I have been reloading for almost 25 years.

This 7mm08 rifle Kimber Montana shoots very well with most loads.

I decided to do some detailed measurements with the Hornady Comparator tool and found this huge variation.

I am really interested to hearing from anyone else who might have done such a study.

How do target bullets measure up? Are they more consistent?

I did this once too; the results were like yours; seemed like not all that uniform. I ignored it because there is nothing you can do about it. I guess it must not matter.
I didn't measure any match bullets. Maybe I should; I have some 30 cal match 168 grainers.

I have not done such a comparison myself but am interested to know if this batch of bullets shoots as accurately as the previous batch.
With some bullet brands ( e.g Hornady, possibly others ) I have found batch to batch ogive variation in the calibres I load for. Whenever I start a new batch of the same bullet I always check cartridge length and often find a little adjustment of the seating die necessary to get COAL just right. With a couple of new batches of the same bullet ( .243 and .270 IIRC ) my loads also had to be slightly reworked to regain the accuracy I wanted.
Mostly now I shoot Barnes bullets for several calibres. Besides easily making accurate handloads I think they are very good at maintaining batch to batch consistency. I still use and like Hornady bullets as well but always remember they can vary.

Lot to lot variation can drive you nuts. Just the other day I started in another batch of 210 grain Berger VLDs for my target rifle and found that with the same seating die setting the length to lands was .040” different. That lead to panic; as you can’t assume that a load that was worked up on a light jam that the barrel prefers is going to be happy with a .040” leap of faith. Nor can you just assume that simply adjusting for contact would restore order to the world. Turns out it did, or at least to the extent that 100 rounds of 600 yard testing could determine. Deep snow kept me out of my 1000 yard spot. That leaves 400 bullets that can reasonably be set aside to at least start the new season’s matches. Thats not a large comfort. Just loading them and not noticing the change would have resulted in instant junk.

Accuracy demands on an 18 pound target F Class rifle are completely different than more normal hunting rifles, but it does illustrate the point that target bullets aren't immune to variation. This is the worst I’ve come across though.

Guys that seek to fine tune their jumps in increments of 2-3 thousandths should be put on suicide watch. They’re always one box of bullets away from jumping out a window.

I use comparators cut with the same reamer as the chamber, so it is measuring how the ogive would hit the lands on a fresh barrel. This works well but I have found that it's sensitive to dirt or buildup. I was sorting some "blems" that had a fair amount of crud on them and if a little fleck of lead got in the gage it would throw the measurement off.

For tipping bullets, you might do better with a gage that measures closer to the tip. I once setup my tipping die, tipped one bullet, then crushed the next. There was a big difference in the lengths so I had to sort them.

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
How do target bullets measure up? Are they more consistent?

Historically, berger has been very consistent for me, but they're expensive. Also, I have not bought any since they sold out and moved, so I don't know if they're still as good. Hornady is also usually consistent in their 7mm long range stuff that I've tried. I have not bothered to measure any of the varmint stuff. It seems like the plastic tip offerings are more consistent than the plain HP. Nosler RDF seems really good too. Perhaps all the "new" things coming out are made on new tooling?

Sierra is so-so. If you have the time to sort then it makes a noticeable difference at long range in my testing. I had one batch that seemed like two different lengths mixed together--as if the output from two machines went into the same bin.

Does it make a difference? That is up to you and your setup. Maybe, maybe not. Probably not until past 400 yards.

quote:

Guys that seek to fine tune their jumps in increments of 2-3 thousandths should be put on suicide watch. They’re always one box of bullets away from jumping out a window.

I love this quote! Maybe some people have time for this but I definitely don't and have never noticed any difference. All my rifles shoot .5 MOA to infinity and kill instantly with any body hit.
Wait, that wasn't me who said that.

I checked my Hornady 139 gr SP 7mm bullets yesterday & loaded 42 rounds. They vary from the 20 year old dummy round a bit.

But they were much more uniform. I measured about 40 bullets and they were mostly 16.12 to 16.14. A few were 0.01 either way and there was one outlier at 16.08 - average variation is 1.5 thou

I have shot this lot before and they are also accurate.

Remington......

They try.....bless their hearts

I feel a lot better about my home made bullets varying almost .005 now.
not really varying but more like 2 different lots .005 apart.

I'd say Remington has a QC issue but then everyone else has been saying that for years now.

ted thorn
one of us
Picture of ted thorn
posted 13 April 2019 13:52
Remington......

They try.....bless their hearts


Lamar
one of us
posted 13 April 2019 14:10

I'd say Remington has a QC issue but then everyone else has been saying that for years now.

Large variation over the years with the Remington 100 gn CoreLokt I load. Yet, it's always shot very accurately for me at around 3000 fps. Maybe no more though as I have just rebarreled my Sako. Starting to work up new loads from square one. Will try several makes and weights.

That Hornady comparator is a great tool.I have noticed variations too.Not so much from the same lot of bullets,but sometimes quite a bit from lot to lot.I pay a lot more attention to that now since I started using that tool.Shows me why I don't like to seat that close to the lands.I usually like to stay at least .030 off a work from there.

personaly the method for measuring is flawed.
It a fealy fealy thing . you would need to do about a thousand to get to a point where the touch squeeze on the caliper was about the same.
I checked a batch of Berger .243 bullets once and had a difference of .0005. "nothing"

"It a fealy fealy thing . you would need to do about a thousand to get to a point where the touch squeeze on the caliper was about the same."

Add to that the fact that almost all dial calipers have a plus or minus factor of .002"