Weighing Rifle Boolits

[RAK2018]

Do any of you guys weigh your rifle boolits. I have a 45-70 405gr W**** and just playing around weighing my cast bollits. Most of them are with a grain some are a little more and some are less. Do you separate them or just shoot them.

[odfairfaxsub]

I don’t

[HangFireW8]

For stuff like very light load plinkers, no.

For 1/2 power or full power rifle, I have a cheap little digital scale that I use in my size, lube and check routine. I put each new boolit on the scale as I swipe the old one off. If it weighs well out of bounds I toss it in the recycle bin and grab the next one.

Properly done, it adds almost no time to my size, lube and check process.

If I'm loading for ultimate accuracy or very long range, I'll weigh and sort all of them into columns by 2/10 grain. They usually end up in a bell curve with the right size (heavy side) chopped off. The most accurate ones will be the ones at/near the peak along the chop-off. If something is heavier than the rest it's usually an accidental beagle (mold halves not tight together for some reason). Everything on the left side of the peak is either a light pour and/or has voids, they get recycled.

[Rcmaveric]

Sorting bullets has has no noticeable affect for my shooting out to 200 yards. It wont hurt though. If it builds confidence then do it. If I were shooting 600+ yards I would compare sorted to unsorted to see if it were warrants it. My comparisons at 100 and 200 yards has shown me it was negligible results.

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[Chill Wills]

For stuff like very light load plinkers, no.

For 1/2 power or full power rifle, I have a cheap little digital scale that I use in my size, lube and check routine. I put each new boolit on the scale as I swipe the old one off. If it weighs well out of bounds I toss it in the recycle bin and grab the next one.

Properly done, it adds almost no time to my size, lube and check process.

If I'm loading for ultimate accuracy or very long range, I'll weigh and sort all of them into columns by 2/10 grain. They usually end up in a bell curve with the right size (heavy side) chopped off. The most accurate ones will be the ones at/near the peak along the chop-off. If something is heavier than the rest it's usually an accidental beagle (mold halves not tight together for some reason). Everything on the left side of the peak is either a light pour and/or has voids, they get recycled.

The above is an accurate post, That description is how I see it too. I mostly don't even weigh bullets for the NRA LR nationals anymore. Large bullets with a total spread of a grain of less total will not mater. It is many times smaller than the resolution of the other errors.
My casting is so uniform, (yours likely may be too) there are no outliers within the range that it shows up on the target, even 1000ys away.
Powder on the other hand.... well. That is a different post.

[gwpercle]

I used to but unless shooting for prizes or money I just do a visual inspection, any flawed get tossed back in the pot.
I was spending way too much time weighing boolits. Pressure casting with a spouted ladle and double cavity mould gives me some pretty consistent weights.
Gary

[redhawk0]

i must be the odd-ball. I do weigh mine. I use 2lbs COWW and 1lb Lino for casting my 340's and 405's. I separate my boolits and keep only 338-340gr (340s) and 401-405gr (405s). I recast the lighter (and heavier but almost never get anything heavier). I only shoot open-sights from an 18.5" Henry so accuracy is good but I don't notice any difference with the 3gr/5gr spread in weight. Any inconsistency at the target is usually me.

redhawk

[Czech_too]

The only one's I do are the .22 caliber. Keep those that are within .05% of the average weight, remelt the rest.
This is of course after a cursory visual inspection. Does it make a difference, I can't really say, but it makes me feel better for doing it.

[trapper9260]

If I shoot short range I do not weight them ,but if I look to go long range I will. I mainly let the boolits tell me when I test some of them. I found that when I do weight them, that I get better groups.What ever is not where I want them I just use them for a different load or cartiage I do it mainly for my 30cal boolits.

[RAK2018]

gwpercle I'm new to casting so what is pressure casting. or if anybody cares to answer this.

