Projectile weight consistency

[Simomac]

Has anyone noticed any poor weight variance in different projectiles? I just received a box of 32 gr hornady v max and noticed quite a weight variance when I weighed ten of them, I also got a box of Sierra blitz kings and found them to be much more consistent. Has anyone come across this with these or other brands?

[Tokimini]

I've used 39 gr BlitzKings, 40 gr Vmax, and 40 gr Berger BTHP and all have had weight variances of up to .4 grains from the low to the high.

[OldTurtle]

I recently picked up a bunch of 39gr Sierra BKs at the Factory Seconds Store and, due to a high dollar Egg Shoot coming up, weighed and sorted each of the approximately 850 bullets for uniformity and weight...

I found only a handful that actually weighed exactly 39gr...Most were 39.2gr (possibly why they were seconds).....I've used these bullets for years without noticeable negative effects, but due to the upcoming match, wanted everything to be as consistent as possible...(new brass, etc.)...Some of the bullets weighed considerably higher (39.7gr) and some quite a bit lower (38.2gr)...For shooting Prairie Dogs, I've never had a problem with the 'seconds' in the accuracy department...

Now, I have a series of rounds that are identical and it's a matter of going to the range to verify that my scope is "dead on" for the distances I will need to be shooting..

[Bill K]

You will be hard pressed to find any bullet maker right on with each bullet. Some will be a lot closer than others. If you really want to drain every bit of accuracy out of your loads, then weighing and separating bullets is one step for such. But for general shooting, paper punching, etc. it is a waste of time. Your own movement while shooting will make more difference than the weight of the bullet. Bill K

[Simomac]

Thanks for the insight guys, muchly appreciated.As I am new to reloading I did not know what to expect consistency wise.I can see merit in all your comments and agree it is unlikely to cause any adverse effects on accuracy,especially as I am only chasing good hunting accuracy and am not a comp shooter.just wanting to keep everything as tight as possible for load development reasons, for this purpose I guess its a matter of weighting a batch to get a group that are the same.

[RAMOS]

Not saying this is THE way to do it, but it is what I like to do. I weigh five batches of ten bullets each and find the average. I then set the scale to that value and sort into a divided tray. Zero difference goes in the middle, minus .1 goes in the front, plus .1 goes behind. I will allow plus, or minus of up to .15 grain. for a maximum spread of .3 grain. Very rare to throw away a V-Max or, SBK. A .4 grain spread is a variance in weight of less than 1.25% (32 grain=1.25%, 39 grain=1.03%). The only reason I do this, is because I enjoy it. The greatest benefit of this, IMO, is it is one more chance to carefully examine each bullet, because if it is flawed, I do not want to send it down the tube. In my case there is no way I would do this for big game. A 250 yard shot at a deer is a piece of cake compared the same distance on a ground squirrel. There is a big difference in the allowed margin for error!

[Simomac]

RAMOS: Sounds like a good system, and one that would work well.I do require tight consistency as most of my farm is open cultivation which makes my average shot reasonably long.. Say 200 yards, and at mostly small vermin like rabbits and hares.

[Rick in Oregon]

With all this talk of bullet weighing and sorting, I'll just add that out of the 20+ accurate varmint rifles in my safe, virtually NONE of them in the 42 years I've been shooting ground squirrels, rock chucks, wood chucks and prairie dogs, has ever had bullets weighed for the rifle to find accurate loads. I'm not saying it's not worth it (it's not to me), but seems like a waste of time that could be spent doing other things. Some of my rifles shoot in the ".2's", and sometimes in the "ones"......with unweighed bullets.

The amount of inherent human wobble, environmental conditons and mechanical variations completely negates weighing factory produced bullets for field use.....you'll never see any difference at the 100 or 200 yard target, let alone any difference in accuracy at a ground squirrel or coyote 400 yards away. Spend that time detailing your brass......THAT actually DOES make a difference. JMO

A 200 yard shot would be considered a "close shot" here for ground squirrels....amazing that none of the bullets used to dispatch these critters we've got here even past 500 yards was ever weighed.......is that fact telling us anything?

