Weighing Bullets, the best scale

[NateHaler]

Dennis, I think weighing bullets isn't really what you want to do; I think you want to cull the fringe bullets outside of an acceptable weight variance. For that, I think the beam scale is fastest.

Set it to the weight you want, and put a bullet on the pan. Those outside the gradations nearest to dead nuts get tossed into two containers: heavier and lighter. Those within the acceptable range go into a specific container for them.

However, if you are obsessed with 0.1 grain for every bullet, then heaven help you. There's no end to stuff once you start measuring. You'll go crazy.

Articles have been written by credible and accomplished shooters on how they mistakenly used their culled loads/bullets/brass whatever to shoot an important match. And noticed no difference vs. the ammo that was painstakingly measured within a gnat's ass. There's a lesson there. Unless you like to measure, in which case go crazy and enjoy yourself.

 

[bozo699]

Dennis, I think weighing bullets isn't really what you want to do; I think you want to cull the fringe bullets outside of an acceptable weight variance. For that, I think the beam scale is fastest.

Set it to the weight you want, and put a bullet on the pan. Those outside the gradations nearest to dead nuts get tossed into two containers: heavier and lighter. Those within the acceptable range go into a specific container for them.

However, if you are obsessed with 0.1 grain for every bullet, then heaven help you. There's no end to stuff once you start measuring. You'll go crazy.

Articles have been written by credible and accomplished shooters on how they mistakenly used their culled loads/bullets/brass whatever to shoot an important match. And noticed no difference vs. the ammo that was painstakingly measured within a gnat's ***. There's a lesson there. Unless you like to measure, in which case go crazy and enjoy yourself.

I totally disagree with this but then I don't shoot short range br but if your shooting then don't think for a minute that EVERYTHING YOU DO MATTERS!!! including measuring and weighing bullets.
Wayne.

 

[johara1]

Wayne, You are right weed out the fliers....... jim

 

[NateHaler]

Dennis, I think weighing bullets isn't really what you want to do; I think you want to cull the fringe bullets outside of an acceptable weight variance. For that, I think the beam scale is fastest.

Set it to the weight you want, and put a bullet on the pan. Those outside the gradations nearest to dead nuts get tossed into two containers: heavier and lighter. Those within the acceptable range go into a specific container for them.

However, if you are obsessed with 0.1 grain for every bullet, then heaven help you. There's no end to stuff once you start measuring. You'll go crazy.

Articles have been written by credible and accomplished shooters on how they mistakenly used their culled loads/bullets/brass whatever to shoot an important match. And noticed no difference vs. the ammo that was painstakingly measured within a gnat's ***. There's a lesson there. Unless you like to measure, in which case go crazy and enjoy yourself.

I totally disagree with this but then I don't shoot short range br but if your shooting then don't think for a minute that EVERYTHING YOU DO MATTERS!!! including measuring and weighing bullets.
Wayne.

You're entitled to your opinion, but multi-time National Champion Carl Bernosky doesn't weigh or measure bullets.

There are degrees of prep that verge on insanity, like weighing primers or uniforming primer pockets. If you have the time/inclination to do such things, that's your prerogative. But to spout off that it all matters, well, you don't know it does. Show the empirical evidence. Jerry Tierney cleans his rifle every several hundred rounds. And doesn't go crazy with prep. Why are the two gents measured so good? Because they shoot a lot and they read conditions and have their equipment and loads in a state that work for them. Emphasis on the former, vs. the latter.

1/10 grain bullet weight variations don't make a damn bit of difference in a 20mph breeze at 600y if you can't read the conditions, hold steady, and shoot consistently.

To each his own. 8)

 

[bozo699]

Dennis, I think weighing bullets isn't really what you want to do; I think you want to cull the fringe bullets outside of an acceptable weight variance. For that, I think the beam scale is fastest.

Set it to the weight you want, and put a bullet on the pan. Those outside the gradations nearest to dead nuts get tossed into two containers: heavier and lighter. Those within the acceptable range go into a specific container for them.

However, if you are obsessed with 0.1 grain for every bullet, then heaven help you. There's no end to stuff once you start measuring. You'll go crazy.

Articles have been written by credible and accomplished shooters on how they mistakenly used their culled loads/bullets/brass whatever to shoot an important match. And noticed no difference vs. the ammo that was painstakingly measured within a gnat's ***. There's a lesson there. Unless you like to measure, in which case go crazy and enjoy yourself.

I totally disagree with this but then I don't shoot short range br but if your shooting then don't think for a minute that EVERYTHING YOU DO MATTERS!!! including measuring and weighing bullets.
Wayne.

