Bullet Wt. Difference

[smokemjoe]

I casted up up 200 - 30 cal. bullets from a bottom pour RCBS Pot. 1/2 lino. 1/2 wws. I used a electornic RCBs scale, all checked in at with 4 tens of a grain of each other and most all the same, But I got 3 bullets that were 4 grs. heavery, What cause that. Thanks- Joe

[richbug]

Maybe your mould wasn't 100% closed?

[Gohon]

Last night I was casting with a Lee 452-255-RF mould I just got for a Buffalo Classic 45LC I picked up a couple weeks ago. I could not for the life of me get a decent fill no matter what I tried after 60-70 casts. Was about to give up when I spotted a can of that Frankford dropout spray I had on the shelf. Thought why not, even though I thought I had smoked the mould well. Sprayed the stuf into the mould cavities and wa-la...... perfect casts. Lesson learned.

Anyway, to your question. I cast about 200 or so bullets and just checked them this morning. I didn't control the temperature of my pot as well as I should have, running anywhere from 700 to 800 degrees. Of course the bullets cast at the higher temperature were a little frosted where the lower temperature bullets were nice and shinny. As it turned out the frosted bullets were from 2-3 grains lighter than the shinny bullets. Also the diameter of the shinny bullets ran a consistent .4545 where as the frosted bullets ran .4525. Another lesson learned, keep the temperature of the pot at the lowest possible while still getting good fill out. Don't know if this is where your difference came from but something to think about.

[454PB]

Gohon, I do exactly the opposite. After years of smoking and coating moulds with various release agents, I quit. I also quit lubing my Lee moulds. I do a thorough cleaning of the mould with Gun Scrubber, then begin casting.

I keep the heat where the boolits drop out with a nice uniform frosting. I also quit weighing boolits, all I do is give them a good visual inspection before sizing/lubing. My theory is that if you have to smoke a mould to make it cast, there is something wrong with it. I either fix it or send it back.

[jhalcott]

454 what are you casting for? I don't weigh short range pistol bullets. I do weigh and sort long range pistol and rifle bullets though! I believe, and the targets seem to prove, it helps to weigh/sort bullets for long range shooting.

[454PB]

I cast for .22, .30, .338, .358, and .458 rifle cartridges. I treat them the same way, I used to weigh and segregate them, but after some experimenting found it was a waste of time.

However, my "visual inspection" standards are very high. Any imperfection returns the boolit to the pot. I spend my time casting and inspecting rather than weighing.

[Gohon]

The reason I weighed and measured these bullets is because it was the first use of this mould. I wanted to see what the mould was dropping with the ww and tin mix I was using. Otherwise one wouldn't know where to adjust load data for best accuracy. Each time I change the mix I weigh and measure so I know what ball park I'm playing in.

I have 6 other Lee moulds and I don't smoke them but on the other hand I have lapped those moulds with a drill and tooth paste and they work flawless. Will most likely do the same with this mould but if it simply takes smoking or using a release agent to get perfect bullets then I won't waste my time sending a $19 mould back and forth in the mail. As long as the bullet base is flat and smooth and the lube grooves are squared the bullet is acceptable to me. Small imperfections in the nose in my experience has no bearing on accuracy or performance. I guess it would matter if match shooting but for hunting and general target shooting out behind the house it works fine for me.

[smokemjoe]

When I drive 500 miles or less to a shoot I alway weight my bullets, That one that is 2-4 grs. different just maybe my flyer, That wt. may come from a pot getting low on lead, I do run down to the 1/2 in. in the bottom of the pot, Didnt think about that, I have over 130 molds and the only ones I smoke are the Lees if they dont produce a good bullet after hot. I also lap the molds, the bullet will almost jump out of the Lee molds. I found out the plate lub. from the folks from Alaska works great for lub. on the locationing pins. Thanks for your help, Joe