CAST vs JACKETED: EFFECT ON STANDARD DEVIATIONS?

[sixshot]

This is a good post. Weighing down to 1.0 grs is great & a must if you want great SD/ES & are shooting long distances but again for those of us shooting iron sights most times it's kind of a waste of time. There are a lot of other factors that can make just as much difference as 1.0 grs of bullet. How many are trimming pistol brass each time, using the same brand, etc. Another thing that I've noticed is a good cast bullet can change weight after it's been powder coated. That cavity can hold more or less powder inside unless you are really careful, maybe not a lot but if we're talking nit picky here, there's a place to start. Solid cast bullets will weigh more consistent than the HP's.

Dick

[sharps4590]

That 600 yard, MOA rifle is a Shiloh Sharps, #1 sporter in 40-2.5 SS wearing MVA iron sights. It is mandatory the target match the sights. When shooting for group at those ranges I shoot an open crosshair and the center bull of the Army 1,000 yard target.

I do trim my revolver brass and sort it by brand...and lot number if I can, which is quite seldom. Having said that I doubt 20% of my cases, rifle and revolver, are the same lot, just those I personally bought.

I don't powder coat or cast hollow points.

Once I get the melt and mold up to temp and, if I'm casting for accurate, long range work I'll hand dip and 95% will be within 1 grain. I can't seem to get out of the habit of hand dipping rifle bullets and weighing them to within 1 grain. 90% of my revolver bullets are bottom poured. Maybe more than that as all I have here at the house is 100 yards. It isn't like when we were on the farm and I had my choice of two, 500 yard ranges, depending on which pasture the cows were in.

[contender]

"Those intended for 100 yards plus ALWAYS get weighed."

Because I do hunt & shoot in places where 100 yds & beyond is a possibility,, I want to make sure my ammo is up to it,, and can only blame myself if I miss or whatever. I also use the same brand of brass for each lot of ammo. And I measure the new brass to assure it's the same length. Serious loads all use new brass too.

I will say that a lot of my "practice" ammo is in brass that has seen several firings. And I also often keep the bullets that are in smaller lots that are a few grains off my average, for plinking ammo. And sadly,, as my age is causing my eyes to not be as sharp,, I know I'm not as accurate as I used to be. So,, to keep from wasting good cast bullets,, I do have plenty of "fun" ammo.

One thing I've discovered by weighing all my cast bullets is that I will usually get a couple of bullets that are well out of the normal range for that mold. I just feel like they have an internal void or whatever,, and scrap those. I'd hate to have a bullet like that in a gun,, with a big old buck in my sights,, and miss because of a bad bullet.

Oh,, I also re-weigh my cast bullets into different lots after powder coating. As noted,, the coating does change the weight.

Yes,, it's more work. I usually cast several hundred of one bullet over a few days time. Then,, I start the weighing process. I put them into 1.0 grn batches as I do so. Once I get them all weighed,, I powder coat the ones I plan on using that are the correct weight for my previously tested load. That's usually the largest batch. After that,, back to the scales. And sorting again. The other batches,, are often smaller in numbers,, and I'll set them aside for my next casting/weighing session. When I get a good amount of those,, they too get powder coated, weighed & such. And once I get them all sized etc,, they go into bullet boxes, and marked as to which ones they are. Serious hunting stuff, casual but real good, or plinking fun type of bullet.

It sounds like a lot of work,, but I've got it down to a system where I don't spend hours & hours doing it all. I may work on weighing or whatever in 30 minute little stretches. Even my casting sessions are often just 1-3 hours. But do that with a 4 cavity mold,, and you can easily get a lot of bullets quickly. In just a few days I can have several hundred bullets. Then,, at night,, or when I have a little time,, instead of sitting on the couch,, I go to my scales,, and start weighing & sorting.
I usually take one mold at a time,, and cast a few thousand or so of a bullet before switching to a different mold/bullet. Plenty to work with.

[45MAN]

YOU GUYS THAT WEIGH YOUR BULLETS DO YOU USE A BALANCE BEAM SCALE OR AN ELECTRONIC SCALE? ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON AN ELECTRONIC SCALE? I STARTED RELOADING, USING A LYMAN 310 "nutcracker", ABOUT 53 YEARS AGO AND I HAVE NEVER OWNED NOR USED AN ELECTRONIC SCALE. I DON'T NEED A "powder trickler" JUST SOMETHING TO SPEED BULLET WEIGHING UP.

[sixshot]

That's all too much work for me. After I get a bunch of bullets cast I dig out 8-10 randomly & weigh them & that's it for me, with iron sights I'm just not good enough to shoot the difference. I have no problem with someone who weighs every bullet, I'm sure they can shoot the difference, I can't. Everyone has a different way of making their ammo & I try to make good ammo but I guess I'm too lazy to sort every bullet. I have always weighed on an old Ohaus scale that I've had for over 50 years, good enough for me.

Dick

[45MAN]

DICK: I WANT TO WEIGH THE BULLETS I LOAD IN STRAIGHT WALL REVOLVER CARTRIDGES THAI I SHOOT IN SCOPED HUNTING HANDGUNS, WITH THE 90% PLUS OF THE REST OF MY RELOADING NOT INVOLVING "bullet weighing".

[bigbrowndog]

I’m with Dick, I do not like chasing “inconsequential increments”. If I was shooting long range comps and nth degree accuracy was required that’s one e thing.

Trapr

[contender]

I use electronic scales,, and it goes quick enough to make it fairly easy.
Mine are Dillon.

I look at the extra work as a little bit of a hedge against MY physical limitations. Lord knows I have enough of those. And the fact I've always found a few bullets that obviously were way off (3.0-5.0 grns or more in weight,) on both sides of my acceptable weights,, making a few of them almost 10.0 grns between them, that get thrown in the remelt tub.

I agree that open sights, aging eyes, shakier hands, etc all can have a serious effect on accuracy. I just like to remove the mechanical issues to help mitigate my shortcomings.

[sharps4590]

Plinking, which consists of most of my handgunning these days, I don't bother to weigh UNLESS, I know I'm shooting far OR, it's a new to me revolver and I'm working up a load. Under those circumstances I'll weigh revolver bullets. My hunting days are probably over. I guess I've killed enough stuff across the US, from Maine to Arizona and Wyoming to Virginia. I'm also tired of cleaning critters and working them up and processing has become too expensive to suit me. Dad started me squirrel hunting at the ripe old age of 5.

Rifles, it's a habit I got into 40+ years ago and just can't break....or don't try very hard to break. Dad started me 62 years ago with his Lee "whack-a-mole" loader for 16 ga. Goodness, that's been 62 years ago. We didn't know what a scale was, just the dippers.

For close to 30 years I used a Pact electronic scale for bullets. It finally gave up the ghost and I bought a Frankford Arsenal electronic scale just for bullets. I can't speak highly enough of it. Ordinarily I wouldn't use an electronic scale for powder but I think this Franklin scale could be, it's 10 times faster than the old Pact. I use mostly stick powders for my rifles and trickle every charge into a Lyman beam scale. I have an abundance of IMR and H series and given the paucity and cost of powders today it's unlikely I'll change. I've been doing it the same way for 50+ years and at my age don't see any reason to change.