You're entitled to your opinion, but multi-time National Champion Carl Bernosky doesn't weigh or measure bullets.

There are degrees of prep that verge on insanity, like weighing primers or uniforming primer pockets. If you have the time/inclination to do such things, that's your prerogative. But to spout off that it all matters, well, you don't know it does. Show the empirical evidence. Jerry Tierney cleans his rifle every several hundred rounds. And doesn't go crazy with prep. Why are the two gents measured so good? Because they shoot a lot and they read conditions and have their equipment and loads in a state that work for them. Emphasis on the former, vs. the latter.

1/10 grain bullet weight variations don't make a damn bit of difference in a 20mph breeze at 600y if you can't read the conditions, hold steady, and shoot consistently.

To each his own. 8)

My apologies as per usual you are correct and I am incorrect, I know no one that weighs or measures bullets besides myself, I do the silliest things like weigh my powder charges on a vic 123 and soon a gd503 instead of just throwing it I still measure and sort my bullets and weigh them and sort them in lots that's why I buy several thousand at a time, another silly thing I do, I shouldn't waste my time as my local shop carries my bullets of choice and I should just buy them one box at a time and load at the range just before the match, but I don't! I am sorry for spouting off my ridiculous ways of being over precise, it's a bad habit of mine! I will try to quit that in the future. Also for you people (like me) that buy large quantities of powder especially like varget so you have all the same lot number that is also ridiculous! Semi-seriously why do any of us bother to reload?................why don't we just buy stuff off the shelf and save a huge amount of time that we could be using for shooting or with the family! sometimes I just wonder what I was ever thinking! thanks for getting me on the right track.

p.s I have read Carl's and Jerry's success stories and they truly are great shooters, they really can read the wind, I on the other had can't so I compensate by making my gun and ammo as accurate as I can.
Wayne.

 

[johara1]

Some here are shooting a different game,the degree of accuracy of the rifle to win. A high degree of skill is needed as much as the acc of the rifle. In the bench rest game the accuracy of the rifle need to win is far more than a XC. shooter or long range shooter where a X is an X and 10 is a 10. Both have have there skill factors, and both have accuracy levels. I know some that even weigh primers in the BR game, to each his own set perimeters needed win and be competitive. I did both and i can speak for both sides of this. A 1/4 min. gun at the BR. game you can have fun, a 1/8 min. you may win once in a while....... jim

 

[bozo699]

Some here are shooting a different game,the degree of accuracy of the rifle to win. A high degree of skill is needed as much as the acc of the rifle. In the bench rest game the accuracy of the rifle need to win is far more than a XC. shooter or long range shooter where a X is an X and 10 is a 10. Both have have there skill factors, and both have accuracy levels. I know some that even weigh primers in the BR game, to each his own set perimeters needed win and be competitive. I did both and i can speak for both sides of this. A 1/4 min. gun at the BR. game you can have fun, a 1/8 min. you may win once in a while....... jim

Jim,
The response you wrote is the response my inner conscience told me to write but the evil Sagittarius in me just has to be sarcastic at times especially when I KNOW I am right, thanks for saying what was really on my heart
Wayne.

 

[DennisH]

I was hopeing to find a good scale for around $50 or so. It doesn't look like there is a good one around this price. But who knows, one may pop up.

Dennis

 

[hogan]

Depends on what bullet weights you want to weigh???

I've not used any digital powder gear. Dunno about those.

Own an RCBS Deluxe Check Weight set, bought 20 years ago. Ohaus 10-10 scale, RCBS 505 scale.


Always zero my scale with checkweight to nearest value I can get. No worries about variations or glitches.

 

[Joe Maisto]

Steve,

I found as much as .8 grains difference when weight my 107 smk's. 107.1 & 107.2 were the most consistent weights.

Dennis;

I can't imagine .8 differance in bullet weights from the same lot. I do not know what distance you shoot or what your game is. What I do know is in the BR "group" shooting we do, it is mandatory they are from custom bullet makers and from the SAME LOT #. The game we shoot is attempting to put 5 into the same hole as the 1st one went into , therefore , everything is critical.

I know of no one who weighs their bullets in "group" BR, but then.....it is short range.
At any rate, I shoot with people that DO shoot at 600 and do not know as any of them have a need to weigh their custom bullets.
By "Custom Bullets", I am not referring to Hornady or Sierra either.

