Cast boolits: Acceptable tolerances?

[Jumping Frog]

I have some question about what kind of quality control I should exert over pistol bullets I recently cast (ingots were from wheelweights).

As my first cast session, I produced about 1200 .40 S&W bullets. The mold is listed as 175 gr. nominal weight. These are not for precision target shooting, they will be for USPSA/IDPA type shooting (and practice) typically closer than 25 yards.

The bullets were sorted in weight categories.

172 gr = 23%
174 gr = 45%
176 gr = 22%
178 gr = 10%
Outliers 170 and less, or 180 and higher = 1% (back in the melting pot)

So I have two questions. First, is this amount of variation typical, or will my tolerances get better as my technique gets better?

Second, would you keep the lots segregated when I load them, and then shoot them in similar weight batches? For example, only shoot 174's in a match? Load the 172/174's to one powder weight and the 176/178's to a different powder charge? Figure these are close enough and lump them all together? What? How close do the weights need to be, or is this amount of variation meaningless?

I am kind of like the dog that chased a car. I caught it and now am unsure what to do with it.

 

[GP100man]

load em & shoot em !!!
look at the % of vary , only around 2.5% & for the intended purpose they`ll shoot fine .

one way to get closer weights is to monitor alloy temp close & cast fast , keeping the mold temp more stable.
i know ya wanna look at em but sort later , just keep the silver stream pourin!!
i pour mine at the verge of frostin& weights are very close.
hope this helps !!

GP100man

 

[243winxb]

For those here that cast their own bullets ... what is "good enough" for you?

The bullet diameter is more important for plinking ammo then bullet weight IMO. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=399565&highlight=cast+bullets This link will take you to a thread on the subject.

cast bullets

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45acp 200gr 208.3 207.8 206.8 207.7 208.0 207.5 208.4 208.4 357 158gr swc 165.0 164.7 165.1 165.2 164.6 164.3 164.4 164.5 I was testing the weight of the first 4 good bullets to the last 4 bullets out of a 10lb pot. If you want match ammo, weight each bullet. Weight bullet without lube. If your bullets came lubed, i would think weighting them would be a waste of time. I find 30 caliber rifle bullets run closer , do to there long skinny form. Short fat bullets have a larger weight spread. These bullets are good enough for me. The true test is on the target. The DIAMETER of the bullet is more important i feel.

As my first cast session, I produced about 1200

Each pot of alloy can be different. Give your bullets a lot number for that one lot/pot and keep them seperated. I cast using a 10 lb Lee, i put the sprue and bad bullet right back into the pot as i cast. Stoping only to check bullet diameter of the first 4 good bullets. The dia. must be larger that what i am going to size them too. The alloy gets fluxed when making ingots. Then in the casting pot i flux at start and thats it.

 

[243winxb]

would you keep the lots segregated when I load them, and then shoot them in similar weight batches?

Yes, as you have went to the trouble of weighting them all. The ones on the more heavy side would be less likely to have an air pocket. If you work up a MAXIMUM LOAD using the lightest bullets, you may have to reduce your powder charge for the heavy bullets. Different alloys, different pressures also. Photo of a few i have cast. The Lee slug was the hardest one to work with.

 

[sqlbullet]

I cast from a lee six cavity 175 gr SWC tumble lube in 401. Typically I only see variations that large if I let my lead temp vary a bunch (100° or more between start and end of session) or if I am not getting the mold properly shut. The latter become apparent when the bullets are sized, as they are clearly out of round.

That said, they all shoot fine.

 

[Walkalong]

243winxb has me beat by a mile. I only have three molds. A Lee .44, an RCBS 9MM, & a Saeco/Redding .45 ACP.

I never weighed any of my cast bullets, I just sized/lubed them & shot them. 50 yards or maybe 100 at most, they shot well enough for me. My Lee 208 Gr WC would shoot through one hole at 10 yards from a Charter Arms Bulldog no less. Were they really 208 Grains? I have no clue. Wheelweights with 95/5 solder added.

 

[rcmodel]

Same here.

Bullets with obvious flaws, wrinkles, etc., go back in the pot.

The rest of them get loaded & shot.

There is no reason at all to segregate them by weight, or use different powder charges.

The only people I ever heard off doing that with cast bullets are long-range BP rifle match shooters.

rc

 

[bullseye308]

You can weigh cast bullets? Wow, it never occured to me to do that. Let me check..... Lee 124 TC TL bullets cast from WW's weighed between 125.5 and 127.2 for the 10 I grabbed. All unsized so far. Not gonna make a difference for anything I shoot. Like RC said, anything that doesn't look good goes back in the pot, everything else should be fine.

 

[Gewehr98]

I just weight-segregate mine.

I'm one of those long-range BPCR shooters, though.

 

[highlander 5]

Gee I wonder what I'm doing right. My cast bullets come out at +/- .05%. example I cast a bullet for my 45/70 that the mold manufacturer says will be 520 gr using Taracorp alloy. My 50/50 mix of lino/ww weigh in at 519-521 gr with a dia of .459