How Good is Good Enough?

[aprayinbear]

I know this might seem like a simple question but....

I cast for all my handgun loads (.380, .357/38, .44, .45) and use a good mix of wheel weights for each. I quench my bullets as well. Whatever I cast seems to shoot without problems in my handguns and my loads do not seem to produce any leading. Accuracy seems good.

My question is.... How perfect are the bullets you cast? Unless mine have a significant void or dent I just size, load, crimp and shoot. I do not weigh my bullets either. That means I load a lot of imperfect bullets. Ironically, I measure every powder load on a scale, keeping the powder for each round as uniform as I possibly can.

I am an informal target shooter and shoot at 10, 25 and 50 yards. Other times I just plink for cans and steel plates.

I wish there was a way to know how much a certain imperfection impacts the path of a bullet.

I shoot for enjoyment, not for perfection. So how perfect are your bullets? How perfect do they need to be?

Happy shooting!

[perotter]

Mine are perfect enough to do what I expect them to. I expect them to shoot better than standard store bought, in multiple guns and at a lower cost. I don't remelt very many back down. Only those that for whatever reason didn't completely fill.

[Taylor810]

If they fly straight and hit hard, that should be good enough.

[Shiloh]

I used to be really fussy about perfect boolits. I stopped with pistol boolits. If it has good fillout and a good base, it gets loaded and fired.
I was spending way too much time fretting over the boolits. Rifle boolits are more critical. I spent an afternoon once testing boolits, perfect boolits and not so perfect boolits got fired from a rest at 50 feet. I had groups that were near identical. Sometimes the targets with perfect boolits were the best, and sometimes it was the other way around. At 25 yards, the boolits with flawed bases were a bit more obvious.

flawed boolits from the '03 Springfield had biggger groups at 100 yards. At 200 yards it was obvious. Better boolits obviously shot better.
This is with open iron sights and my 57 year old eyes.

SHiloh

[rockrat]

I usually wasn't too fussy as I won't claim to be a crackshot. Did weigh my boolits and inspect them and went and shot them to see if things got better. Nope

Some of my rifles, I will visually inspect them when sizing, but thats about it.

[NSP64]

Handgun- cast, visual for obvious imperfection. Lube size shoot.
Rifle- cast, visual inspection, check diameter, weigh, lube size shoot

[josper]

I don't get crazy weighing boolets. If I can see a defect it goes back in the pot other wise I shoot them. They must be all wright as I get groups I'm satisfied with. If I was shooting competition I would start weighing them.

[Echo]

I'm sorta fussy, but not anal. My boolits have to have good, square bases, even the GC ones. They need good fillout in the loob groove area. And I would be embarrassed if anyone were to see one of my loaded cartridges whose boolit had folds showing, so those get recycled. But.
I don't weigh my boolits, nor do I weigh my powder charges. Once I have the measure set, and checked, the charges go from measure to case, to be covered immediately with said boolit. I throw my pistol charges with a Pacific/Hornady Pistol Powder Measure, if I'm not using the Dillon.

[dbosman]

Sadly all my work is capable of better accuracy than this shooter can achieve.
I'm very near sighted in one eye. Using open sights on a rifle I can just make out a paper plate at 100 yards. I need to try using my off eye.
I have benign essential tremor so good enough for hand gun is a paper plate at 50 yards. Tin cans are in danger though.

[Jack Stanley]

If it's good enough for what you're doing then it's good enough . I tried to get fussy with an old Cramer hollow point mold for a thirty caliber rejecting any minor flaw then weighing the rest . The I tried shooting the "scraps" at reduced range with a minimal load ....... Accurate enough for pest control to fifty yards or so with "scrap" . I still do save the really nice ones for faster speeds and longer range .

Jack

['74 sharps]

Unless the base is totally out of whack, for my pistol rounds, it goes down the tube. My Sharps bullets are scrutinized more; however, they are not bench rest rifles but I do load only the ones that are very good.

[**oneshot**]

Square bases and bands are required for me. I only weight sort my 22cal boolits, it shows defects that I miss in visual sorting alone and got rid of my fliers.

[tyeo098]

If it comes out of the mold and it boolit shaped I shoot it. Dents in the driving bands are just more crevices for tumble lube

[Hickory]

When you're satisfied it's good enough.

[Bullshop Junior]

I'm pretty picky. They need to look exactly like the inside of the cavity or I'm not happy.

[southpaw]

If it is blasting ammo and it resembles a boolit then it gets loaded. For the non blasting ammo the only ones that I have weighed have been the 22's. Not sure how much it help cuz I got side tracked durring that project. The rest of the boolits go through the visual inspection and then sizing lubing. I started casting so I could shoot more. Maybe some day I will see if I can better my groups but for now 1.5-2" at 100 yards for rifles is fine with me. I am mostly shooting them freehand anyway.

Jerry Jr.

[swheeler]

I've always said perfect is close enough!

[pls1911]

NSP64 summed it up well.
Don't distress much over run of the mill pistol bullets... if they're well filled out and bases square, you're good to go.
I am more fussy about my rifle bullets , giving them the inspection noted for pistol bullets plus weight segregating +/- .5 grains then combining mini-lots into logical +/- 1 grain quantities to maximize yield.
I also size and lube .002 over bore, the finish with JPW/LLa tumble lube.
OCD over kill, yes... but with great accuracy and NEVER a trace of leading...
I also clean and treat with Ed's Red (with acetone and lanolin) after each session, and again before eash session.
Micro Groove and Ballard rifling shoot equally well, so long as the alloy is hard enough and the velocity reasonable.

[aprayinbear]

Thanks for your responses. I don't feel so bad now. Most of my shooting is 25 yards or less with my handguns and honestly I didn't think being anal about the perfect boolit would tighten my groups or increase my scores that much. I think I'll just spend more time shooting, enjoying myself!

Shoot Often, Shoot Safe & Enjoy!

[Love Life]

Pistol: If the blob of lead falling out of the mould sort of resembles the cavity then I load and shoot it.
Rifle: Haven't matched jacketed performance so the cost savings is nowhere near worth the time spent working on it.