How good does a boolit have to be

[floydboy]

I have been casting for a few months now. My boolit making is definitely improving. I have cast some really nice boolits as of late. What I have noticed is I really can't tell any difference in accuracy in my perfect boolits vs my not so perfect earlier attempts. I only cast for pistols so far. I guess my question is can a person be to picky with his casting. Just how perfect do your boolits have to be.

Floyd

[badgeredd]

I have been casting for a few months now. My boolit making is definitely improving. I have cast some really nice boolits as of late. What I have noticed is I really can't tell any difference in accuracy in my perfect boolits vs my not so perfect earlier attempts. I only cast for pistols so far. I guess my question is can a person be to picky with his casting. Just how perfect do your boolits have to be.

Floyd

I'd say that you'll find that perfect boolits aren't going to be noticeably more accurate in many instances in a pistol. Since you didn't mention any details like caliber, distance, load data it is hard to give you a real answer. It also depends on what you're considering as flaws. If you're shooting at 20 yards, it is likely you'll see no difference in accuracy with less than perfect boolits. BUT, if you strive for perfect boolits all of the time you'll not develop bad technique and will be able to cast good quality projectiles for all applications. I cast everything I can for all of my guns and you'll find the 22 caliber boolits can be challenging as are many others when you're trying to get superior accuracy at 100 yards and beyond, pistol or rifle.

Edd

[largom]

They have to be good enough to suit YOU! Nothing else matters.

Larry

[Reload3006]

They have to be good enough to suit YOU! Nothing else matters.

Larry

You should have said can I have an amen at the end of that


AMEN

[birdadly]

Hiya floydoby. I'm a year into casting, and I believe most here will say that pistol boolits are more forgiving than rifle ones. I believe the most important part to be "perfect" would be the base, so it doesn't let any leaks get past the boolit inside the barrel.

Plus, if it's working, then there's nothing to fix! Rifle rounds (which I haven't started yet), I believe can be more dependent on perfection and consistency of the boolit made. Even weight, as a multi-cavity mold "may" produce different weighted boolits from cavity to cavity.

That's my 2 cents worth from what I've gathered from the fine folks here over the past year :) Enjoy! -Brad

[Roundnoser]

I too only cast for pistol. To answer your question: How good do bullets have to be? I believe it depends their application.

I shoot IDPA, some PPC variations, and steel with 9mm and 45 ACP. The range at which I shoot is usually beetween 2 and 25 yards. I know that I cannot shoot as accurately as my pistol is mechanically capable of shooting, so the "perfect" bullet isn't an issue.

Now, I have friends that cast for rifle, and that is a different story! A couple friends are absolutely determined to produce the most perfect, most conisistent bullets as humanly possible...it is part of their obsession, hobby, joy, and motivation to be as accurate at long distances as they possibly can. They tweak every variable you can think of!

For general pistol shooting, I would suggest that you continue doing your best to make bullets that are consistently filled out well and have clean edges. If they feed, shoot clean and accurate for you, I'd say you found your "perfect" bullet!

Welcome to the foum Floyd! There are lots of members here to help whenever you need it. Keep us posted on how your casting comes along.

[ku4hx]

They have to be good enough to suit YOU! Nothing else matters.

Larry

Amen brother.

[462]

They have to be good enough to suit YOU! Nothing else matters.

Larry

Amen.

[gray wolf]

I'd say that you'll find that perfect boolits aren't going to be noticeably more accurate in many instances in a pistol. Since you didn't mention any details like caliber, distance, load data it is hard to give you a real answer. It also depends on what you're considering as flaws. If you're shooting at 20 yards, it is likely you'll see no difference in accuracy with less than perfect boolits. BUT, if you strive for perfect boolits all of the time you'll not develop bad technique and will be able to cast good quality projectiles for all applications. I cast everything I can for all of my guns and you'll find the 22 caliber boolits can be challenging as are many others when you're trying to get superior accuracy at 100 yards and beyond, pistol or rifle.

Edd
well I have t agree with the above post, if you ain't got the time to do it right --when will you have time to do it over.
But we all set different standards for ourselves and some don't no the standards,
But they are happy people also.
Perfection is a good thing if it doesn't put us over a cliff.

[floydboy]

Thanks for the responses.....I got the answers I was hoping for. I do plan on loading for rifle at a later date as I improve.

Floyd

[armednfree]

I generally cast in fairly large quantities, 3-500 at a time. If I am loading for my S+W 15-4 or my Clark Heavy Slide 1911 or the S+W 24-3 or the 6" GP-100 what I do it take a piece of white poster board. I'll roll the unlubed bullets on that white paper looking for defects. Then I will use the electronic scale to weigh and sort. I allow a .3 grain variation on the 38 class, and a .5 on the 44-45 class.

Much of my shooting is SD training. That is 0-12 yards (beyond that distance it is often called manslaughter) so the actual quality of the bullet isn't a big factor. As long as it will put them in well on a 9" pie plate that's all that matters.

[Char-Gar]

I have been casting for a few months now. My boolit making is definitely improving. I have cast some really nice boolits as of late. What I have noticed is I really can't tell any difference in accuracy in my perfect boolits vs my not so perfect earlier attempts. I only cast for pistols so far. I guess my question is can a person be to picky with his casting. Just how perfect do your boolits have to be.

Floyd

Take your bullets and shoot them. If they do what you want, then you are being picky enough. If they don't then you need to be more picky.

[oso]

As they say: "Perfect is the enemy of good enough."

[Char-Gar]

As they say: "Perfect is the enemy of good enough."

Is it the object to make perfect bullets to admire, talk about and perhaps put in a shrine somewher, or is it the object to shoot them at whatever.