Thanks for the replys

[DocSavage]

I weigh mine occasionally a sample of 10 to 15 bullets vary by plus or minus 1% most times less than that

[mdi]

When I'm working up a load, I weigh bullets. I also weigh every charge when working up a load. When I've established a load I like, I'll relax my "standards" and usually just go with as cast weight, using the same alloy of course...

[HangFireW8]

gwpercle I'm new to casting so what is pressure casting. or if anybody cares to answer this.

Usually it's done with a ladle, but can be done with a bottom pour pot. It just means holding the sprue hole directly against the dispenser nozzle. It requires a well vented mold, results in good fillout, but can result in hairs, where the lead under pressure follows the vent lines.

[Hick]

Used to weigh them, but as I got comfortable with my casting I stopped bothering.

[wquiles]

I still do weight them. I have a temperature controlled setup, and from time to time still get a few "light" ones. Here are two batches - you can clearly see the Gaussian distribution on each one:
http://m3coupe.com/Firearms/casting/NOE_TL310-180-RF/IMAG0006.jpg


Now, I agree with the more experienced posters above that it probably doesn't hurt much, but I feel better doing it, and with a digital scale is much quicker.

Will

[newrib]

I dont weigh boolits for smokeless loads such as 30/06 or 303 visual is all they get.I will weigh every hollow base minie boolit which will get shot out of my Enfield muskets. A cheep digital scale makes quick work of that task. The minie balls are weighed to make sure one dosnt slip by with a large void in it, I dont get too fussy the keeper range is plus or minis 2 grains of the average.

[country gent]

After figuring out the mould and what it wants I seldom weigh bullets. A new mould I will weigh bullets to verify my technique is right for it and its casting consistant bullets as to weight and size with the alloy. Yes I do measure them with mikes or a comparator stand. On big bullets variance of 1 grn isn't much percentage wise but a .001 variance on size can be. On a 500 grn 45 cl bullet it takes 5 grns to make 1% the 1/2 grn-7 tenths grn mine are usually off just don't matter a lot. Now on 22s at 50-55 grns that 5 grns is 10% and will make a bigger difference. A lot depends on 1) how fussy you want to be. 2) the size of the bullets being cast, and 3) the rejection rate you can deal with. An old timer I knew weighed every bullet he cast and kept only the mean +/- .2 grns. His ;oads shot good but a little better than half his production went back in the pot every time.

[mdi]

wquiles; Now, I agree with the more experienced posters above that it probably doesn't hurt much, but I feel better doing it, and with a digital scale is much quicker. I think this is the gist of the situation. I'm doing the reloading with my components to use in my guns and if I wanna, I'm gonna. Some folks like pristine primer pockets and case interiors. Make any difference? Maybe, maybe not, but the reloader likes it so it's OK...

[sharps4590]

Admittedly anal retentive here so yes, I weigh all my rifle bullets. For general use I'll sort them into 1 grain batches. If shooting 500 yards or farther, which doesn't happen much these days, I'll tighten that to .02 grs. I only weigh revolver bullets if I know I'm going to playing at 100 yds. or more....another thing I don't do much these days. Does it make a difference....of course it does!!......http://castboolits.gunloads.com/images/smilies/fly.gif to me.

[Texas by God]

I weigh 5 and get an average and then call them by that weight. I will not weigh them all and a lot of small groups tells me not to care. If I were shooting in competition I would weigh and sort.

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[robg]

Usually weight 5or10 out of 100 just to get an idea of uniformity.on a cheap battery scale bag them up with details on a label .2% variation is OK by me.

[Grmps]

1% variation shouldn't make a difference depending on powder and distance shooting.

For hunting, or if I did match shooting I would like a much closer tolerance

You need to experiment and see what your gun likes/doesn't like

[dale2242]

I weigh all my rifle boolits after making sure they are visually perfect.
The variance I allow depends on the size of the boolit.
I can live with 1+or- in the larger ones, 45 caliber for example.
I will allow less and less variance as the size decreases.
Light ones are most likely to have voids.
My hand gun boolits are not weighed but need to be visually perfect....dale