bullet weight variance

[hutchster]

after i finished prepping some cases for the .223 i started to play around with my digital rcbs scale and weighing bullets and things and found a possible oddity.

my 69 grain .223 bullets tracked fine all the way up to the cutoff weight of my scale at 1500 grains, @ 21 bullets i was at 1449.1 grains which is only .1 grain off, which surprised me.

so i started to weigh the bullets one at a time, and same thing, dead on.

then i went to my 7mm bullets and started with the nosler 140 grain ballistic tips, and they were at 1399.9 after 10, so .1 under.

the oddity i found was when i started to do my hornady A-Max 162 grain bullets, i found most bullets were .2 grains heavy, a few were dead on, and then some were as much as .5 grains heavy

is that normal, especially for a match bullet?


i guess in reality its only about what, a third of a percent, but still, the others were dead on, and that includes a hunting bullet, which you would think would have the looser tolerances.

 

[Onagoth]

Don't know if thats common for match bullets, but I have seen it in bulk 9mm ammo.

 

[Boomer]

Folks who demand extreme accuracy often weigh their components to ensure uniformity. While it would be nice to have all of the bullets the identical weight, I doubt that a couple of tenths of a grain would effect the BC of that particular bullet. Having said that, variation in weight might be an indicator of a problem within a particular bullet, and the handloader might be wise to put that one aside to be used for working up a load or for shooting when a high degree of accuracy is not as important.

 

[manitou210]

Did some testing of weight on bullets and also measured ogive on them
Test 10 each
The number 1 bullet all the same on ogive & weight Old Remington Benchrest .224 52gr
The bergers where second best with sierra almost as good and Noslers close as well
Hornadys where junk !!!
ogive all over the place and weight inconsistant and OAL bad
Guess thats why you never see a benchrest compitions won with Hornady bullets

 

[stevebc]

^ Were those Hornady Amax's? I'm asking because I'm looking for a cheaper 155gr match round than Sierra's.

 

[ben hunchak]

Variances of under 1 gr. have not made any diff. in my benchrest tests, as bullet weight goes up, to say .45 cal. 500gr., weight variances make even less difference. Even cast bullets bench testing with culled/obvious voids bullets, one could see little or no diff. on the targets. Things such as, consistent neck tension, proper and consistent seating depth, powder charge, etc. had far more impact on group sizes. Larger considerations like, mixed manu. brass made instant and huge differences in grp. sizes.