What I mean by that is should a 150 grain bullet (for example) weigh exactly 150 grains? I just loaded some 7X57's and before starting, upon weighing every single one, the weight range was 149.8 to 150.3 for my Nosler spitzer Partitions. I already cherry-picked them for each load. Would you be concerned? CB

To be honest I don't recall having weighed factory bullets. Home cast yes.

Not concerned The older I have become the simpler I like keepings weighing factory bullets is not one thing I do unless I have a question if I have the right one

Most bullets I have ever weighted always had a .5 grain tolerance, even some of the match bullets I have used

I just look at them as I stuff them in the brass
Watch for defects that's about it.
I would be more attention with the OD

I think that is well within the weight range.

I weigh mine and while I like it when they are within plus or minus 0.1 grains either way. I have seen no adverse effects from the 0.5 variances at all.

I did run some tests with about 10 of the almost same identical weighed brass and weighed bullets and lab scale sure accurate powder measurement and they shot only a smidgen better.

Later I came back and tried it again with the same even more strenuous set up with the brass having the same weight and water volume and very exacting bullet and powder measuring. It didnt make enough of a difference to go through all that. I did get some outstanding ES and Std deviation numbers though. It is worse if you pull one just a tad. Or if a gust of wind comes right at that time.

My Accubonds are very consistent in weight and the Partitions are just a little bit more variance at in the range of what you measured. The Sierras are usually extremely close with only about plus or minus 0.1 grains - but in truth they all shoot the same.

It is just something to make you growl, or to stay on your toes, or to drive us crazy. When we didnt have this range of resolution and accurate equipment we would never had known and probably not be bothered by it any .

One of my buddies can hardly load as a 0.00015 inch difference drives him crazy. I dont let him use the electronic mics anymore lol.

I have weighed factory bullets just to see; they are all about as you found. No need to fret. And that friend of yours would probably un-friend me after I called him nuts. Wait, I am not on facebook anyway.

+1!
I seriously don't think only the Bench Rest world needs to be that damned fussy about bullet weight, or COL. Charge weight, yes.

Normal. No need for the mountain out of the mole hill.

My BR bullets are much closer in weight than what you mention +or- .1 tenth of a grain. Never weighed them again.

There is always a weight difference in bullet weights.

It is much closer in match bullets, than in hunting bullets.

The worst ones were those Winchester - forgot their names - that had a steel cup inside, and painted lack.

A box of 270 caliber had a weight difference between the bullets of over 4 grains!!

I keep our own Walterhog bullets in 375 caliber, 300 grain, to within less than a grain per lot.

.5 grain in 150 grains is a .3% variance.

If you load 45 grains of powder under them .3% is .135 grain weight range, or 44.93 to 45.07 grains.

These are the tails we are chasing.

Thanks again for the input gentlemen. I shall proceed fretless. I knew I could depend on the "been there, done that" crowd. Now if only the wind would die down so I can shoot! A fine Sunday to all.

Unless you're a competition shooter - where bullets are sometimes selected for having the exact same weight - IMO for hunting and general use those weight variations are within tolerance.

How about some clarification?

The spread in weights reported isn't really very good. It's mediocre at best according to the sales propaganda put out by some of the bullet manufacturers.

As an old timer I marvel at the phenomenal innovation, advancement, development, sophistication of the bullets today compared to back when I was young. There seems to be a set of categories now for bullets:

varmint
Target
Hunting
Long range

Some of the manufacturers are offering quite a big variety of bullets but also a variety of precision and quality. The target/bench rest types offer the most refined accuracy. The bullet specified here is a partition hunting bullet. Generally the spread is around 1/2 grain 5/10ths. The top reputed quality manufacturer are saying they can produce lead/copper clad match bullets to 2/10ths of a grain. Copper solids bullet manufacturers use a percentage claiming 0.25% of weight. In a 150 grain bullet that translates into 0.375 grains variance or roughly 1/3 grain.. In small calibers they claim 1%.

To address the second part of the question, "Should I be worried", the answer is contingent on knowing what the intended shooting purpose is:

It it's small varmints, Prairie Dogs at 300 yards, that's not the right bullet.

If it's target/bench rest there is cause for worry. That's the wrong bullet. Precision ballistic tips will do 2 1/2 times better so the competition has it beat.

If it's hunting big game that's about average for industry standard deviation.

If it's long range/sniper hitting 8" pie plates at 1,000 yards there is plenty to worry about.

In my view it doesn’t matter what bullets weigh within limits, as long as they all weigh the same. Is very important that the shooter do we can to achieve round to round consistency.

Some people want to get wrapped around an axle of "what should this be?"

If you have a .75 MOA gun and can make a load that proves it to be a .75 MOA gun, and can hold it tight enough to shoot .75 MOA the you are there.

Federal and Blackhills don't weigh bullets or sort by bearing length. Master class for Highpower rifle under 600 yards and under pick them out of the box and load them. Master F-Class for 1K, they sort by bearing length.

