Do you weigh your cast boolits?

[Duckhunter]

I recently started casting and am now turning out good looking boolits from an NOE mold (RD 359-160). I have found that there are some boolits that are heavier or lighter than the desired weight. Most are within .5 grains of the desired weight.

If you weigh your boolits, what criteria are you using to seperate by weight. Do the boolits need to be within .3 grains, .5 grains, or 1.0 grain of the desired weight. Do you batch boolits based on weight or do you reprocess all those outside the range of acceptable weights? Does this make any difference as for hunting accuracy?

Any info on how ya'll do things is appreciated.

Duckhunter

[Mk42gunner]

Life is too short for me to weigh every boolit on a balance beam scale.

I will weigh the first few boolits from a new mold (or batch of alloy) to ensure that I have a rough idea of what they actually weigh, not what the designer intended. After that it is usually just a visual sorting; as long as the base is good when I open the sprue plate, it gets dumped in the keeper pile.

A further visual after they have cooled gets 99% of the questionable ones, the rest when I am sizing and lubing (I store my boolits unlubed).

The above is for plinking and handgun boolits. If I shot any accuracy matches with boolits, it might be a different story, but visual sorting has served me well enough for now.

Robert

[marvelshooter]

I have been weighing cast .45's for a target 1911. What I do is set the scale for the average weight and place them in the pan one at a time and any that don't end up with the pointer pretty near the center go in the practice / plinking pile. I don't know how much it helps but it can't hurt and is some thing to do in the winter when you can't shoot outside. I also chamber check every round with barrel out of the gun. Bullseye pistol is largely a mental game and when I step up to the line at a match I KNOW the bullet is the best it can be and that the round will feed correctly and not jam up the gun.

[Dan Cash]

I weigh each of my 45-70 bullets into 1 grain lots but they are for long range competition. Other rifle bullets are check weighed for each casting run to determine that they are within desiered parameters. Pistol bullets are seldom weighed. Bullet weight variation is not going to cause you any function problem in your pistol and it will take several grains variation to notice a difference on the target. Too many other factors will influence your group size befor weight. Shoot more, weigh less.

[JSnover]

As my casting skills improved I found it easy to drop them within 1%. Most of my 500 grain boolits weigh 495-501. The lightweights aren't light enough to reject unless I find voids or wrinkles. If they look fine on the outside, I suspect a bubble and save them for the pot. The heaviest ones are put aside for the next match and lighter keepers are used for plinking/load development.
So yes, I do batch them and I do reject them if they're too far out of spec. For hunting, if you're getting a deviation of 1 grain (on a 160 boolit that's less than 1%) with no visible defects I'd think you're good to go.

[marvelshooter]

I weigh each of my 45-70 bullets into 1 grain lots but they are for long range competition. Other rifle bullets are check weighed for each casting run to determine that they are within desiered parameters. Pistol bullets are seldom weighed. Bullet weight variation is not going to cause you any function problem in your pistol and it will take several grains variation to notice a difference on the target. Too many other factors will influence your group size befor weight. Shoot more, weigh less.
I know the weighing part is a little over the top but as I said it makes me feel better. As far as chamber checking that has a real benefit. I'm not sure why but every once in a while - maybe one every 2 or 3 hundred - I get a round that won't quite chamber fully and this weeds them out. Also final inspection for anything like a split case I might have missed.

[Duckhunter]

Thanks a lot folks. I'm casting with a mold that is supposed to cast a 190 grain boolit. I am really suprised how consistent this is. I'll keep those in the 189.5 to 190.5 bracket for hunting and run the rest through as plinking ammo.

This info was very helpful.

DH

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

rifle boolets, segregated in wooden 100 round wooden blocks in the order cast. Harry Pope did it his entire competition career, as did most of the old timers. Most of the old records are just recently being broken by shooters. Mostly with better optics.

The same criteria works today, as it did 125 years ago.

The amount of time during the casting and sizing process determines the level of accuracy you are willing to accept on the target. If 3" at a hundred yards is okay, don't bother. Just shoot them all.

