Do base voids affect accuracy?

[igolfat8]

I have several 9mm boolits with pencil tip voids in the base. At 50 yds or less would you expect the voids will effect accuracy out of a pistol?

[charlie b]

Not unless you shoot it from a Ransom rest. And maybe not even then.

[igolfat8]

That’s what I suspected too. I might cull a few out and compare their off hand accuracy to the others.

[Winger Ed.]

However much Lead it would take to fill the void is probably about 1% of the total boolit weight.

If you get off into splitting hairs and overthinking it-- yeah it has an effect.
But I don't think its enough to measure without laboratory conditions.

[44Blam]

I throw the ones with voids back. It's mainly because you can just try again and most likely you won't have a void the second time.

[Bazoo]

For plinking bullets out of the 45 ill use them. Serious bullets for rifle and revolver I cull the ones with pulled sprues.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I would like to hear your results , in a handgun , offhand it should not matter to much .

[Wayne Smith]

A void is different in my mind from a pull in the center that is caused by opening the sprue too quickly. If it is truly a void toss it back as you have no idea how big it gets inside. A pull I shoot.

[ioon44]

I use a rubber mulch bullet trap and there is a lot of voids in the bases after being shot 9 mm, .40 & .45, just because you cant see a void doesn't mean they are not there.

Does it effect accuracy? Not enough to matter to me.

[Tripplebeards]

I weigh my pistol boolots and divide up into one grain increments, voids and all. They shoot great. I can shoot a five shot group all in one ragged hole at 15 yards and hit shotgun shells at 25 yards all day long with them.

[dverna]

I weigh my pistol boolots and divide up into one grain increments, voids and all. They shoot great. I can shoot a five shot group all in one ragged hole at 15 yards and hit shotgun shells at 25 yards all day long with them.

Do you keep the different lots of bullets segregated? Do you need to adjust the sights between lots? What happens if you do not segregate them?

[BamaNapper]

I started out just shooting everything that came out of the mold if it didn't look hideous. Then I kept reading about voids, deformations, differences in the alloy, and all the other variables affecting the boolits. I assumed that HAD to be the reason for the size of my groups. So I started weighing and inspecting the boolits carefully. Any of them that had rounded lube grooves or were a couple grains less than expected got melted down and recast. Guess what... the size of my groups was not affected at all. I am now back to shooting any boolit that looks close to what I expect to see coming out of the mold.

While I can say that for my 9mm boolits, it's not the same for boolits cast for use in rifles. I'm not sure whether voids would make a difference in the rifles, but I'm typically running higher pressures and I'm shooting longer distances where consistency is the goal. With 9mm it's target acquisition and recoil recovery exercises at less than 15 yds, sometimes with 18" targets. If occasional bullet variations cost me an inch of accuracy with the 9mm I'd never know it.

[megasupermagnum]

This depends on the size an placement of the void. If you are talking about the divot that can happen from cutting the sprue, then no. I have not been able to prove that the divot has an effect on accuracy. If you are talking about an air pocket, that often forms just off to the side of the sprue hole, then yes. They can cause bullets to fly way off course at 50 yards.

[gwpercle]

I don't enjoy weighing and sorting boolits .
Cast and keep the ones with a perfect base , sharp edges and no wrinkles or voids . Body and nose near perfect also.
All the rest go back in the pot . Load all the keepers .
My secrete is ... I pressure cast with a spouted ladle , get more keepers than with a bottom pour pot . I tried for years .
Gary

[fredj338]

Not unless you shoot it from a Ransom rest. And maybe not even then.

I disagree. Any base deformations or voids will affect accuracy, even closer than 50y, depends on the void location & depth. If you can hand hold 3" groups at 25y, you'll often see fliers. Easy to prove, load ups some damaged bases & shoot them for groups, over the bench if you cant hand hold 3" at 25y. Bullet noses not an issue but the base drives the bullet, it will affect accuracy. It isn't about weight diff but the bullet is spinning & the gas is pushing it. As it leaves the bbl a deformation can cause the pressure to push the bullet diff. A small void directly in the center of the bullet will show less affect than one at the edge.

[fredj338]

I would like to hear your results , in a handgun , offhand it should not matter to much .

When people say this it makes me wonder how well they shoot? A decent shooter with good ammo & gun can hold 3" all day at 25y.

[onelight]

When people say this it makes me wonder how well they shoot? A decent shooter with good ammo & gun can hold 3" all day at 25y.

In some crowds I am really a good shot , in some crowds I embarrass myself.
But my take the closer to center the void is the less difference it makes . I used to only keep perfect bullets sorted by weight but a lot of my shooting is now at 7 yards off hand and perfect does not make much difference.
You can sort the perfect for better ammo but only the caster/shooter can decide what serves his purpose.
I buy a lot of cast bullets now in the past I would look at the bags and could not bring myself to buy them driving bands not filled along with other problems . Now I shoot them and have a good time and reserve my cast and limited lead supply for my best loads.
Use what works for what you are doing . But it is so easy to drop the junk ones back in the pot and make a good one. Sort your fresh bullets while the pot is coming back up to temp and pitch the ones back in that are below your standard. If you sort often you can catch a problem before you have a coffee can full of culls and you have wasted hours cause you didn't know you had a problem.

[FLINTNFIRE]

When people say this it makes me wonder how well they shoot? A decent shooter with good ammo & gun can hold 3" all day at 25y.

Probably shoot as good as you , and I do not weigh bullets either , if you read my post I asked to hear how they did , , but I really doubt he is going to see a lot of difference shooting a handgun offhand at close distances , and yes I like to shoot mine at 50 yards and farther for the revolvers .

Semi autos and 15 -25 yards I doubt its going to be a match shooting for the x-ring affair , and doubt it is going to matter , I would be more concerned with bases not filled out fully then I am with a pin hole void , if you fill your mold with a larger sprue you will have less voids or unfilled bases and a better bullet .

Talk and internet chatter is cheap , spend more time shooting less on the internet , and I notice your avatar shows sitting at a bench , range I belong to goes to 50 yards for pistols , up in the woods its farther and lots of rocks .

[Rgmcfarland]

No, if your handgun shootin steel voids make no difference to a 6 inch plate at 12 yards and I don’t believe I miss the 8 inch plates at 25 because of the void.....

[megasupermagnum]

No, if your handgun shootin steel voids make no difference to a 6 inch plate at 12 yards and I don’t believe I miss the 8 inch plates at 25 because of the void.....

So have you tried it? Again, it depends on just how severe the void is. A genuine base void just beside the sprue can throw a bullet a good 4-5" out of a group at 25 yards.