Importance of different bullet lots??

[DngBat7]

Is it ok to mix bullet lots if you are separating by weight and bbto??? Or is there another reason not to mix lots. Just curious.

 

[bigstick6017555]

If i were to be grading bullets, mixing lots would not matter

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Different lots could mean totally different jackets or lead so even if they sorted the same its not a good idea to mix

 

[dcali]

Don’t mix them. Weight means almost nothing and bto tells only a small part of the story.

 

[DngBat7]

Ok. Thanks. I assumed there was more to the story.

 

[david kieffer]

Is it ok to mix bullet lots if you are separating by weight and bbto??? Or is there another reason not to mix lots. Just curious.

no, never, unless you are loading for elephants inside 10 yds. dave

 

[Jet]

In our desire to shoot small its always wise to keep lots segregated as it relates to all the components we use. Powder, bullets, brass and primers all show variations from lot to lot. It's hard enough to control the variations within lots, don't add another factor to cause confusion.

Good Shooting

Rich

 

[bigstick6017555]

I only shoot short range, lite weight bullets. Over the years of wearing out a few target barrels, i have not found that different bullet lot #'s showed more than a few scope clicks on target from a new barrel and, till it was shot out. Or did i need to change load recipe. I do not advocate doing mixing, but i see no problem if they did. I only shoot what i call custom bullets, Barts, Berger, Precision,EPS, Hottenstien, just to name a few. I have never sorted bullets and do not feel the need to take up the practice. I may randomly check a few here and there, but if i am buying top line bullets, i see no need. I had a conversation with a gentleman shooting a rail gun for which i was interested in getting onto. Basically he told me not needed if you buy good bullets, but if you feel it necessary by all means do it. For long range this may be problem i have no idea, i am not into that.

 

[DngBat7]

Not to change topics. I know that measuring bbto matters and totally understand why. But many say on here that weighing bullet does not. I’m trying to understand that. If one bullet was heavier than another, at long range, would it not in theory impact lower? Somebody straighten me out please

 

[JFrank]

I smell a test!

 

[boltfluter]

As far as mixing lots goes. No, no and hell no !! Been there and done that. Not fun and very frustrating until you figure it out. Just my personal experience and nothing I would care to relive.

Paul

 

[pirate ammo]

I smell a test!

I hope it's multiple choice, that way I stand a chance

 

[BeefyT11]

I've had bullets from 2 different lots be the exact same weight and same base to ogive length , but base to where the seating stem contacted the bullet, varied by .012". Found that out after I mixed the 2 lots, I'm sure you can get lucky and fall within your tolerance between 2 lots.... I'm not one of the lucky lucky people

 

[Ned Ludd]

Not to change topics. I know that measuring bbto matters and totally understand why. But many say on here that weighing bullet does not. I’m trying to understand that. If one bullet was heavier than another, at long range, would it not in theory impact lower? Somebody straighten me out please

We could sort an almost unlimited number of different parameters, until we ended up with one bullet or case in each sorting pile. However, that would defeat the purpose. The real key to effective sorting is to determine what are the limiting (largest) sources of error, and deal with them first. Then you can decide how much more time and effort you are willing to spend on non-limiting sources of error. An easy way to think about the relative contribution of individual sources of error to the total is by using the number of decimal places. For example, if your muzzle velocity is 2750 fps, that's 4 decimal places. If your bullet weight varies only in the 5th decimal place, you're looking at a velocity variance due to weight variance that will likely only be in the 5th decimal place (i.e. less than 1 fps). It's a fairly simple way to make an estimate of what the relative effects of things like powder or bullet weight variance might be.

 

[dcali]

Shooters tend to measure things to the tightest tolerance they are able to, rather than the tolerance that meets their requirements. Today’s mass produced bullets hold a very tight weight tolerance. Just because can sort them into +\- .02 grain lots doesn’t mean that they weren’t plenty good right out of the box. A tenth of a grain is 0.05% of the total weight of a 180 grain bullet. It’s just so small even before you sort.

Getting good handloads is the process of repeatedly identifying the largest problem and fixing it until you are satisfied. Way too many shooters do it exactly backwards, obsessing over minutiae while half-assing important things like properly tuning a load. Your fx-120i is a waste of money if your rifle is even a little out of tune. Learn to tune with the basics before messing with advanced practices. It will save a lot of time and effort.

 

[oldduc]

I’ve done ok without sorting bullets in any way for 600 yard F-class. I needed 22 rounds for 600 today and I had two boxes of Berger 6mm 105gr Hybrids with just a few left in the box. I combined the leftovers and ended up with 21 bullets. I opened a new box from a totally different lot and grabbed one. After I finished loading I remembered that the 21 were pointed and the extra one wasn’t. I put an ‘x’ on the unpointed case, just out of curiosity. When I shot today, I did 199-9X at 600. The one 9 (by about 1mm) was the unpointed bullet. Don’t know if the lack of pointing was the cause, but I didn’t see any other excuse. The other two mixed lots didn’t seem to be a factor, though I usually have a higher x count.

 

[BenPerfected]

Shooters tend to measure things to the tightest tolerance they are able to, rather than the tolerance that meets their requirements. Today’s mass produced bullets hold a very tight weight tolerance. Just because can sort them into +\- .02 grain lots doesn’t mean that they weren’t plenty good right out of the box. A tenth of a grain is 0.05% of the total weight of a 180 grain bullet. It’s just so small even before you sort.

Getting good handloads is the process of repeatedly identifying the largest problem and fixing it until you are satisfied. Way too many shooters do it exactly backwards, obsessing over minutiae while half-assing important things like properly tuning a load. Your fx-120i is a waste of money if your rifle is even a little out of tune. Learn to tune with the basics before messing with advanced practices. It will save a lot of time and effort.

You will save even more time and $ if you learn to tune with a barrel tuner.
Ben

 

[T-shooter]

Here is the measurements of a couple different lots of same part number 168 grain Match .308 Hornady bullets. Measured from both ends using a Hornady comparator.

 

[dcali]

Here is the measurements of a couple different lots of same part number 168 grain Match .308 Hornady bullets. Measured from both ends using a Hornady comparator.

Are those averages or just one bullet from each lot?

 

[dcali]

You will save even more time and $ if you learn to tune with a barrel tuner.
Ben

No truer words have been spoken. I was late to the tuner party, but I’m a full fledged believer now that I’ve taken the plunge.