Rich

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Idaho Sharpshooter pretty much summed it up in the previous post. It depends to some extent on what you want to do with the bullets. If you are shooting BE comp. then you have to be a subscriber to the idea that consistency/uniformity has something to do with accuracy and consistency on the target. Weighing bullets can be tedious and working within as close a margin as possible may seem like a very onerous process, but it comes down to how "hungry" you are to win and/or to do your very best. Its not any more "over the top" than many other endeavors where one is striving to succeed. Whether it is a one grain variance or a one-tenth variance the call has to be yours. LLS

[leadman]

I weigh my boolits with a digital scale so it goes pretty quickly. I did some testing years ago and determined it does help weed out the flyers. It will shrink the groups if you have a gun capable of enough accuracy to tell the difference.

[gerrycan]

Hi all,
I,ve noticed that commercial "hard -cast" boolits vary quite a bit in weight and are often too small in diameter, so I cast mine 2 thou. bigger and air-cool for a better fit to barrel. I weigh my "for sale " boolits in 1 grain bags of 50 but I shoot the "roughies " myself . Gerry.

[Armorer]

I weigh my rifle boolits and seperate into .5 gr increments. Especially for load developement. Keeps me from wondering if it's the boolit or the trigger puller creating large groups.

My ¢2
Armorer

[OnHoPr]

After a quick inspection, I weigh my bullets on a Hornady electronic scale. It's actually pretty quick and the scale isn't that expensive. My hunting, sighting in, and test bullets for the 30-30 are weighed within 1gr. The rest go for plinking or rough exploratory testing. My Lee slugs and 440gr .501s get the visual inspection then sorted within 2gr increments.

[HARRYMPOPE]

shoot bullets with weight and visual defects and see where they land on the target.it may surprise you that they often are in the group or not as far out as you would think.I'm not advocate of bad bullets but my casting mentor had me do this many times and it always amazed me.A wrinkled nose but otherwise well formed 30 caliber bullet often grouped into the 1/2-3/4 MOA group in my 30 BR and never was out a wild 1" That went the same with slightly rounded base GC bullets and sometimes rounded driving bands as well.When i had some bottom poured bullets with odd pinhole inclusions deep on the sides now they went 2"-3" out of the group.

[btroj]

I don't shoot competition or long range. I rarely shoot foe group. Is it any surprise that I don't ever weigh bullets other than to get feel for what theynactually weigh as opposed to ""ideal" weight.
I can easily see where people involved in certain types of shooting would want to. Confidence in your ammo makes you a better shooter.

[Phat Man Mike]

I weigh my rifle boolit's and set them aside in coffee cans if it's a 180 grain boolit I go 1grain up or down and sort that way.

[Char-Gar]

If you are seeking maximum accuracy, for whatever purpose or need, with your cast bullet, then yes you do need to weigh your bullets.

If maximum accuracy is not your goal, then visual inspection will be fine. However, there will be fliers from time to time due to internal defects in the cast bullet.

[Sonnypie]

The harder I work at it,
The better I shoot at it.

YMMV

[btroj]

I am with Char-Gar on this. If I want ultimate accuracy I might weigh, form most ammo it isn't gonna happen.
If I was target shooting I would weigh each one but for plinking ammo or short range handgun, no weigh!

[tuckerdog]

I use an inexpensive smart reloader digital, set tare at optimum wt and boogie through rejecting .5 grn + or - for handgun and .2 grn + or - rifle usually very few rejects

[colt 357]

I weigh mine just as a quailty check + or - one grain. I don't shot good anuff to go any further than that yet. maybe next year..........

[gnoahhh]

I give every one a visual inspection. For plinking/casual target shooting they go from there to the lubrisizer. For serious accuracy testing/load development/competition they get weigh checked. For really serious work I also segregate them by mould cavity. I put a tiny center punch mark above the top ring in each cavity, one high and one low in two cavity moulds. The bullets are instantly recognizable at a glance. If I'm being totally anal about it I'll use those same punch marks to orient them in the chamber the same each time (which means using the same case over and over for a 10 shot string, orienting the bullet in the case the same each time and orienting the case in the chamber each time). A PIA but it does make a difference, and makes for a very relaxed sedate range session. Downside is not very many shots get fired because, well, it is a PIA.

[Aunegl]

I do not weigh, just do a visual inspection because life's too short. Having won a wall of handgun silhouette trophies, this method works for me.

[fa38]

Only when I want to hit the point of aim or darn close to it. Then all that is left to do is control the 5 inches of wind between my ears.

[Suo Gan]

Does this make any difference as for hunting accuracy?



