Measuring Bullets

[Richard Prince]

What do you do to measure bullet length and what tools are recommended

thanks
Richard

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Calipers

 

[David Christian]

What do you do to measure bullet length and what tools are recommended

thanks
Richard

If you buy quality bullets, you don’t need to measure them, unless you also plan to tip them.

 

[BoydAllen]

A couple of years back, I interviewed the winner of the IBS 1,000 yd. benchrest nationals. He measures his bullets every way that I had heard of , and one that I had never heard of. I am pretty sure that most of the top long range benchrest competitors measure and sort bullets.

 

[dolek]

If you buy quality bullets, you don’t need to measure them, unless you also plan to tip them.

Have you ever measured "quality" bullets ? If so,please tell us which ones you have found to be perfect .

 

[Don Shelton]

Have you ever measured "quality" bullets ? If so,please tell us which ones you have found to be perfect .

I always sort by bto measurement using a dial indicator and a Sorteez application. I sort in 5 bins and then point all my Berger bullets,,,,I shoot long-range benchrest and I am trying to do every step necessary to better my groups....

 

[dolek]

I always sort by bto measurement using a dial indicator and a Sorteez application. I sort in 5 bins and then point all my Berger bullets,,,,I shoot long-range benchrest and I am trying to do every step necessary to better my groups....

I find it is well worth the effort too. Every variable taken out of the equation is a major plus in my opinion .

 

[Intheshop]

I've heard them go by several names; They are a form of snap gage,but also called bench comparator. Ours is a Federal brand. They come up on Ebay regular enough to keep prices in check. Federal/Mahr and Starrett are the brands you're going to see the most of. They come in,electronic and non.

You're going to make a sleeve to drop bullet in,then a dial indicator measures base height. The more,"hands off" the better.... this is why a "bench" model is preferred over anything hand held(it's heat transfer you're trying to avoid). Good luck with your project.

Edit because...
There's an old Starrett catalog on the kitchen table,am having coffee and too lazy to go look at our Federal (which is effectively the same). Look up a Starrett 652 or 654

 

[Nature Boy]

Calipers

My caliper skill just aren’t up to the task

I did a repeatability check on myself and failed terribly

 

[rkittine]

After going to the 1,000 Yard Benchrest School at Williamsport (Trout Run) PA, THREE TIMES, I am now anal about reloading including bullet sorting. I sort them and set up batches by:
Weight
Length
Baring Surface
Diameter

I only shoot what I believe are quality projectiles and they all have MINOR variations.

Bob

 

[Ccrider]

First things first. First, I have to learn to shoot the difference.

 

[Evan]

So folks using a dial indicator: does it read in tenths? And have you tried remeasuring sorted bullets a few times to verify you get the same results? Every time I remeasure a high quality match bullet, I get a slightly different value. Turn it 45 degrees in the comparator sleeve and it reads different, lift it out and reseat it and it reads different. I can sort 5 bullets, remeasure, and get a completely different sorting the second time.

I've come to the conclusion that my dial indicator setup cannot repeatably resolve differences between modern match bullets. Calipers definitely can't, it's an order of magnitude smaller than their capability.

 

[dolek]

First things first. First, I have to learn to shoot the difference.

...or get rid of the difference right from the start . With that variable gone you can narrow things down faster. Many ways to skin a cat I guess .

 

[Ccrider]

...or get rid of the difference right from the start . With that variable gone you can narrow things down faster. Many ways to skin a cat I guess .

Yep. Time is a commodity. If I have to choose between sorting custom bullets or shooting and trying to figure out how to read the wind and tune a load, I will choose shooting for now.

 

[rkittine]

Weight and Bearing Surface seems to me to be the areas where I have seen the variations at least show up when chrono graphing by batch. A wider variation in velocity is for sure going to effect vertical.

Bob

 

[Ccrider]

Weight and Bearing Surface seems to me to be the areas where I have seen the variations at least show up when chrono graphing by batch. A wider variation in velocity is for sure going to effect vertical.

Bob

I just started loading a Dasher. My Es without sorting bullets is on the single digits. With my ppc, it is under 20. I don’t know that sorting bullets will help much with velocity consistency. Brass prep is the key.
There may be a time that I will sort bullets. Just on down the list.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Find out how an ibs SOY measures them like @BartsBullets

 

[rkittine]

Only was talking about projectiles, but I now spend about $100 of labor per case, in brass prep to go along with it. Then there is Primer "Crush Level". Now I need to learn how to shoot and read the winds.

Bob

 

[JFrank]

I’m looking at adding a George McDonald sorting tool to my collection of gadgets’ however I’m not familiar with them so I may be in over my head....
J

 

[Straightshooter1]

Weight and Bearing Surface seems to me to be the areas where I have seen the variations at least show up when chrono graphing by batch. A wider variation in velocity is for sure going to effect vertical.

Bob

A couple years back I ran a little experiment with regards to Bearing Surface where I had a 500 count box of 168 SMK's that had some with as much as .033 differences in their bearing surface length. I wanted to see what, if any or to what extent, this difference my do. I not only measured the bearing surfaces, I also measure BTO as well as base to tip and measured the bullet weights. I didn't find any significant difference in bullet weight and no unusual difference in base to tip. There was some correlation in the BTO measurements and most of the difference was indeed in the BTO part of the bearing surface over all length. As it turned out, .033 difference in bearing surface length defiantly made a difference on MV's as well as POI's. But I'm not sure at how much difference there needs to be before one should have any concern.

These days, I will only sort my bullets by BTO, but only after I sample my lot to see if there is a significant range. Otherwise, if the sample from the lot does not have much difference, I won't sort them.

BTW, used a MagnetoSpeed V3 not attached to the barrel. Oh, and since then I've improved my reloading process that gets me much more consistent chrono numbers these days (thanks to inputs by people on this web site).

Here's pics from that little experiment: