What’s an acceptable variance in bullet weights?

[BBVDD]

I have never thought about weighing my bullets but last time I was loading I took a few and weighed them, plus I just got a Autotrickler V3 and wanted to play with the balance.

I was kinda surprised to find that the bullets varied about about +/- .5 grains.
I started removing everyone that was more than .2 +/- off the stated weight of the bullets.
These are ELD-X 6.5mm 143g

I got a new silencer and am working up new loads for the gun and trying to get ES and SD as low as possible so I thought .2 grains would be sufficient.
Thanks.

 

[Taylor4862]

That kind of variance is pretty much par for the course with Hornady bullets, I measured roughly the same with 208gr ELD-M's. Tighter tolerances is a lot of what you're paying for with more expensive bullets, for example if you step up to Sierra Matchking's I've measured only a +/- 0.3gr variance, and another step up to Berger OTM Hybrids I've measured just a +/- 0.2gr variance.

Is there a particular reason you need your ES and SD that low? Like is it a safety concern or something for your suppressor? I'm from Down Under where we're pretty much not allowed to have fun stuff like that, so I don't know a lot about them.

Regardless, if you're going to be scrapping every projectile more than 0.2gr up or down, you're going to be wasting a lot of them, unless you have another gun you can load them for that you're not as worried about. Otherwise maybe consider changing projectiles.

 

[supercorndogs]

I would think sorting by the length of bearing surface would have more of an effect on ES than sorting by weight, but I don't know because I don't sort bullets.

 

[BBVDD]

Wanting to get into longer (for me meaning out to 600yds) and I'm looking to get ES and SD lower for accuracy at distance.


And I'm not throwing the outliers away, I'll load them separately.

supercorndogs, you just introduced something to look at/play with. Never would have thought about that.

 

[Milo 2.5]

Think this way, a .1gr of powder may have way more effect than a .5gr variance in bullet weight. If it was me, I would tighten my numbers by adj charge weights. There are times, though I don't experiment much with it, a primer change may give better ignition giving better results.
Unless you are messing with diff lot numbers of bullets, even sorting by bearing surface does little, you can adj final seat depth with your die, that is the measurement to pay attn too, esp on a new chamber.

 

[BBVDD]

Think this way, a .1gr of powder may have way more effect than a .5gr variance in bullet weight. If it was me, I would tighten my numbers by adj charge weights. There are times, though I don't experiment much with it, a primer change may give better ignition giving better results.

So, I have narrowed my powder charge down to 4.18 grains as my last time out I had a flat spot on my velocity of 2800.
41.7 gave 2799
41.8 gave 2800
41.9 gave 2801

so, taking 41.8 and will now narrow down based on seating depth.
I have loaded 20 rounds with depths of 2.81", 2.82", 2.83," 2.84".

will be curious to see how they do.
And this is all new to me, I'm mainly just playing with everything trying to learn cause and effect of everything.
Pretty fascinating.

 

[b6graham]

So, I have narrowed my powder charge down to 4.18 grains as my last time out I had a flat spot on my velocity of 2800.
41.7 gave 2799
41.8 gave 2800
41.9 gave 2801

so, taking 41.8 and will now narrow down based on seating depth.
I have loaded 20 rounds with depths of 2.81", 2.82", 2.83," 2.84".

will be curious to see how they do.
And this is all new to me, I'm mainly just playing with everything trying to learn cause and effect of everything.
Pretty fascinating.

how do those COAL corresdond to distance off lands? .010 .020 .030 .040?