No real difference at normal hunting ranges. I used to weigh them and be pretty picky about the end product. I began shooting some rejects and realized they were almost indistinguishable from the 'keepers.'

For target competition you might gain a winning score from this kind of thing, but for hunting and pop cans, I have found it makes no difference and a lot less tedious.

[white eagle]

I agree with Sua Gan
for my usages there is no need to complicate it any more
by weighing
I only weigh for powder charges after all a 310 gr boolit mold may throw a
300 or a 330 depending on external and or internal differences

[209jones]

For my 32-40 I sort them from 208.5 to 209, then from 209.1 to 209.5, and the latter go into the match bullet box. That mould is very consistent in what it throws.

For my 450/400NE I sorted the 320gr from 321.5 to 322.5 and the 400 gr from 401.5 to 402.0, 402.1 to 403.0, 403.0 to 404.0. The 403 and up are the hunting bullets.

I use an electronic scale, I don't have the patience to use a beam scale to do that.
All said and done, I likely don't really need to do it as to shootability, but, I would have the question in my mind if I didn't do it.

[miestro_jerry]

I use my own cast boolits and weigh each and every one of them just before I start loading. I use a synthetic lube, and weight the bullets before lubing then separate them by .5 grain increments.

Those hard cast bullets are not worth the cost to me, they vary a lot and not every thing needs to be hard cast.

Jerry

[TXGunNut]

Seems all I do lately is rifle load development :D and weighing boolits reduces unexplained fliers. IF I ever get into production casting for plinking or goofing off I may quit weighing them but it only takes seconds per boolit and I'm going to inspect them anyway. I have the technology, I'm going to use it.

[miestro_jerry]

TX,

The pile I have that aren't right, I shoot in some of my veteran rifles, like my Moisin M91 or Spanish FR8. They make fun plinking ammo. Plus I use them to fire form some brass.

Jerry

[TXGunNut]

That makes sense, Jerry, but I can be picky. I cast about 368 (by weight) RD 359-190 boolits last weekend and after visual and weight checks I still had 300 (299?) boolits that are good to go. 300 boolits will last a loooong time for this hunting rifle, 100 should be enough for load development. All "keepers" were between 189 and 192.5 grains with sharp bases and minimal defects on lube grooves and nose. Most "culls" would shoot just fine but I'll be a few years working thru the "good" boolits. I dropped the culls in the furnace. :-) I know the culls would do just fine on the range but I don't load practice ammo and I want to be able to grab an ammo box off the shelf and go hunting with confidence.
45acp is a different story. No weighing, only a cursory visual check. All I do is "familiarization and confidence" drills with carry guns and quite frankly my loads outperform the cheap ($22/50) ammo I bought recently. Seems to shoot as well as the target stuff I loaded with commercial CB's in my brief bullseye days but with my 52 year-old eyes I'll probably never know. ;)

[DHB]

Thanks Guys,
I was trying to find whether or not to weigh some 115 (supposed) .314 boolits for accuracy. The weight was from 110.3 to 116.2. I'll use them in .3 grain increments. Thanks for the advice.
DHB

[canyon-ghost]

The weight was from 110.3 to 116.2.

Really? I'd wonder about the consistency of my alloy if that happened. Most of my 32s end up within .5 grains of each other or I throw out the lightweights to be remelted. I read a technical explanation that stated the tiny air voids caused the light ones. Nowdays, I shoot the medium heavy ones and only have a handful that are too heavy. Each caster decides his own criteria but, that's a wide weight range for a small bullet.

[Gunnut 45/454]

Yep weight mine just before they are loaded-usually load 10 or 20 at a time. I'll weigh out 10 or 20 at +/- .5 gr . I have found this reduces the ES and usually gives the best groups! This is for rifle rounds - pistols I'm not as picky .

[Three44s]

If I was out for ultimate accuracy, then I would weigh.

First do the visuals, then weigh.

Rejects go for plinking etc. ......... rejects of the rejects go for recycling.

Probably the best to come out of weighing would be better casting and pre-casting edicate and the need for weighing gets less needed over time.


Three 44s

[gvanzeggelaar]

Rifle rounds I weigh to within 1%. That is my rule of thumb

[daschnoz]

I throw 5 or so on the scale at one time and take the average weight of the count. I'll grab random samples as I move them into the coffee can while I clean up my casting session.