Sorting my boolits

[OnceFired]

Hey all

Ok, finally getting around to prepping my boolits to be used. They've been cast & lubed with Alox.

I went to sort them by weight, and got some really funny results. Thought I'd pass my observations along since I'm very much a casting newbie.



Mold is TL356-124-2r-9mm-luger
I had been having some funky sizing problems, but these were from my Good pile
The majority from my good pile are weighing in at 128-129 gr
Second most populous group is 127-128 gr
I have a number of projectiles that are 132-135.5 and very few that are going less than 127


The ones I had sizing difficulties with are easy to spot - they are shiny where more lead was sheared off during sizing.

Alloy was purely from COWW - I didn't add any SOWW to the melt.

What kind of grain variance should I be seeing from the drops? How about once we add lube to the equation?

Feels like I need to smelt down the heavy ones and do those over. But it seems a waste if the 127-129's are OK.

OF

[petroid]

I'm assuming its a two cavity mold. Most likely the two cavities are dropping slightly different weights. The 128-129 are good boolits from one cavity and the 127-128 are the good ones from the other cavity. The others are not so good. All in all it probably won't make a lick of difference accuracy wise at normal ranges for a 9mm. A lot of 9mm pistols aren't accurate enough themselves for an average shooter to tell a difference. Not saying you are or aren't an average shooter but the 1gr variance is minor. I have weight sorted rifle boolits to 0.1gr and can't tell if it shoots any better than just 1gr variance, but that may be the load, the gun, the boolit, or me.

The heavy ones may be from the mold not being closed and will be fatter and harder to size. I would cull those.
The lighter ones may not be filled out well or have air pockets.
Make sure there are no gaps in the drive bands after they are sized. This can cause gas cutting.
Don't worry about the weight of the lube. The boolit weight is what matters.

[OnceFired]

It is a 6-cavity mold.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

A variance of 2 grains or even 4 is not going to make any significant difference in the POI or the grouping in 9mm. Most of the pistols currently being used are not considered target grade although some do better than others, especially if they have been tuned. High grade 9mm's are in the realm of Sig 210, S&W 952 or Korth and prices for them are high. Sorting bullets by weight is a good practice for serious target work/bullseye comp; it is difficult to spot any difference in grouping at 25 meters/yards given the use of a target grade pistol in 9mm. The previous post by Petroid pretty well sums it up and his advice is sound...I concur that the culling out of significantly lighter bullets is important as they may contain voids that will effect the grouping to a greater degree as the distance to target increases. Lube should not be part of the equation. LLS

[OnceFired]

Okay, so +4 grains not an issue. The change is likely based on alloy, right? So, I'll keep any of my under-129 gr, and smelt the others back down. And if I am hearing you right, I still work the load as from a 124 gr projectile. Correct?

[monadnock#5]

And if I am hearing you right, I still work the load as from a 124 gr projectile. Correct?

It depends on your needs. If best accuracy at max velocity is your goal, cull ruthlessly. If plinking at moderate velocities, use them all, and load with the same charge.

[OnceFired]

Definitely plinking for practice. No special need otherwise.

[Bullwolf]

It is a 6-cavity mold.

Not saying you are doing this, but... Be sure you are not holding all three handles (including the sprue cutter) while casting with a Lee 6 cavity mould.

If you hold the mould this way tightly, you can force the block halves apart and get some "interesting" sizing inconsistencies in your cast boolits.

Something to watch out for if you're a new caster.


- Bullwolf

[petroid]

For plinking there is no need to weight sort. If the tl bands are squished during sizing it may be due to the mold not being closed. I would cull these and shoot the rest as long as they are well filled out. I tumble lube again before loading

[dondiego]

If you feel that that you need to weigh your boolets, be sure to do it before you use LLA on them. The alox could easily account for several grains of difference.

Don

[Blackwater]

Vairance is always present with any human manufacturing process. Sometimes, this affects the performance of our products, so we developed methods to minimize the variance so we get better and more consistent results. Bullet casting is no different. You've got some good tips above. The one about not grabbing all 3 handles is a very good one. Watching pot temp is another factor. Hotter mixes flow faster and tend to give slightly heavier bullets usually. The big trick in casting is the same as any other process - keep every significant factor more consistent, and you get more consistent results. Simple. We "moderns" are conditioned to think everything is easy and that we don't have to pay attention to what we're doing. T'ain't so. Never has been. Not likely to ever be. Just monitor pot temp, fluxing, technique for moving your hands in casting process, etc. and you'll get more consistent results.

And OBTW, I don't subscribe to the theory that "plinking" loads can be less precise than those we use for more serious stuff like hunting and self defense. Remember, only PERFECT practice makes PERFECT performance when it's really crucial. Slacking off when we practice ain't doin' ourselves any favors at all. In my own case, not being able to see the sights like I used to is a constant frustration, but ..... I keep practicing dealing with that little problem. Whatever the problem, we get better only when we PRACTICE dealing with them. And we all DO have those pesky lil' things that we know about but try to avoid. Targets don't lie, though. They're pesky lil' things in their own right, aren't they?

[4rdwhln]

I agree that for plinking and general shooting a few grain variance is no big deal as far as pistol lead goes. However I have noticed that.3 grain difference in the lyman 356402 is the difference from a perfect bullet and one with the top band rounded half way around.

[captaint]

I think Bullwolf nailed it. With the 6 cav Lee molds, it's really easy to keep your hand on the sprue cutter handle. Very little pressure will open the mold halves up just enough to give you "fatties". They're obviously the ones with the most shiney and the heaviest. Of course, I know this because I've done it. Now, I keep my hands completely off the sprue cutter handle when I'm pouring. Those 6 cav's will really pile them up, won't they ?? Mike

[OnceFired]

Yeah, I am pretty stumped on the weight variance, since I am absolutely positive I steered clear of the 3rd handle during casting. That was the #1 reply I got from my first casting session, so I made sure the 2nd time around I was mindful of that the whole time. That said, I can't otherwise explain the weight variance, so I'll keep an eye on it next time around too.

I'm going to load these up. I've got a post about that too.

[Wayne Smith]

I would visually cull any that have rounded bases or bands and use the rest. Weight is less important than condition unless the boolit is very light, thus suggesting a void.