Here's the wide-open spaces we deal with....out to and even past the limits of the rifle/cartridge, and still hitting ground squirrels with "unweighed bullets"....(that irrigation pipe is just over 350 yards away).



Bottom line: Weighing factory bullets is fine if you've got nothing else to do, but the varmint will never know the difference, and chances are, you won't either.

[RAMOS]

Rick, I would never claim that what I do produces measureable results. I'm a low volume shooter, 3-4 hundred rounds per year on varmints & vermin. My brass is prepped with the "whole meal deal" and I have enough of it ready to last a few years. I weigh bullets because everything else is in order and stock-piled. The whole process, for me, is Relaxation Therapy. My rounds are not perfect, but I like the feeling that they are as close to it as I can make them! Weighing bullets would be near the bottom of my list of importance if I were pressed for time. Probably right above waterproofing seated primers!!! And, no, I don't do that

[Rick in Oregon]

Ramos: Ya know buddy, in the end it's what gives us the "warm & fuzzy", right? I don't hand polish my brass either, but I'm sure out there someone does, and if it makes him feel good, all the better. Any time at the reloading bench is good time indeed.

My point was aimed at the newer shooters/reloaders out there that there's many important aspects to precision handloading for shooting varmints, but weighing factory bullets is probably not the first order of business when there are so many other variables to work on. One thing that comes to mind is the internal chamfering of the case mouth after trimming......how many of us actually look at it under some magnification? I look at every one with a 10X loupe, and from my experience doing so, went with the VLD type of chamfer tool, and belive me, that tool really DID make a difference that could be detected at the target over time. Really, no kidding.

[RAMOS]

Rick, you truly are a mans' man. In my post I almost, and wanted to, use the term "warm & fuzzy". Alas, I was not secure enough in myself to do so. I salute you, Sir!

Back to the case in point: Weighing bullets could very well be pointless (ha,ha). More importantly, I guarantee it is a waste of time if you don't properly prep the brass, or work up a good load, or find the best seating depth, or clean your gun, or use a proper rest sighting in, or many, many other things that are so much more important, even critical.

[Tokimini]

Ramos, I weigh my bullets for basically the same reason you do, I just enjoy doing it. It may not have any measurable difference in accuracy by itself, but couple that with weighing each powder charge precisely, getting a consistant COAL, and who knows. Sometimes a few little things taken together can make a measurable distance. Even if they don't, if I feel these things give me an edge I will probably shoot with more confidence. All I know is since I started reloading last January my groups have consistantly gotten smaller, and I doubt it's because of the nut behind the trigger.

[Jim White]

One of the things I have done out of courisoity is measuring the bearing surface length of the bullet. There are some differences. Don't know if it means a whole lot unless one is in the BR world.

[Simomac]

Thanks rick for your wisdom, im sure it gets painful dealing with newcomers like me, but the info guys like you give is worth it's weight in gold to people like me, so thanks, what you have said really made me think about why we do the things we do sometimes and I came up with two real reasons. Firstly along with Ramos and tokimini I just really enjoy it... Nothing better than getting home from work, grabbing a cold beer and tinkering at the bench. Secondly I agree with tokimini in that if you've done all you can to dispell as many variables as possible then you feel more confident. I certainly agree that weighing bullets is at the bottom of the list of importance.

[Neil S.]

Well, this is a little imbarrassing... I have recently started hand polishing my rifle brass. If you have read "Varmint Al's" reloading page, you know he discourages tumbling brass, as he believes it creates a hard rolled over edge on the case mouth. Although I doubt that this is a big deal, it really does give me that aforementioned feeling inside . I also twist each case mouth over a scotchbright pad after trimming, chamfering and deburring. This takes off any small leftover burs and leaves the case mouth super smooth, and bullets seat very easily. Its a lot of work, but I don't shoot hundreds (thousands?) of ground squirrels a year so it is managable for me. This is just what I do. I'm hoping it provides some food for thought