When do you sort/cull your cast boolits?

[Shuz]

My castings are subject to cull-out at any point during the processing regimen. Obvious flawed bullets get recycled while the casting is under way, and the bullets get stored as-cast in bulk. I size and lube as the need arises for a given reloading project, and they get a critical look-see just before they hit the H&I die. To answer the poll......."All the above", excepting the last response.

+1 to Al's answer

[Texantothecore]

I weigh my boolits after they cool down. +- .5 grn.

[rintinglen]

MP molds and I cast a lot of Hollowpoints, and you need to keep up the speed doing those, so most of the time, I inspect after casting, both before and while I size.

On my rifle boolits, I inspect as I go, then again after have cast and again as I seat gas checks and size them

[Victor N TN]

I've worked in machine shops nearly my whole life. The last job I had in the shops was in inspection. For me the process of inspection starts when the sprue plate is knocked over and the bullets first land on the rag pile. From then ever after, every time I pick one up, I'm looking it over.

[Clovis]

I inspect my bullets after they have dropped from the mold and cooled to touch, any rejects go back into the pot. Next I inspect them during the lube/sizing, any rejects go into a bin for remelt. Next I weigh them, those with serious weight issues go into the bin for remelt. I insect them one last time during the reloading process, as always rejects are headed for the remelt bin.

[Grmps]

so, this is not recommended to those who haven't refined their own technique...but i cull out major flaws in pistol boolits as i cast. I observe for base fillout before i dump them out of the mold. Then when dumping them out of the mold, i move the flawed boolits into a reject pile. That takes care of 90% of my flawed boolits.

I also 'quickly' inspect each boolit as i size it...if i see a flaw, the boolit gets rejected. I also inspect them as i load ammo, it's rare i find a reject at that time, but it does happen.

↑↑↑ this↑↑↑

[allsy]

I am still learning to cast great bullets like some I see here so I cull after casting is complete. I water quench, dry the bullets and then sort one by one. 1500 bullets takes awhile to sort through and sadly each time (three so far) I have almost filled my LEE pot back up with culls ready to melt back down. On the plus side each of the three sessions has seen a small reduction in culls so my process is improving. Either that or I am accepting a larger tolerance for what to cull...

[RogerDat]

The obvious ones are culled as I cast or during breaks in casting. The others when I size. If it is size and tumble lube that would be after first coat of lube. If PC then when sizing before PC. I use a NOE chamfer trim on the bases to clean flashing off for gas check bullets so before gas check which is also before lubing.

[toallmy]

Allsy you might want to try preheating your mold it will help a great deal with casting rejects .

[DerekP Houston]

I am still learning to cast great bullets like some I see here so I cull after casting is complete. I water quench, dry the bullets and then sort one by one. 1500 bullets takes awhile to sort through and sadly each time (three so far) I have almost filled my LEE pot back up with culls ready to melt back down. On the plus side each of the three sessions has seen a small reduction in culls so my process is improving. Either that or I am accepting a larger tolerance for what to cull...

Don't worry man you'll get the hang of it, I swear starting out I had more rejects than keepers! Pre-heating your mold on a hot plate will help a bunch, most problems I had were due to the mold being too cold.

[RogerDat]

I am still learning to cast great bullets like some I see here so I cull after casting is complete. I water quench, dry the bullets and then sort one by one. 1500 bullets takes awhile to sort through and sadly each time (three so far) I have almost filled my LEE pot back up with culls ready to melt back down. On the plus side each of the three sessions has seen a small reduction in culls so my process is improving. Either that or I am accepting a larger tolerance for what to cull...

Do overs! Just one more reason this hobby rocks.

[6622729]

So, this is not recommended to those who haven't refined their own technique...but I cull out major flaws in pistol boolits as I cast. I observe for base fillout before I dump them out of the mold. Then when dumping them out of the mold, I move the flawed boolits into a reject pile. That takes care of 90% of my flawed boolits.