[floydboy]

Char-Gar,

Even though accuracy is my main objective I must admit I am a bit jealous of some of the pictures of the boolits on this forum......I do get some nice ones every now and then and find it hard not to just sit an admire them......

[geargnasher]

I'm a perfectionist, I cull anything that isn't as good as I can make them. Pursuing perfection for perfection's sake is part of the satisfaction I get from this hobby.

But that's just me. Don't make yourself miserable trying to achieve perfection when it isn't necessary. As long as your ammo is safe and shoots as well as you need it to, you be the judge after that.

Gear

[fredj338]

I took 5 "poor" bullets w/ some sort of base flaw. I shot them in my XDTAC, quite accurate @ 25yds w/ my best bullets & loads. They still grouped under 2" @ 50ft. So for IDPA/USPSA, minor base flaws would be fine, but I will still cull them for serious base imperfections or any w/ undersized front bands I catch while sizing.

[Char-Gar]

Back in the day when I was a Bullseye shooter, I was merciless with the bullet and every aspect of the load. When a very fine line at 50 yards could mean the difference between winning and losing, I could not be be anything else but a perfectionist. Now-a-days, I am a little more easy on myself.

[10mmShooter]

floyd,

Like everyone has said your defintion of "accurate" is the key. I shoot my primary calibers38/10mm/44 for accuracy out to 25 yards, I shoot a standard B-16 target the black is 5.5in and 10 ring is 1.5 in. From the bench with my old eyes as long as most of my shots are going into 2-3 inches @25yds I'm happy.

Honestly Im the limiting factor much more than than my equipment or my cast bullets are. Slight imperfections to the nose will not limit "my" accuracy one bit nor small variations in bullet weight. Although I'm pretty OCD about my bullet bases being perfect, slight rounding of the edges is not going to effect my shooting at 25yds.

The reality is at 25 yards most nose imperfections and base issues just dont have enough time to significantly effect the bullets trajectory over such a short distance. Now as the distance gets further out the imperfections will have a greater effect on accuracy. Which why rifles are not so forgiving.

So I prefer more time behind the trigger and less time at casting bench chasing that elusive "perfect" bullet. :lovebooli

[Swampman]

The reason I stick to .35 caliber and up for cast boolits is that I find bigger bullets are more forgiving. I don't weigh or sort. I cull boolits with visable voids or damaged bases. Sometimes I use the culls to make plinking ammo. IMO the alloy doesn't effect accuracy or cause leading. I'm sure an expert will tell us otherwise. I just let it roll off and enjoy myself.

[floydboy]

You guys have hit the nail on the head. Slight nose imperfections is exactly what I was wondering about. I was paying attention to making good bases and 25 yards is plenty far enough for me.

Thanks,,,,Floyd

[John in WI]

I'm new to casting too--a month or so in, and I'm finding that my personal quality control is improving. It reminds me of the crappy paintings my mom would put on the fridge when I was in school--and looking back 25 years later, I can only cringe!

My "good enough" boolits from a month ago are getting weeded out and thrown back into the next melt I think--it seems with some practice, the out of round ones, or the ones where the mold blocks weren't exactly lined up just happen less and less.

I doubt in my case it's going to make or break anything (I have a LOT of work to do with the old revolver before I can blame the boolits!).

[popper]

purposely cut a big chunk from the rear drive band (40 SW) and they were still no more than 2" from the 'good' group @ 25 yds and round holes too. your shooting skills and casting skills will grow together.

[geargnasher]

Once you get the hang of the mould and your alloy and get the temps and casting rhythm right, you'll find that casting near-perfect boolits is just as easy as casting so-so boolits.

Let me offer a tip: Get yourself a lead casting thermometer. I think NOE (Swede Nelson) is still selling them cheaper than most places in the Vendor Sponsor section, or shoot him a PM. Check your alloy's "full liquidus" point, the point that all traces of mush or grainy-ness disappear. Note the temperature (most clippy wheel weights melt somewhere around 550-580F), add 125 degrees to that and make that your casting temperature for the alloy. Most guys run their alloy too hot and their moulds too cool, but I get much better results using a cooler alloy and hotter mould. Get the mould nice and hot by dipping a corner in the melt and then the tip of the sprue plate, and start casting. Run the mould as fast as you can until the sprue takes about 5 seconds to set enough to cut. Cut it while it's still soft with a gloved hand if you like, or let it set another second or two and whack it open with a mallet. Keep adjusting your casting pace to keep the mould hot, and don't make pauses of more than a few seconds or the mould will cool off too much. Somewhere around three to four pours per minute keeps most of my moulds happy, including steel, iron, aluminium, and brass. Some like it faster, some need more time to cool between pours, but that's a general guideline. Time yourself with a an analog wall clock w/second hand in front of you so you can tell what you're doing.

Also, go to the "boolit lube" sub forum and read the "sticky" on mould lubrication, it really helps to use a little sprue plate lube. Member Randyrat sells "Zip Lube" which is about the best stuff there is for sprue plates, I highly recommend getting some. A bottle will easily last a lifetime.

Gear

[floydboy]

Gear,

Thanks for the advice....I am looking forward to this new aspect of my hobby.....

[popper]

What Gear says + a clean mould and good stream. Mine prefer the pressure pouring method to avoid nose wrinkles and good base fill. I use 2-cycle low ash lube - works fine. I quit WD pistol as water splashed into the mould and made poc marks on the CBs.

[geargnasher]

If you get your mould up to the right temperature by casting at a brisk enough pace, you won't have nose wrinkles and can avoid the other pitfalls associated with pressure-casting like clogged vent lines, flashing on the mould faces, and finned bases.

Gear