I suppose a lot of one's "level of acceptance" depends on their own goal. There is no intention on my part to disparage what others are content with. However, just to clarify a bit, this will be a deer gun for use at 250 yards maximum and although a group under 1 inch would suffice for most, my goal is to get groups down to 1/4MOA. After all, factor in human error and some heart thumpin' and a seemingly tight group can "walk" or that's been my philosophy since I got on the accuracy kick a half dozen years ago. So, may as well stack the deck in my favor.
Oh, one more observation. Variation of grains may sound worse than it is. A .5 variation is really only .2 from the stated weight or say deviation. So, mountain out of a mole hill sounds about correct. I'll probably still weight match 'em. Then if the groups are unsatisfactory, and there is no wind, it must me the shooter. Thanks to all for opening my eyes. All of you have enlightened me and I thank you all.

quote:

my goal is to get groups down to 1/4MOA

With a hunting rifle a true 1/4" group would be VERY unlikely.

Trying to remember but seems to me consistent .25" groups would win most BR. Factory class more in the .75"

Keep in mind, you won't shoot 1/4 MOA from the bench with your hunting rifle.

Deja vu.

"""The worst ones were those Winchester - forgot their names - that had a steel cup inside, and painted black"""

Combined Technology FailSafe.
They sure shoot tiny little groups in my 300 Win Mag and kill like the hammer of Thor. The BC leaves something to be desired, however.
I think the "CT" project was scrapped by Nosler and Winchester but I still have a couple boxes to load.

Zeke

I think that the OP makes a valid point. And that a half a grain spread is acceptable.

AS LONG AS WHAT IT SAYS ON THE BOX IS 150 GRAINS THAT IS.

Why do I say that? Because here in Britain, as I guess also in USA and elsewhere some game laws DEMAND a minimum weight bullet.

Here in Britain for some deer it is 100 grains, so as long as it says 100 GRAINS ON THE BOX then legally that's OK here.

But using bullets that said 95 GRAINS ON THE BOX would be illegal.

Half a grain out? British Law does not concern itself with trifles.

Interesting.

For long range target ammunition, I sort + - 0.1 grain. I don’t bother with short range (out to 300 yards) but a bud of mine does. He weighs every match bullet, typically Sierra, because he has found 150 grain and 190 ish grain bullets in 500 bullet boxes of 168 Sierra HPBT. These are bullets with defective cores, cores from another run, and poor lot segregation. Years ago I bought thousands of Sierra 2nd 168’s, and was advised to weigh them and sort accordingly. I was very surprised to find bullets that were less than 160 grains in the mix, and the weight spread was all over the place. I am certain not all the bad bullets are found and they occasionally pop up in the 1st quality stuff.

One of the absolute most important accuracy criteria is concentricity and without a Vern Juenke bullet concentricity machine, http://www.bulletinspector.com...n_juenke_history.htm we don’t have any way to measure this. If the center of gravity is not exactly in the center of the axis of rotation the bullet will wobble. The further you go out, the more wobble there will be. There can be lots of causes for an off center weight distribution: bullet jacket thickness variance, miss shaped bullet core, damaged core or jacket. A concern for damaged cores is one reason I am not a fan of crimp dies as crimping swages the soft inner core of a bullet, creates air gaps between the jacket and the core, and this is detrimental to accuracy.

quote:

Originally posted by SlamFire:
For long range target ammunition, I sort + - 0.1 grain. I don’t bother with short range (out to 300 yards) but a bud of mine does. He weighs every match bullet, typically Sierra, because he has found 150 grain and 190 ish grain bullets in 500 bullet boxes of 168 Sierra HPBT. These are bullets with defective cores, cores from another run, and poor lot segregation. Years ago I bought thousands of Sierra 2nd 168’s, and was advised to weigh them and sort accordingly. I was very surprised to find bullets that were less than 160 grains in the mix, and the weight spread was all over the place. I am certain not all the bad bullets are found and they occasionally pop up in the 1st quality stuff.

One of the absolute most important accuracy criteria is concentricity and without a Vern Juenke bullet concentricity machine, http://www.bulletinspector.com...n_juenke_history.htm we don’t have any way to measure this. If the center of gravity is not exactly in the center of the axis of rotation the bullet will wobble. The further you go out, the more wobble there will be. There can be lots of causes for an off center weight distribution: bullet jacket thickness variance, miss shaped bullet core, damaged core or jacket. A concern for damaged cores is one reason I am not a fan of crimp dies as crimping swages the soft inner core of a bullet, creates air gaps between the jacket and the core, and this is detrimental to accuracy.

Who uses the Van Junky machine anymore? I wasn't aware much of anybody used Sierra bullets in competition anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
"""The worst ones were those Winchester - forgot their names - that had a steel cup inside, and painted black"""

Combined Technology FailSafe.
They sure shoot tiny little groups in my 300 Win Mag and kill like the hammer of Thor. The BC leaves something to be desired, however.
I think the "CT" project was scrapped by Nosler and Winchester but I still have a couple boxes to load.

Zeke

Zeke
I do believe the Combined Technology bullets are still being made at least they are still available, they are Nosler Ballistic Tips with a moly or similar coating.
The Fail Safes and CT Failsafes are long gone.

I bought some bulk bullets from Midway .264" diameter and 140 grain, looked like Rem Core Lockts, I shot a couple great groups and some at 2+" and could not figure out the problem until I started weighing them.
The weights ranged from 138 to 144 grains.
6 grain spread from lightest to heaviest.