weighing loads

04 January 2002, 01:33

<1GEEJAY>

weighing loads

Hey,
I read an article in Precision Shooting.It mentioned weighing your finished round.I was working up loads for my 6BR.I started weighing each round.Out of 5 rounds,none weighed the same.I put them in my ammo box by weight.This put them in order of nearest weight.At the range,it improve the groups.This proceedure,is now incorporated into my reloading regimen.
1geejay
www.shooting-hunting.com

04 January 2002, 12:08

<Eric>

If your not shooting bench rest, what's the point? You will not notice any difference in a hunting or casual match gun.

Regards,

Eric

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Surely we must all hang together, for separately we will all surely hang.

04 January 2002, 12:18

<Drifty>

Did you weigh your empty cases? They can, and do, vary in weight.

I also have to agree with Eric. However if you are shooting benchrest weighing your empty cases and seperating them into groups may help. The differences in weight can have an effect on case volume due to internal differences, that would convert into chamber pressure differences.

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Drifty

04 January 2002, 12:30

Paul H

Ross Seyfried had a good article on making hunting ammo, and he recomended weighing the final loaded rounds. His reasoning was that one could pick up a partial charge, or lack of charge of powder. Sage advice for a final q/c check.

04 January 2002, 13:35

beemanbeme

I can see where weighing could be used for a check against squib loads/double charges but how is shooting the rounds in accending (or decending)sequence going to affect the size of the group??????

04 January 2002, 15:10

D Humbarger

Just because of the lack of anything better to do we started weighing various brands of
22 LR ammo & building 5 round groups of the same weight by brand. Try it you just might be amazed!

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NRA Life member

04 January 2002, 16:47

Holmes

quote:
Originally posted by Bear Claw:
Just because of the lack of anything better to do we started weighing various brands of
22 LR ammo & building 5 round groups of the same weight by brand. Try it you just might be amazed!

Agreed. I do this with Winchester Power Point RF ammo and it indeed makes a difference. I go to 10 round groups to facilitate the 10/22 magazine.

Next best thing to using target ammo in the field.

Regards,

~Holmes

04 January 2002, 22:56

<.>

Call me anal, but I'm weighing and sorting brass, bullets. Weighing each charge separately. But we're going for shooting eggs at 350 metres off a bench.

Cases vary considerably in weight and this affects volume. Match grade bullets are pretty consistent, but still have variations in weight.

We group the cases and bullets in lots and then shoot the ammo in the same lots so as to get the tightest groups.

Sorting the ammo by total weight MIGHT help tighten groups shot to shot. But as you go through the box of ammo, your point of impact may drift. Depends on what's causing the weight variation.

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This Space For Rent.

05 January 2002, 14:42

<Chainsaw>

Genghis, As an example my 30-30 Remington cases weigh 128-130 grains, WW Super weigh around 133-135 and Federal 140-143. How do you adjust your powder charge and by how much to accomodate these differences?

So far I am using the Remington cases and some WW Supers with a heavy dose of BLC-2, WC846 or W748. This is shot in an NEF single shot with good results with 130 and 140 grain Barnes X bullets and 130 grain Hornady SP's for most practise rounds.

The brass is all once shot when I get it, and is dirt cheap, last I bought was $3.00 per hundred. I mainly use the Rem and WW for my needs and the Federals for several lever guns that I load for others with book recipes and RN or FN 150 grain bullets.

I have also noticed that in my Falling Block 30-40 Krag, WW brass will weigh 6-7 grains more than the Rem brass, and pressure signs appear with the WW brass first. Anybody notice this also with brass? ---Chainsaw

06 January 2002, 02:41

beemanbeme

many years ago, I had 100 match cases of GI brass- if I recall, lake city, same year. I lotted these into groups and also weighed bullets and spent a lot of time cutting little 4350 logs in two for precise loads. My findings were there was no significant differences. Lets assume one case is 5grs heavier than another. If you don't know where that 5grs is, the difference is meaningless. If its in the web, it means nothing; in the wall, is it on one side or evenly distributed; in the neck, same deal. A five grains variance in the case wall is not going to affect case capacity enough to change point of impact nor velocity. Watch a bench rest shooter change the setting on his measure for every load and still shoot them thru the same hole. Turn your necks and get them nice and even and round and forget about weighing cases. Unless, of course, you have a whole lot of free time on your hands.

06 January 2002, 03:43

<JohnD>

I can see weighing hunting ammo as a means of checking for squib loads, etc. Benchrest shooters don't do this because they're working with carefully matched components.

The reason for weighing finished match ammo has to do with keeping the shot-to-shot elevation changes predictable and as small as possible through the course of fire. Just about everything that results in a heavier round (case, primer, powder) results in higher pressure/velocity/impact. The exception would be the bullet, but assuming good match bullets (Sierra MK's or better), bullet weights just don't vary that much. And all this is really only useful in 1000 yard shooting, not for 200 yard rapid or offhand.

This came about from the days where not-quite-match-grade ammo was issued to long range teams at the match. The captain could use a digital scale and either sort the team's ammo into batches, one batch for each shooter, or order the ammo given to each shooter to avoid the ups and downs during the string. As the impact creeps up, you give it a click down every fourth or fifth round, for example.

Most of the long range shooters I know (including me) take steps as the ammo is loaded, so round-to-round variation is small enough to ignore.