Labling Boolit batches

[Wolfdog91]

Along with weight sorting figured I'd try to batch and lable eveything. Figured it would help with various things if I can see when a certain batch was made and out if what. Mabye I could recreate a perticularly good shooting boolit batch, well kinda at least get close .anyone this or us this kinda over kill ?
279189279190

[onelight]

Looks like a good idea to me all it takes is a little time making labels and it lets you know what you have if you find the magic combination that works best for you.

[44Blam]

Label everything.

Two years down the road you are going to come across a baggie of boolits that you have no idea if they were sized, what they were sized at, when they were cast and if there was an additional coating like BLL... ETC.

Label EVERYTHING with as much information as possible.

[Winger Ed.]

Do what works for ya.
I keep my system as simple as I can.

I don't load very many calibers, so I put my boolits in a coffee can and write on it what's inside: ".452", ".459", ".309", etc.
The way I can tell if they're sized and lubed---- if they have lube on them.

Loaded ammo goes in zip-lock freezer bags, that go into GI ammo cans.
Inside the bag, facing out, they're labeled on the back of their primer wrapper: the date, powder & charge, what bullet.
The ammo can is labeled with a piece of tape what's in it.

[StuBach]

I do the same thing using return address labels. I setup a template that pre-prints all the fields I’m interested in knowing, than when I cast I just fill in the info.

Photo below shows the labels on the sheet in the middle.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210308/e0e4c933345f94707efd981faba8a4c0.jpg

I use penny boxes from the bank for long term storage as they are sturdy and free plus they stack well. Batches are sorted using ziplock baggies.

[DAFzipper]

I lable everything. Spread sheet to track batch information and inventory program to track how many "in stock"

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

[CoolHandMoss]

I label everything. I was going to recommend including a date but I see you already did that. I find the date to be helpful in remembering what I was doing in that time period. I can usually deduce what equipment I was using, what my skill level was, how much I've learned since then, and what processes I would have used on the boolits/loads.

[Wayne Smith]

You will find that after you settle on a process, eg the powder coating, that you don't have to add all the details simply because you do it the same all the time. Simply powder coated and perhaps the powder source, unless they are all the same, gives you the information you want. I have so many calibers that I sometimes add the particular gun or caliber the boolit is intended for. For example, my label may say 9.3x57 instead of .369. It all depends on how your brain works.

You are young, ask yourself "If I stumble on these in 10 years will I have enough information to use them, or do I have to dump them back into the pot and re-cast?" I turned 68 yesterday and have had to do the latter a couple of times.

[Thumbcocker]

Really wish I had been that organized when I started.

[Bazoo]

I separate different alloys, but not different batches of bullets. For example. I have a thousand RCBS 38-150-SWCs in a coffee can. The label says the model and simply WW+Sn. The fact that I cast them all in three or four sessions, probably with alloy that wasn't all smelted at the same time, is of no importance to me.

I don't weight sort either, unless I am going for excellent rifle accuracy.

If I have lubed and sized bullets, I add that info. Generally I don't keep many lubed and sized because I don't want them to get dirty. I haven't settled on a way to store lubed bullets yet. I use 50/50, and just dumping them in a tub like I did with BAC lubed bullets, will make the noses and bases covered with lube. I use ammo box cartridge trays to separate the bullets but I don't have enough to have over a few hundred lubed of my given calibers at once.

And I've been known to trade guns, so I'd rather not waste the time and lube on a couple thousand bullets if I get in a notion to trade guns.

[Soundguy]

i lable my containers.

[whisler]

/\ /\
Me too, mold #, size (if sized), alloy, and lube (if lubed).

[namsag]

Looks good, I am learning myself, the more details the better. I would never remember all those things, date, mould, alloy, who/where I got it from, other conditions, tried something new, etc.

[CraigOK]

More is better and that applies to all aspects of casting and reloading. Wish I was organized enough to know what I had on hand and in what quantity. Something to strive for i guess

[charlie b]

I label them too. I box up store bought bullets and label them the same way.

