Bullet Sorting Eye-Opener

[JHardy]

As part of my meplat modification process, I have the opportunity to gain "cardinal" knowledge of the bullets I work on -- inside and out. Here is a simple little sorting trick that might just be an eye-opener depending on the Lot of bullets you have.

1. Take your favorite box of say 500 long range target bullets and get them ready for sorting.
2. Set aside another container for the two groups of sorts you will have.
3. Take a safety pin and open it while grasping the main body -- safety first.
4. Take your fine match bullets one at a time and place the pin part of the safety pin into the meplat.

You will find that many will be open to the pin -- no problem. Unless you have a great Lot, about 15% will not allow the pin to inter more than about 1/16". What you have is what I call "jammed jackets", i.e., more material in the ogive/meplat of the sub-lot than others. Can you trim them as well?. No. Even with all my tricks, can I close the meplats as well? No. You are basically trimming and/or closing what amounts to a FMJ just below the meplat. Will these "jammed jackets" balance as well in flight when shot in the same string as the non-jammed jackets? I doubt it.

Another eye-opener is that the Lots with the most "jammed jackets" also have a large number of slanted and sliced meplats and beat to hell ogives from the polishing process.

So what do you do about it? Of course, the ultimate test is to spin them down the barrel at long range in a round-robin Jason Baney type test to see how they print with the non jammed jackets.

Here is my country boy's dirt-road-scientific analysis: "Things that are different are not the same."

Food for thought,
Jim Hardy

PS. I have sorted Lots of 500 with as few as 4 "jammed jackets" and Lots with as many as 74.

 

[Marksman63]

Never heard about that, interesting! Any feedback from the range?

 

[BenPerfected]

Jim,
This could be huge or just a yawn...have you tested/compared the "pack" compared to the outliers?
Ben

 

[ShootDots]

Jim, is this "pin-test" part of your testing regimen when you "fix" our bullets? If not, will it now become part of your process?

 

[JHardy]

Well, you can do that testing as well as anyone. Or don't sort at all, in any way, and "hope" you get a good Lot. Of course, "hope" without a plan is just a "wish".

If you sort, you may not get a bullet that shoots "better" but you may get sub lots that group together. One of my customers who is a heck of a long range shooter and posts on this board often, does not seem to sweat the defects. He just sorts and shoots the same defects in the same relay. It works for him. I try to fix the defects as best I can and give him great bullets off the best sub lot. But, sometimes I tell him that I think he could shoot small boat tail first. Maybe he can -- if he sorts

Just reporting what I have discovered this year. Like I said, just food for thought. No more -- no less.

Jim

 

[JHardy]

No, I have not tested it at all. But, I have some shooters out there who may give me some feed back shortly. I do know that I cannot trick out the "jammed jackets" as well as those that are not jammed. That has a reflection on the size of the meplat compared to the darts I can make with good bullets, which of course does made a difference in BC uniform BC. That is a given. But, I hope to have some test results shortly.

I do know that I have to identify the bullets to my customers, fix them as best I can, and place them in a container of their own so the customer can make a decision to shoot them as they see fit.

Jim

 

[1shot]

Another question that bears asking is what is the mean difference between 5 that are considered "perfect". And 5 that are the worst of the test group? Thanks for all your work and input,
Lloyd

 

[JHardy]

Ben:

My process fully and always addresses the "jammed" meplats. I usually discover the jams during the first of my 5 stage process. I always report it to my customers. I put those bullets aside to "fix". I sometimes use the pin, but with the other process, that step is taken care of. The pin just makes it easy to check out for the sorter if they want to -- about as fast as you can count the bullets.

Jim

 

[JHardy]

Loyd (1Shot):

Good to hear from you. The difference is a meplat that will cut paper and draw blood from you finger if you care to stick yourself vs. a meplat that is closed nicely and better than it was out of the box. Simple really as you can't close a solid as small as a hollow meplat.

Jim

 

[JHardy]

ShootDots:

Ben, you could shoot a coke bottle out of the barrel and shoot tiny at 1000. You are a freak of nature with a hummer barrel.

Jim

 

[JHardy]

ShootDots:

I always treat your bullets with loving care! Not that you need it! All your bullets have had the testing of my first stage to address the "jammed" meplat issues. I try to fix as many as I can that can go into the main sub lot. The rest i have identified as culls, jammed etc. If you ever get a great Lot, you will be hell to handle!

Jim

 

[M14AMU]

If I did all the things that many say do........would I still have time for trigger pulling?? : :-\

 

[JHardy]

I got a PM from a very good 1000 yard BR shooter last evening. Over a period of time he had experienced flyers that were off call and even opposite of the wind. He had never had that happen before, and he has been a top shooter for years and years.

He took some bullets from his Lot and he could not get a pin in the meplat. He opened them up on a mill and found folded jackets -- what I call jammed jackets. He started shooting another Lot of the same bullets -- a good Lot. He problems were over.

Is this "scientific data"? No, but it is better than that to me. No white paper theory here. Real world experience by a world class shooter who can shoot the difference. This shooter has had my respect for years and he sure has my attention now.

Again, just food for thought. Nothing more and nothing less.

Jim Hardy