Weight Sorting .22LR

[TheMoondog]

It's an old bit of gun lore that weight sorting bulk 22LR ammo is almost as good as buying Match Grade ammo. I put that theory to the test, partially out of curiosity and partly out of necessity as I haven't seen match grade Eley, RWS, SK etc. ammo sold in any Bay Area gun store since 2020.

 

[justin amateur]

Problem....limited sample size allows incorrect conclusions.

Question: What exactly are you weighing?
Powder? Primer? Brass? Bullet?
Before assuming that the powder causes the difference,
it might be important to determine how much the individual components vary in weight.
If you haven't done that first, then sorting is simply an exercise in optimism.

Final question: What is the aggregate group size of the sorted? The unsorted?

Afterthought....the purpose of match ammunition is to hit what you aim at.
Based on the results of the testing, sorting did not accomplish that goal.

 

[drglock]

I tried this once with SK Standard. Weight sorted the tried sorting by rim thickness. After shooting it against unsorted(same lot) came to realize all I did was waste my time but to each their own.

 

[bwall57]

I have found that you should never tell anyone what you are doing. Why give the competition the secret to success? Wise men know what works and artfully blow smoke to keep the losers from beating them. Have you ever heard a NASCAR winner tell anyone what they did to go fast? The key to success is to help the losers as much as possible to stay confused, frustrated and chasing malarkey. (https://www.wordnik.com/words/malarkey). The guy that shoots 2500 pts on ABA cards earned it by doing something to have that big Grin. They are happiest guy at the range. Have fun, blow smoke and keep smiling.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I have found that you should never tell anyone what you are doing. Why give the competition the secret to success? Wise men know what works and artfully blow smoke to keep the losers from beating them. Have you ever heard a NASCAR winner tell anyone what they did to go fast? The key to success is to help the losers as much as possible to stay confused, frustrated and chasing malarkey. (https://www.wordnik.com/words/malarkey). The guy that shoots 2500 pts on ABA cards earned it by doing something to have that big Grin. They are happiest guy at the range. Have fun, blow smoke and keep smiling.

Exactly. For example, polishing each round with Brasso is good for 1/2 moa improvement.

But don’t tell anyone!

Follow me for other proven winning tips!

Sirhr

 

[RTH1800]

Problem....limited sample size allows incorrect conclusions.

Question: What exactly are you weighing?
Powder? Primer? Brass? Bullet?
Before assuming that the powder causes the difference,
it might be important to determine how much the individual components vary in weight.
If you haven't done that first, then sorting is simply an exercise in optimism.

Final question: What is the aggregate group size of the sorted? The unsorted?

Afterthought....the purpose of match ammunition is to hit what you aim at.
Based on the results of the testing, sorting did not accomplish that goal.

Did not take long on this one.

 

[justin amateur]

I only comment on topics I've attempted myself RT.
Read about it, try it, document the results.
I've sorted by weight, rim thickness, overall length, ogive length, visible defects, a full brick each time.
Being a touch OCD means I actually work at it even when it gets tedious.
Before anyone attempts to sort by any particular variable,
grab a full box of 50 and measure the dimensions and weights for each of the cartridges.
Lengths and diameters at all possible locations of each cartridge and then disassemble those cartridges
and weigh each individual component....bullet, powder, brass and primer...input all that data into a spreadsheet,
then do some data mining looking for correlations between the measured variables...let me know how that works out.

Sorting by visible defects works quite well.
When the cartridges shows dents, dings, scratches, chips, irregular drive bands, varied seating depths and angles,
do you really expect those bullets to fly predictable trajectories? Problem with sorting by visible defects,
I've had to eliminate pretty much everything not made in Europe from use, when precision paper punching.
Eley, Lapua/SK, RWS and Fiocchi Italia are the only companies actually trying to manufacture high quality 22lr.

 

[bwall57]

Outstanding research, don't stop. It is easier to just smile and keep the knowledge secret. The winner's circle is small. Spending time to understand the Physics and applying the fundamentals of marksmanship to adjust for the environmentals is the challenge. The reward is knowing that all the effort worked. Very few have the ability to comprehend the scope of challenge and spend a majority of time feverishly stroking the keys hoping someone takes the conversation bait. Knowing what works is why the winners never tell you anything but they are always smiling and happy because they know that the secret is still safe. Have fun!

 

[RTH1800]

I only comment on topics I've attempted myself RT.
Read about it, try it, document the results.
I've sorted by weight, rim thickness, overall length, ogive length, visible defects, a full brick each time.
Being a touch OCD means I actually work at it even when it gets tedious.
Before anyone attempts to sort by any particular variable,
grab a full box of 50 and measure the dimensions and weights for each of the cartridges.
Lengths and diameters at all possible locations of each cartridge and then disassemble those cartridges
and weigh each individual component....bullet, powder, brass and primer...input all that data into a spreadsheet,
then do some data mining looking for correlations between the measured variables...let me know how that works out.

Sorting by visible defects works quite well.
When the cartridges shows dents, dings, scratches, chips, irregular drive bands, varied seating depths and angles,
do you really expect those bullets to fly predictable trajectories? Problem with sorting by visible defects,
I've had to eliminate pretty much everything not made in Europe from use, when precision paper punching.
Eley, Lapua/SK, RWS and Fiocchi Italia are the only companies actually trying to manufacture high quality 22lr.

I know, I just stop by occasionally to make sure you are keeping the rimfire world in line!