I also 'quickly' inspect each boolit as I size it...if I see a flaw, the boolit gets rejected. I also inspect them as I load ammo, it's rare I find a reject at that time, but it does happen.

You pretty much have my bases covered. I'm looking at the open mold. I'm looking at them piled up on a towel to dry after water dropping them. They only get stored if they've been checked. I don't let much go by in handgun boolits and I don't let any flaws by in 30 caliber rifle.

[Mal Paso]

I preheat molds and don't do any but the most obvious culling during casting. I have a "vintage" Luxo 5" magnifier/light on a suspension arm and all the boolits get rolled under it. Those with soft edges go back to the pot. Seems to keep weight variation about a grain in a 250g boolit.

[dwtim]

Well....three of the options apply. When I cast, the first 50 or so are usually undersized and underweight, so they go in the scrap pile. Casting has a rhythm--if I don't keep the beat, the bullets are inconsistent. Anything with unintentional rounded corners during casting just goes into the scrap, where they will be remelted on another day.

What I do later depends on the mold. I prefer one-holers for consistency, but most of mine are two-holers. I try to drop the bullets so they're separated by cavity. In other words, the first cavity drops into one pile, the other in the second. If that's not practical for whatever reason (usually room on the table), I later separate them before lubing. Separation is done by weight. It doesn't have to be scale weight--it could be comparative weight.

I don't lube defective boolits.

[Texas by God]

After each pot I round up the sprues and cull the bullets. Handgun boolits can get by with minor nose flaws but I want my rifle boolits looking good before lubing/sizing.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Smk SHoe]

A lot depends on what the bullet use is going to be. Like most, pistol bullets for ringing steel at close range doesn't have to be perfect. Rifle for the most part, has to be as close to perfect or accuracy will suffer. I did load some UGLY 30 cal bullets for a .300 blackout this morning. Usually would remelt, but only second time the mold has been heated up and going to do a function test in the morning. Feeding, cycling and just a general " is this gonna work?" So two mags cast and gonna blast them in the morning

[jsizemore]

As usual this poll is too "one over the world" for me.

I use one or more or all of the first 5 methods, depending on the type of cast bullet and what it is to be used for. For example; with my precise target bullets I use all five. For plinking/informal use pistol bullets I use the first and the forth methods.

Since it wouldn't let me vote that way I didn't vote.

This is an excellent example why such polls, particularly political polls, that are to general with too many possible answers are meaningless.

Mine are subject to being culled at anytime in the process. I didn't vote since that wasn't an option.

[cwlongshot]

I was thinking about the "culling" ( sorting good from bad) I am about to do with the approx. 1500+ boolits I cast this afternoon & it occurred to me to ask here just when folks cull out the "unacceptable" boolits from the good ones.

I generally do it before I store them, or just before I lube them to use them if just a small amount. But, I was thinking that some folks might not care to sort at all if they are just plinking, and others might wait & do it as the are lubing, among other choices, while even might be others who do it as they cast. And so on...

So, I decided to make a Poll topic to see what other folks do, just out of curiousity & for the heck of it.

What is the time you choose to cull/sort your cast boolits, if ya do sort them at all?

ETA: I forgot to put "paper patch" in, when I put the question #3 in the poll about taking them out of storage before using them"

Excellent point Justsizemore!! I did think of that too.. but voted where I did anyhow as its "mostly" how I cull/sort.

I guess I am doing same as most by my choice of after casting but before storing/lubing.

YES, of coarse I do cull the first "few" from a given mold as I cast. But those never even tough the others... usually I will even cast a few "good ones" into cull/spure pile for good measure. Then I don't look too close at them and catch remaining when sorting.

CW

[762sultan]

Actually I could say both...when casting and before sizing and lubing. I pick out the grossly obvious as I am casting and later when I am done casting I perform a more intensive inspection to look at the base fill out and the lube groove dimensions. This inspection results in three classifications...rejects, plinkers, and the best to be used for hunting, sighting in, and pre hunting practice.