I must have 3000 bullets here by 3 custom manufactures, and I dare say that if I took from one of them, there would not be more than .2 differance in the whole box of 1000.
Incidently Dennis....we use digital scales. Those prices can vary dramatically as well. Spend the money for one and never look back.

Good shooting...

Joe

 

[Joe Maisto]

Some here are shooting a different game,the degree of accuracy of the rifle to win. A high degree of skill is needed as much as the acc of the rifle. In the bench rest game the accuracy of the rifle need to win is far more than a XC. shooter or long range shooter where a X is an X and 10 is a 10. Both have have there skill factors, and both have accuracy levels. I know some that even weigh primers in the BR game, to each his own set perimeters needed win and be competitive. I did both and i can speak for both sides of this. A 1/4 min. gun at the BR. game you can have fun, a 1/8 min. you may win once in a while....... jim

Jim;

I had to smile at the above, in regards to the statement: (1/8 minute you may win once in awhile)

In the year 2000 at a BR match at Holton, MI, I beat out a fine shooter & friend of mine, by .0002. That is.....2 tenths of a thou. @ 100 yds. It happens all the time in this particular game. Measured with a 4 place digital Mitutoya which is magnified precisely from one extreme side of the group to the other.
This is what 100 & 200 yd. "GROUP" shooting is about. It should also be noted that out of perhaps 60 shooters at one of our matches, there are no less that 3 HOF shooters , one of them the present ( and the other a past) Eastern region directer.
They almost always come out on top, but it's fun competing anyway. Sometimes others get lucky ( like me) and even win some money for shooting the smallest group in a given match. After all, in a two day w/e, there are 20 matches.

Joe

 

[rayporter]

this may not be entirely on target, but is might under score how the attitude of a short range shooter evolves. many years ago i asked a custom bullet maker about the bullet weights. he replied weight did not matter. so i have frequently tested this. once at a match in st louis i shot 3 different weights from 3 custom makers. just to see what happened i loaded 66, 67 and 68 gr bullets and shot a low .2 then did it again.

if it goes in the same hole i dont care about a lot of other things, either.

custom bullet makers generally shoot their product. they know [KNOW] if it works.

i dont know how far out the target needs to be before this changes. i am curious too. just what range do you need to start culling to see a real improvement?

 

[Steve Blair]

It is not so much the bullet weight, alone. It is about the accumulation of tolerances. If the bullet is on the heavy side, case capacity on the large side, powder charge slightly low, etc., and the next round is the opposite, there will be a velocity and vertical difference at 1000 yards. The bullets I shoot in .300 WSM are more than 1/8" longer than the 6 PPC case. It is not unreasonable to say that what works is one discipline is irrelevant in the other. F-Class shooters usually want the most accurate load but that is not the only factor. I look for ES under 15 fps and a wide tuning window where the load characteristics do not change much. It is also important that the load behaves predictably when the barrel fouls and warms. [br]
When I weigh bullets, I'm not sorting into groups, just culling those that are significant outliers. Berger bullets that have been trimmed and pointed are usually within ±.1 grain. There are some that may have a short or long core and fall outside, occasionally well outside, that range. Those are relegated to fouling or non-match use. [br]
Almost any digital scale intended for reloading is adequate to weigh bullets. Inexpensive scales are piezo types and sensitive to power supply quality, temperature and EMF interference. Pay attention to those factors and most scales should work fine. I use a VIC 123, despised by many for powder weighing because of fluctuation. When the above factors are addressed, mine works fine with little drift.

 

[Edwin2]

It depends on your budget that how much you can afford and how much weighing limit you need. Because there are many balance scale on Ebay which start from a price $10 to $100.

 

[krktractor]

Get you a A&D FX120i scale best scale on the market and much more affordable than the GD503. There is no reason in my opinion to weigh anything at 1,000th of a grain, a single kernel of varget or H4350 weigh between 2 and 3 hundredth of a grain so unless you are going to sit down and cercumsize your powder it's not needed. The scale I'm referring to is super fast at reading and always returns to 0 I weigh my bullets and it is awesome, would not even look at any thing else. They can be bought for around 425.00 at Cambridge environmental on the internet do a search and you will see how good people talk of it.

 

[Raythemanroe]

A&D Newton EJ123 Milligram scale.. Magnetic Force restoration scale for around $350



Ray

 

[Barlow]

I quit weighing bullets, but I do agree with the outlier stand if you feel you have to weigh them. However I do measure bullet length, base to ogive, when used for target shooting. The last exception to the measuring rule is the 105 Amax's that I use, they have been very consistent, so I measure loaded rounds and occasionally have to adjust seating depth. jmo Barlow