bullet sorting supply service

[Jeffvn]

So I was sitting in my garage doing the brainless weighing, measuring, and sorting of bullets for my F-Class and other shooting. I noticed, as anyone anal enough to undergo this task will learn, that the lot of bullets that I was sorting were spread over a fairly predictable bell curve distribution, but still varied in weight and in that weight group by length of the bearing surface. Then I started wondering if anyone would pay for the convenience of having someone else sort their match bullets by weight, length of bearing surface, or both? If so, what would it be worth to them?

Alternatively, I was thinking what would it be worth to someone to be able to simply call someone and buy 500, 1,000, 1,500 of the same lot, weight, and bearing surface length match bullets?

Or am I the only person who thinks about things like this.

I have been thinking of becoming a distributor for certain bullets, so this is not just pie in the sky talking....

Talk to me.

JeffVN

 

[mikecr]

First you would have to classify bullets in a more meaningful way. Typical variance in bullet weight and bearing surface is insignificant w/resp to BC or ES.
Bigger gains in grouping are defined in the noses,NL,MD,OR) as this most affects BC. Various combinations of these parameters..
So your bullets could be 'BC-Matched', which would truly have value to many of us.

That would not be easy though without setting up specialized tools, software, and storage. These do not currently exist.
The setup would have to be very efficient to produce BC-Matched lots this side of $2-3/bullet. And that's where you'd be unless you could classify atleast a couple thou a week. Something impossible with a magnifying glass and calipers.

It would take an optical jig with tempates for each bullet make, producing bullet parameter outputs to a laptop/spreadsheet for BC readout. A true bullet comparator.

On the side, a station would need to be setup for trimming and pointing to reduce losses. This is where it would begin to come together as feasable -if you could quickly determine and set exactly the changes needed to match BC to one of your lots. The spreadsheet math would have defined this, and so each bullet would have been assigned by number or dealt with before moving on. Difficult to organize..

All would have to be stored in special drawers/trays, and sold by lot and quality. A juenke machine could be included in your process to produce eventual lots of diamonds,to go at a premium rate). And the bastards left over could be sold at an appropriate rate.

There would be alot to it. Alot of details to hammer out. Risk and expense.. Did I mention that no means currently exists to do this? And I suspect that this is why it isn't done.

 

[Tommie]

It's a neat idea. But I suspect that sorting mediocre bullets would result in a landed cost which exceeds the price of true custom bullets.

Dunno for sure.

Tom

 

[rstreich]

Some might pay for such a service. There are a few people who have their plates full of business processing once-fired Lake City brass for High Power shooters. I can think of at least one person that caters to BR shooters sorting and prepping brass. I think there's another, but I can't remember for certain.

I think Mike is being a little disparaging. All you're talking about is performing the same steps that many competition shooters go through.