Weighing bullets

[COLT45SA]

What value do you place on weighing bullets in your search for consistency~?

 

[nmkid]

I don't shoot competitively, so, zero.

 

[LVLAaron]

For what discipline?

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I made 30 cal bullets for a while and shot my own culls. A full grain didn't seem to matter, even for BR level precision. Can't speak to long range except to say that I think there are much bigger factors than a tenth or so to bullet weight, at all yardages.

 

[LCazador]

For long range I weigh and sort base to ogive. For short range I use custom bullets and shoot them as is.

 

[Steel Mover]

As I shot cast only, in competition, at distance, weighed and sorted all of my match bullets, also sorted my brass by fire formed water capacity. Do not like any surprises on the range, know where every bullet is going to hit and why.

 

[Bottom Fodder]

I did and now I don’t because “I” could not tell any difference. Test for your self and YOU thinks it helps by all mean keep doing it. I shoot 600 and 1K

 

[JEFFPPC]

I have not found that to be an issue with good bullets. I will weigh a sample, I have never found a reason to weigh beyond that point. I am with Bottom Fodder.

 

[marchx]

I have not found that to be an issue with good bullets. I will weigh a sample, I have never found a reason to weigh beyond that point. I am with Bottom Fodder.

exactly.

 

[Eagle Six]

I'm with those that 'did' and now 'don't'. But I have no issue with those who 'are' or those that 'will', it's your time and if it makes you shoot better regardless of reason, why not.

 

[MisterHelix]

I think my time is better spent practicing offhand, but precision shooters might think differently.

 

[ebb]

I tried once and found some that were a little off had them all separated, then got to thinking about how I would use them and someone convinced me that the minor variation meant nothing. 60,000 to 65,000PSI in the chamber and I didn't think the difference would be an issue. Knowing that they spin between 250,000 and 300,000 RPM I would like to know if the center of gravity and the center line of the bullet are one and the same.

 

[linebaugh]

I have a rifle that shoots incredibly well and was going to shoot a paper varmint match. I have a lab scale and weight sorted bullets to an atom (joking) and I then went and weighed each powder charge to a kernel. I went to test a lot of 20 to see how they grouped and I swear it was worse than pulling them out of the box and loading.
Obviously this could have just been a bad day for me or environmentals that were not good but I also know it was the last day I ever tried that.

 

[Dave M.]

What value do you place on weighing bullets in your search for consistency~?

Far less than I do in measuring the bullet overall length and placing those in groups (especially for the larger bullets that I tip). To be honest, if you buy quality bullets, you will find less weight variation in them than you will with the length variation. The overall length has a great effect on the BC. Point being, buy custom bullets or good Bergers and don’t even think twice about weighing them
Dave

 

[F Class John]

+1 on did but don't. Never saw it show on paper for me. It was a feel good in the brain thing. I agree with
@Dave M. on OAL.

 

[D-4297]

Spent a entire Summer of shooting ; 1,500 Berger 185 Juggs , weighing , separating and shooting my efforts . The only thing I noticed was a one click vertical adjustment from high round , to center water-line . And the same going up for the heavier rounds . I don't weigh them anymore . I spend that time behind the rifle practicing .

 

[RegionRat]

Just for perspective.

Using a 223 example.
In a 55 grain bullet that does 3260 fps, it takes a full grain change (56 grains instead of 55) to get a 30 fps difference at the muzzle.
The majority of rigs and shooters can't find a 30 fps difference, but some folks can.
The good news is that a full grain is a pretty gross change on a 55 grain bullet.

The bullet weight tolerance effects are not exactly linear, but if you want to roughly understand or estimate the significance of a weight change on muzzle velocity, a good way to start out is by assuming a kinetic energy level as a constant, and then back calculating the resulting velocity due to a mass change in the bullet.

For your nominal KE in ft*lbs, KE=(m1*Vnom*Vnom)/450240

Here is the rough math in grains and feet per second. V2=((450240*KE)/m2))^0.5

where Vnom is your nominal muzzle velocity, and V2 is the result of changing the bullet weigh from m1 to m2.

Unless there is a gross escape in the quality control, there will be little effect from changes on the order of a few tenths of a grain. If it takes a full grain to upset us in the example of a 55 grain 223, then it takes proportionately larger changes in bullet weights as we go up. For example it would take 3 grains if the bullet was 3 times 55 grains (~168 gr). There are not many examples of a 168 gr bullet with 3 grain errors.

This means that unless your weight screen catches a gross error, the typical weight tolerances of modern bullets is in the noise.

 

[K22]

None, no value to me at all. If I had to do that, I might consider another sport / hobby.

I do visually inspect since I have found a few with damaged polymer tips but it is rare.

 

[Dkk37058]

I don’t weigh bullets ether but if it gives you piece of mind and confidence in the bullets by doing it by all means do it

 

[josebd]

What value do you place on weighing bullets in your search for consistency~?

Measure from base to ogive