Has anyone here weighed their cast handgun bullets? I wieghted mine and found that the 158's were from 153.5 to 156.8 from a lee 6 cavity mold. I have weighed a bunch and have separated the 154 weights and the 155 weights out and have loaded them; I am going to laod the other misc. wieghts and see if it makes a difference in the accuracy. Has anyone tried this to see waht happens?
Weighing cast bullets
- Thread starter COREY
- Start date
Unless your gun and you are capable of fine accuracy I dough you will notice much difference at normal shooting ranges. If I were shooting completion or bench rest or long range cast bullet matches I would be concerned but then again I wouldn't be using a 6 banger mold either to cast with.
The majority of cast bullet molds are designed to drop the desired weight and dia. using Linotype alloy. Using alloys with different Lead,Tin and Antimony content will affect both size and weight from the mold specification,plus there is always the quality control factory of the mold maker to take into account as well.
There is also bullet fillout,voids such as air pocket or not getting a clean cut on the sprue and getting holes in the bullets base that will all affect weight.
I use Lee and Lyman 2 cavity molds and generally get only about 1 to 2 grs. tops difference between cavities using WW alloy.
The majority of cast bullet molds are designed to drop the desired weight and dia. using Linotype alloy. Using alloys with different Lead,Tin and Antimony content will affect both size and weight from the mold specification,plus there is always the quality control factory of the mold maker to take into account as well.
There is also bullet fillout,voids such as air pocket or not getting a clean cut on the sprue and getting holes in the bullets base that will all affect weight.
I use Lee and Lyman 2 cavity molds and generally get only about 1 to 2 grs. tops difference between cavities using WW alloy.
Is +/- 2 Gr variance in weight acceptable?
What kind of tolerance is acceptable to reject bullets with internal voids?
So far i have been trying to keep my own lots to +/- 1Gr or 1.5Gr after proper load was established.It serves me good but sometimes i end up remelting 20-30% of boolits.
I'm i going too far.All i shoot is surplus arms and one awsome 38-55 with BP.
What kind of tolerance is acceptable to reject bullets with internal voids?
So far i have been trying to keep my own lots to +/- 1Gr or 1.5Gr after proper load was established.It serves me good but sometimes i end up remelting 20-30% of boolits.
I'm i going too far.All i shoot is surplus arms and one awsome 38-55 with BP.
If you are holding the handgun in your hand(s) for shooting, versus having it in a machine rest, you do not have to worry about such minor differences in weight. You say, "what is acceptable?" Let's see you prove that a difference of a few grains in weights shoot differently.
The major cause of weight variation in pouring bullets is the alloy you use. If you scrounge the material, like most of us do, such as wheelweights, expect quite a variation from one batch to another.
I've poured a lot of 44 magnum bullets, using the Lyman Keith design mold, said to weigh 250 grains. Mine have weighed from about 246 to at least 256. I have never seen any difference in their trajectory and this is for shooting silhouette. And I do have a badge stating I shot 10 consecutive rams at 200 metres at a registered match, with my Ruger Super Blackhawk.
Also, I never varied the charge of powder, depending on what they weighed.
It's so easy to get carried away with theories, ballistics and what you read in books. But we live and play in the real world.
The major cause of weight variation in pouring bullets is the alloy you use. If you scrounge the material, like most of us do, such as wheelweights, expect quite a variation from one batch to another.
I've poured a lot of 44 magnum bullets, using the Lyman Keith design mold, said to weigh 250 grains. Mine have weighed from about 246 to at least 256. I have never seen any difference in their trajectory and this is for shooting silhouette. And I do have a badge stating I shot 10 consecutive rams at 200 metres at a registered match, with my Ruger Super Blackhawk.
Also, I never varied the charge of powder, depending on what they weighed.
It's so easy to get carried away with theories, ballistics and what you read in books. But we live and play in the real world.
I don't think 2.0 grs. is much to worry about it certainly isn't with my bullet,try weighing some mil surplus bullets or non match factory jacketed bullets you might be surprised at what you find,some are better than others with quality control.
Most casters that shoot in benchrest or long range 600 yds. or longer matches sort there bullets to within 0.5 grs. or no more than 1.0 grs. anything between 1.0 and 3.0 grs. is practice bullets and above that up to 4.0 grs. is used for plinking ammo the rest go back in the pot.
Other things that can affect weight is how hard hard you grip the handles each time,little less pressure makes the bullet larger and adds weight,do your pot temps vary,a hotter mold fills out better a cooler mold no so much this affect weight. Also if your using WW alloy you need to stir and flux your metal more often WW alloy can tend to separate into areas of lighter or denser metals if they set for a long time without stirring and fluxing.
You also might want to measure and weigh individual bullets for each cavity one might be slightly larger and throwing a slightly heavier bullet. The best way to see if all the sorting is make any significant difference in you accuracy is to sort your bullets by weight,load some identical loads and shoot two separate target and compare them then also load up a set of load and shoot both at the same target,it really just depends on your individual shooting needs and requirements.
Most casters that shoot in benchrest or long range 600 yds. or longer matches sort there bullets to within 0.5 grs. or no more than 1.0 grs. anything between 1.0 and 3.0 grs. is practice bullets and above that up to 4.0 grs. is used for plinking ammo the rest go back in the pot.
Other things that can affect weight is how hard hard you grip the handles each time,little less pressure makes the bullet larger and adds weight,do your pot temps vary,a hotter mold fills out better a cooler mold no so much this affect weight. Also if your using WW alloy you need to stir and flux your metal more often WW alloy can tend to separate into areas of lighter or denser metals if they set for a long time without stirring and fluxing.
You also might want to measure and weigh individual bullets for each cavity one might be slightly larger and throwing a slightly heavier bullet. The best way to see if all the sorting is make any significant difference in you accuracy is to sort your bullets by weight,load some identical loads and shoot two separate target and compare them then also load up a set of load and shoot both at the same target,it really just depends on your individual shooting needs and requirements.
I don't know about bullets for handguns but this is what I've found with several cast rifle bullets. I use to shoot longer ranges (out to 500 metres) but mostly now stay inside 200. For the long range stuff I use to weigh all my bullets and would reject anything +-.5gr or any visual imperfections. One day I thought I'd shoot the rejects just to see how badly they performed. Not just once but on several occasions the rejects grouped as well as the "perfect" bullets but only out to 100yds, that's as far as I was trying. I even tried this with bullets having rounded imperfect bases and they would work almost as well, again only out to the 100yd mark. I suppose it really depends on your own standards and firearm used but I'd at least try shooting the "imperfect" ones just to see. Just as a matter of interest I now cast only with a ladle. I found that once the mold was heated and producing good slugs (5-10casts) I had WAYYY fewer rejects. It was a while back but when I did bottom casting I had something in the area of 10-15% rejects, based on visual/weight. When I started ladle casting I would get something like 1-2% depending on the mold. Fewer bullets produced but more usable bullets obtained. I haven't weighed bullets for years and sometimes even shoot the badly damaged ones, just depends on the purpose. For rapid offhand, levergun@ 25-50yds, anything will fly well enough to easily stay in the target zone for deer. For hunting & 100-200yd stuff I just do a visual, seat check, lube and load. I haven't sized any of the several 1000 rifle bullets I've shot in the last couple of years.
.A quote--"Just as a matter of interest I now cast only with a ladle. I found that once the mold was heated and producing good slugs (5-10casts) I had WAYYY fewer rejects."
I found out the same thing.
I'm not even sure I'm any slower with the ladle.
I found out the same thing.
I'm not even sure I'm any slower with the ladle.
