Frustration of reloading with small batched components

[RegionRat]

I have been using hunting bullets which are only offered in commercial packages of 100 per box.

Many big name brands don't seem willing to deal with the hunting bullets the same way as their match bullets that are offered in larger quantities.

I asked about this a few times back in the days when I was inside those companies for other purposes and was told the marketing was directed toward the folks who only use small quantities for hunting. They can't sell bigger boxes. So be it...

The workaround was to try and buy several boxes of the same batch. That worked well enough, till the big mail order outfits stopped trying to provide for batch controls. Today I was reminded of why it is important to pay attention to batch sizes..

While loading today, I got burned by the small batch problem. I prepped, primed and charged a hundred pieces of brass and got rolling. I was recording the seating just to see how the brass prep would behave. Many of these have to feed several different guns, so the risk was necks getting bent from being checked in the chambers of the tightest rifles. The dented necks were not causing many problems with the seating fore variations, so till I had to use two more bullets from the next box I was happy.

I got close to the last row and could tell I was in trouble. I was two bullets short?!? The box was brand new with the sticker intact on one side and slightly fractured on the other, but it would have been hard to imagine two bullets escaping.

So, I opened the next box and got burned.

Can you guess which two bullets are from that very next box of the "same" bullet?



So, the next box will require testing of a different neck tension prep, and by the time it is checked to verify the tune in several different guns, it may end up the next box is back where the other one was..... it can get frustrating to say the least...

 

[Jager]

Aye, I've always hated breaking into a new box of bullets, of a different lot, when finishing off a batch of rounds. I bet there's a lot of us who have a bunch of 100-count boxes hanging around with a handful of loose bullets rattling around inside.

You stand up a new batch of brass in the loading trays, glance over at the shelf, your eye pausing for just a moment on a couple of those "rattlers," before moving on to the the big box of 500-count bullets, or one of your still-sealed 100-count boxes.

"Later" is what you tell yourself, to the inevitable question of "when am I ever going to use those orphaned things?"

Curious if you mic'd any samples from that box where those two outliers came from, RR?

 

[jimmymac]

Foulers

 

[std7mag]

They are called "hunting" bullets, not match bullets.
Think there just might be a reason for that?

And i'd be willing to bet the vast majority of people reloading for hunting purposes are not using the tools & practices a match shooter uses.

Your trying to compare apples to oranges.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Hunting bullets, I just dump left overs in the next box, now I have more than 100. LOL. I can't worry to much, I even have "factory seconds" on the hunting bullet shelf. Just loaded up some 2nd's 200 gr accubonds(.338) for my backup elk/deer trip rifle.

 

[std7mag]

This thread actually reminds me of a thread on another forum.
Guy is worried because he measured bullet base to ogive & came up with 11 different measurements.

On Rem CoreLokts for his 270 Win...

There are just better things to be worried about.

 

[RegionRat]

Some years, the whole elk season boils down to a six second shot presentation between rocks or trees out at 500 yards...

If you can make that shot, it isn't because you are accepting slop with your loading or your shooting.

You make those shots with hard work at the loading bench and lots of field practice to stay proficient. Otherwise, you just go home with stories....

I'll stand on my record. YMMV.

 

[RegionRat]

Curious if you mic'd any samples from that box where those two outliers came from, RR?

Will revisit if I find a root cause. Those two bullets hit last night as I was trying to button up some practice rounds and I was not in the mood for it.

It has been a long dry spell for the brass and bullets, so I will shut up and be thankful I am sitting on enough for now.

I was up at the range today cause we have been getting clobbered with winds and fires so I had to take the short opening to practice in something less than 50 knots...

 

[INTJ]

I am not sure what the screenshot is showing being measured, but seating force is not the same as neck tension. Many of us have found seating force variations of as much as 30 PSI+ don't seem to show up in 600 and 1000 yd groups with BR rifles. On a hunting rifle it's unlikely to make any difference. It doesn't take much load accuracy to cleanly take an elk at 500 yds.

That said, I can't help myself when it comes to measuring bullets, so all hunting bullets I shoot are checked base to ogive and I separate the outliers. I still measure every shoulder after sizing and every bullet after seating on a hunting rifle. I have been too lazy to change primer tools so I am seating my primers on my hunting loads to an exact crush using my K&M Primer Gauge.

None of this likely makes any difference in a rifle that generates up to 50 ft lbs of recoil and shoots .6 at best. So maybe I am not the best person to say that obsessing over hunting ammo and applying match rifle loading techniques isn't necessary.........

 

[Kurz]

Frustration of reloading with small batched components​

Yes sir, I understand your frustration but counting and attempting to pre-plan for instances such as this will often save you the aggravation.

There are some suppliers which only offer a 20-count box in the weights and calibers I need for ELR shooting. Read that one again; 20-count boxes. And at $2 - $3.00 each bullet, mistakes are supremely costly, but there are no choices in this game. Small batches and extreme expense. And yes, this is my choice to make and I support those manufacturers. I do wish for a box of 100 every now and then though...