Cast bullets are segregated by type and weight, alloy if there are any changes, sizing differences if any, etc, etc. If normal lube I also include type of lube.

When I have loaded ammunition I label the bag/box with the bullet brand, wt and type along with the powder charge. It also gets a date.

[CarlMc]

So I don't cast yet- but I do reload, and what I do is keep a log book with all the little details. Each time I make a load, I give it a batch number. Like 9-017, meaning 9mm batch 17. All the data stays in the book and when the ammo is stored in bulk a card with basic info goes with it. When I want to come back and repeat, change, or whatever, I have all that old info in one place.

[Conditor22]

keep track/label everything. when everything/all the parts come together and you get that perfect combination you will want to know what it was

[Wolfdog91]

Well glad to see I'm not completely crazy lol

[Petander]

Oh yes,I label date,hardness and size.

Now that I started PC:ing this winter, I find myself casting small relaxed batches and PC:ing them right away. It's absolutely impossible to keep track of what I have unless I label. Might get 100 bullets every night for a month...

I have Hi Tek:d for a few years,still do. Those batches are bigger,still need labels.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I have been recording my load recipies by firearm in a little note book. My sizing is rather simple so far; 9mm / .357", .38/ .357", .44/ .431" and .30 is .310" and .311". As for alloy I color code with powder coat. Black is hard, orange is medium and blue is soft, like 15, 12 and 10 bhn. But for you guys who are casting for a dozen or more calibers I can see needing more in depth records.

[GregLaROCHE]

I write on a piece of paper and put it inside the clear plastic boxes I store things in, positioned so I can see it through the plastic. That way when I want the box for something else, I don’t have to deal with getting the old labels off.

[blackthorn]

So I don't cast yet- but I do reload, and what I do is keep a log book with all the little details. Each time I make a load, I give it a batch number. Like 9-017, meaning 9mm batch 17. All the data stays in the book and when the ammo is stored in bulk a card with basic info goes with it. When I want to come back and repeat, change, or whatever, I have all that old info in one place.

Do you also keep an index of some sort so that if anything happens to you, someone coming behind you can understand what all that information means?

[Soundguy]

I have been recording my load recipies by firearm in a little note book. My sizing is rather simple so far; 9mm / .357", .38/ .357", .44/ .431" and .30 is .310" and .311". As for alloy I color code with powder coat. Black is hard, orange is medium and blue is soft, like 15, 12 and 10 bhn. But for you guys who are casting for a dozen or more calibers I can see needing more in depth records.

10 soft? Wow...

[JoeJames]

I write on a piece of paper and put it inside the clear plastic boxes I store things in, positioned so I can see it through the plastic. That way when I want the box for something else, I don’t have to deal with getting the old labels off.Same here.

[bangerjim]

A 200 gn 38 boolit is a 200 gn 38 boolit in my book. I cast/coat all the same and do not differentiate between casting sessions of the same mold design. I color code different weights (with PC) for easy ID, but the tub of boolits I reach into for loading may be from 5 different casting sessions spread out over several months.

Works for me. I have waaaaaay too many more important things to remember and catalog than casting session data.

Do what you feel you have to. I know what I need.

As far as what my sons do with my stuff when I die...............that is entirely up to them. I will be molding in the grave by then, and could care less.

banger

[gwpercle]

Labels are good ... memories get short ... and then you can't remember what's in the baggie / box .
Were they sized .357" or .358" ... you can't tell by looking at them.
I believe in labels .
Gary

[StuBach]

Another trick I’ve come to use. When I alloy I print several copies of the calculator sheet that shows the blend of that alloy. These sheets get stored with the ingots.

Than when I cast, a copy of the calculator printout goes in the bag/box of bullets so I know exact alloy. This has been helpful when trying to replicate bullets that perform well sometimes months after I cast them and I can’t recall the exact blend used if I didn’t have that sheet. It’s especially helpful when I send bullets to my dad or other reloaders so they can send me a photo of sheet to remind me which alloy they used and liked.