Base fill out

[archeryrob]

Does the bullet on the left need to be culled, or will it work just fine once gas checked and powder coated? I am thinking with a gas check, I won't notice. Honestly, they are semi rounded them selves a bit.

I know on a plain base this is a big cull it. This bullet is perfect other than base filled out square.

307336

[super6]

With a check it is good to go. Good job BTW!

[243winxb]

Yes, left needs to be culled. Want the check comming off in mid flight? The diameter may be undersize?

[archeryrob]

Differing opinions. These will be seated and sized, powder coated and sized again. I think they should be on tight.

[Bazoo]

I’d probably use it. But it ain’t perfect. Looks like slightly rounded band edges too.

[Winger Ed.]

With the lack of fill out, I'd be curious as to the weight difference.
If it was for a hand gun-- I'd use it. For rifles, I tend to be pretty picky.

Depending on the range and my accuracy expectations would determine if I'd cull it.
At 50 yards, it'd probably be OK.
If you're wanting tight groups at 100 yards,,,,, I wouldn't expect it to do very well if the others in the group are good.

[243winxb]

Take 10 of each. Test @ 50 yards. Post results. Then we will all know.:smile:

[super6]

Tight check will be the difference. Once powder coated the bands mean nothing.

[archeryrob]

Well these will be for a 30-06 and like a saw a doe the other day on an access trail at 150 yards and didn't feel like taking that shot with the 30-30 and iron sites. Now the 06 and a Leopold scope, I'm in. So, if your says I can't keep 200 yards accuracy with a rounded unfilled base and a gas check covering it. Then it is culled in a zip lock sandwich back for the next melting.

[archeryrob]

Square base 167.34 grain Base .2825
rounded base 166.8 grain Base .282 but I think it might not be a lot of base to fill the corners, the more I look at it.

They got culled.

[poppy42]

My first thought was to say should probably be fine. Especially if it was just for punching paper. Well you know then I got to thinking. If it means the difference between meat on the table or a gut shot deer that you got a track for two days and still don’t find, Why take a chance! For a cast boolet That you’re not wasting you just toss them back in a pot. So my final answer is, Toss It Back In The Pot!

[Winger Ed.]

Square base 167.34 grain Base .2825
rounded base 166.8 grain

!/2 a grain is just a fraction of a percentage point on boolits that heavy.
In a perfect world- you'll need a GOOD set of calipers to measure the difference in group size that'll make.

[Bazoo]

Tight check will be the difference. Once powder coated the bands mean nothing.

Except for balance. Most of the time bands not filled out are not evenly not filled out.

[gwpercle]

If I'm shooting for Points , Prizes or Money ... it gets culled .

If I'm shooting at tin cans at 50 feet for fun ... CHOOT EM' .

Make two piles ... Grade A for serious shooting and Grade B for fun where group size isn't critical .

They All Good ... Some is Just Better Than Others !
Gary

[Wilderness]

Does the bullet on the left need to be culled, or will it work just fine once gas checked and powder coated? I am thinking with a gas check, I won't notice. Honestly, they are semi rounded them selves a bit.

I know on a plain base this is a big cull it. This bullet is perfect other than base filled out square.

307336

Rob - if you are like me, you will spend more time agonising over whether to keep them than you would have spent casting their replacements. On this logic, I cull these rounded bases - and other minor flaws - as they come out of the mould. If you are getting a lot of them you might need to increase temperature or change pouring method. I see the bullet on the right has some rounding ahead of the front groove as well. I would put both back in the pot straight out of the mould, and get the mould hotter.

[longbow]

What he said ^ hotter mould and maybe hotter alloy will give better fill out. I usually run moulds hot enough that the boolits are slightly frosty and that works for me.

I also loosen the sprue plates so they will almost swing under their own weight. With the precision machining we are seeing now a tight sprue plate can restrict air flow out of the mould as it fills resulting in poor base fill out. For some moulds I even use a jeweler's file to put a very small bevel on the top edges of the mould blocks under the sprue plate. Think vent line small bevel.

I am not particularly picky but I would cull that one myself.

Longbow

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Honestly, for Rifle boolits, I'd cull both of those.

[Shopdog]

Have kept pretty durn good load notes over the last 50 years. Each rig gets it's own little "book".....

However,I never started writing notes on moulds. If starting over today,that's an area which would change. Once you get a bunch of moulds,notes will save some time and increase your knowledge base.

"One" way to approach this(one,not only) is;

Let's say you cast a cpl hundred bullets.... assuming you've already put in the work on load development(enough).... start shooting this batch,from best... to... worst. Keep notes. Likely,you do fine/great with the best end. Then you "should" see a reduction in accuracy as you work towards the,not so good end of that batch. If not? Well... there you go.

It sorta irons out the details on it's own. Have found it helpful to keep the last 20 or so working this method to use as a guide for the next batch. Doing it this way means I'm not satisfied with a new batch if they aren't "better" than the cull end of the previous.
Good luck with your shooting.

[Shopdog]

Oh yeah,I sent you a pm about archery....

[popper]

At a nickle each for GC, powder and primer, cull it.