UPDATE! - Cast Performance is Disappointing Me

[Quick Draw McGraw]

Am I the only one this has happened to? I will weigh my bullets often when I buy them. I'm checking for consistency. Hornady so far tends I be the most consistent. But EVERY BATCH of Cast Performance bullets I buy is under weight! My .452 335gr. were avegaing 330. My .476 410gr. lead came in at 405. And last night, the .500 440gr. bullets came in at 427! What's the deal? This seams like blatant false advertising!

[bulasteve]

If bullet to bullet is consistant, a non-issue. A softer alloy, and the weight would go up. Actually those weights quite close and starting to think you are in tongue in cheek mode ?

[Quick Draw McGraw]

No, I'm serious. And it's not close when you consider Oregon Trail is closer and usually a little heavier and Hornady averages 0.1 grains variation on all of the Hornady bullets I've bought. Cast Performance is always under weight by at least five grains. That's consistent enough for me to say they are not providing the weights they advertise.

[bulasteve]

When boxes of bullets enter my forbidden zone, the basement loading corner, I weigh a few and write the number on the box for further reference. My only box of CP at the momement are "180 gr" .358" WFN's. They are lubed and GC'd and I see the number I wrote on the box is 183 grs. Close enough. I've some old Nat'l Bullet cast bullets that are much farther from the weight on the label on the box. I shot up a few boxes of 255gr .431 WFN's some years back, can't recall the actual on the scale weight. I'd order more without hesitation. We have a bullet/mold designer or two here. Maybe one of them would explain the process, idea to dropped bullet and wether variation from the marketed weight listed on the box matters. We humans tend to round up, may be the simple reason. I've some of the popular here, big 480 HP's. They are nominally called 380 gr bullets, but mine PC'd but no lube or GC, go 394grs.. I don't mind at all. Hope you can settle this issue in your mind and happily shoot those bullets !

[Fowler]

Ok so all commercial bullet casters order lead in bulk, it is supposed to be certified alloyed lead but having been through three different lots of 92-2-6 alloyed lead from the same vendor and smelter that we have bought in bulk I can tell you they vary.

So my bullets vary from each of the batches of lead, not a whole lot, hardly noticeable on 32 and 38 caliber slugs but in 45-50 caliber slugs certainly more noteworthy. Now the bullets within a lot of bullets dont vary much but the ones sitting on the shelf that I cast 4 years ago might be 4-5gr different. But in the end I can prove this on my loading bench with scales but I cant prove it on a target with a iron sighted revolver or on flesh of big game animals.

So what should a commercial caster do? Toss his expensive molds out every time he gets a new lot of lead and start over? Add to the mix to try and get the weights to match the mold but then give up on his targeted hardness that is most critical? Buy lead in bigger and bigger lots so they will be as steady a possible for as long as possible knowing they can still vary within a lot some and the cash outlay would be enormous? I dont know, I know Cast Performance bullets have a long standing reputation for quality and hardness, if they weigh a touch light from the box eh its not that big of a deal. Ever weigh jacked bullets from Hornady and others? They vary as well.

While Oregon Trail bullets may be closer to the advertised weights today two years from now they may or may not depending on the lead smelter selling them their lead mix. Also to be fair Cast Performance has been using the same molds for probably 20 years now and they are in a whole different state from where they started, a lot of moving things in the mix that in the end probably wont change how accurate and deadly their bullets are on game.

[magnumwheelman]

I would suspect the alloy they are using is slightly lighter than pure lead or what ever alloy the mold maker stated on their molds... yup... I'd prefer if they weighed their bullets, rather than just printing off what the mold is supposed to throw with "X" alloy, when they are using "Y" alloy...

[whitworth]

If they are consistent in weight and they shoot well, I see a 5 grain weight difference to be a non-issue. JMHO.

[sixshot]

I agree, when I cast my bullets I try to cast a pot full & call that "one lot" that way they are consistent. The mould might read 250 grs. but the alloy could vary 5 grs. either way when mixing WW's, linotype, lead, range scrap, etc. Just weigh that one lot & label them. That 385 gr. Miha HP we are all using never comes out 385 grs. unless you use straight linotype or close to it. Lyman moulds are usually marked by weight when using Linotype but they have also been made when using Lyman #2, not all of us follow that rule.

Dick

[Quick Draw McGraw]

I appreciate the input. I have had a good experience as far as reloading and accuracy. I just wanted to see what you guys thought of thisamd if you had the same experience.

I guess it just caught me off-guard that the other manufacturers didn't exhibit the same thing. Thanks for sharing guys, I do appreciate it.

[bradshaw]

Sixshot and others have talked in specifics about the influence of tin and antimony on bullet weight. Aside from that, weight of a good cast bullet may vary 5 or 7-grains from bullet-to-bullet and still print in 4-inches from a football field away. A poorly balanced design without weight variation may spread at 25 yards, land get lost at 100 yards.

Beyond 100 yards, weight variation may show as vertical dispersion. The silhouetter does not dig variation. Nevertheless, a balanced bullet wins.

The target is the final arbiter of accuracy. Just as game is the final arbiter of dynamic performance.
David Bradshaw

[CraigC]

Non-issue.

[boxhead]

There stuff is and has been over priced IME. They did and do market themselves well though. There are others.

[Quick Draw McGraw]

Okay, so looks like you guys are 100% correct. I just bought two more boxes of the .475 bullets that weigh 425 grains. Both boxes had 51 bullets, and after weighing each bullet in each box, the average weight was exactly 425.0 grains for each box. Very impressed with that outcome. I guess I had a few batches with some different alloys.

[bulasteve]

I don't consider the number on the box referring to the weight as a specification, just a nominal labeling. Who's gonna buy a 238 gr .44 bullet ? Soooo.. box is labeled 240 grs. A number we are used to seeing in regard to .44 bullets. Shoot'em in good health.

[jimtx]

A 5-10grain weight difference is common with big bores, it's a non-issue and still use the same load data as long as the seating depths are the same or less if comparing 2 or more different bullet types.

Honestly bench rest guys and long range shooters are the only guys who really scrutinize bullet to bullet weight in a given lot(s). In handgun hunting/shooting especially big bores I see no issue or neg effects from this.

I used to weigh mine and group them by weight difference within the lots years ago, never made any difference on paper.