Group size for WARMER bullets VS. GOOD bullets

[Sailman]

When starting to cast bullets with a cold mold, you can get bullets with voids, wrinkles, and rounded edges. Rather than putting the defective bullets back in the melting pot, I keep them and use them for warmer bullets. Why use a good bullet to warm a rifle barrel when you can use defective bullets.

I thought it would be interesting to see how accurate the WARMER bullets were compared to
GOOD bullets. I weighed 20 WARMER bullets and 20 GOOD bullets. The WARMER bullets had a weight range of 14.5 gr. and the GOOD bullets had a weight range of 1.1 gr.

Both the WARMER and the GOOD bullets were shot at 100 yds with a load of 15 1/2 gr. of 2400 in a 308 rifle. Both WARMER and GOOD bullets were 20 shot groups.

The WARMER bullets shot a 20 shot group of 4 5/8 inch, however, 19 0f the shots were in a group of 3 1/2 inch.

The GOOD bullets shot a 20 shot group of 1 1/2 inch, however, 19 of the shots were in a group of 1 1/4 inch

I honestly thought the WARMER bullets would have given a larger group size.

Sailman

[Mk42gunner]

I'm kind of suprised they did that good with a 14.5 gr variation.


Robert

[lwknight]

I will never need weigh my boolits again. Just shoot em. LOL!

[Bret4207]

Many people have found their "foulers" sometimes even shoot tighter groups than the "perfect" ones! No rhyme or reason to it. Common theory is voids in the good ones ves just looking awful for the others. I still cull viciously.

[dragonrider]

I too would not have expected the warmers to do as well as they did for you. However it still gives strength to the opinion that wrinkled, poorly filled, boolits will not do as well as good ones.

[Shiloh]

I cull the bad ones.

I take a few extra for foulers. I don't want them around for me to get confused about which is which.

Shiloh

[Sailman]

When looking at what was posted, I realize that I did not tell what bullet I was working with. The bullet was 311672. Da

Sailman

[303Guy]

Sailman, that's a damn decent and honest group!:drinks:
Ummmm.... usually we measure accuracy with the best of a series of three shot groups.:kidding:
Just for fun, it would be interesting to see what a theoretical 'best' three shot group would measure at. I bet there would be a 'one holer' amoung that group!:mrgreen:

[rhead]

Did the warmers have the same point of impact as the keepers? What group size would you have gotten if firing 10 warmers and 10 keepers? If one of the culls gets mixed in with the keepers it will NOT show up in the chamber during a casual target practice.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
If it looks ugly then it is back to the pot.
With the cost of primers and powder I just cannot see waisting anything on a poor looking boolit. Accuracy to me is what this is all about. I want to know where that 1st shot is going everytime with a good boolit. You may not get the opportunity to fire a "Fouling Shot" someday.

[Papa smurf]

Bret4207-------Papa Smurf here. I mistakenly seated my 8x57 boolits .25 deeper than normal,but found out yesterday I cut what was my best group ever by more than half,and did it again today. No reason I know of. Still learning at 71!
Good Shooting-----------------------------Papa Smurf

[1Shirt]

Me and Papa Smurf are same age, and both of us are still learning. My wrinkled still go back in the pot, and I weigh as segregrate (guess it is still ok to use that word here), on 30 cals to at least within .5 gr. If I am going to shoot a postal match for CBA, the will all be weighed to exact same weights. But then I am told that I am a bit anal on that subject. Interesting thread. Now if somebody would do a like comparison of cast hp's, would find that just as if not more interesting.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[montana_charlie]

It's possible that 100 yards was the limit for stability in those physically defective bullets. Had the range been 200, they might have dispersed badly enough to miss the paper.

Of course, shooting at a greater distance would have enlarged both groups. But, the wide variation in 'warmer' weight would probably show it's effect at longer range as vertical stringing.
CM

[BruceB]

My record-keeping "ability", or at least my proven inability to keep batches of bullets separate, has caused to me to reject and recycle any bullet that's not up to snuff for regular service.

Therefore, ANY bullet of mine that gets loaded into a case has passed a fussy visual inspection, and those that don't pass are no longer a concern because they're GONE.

I've found that weighing all bullets is a waste of my time, and I don't bother. Visual inspection finds more flaws than weighing, so that's what I do.

Of course, this deprives me of the fun of comparing "warmers" against "keepers" for grouping ability, but I suspect I'll survive....

[Sailman]

The WARMER bullets had the same point of impact as the GOOD bullets.

I would like to make this statement. I have been shooting lead bullets for a little over 50 years.
I have never, I repeat never, got a consistant group size as I have with the linotype 311672 bullet with 15 1/2 gr. of 2400 powder shot at 100 yd. I normally consider a good 20 shot group shot at 100 yds. to be 2 inches to 2 1/2 inches. To say the least, I am very pleased.

I am confident that the 1 1/4 inch and 1 1/2 inch group sizes that I got with the 15 1/2 gr. load of 2400 powder are repeatable. This statement is based on the results I got developing this experiment. On 19 April 2010, I shot a 20 shot group measuring 1 7/8 inch and 19 shots of that group were 1 5/8. Also, on 13 April 2010, I shot a 10 shot group measuring 1 5/8 inch.

Sailman

[Bret4207]

Bret4207-------Papa Smurf here. I mistakenly seated my 8x57 boolits .25 deeper than normal,but found out yesterday I cut what was my best group ever by more than half,and did it again today. No reason I know of. Still learning at 71!
Good Shooting-----------------------------Papa Smurf

Yupper, we often forget to try the simple stuff and lose out in the end. A fine lesson you've reminded us of!