the smaller producers (or those less profitable) may start "backyard alloying" to reduce costs. That will affect batch to batch bullet weights. So check if your spread is within a box of 1000 or from order to order.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I was wondering the usual weight ranges out there with cast boolets. My guess was that within a grain or maybe two was about right.

Casting...Once, I get a rhythm going, large pistol boolits will be about a 2gr variance. The boolits that drop before I get the rhythm going can easily have a 5gr variance, especially because they are usually riddled with flaws and wrinkles...they always get rejected.

[KYCaster]

I was wondering the usual weight ranges out there with cast boolets. My guess was that within a grain or maybe two was about right.


I've come to accept that + or - 2% of boolit weight is pretty much the industry standard. So your 200-207 is within that range. (203 +or- 4 gr.) I know that's not 200 +or- 2%, but like dverna said, the nominal weight depends on the alloy used and may not coincide with the mold manufacturer's designation.

If the bullets you bought aren't up to your standards, you have plenty of options available. There are plenty of casters who would be happy to sell you their product. Just don't be surprised if most of them lose interest when you ask for particular size and weight tolerances. On the other hand, there are casters who will make exactly what you want, but you can expect to pay a PREMIUM price for the premium product.

That's why most of us here cast our own. We can't find the product we want at the price we're willing to pay.

Jerry

[brassrat]

Thanks for the responses and testing ! I shoot off a rest almost all the time and want quality. I guess I have to make them myself... or sand em down to .000 variations...again :mad:

[MtGun44]

LOL! "sand them down......."

Bill

[Adam10mm]

Most consistent bullet commercially on a large scale I've found is from Missouri Bullet Company.

[brassrat]

Thanks for the responses and testing ! I shoot off a rest almost all the time and want quality. I have to make them myself... or sand em down to .000 variations...again :mad:


Whats so funny? doesn't everyone sand their boolets? or keep tiny screws around for weight equalization?

[Cane_man]

ya, i thought everyone sanded their boolits... come on, get with the program fellas

[bbqncigars]

Sand boolits to weight??! RIDICULOUS!! That's what lathes are for. ;-)

[leeggen]

I weight equalize mine by sanding-------in the burm!
CD