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heymax

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I got bored the other night and started weighing all my bullets that I have. Some of my Bullets in the same package differed in weight by as much as 1.9 grains. I realize that they are allowed to be considered good as long as they are in a certain range but would 1.9 grains account for a loose group or a flier. Even the sabots had differences. It was quite eye opening. Thoughts?
 
To me that would be unacceptable. I Shoot Mostly Bench/Target therefore This is something i am VERY picky about, And the reason i started casting my own bullets. I shoot for Plus or Minus 1 Grain of eachother, if a Mold is Throwing 400 Grains i will keep 399.5 through 400.5, And even then I will Sort them in to 2 piles 1/2 Grain of eachother. When a Mold is up and Running good and i get on a “Roll” my Bullets will Drop 1/2 Grain of eachother. The Closer you can keep EVERYTHING the better off you are, My Goal is to Make each shot as close as i possibly can to the shot before it. My Targets Tell me that my Effort is worth it :yeah:

I have bought Store bullets that were HORRIBLE at best, TC Maxi balls, and Maxi Hunters to name a Few, But The worst i have ever seen to date was 600 Grain .58 Cal Maxi Balls from October Country, those things varied like 10 Grains!! Some were Wrinkled, Pin holes in Bases, Very POOR QC!
 
+1 on what Lewis said. .5 plus or minus on the bench and when I'm casting also. I had some bullets that I purchased years back before I started casting that were over 5 grains plus or minus. I bought my first mould from Paul Jones and was telling him of this. He said that at short range (100 yds or less) they should still make 1 hole. But even the competition guys shooting 22 match's weigh there shells even after paying over $20,00 a box for them. Just depends how critical you are of yourself. If your only shooting short range or plinking it might not matter.
 
MSalyards said:
Just depends how critical you are of yourself. If your only shooting short range or plinking it might not matter.

I couldn’t agree more here :yeah:

You get out of this what you put in it! Each of us have Different expectations

My No. 1 Goal in this Hobby is to get the ABSOLUTE most out of each and every Rifle i own, I treat these Muzzleloaders EXACTLY like a High end Centerfire Rifle that i shoot accurately to 1,000 Yards, I weigh my Charges on a Beam Scale to the 10th of a Grain. My Bullets are all Weighed and kept the Same, I Protect my Bullet Bases with an Over Powder Wad, I Swab my Bore between Shots to keep the Bore Consistent. When testing loads, I shoot from as SOLID a Platform as i possibly Can, To try and take out as much human error as i possibly can.

If you are ok with a Volume Measure (Close enough) Your bullets vary in weight (Close enough) You feel No need for an Over powder Wad to protect your bullet bases (Close enough) You don’t bother to Swab the Bore Between shots for Consistency, Just keep cramming them down shot after shot (Close enough) You shoot off Hand, or maybe over a Dangling Tree Branch? (Close enough) And your end results are say Pie Plate Groups? You did STELLAR and should feel VERY FORTUNATE! You just got out of this what you put in it, Maybe even better? Which is “Close Enough” :D
 
If you are ok with a Volume Measure (Close enough) Your bullets vary in weight (Close enough) You feel No need for an Over powder Wad to protect your bullet bases (Close enough) You don’t bother to Swab the Bore Between shots for Consistency, Just keep cramming them down shot after shot (Close enough) You shoot off Hand, or maybe over a Dangling Tree Branch? (Close enough) And your end results are say Pie Plate Groups? You did STELLAR and should feel VERY FORTUNATE! You just got out of this what you put in it, Maybe even better? Which is “Close Enough” :D


OMG This says it all.

I grew up with the mentality that all you had to do was hit a 9 inch Paper Plate at 100 yards and you were good to go. it never seemed Good Enough. I never owned a so called tack driver, until now. I'm just a meat hunter who enjoys time in the woods. 2 years ago i purchased a Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor and I'm becoming a Surgeon with that gun. I've taken 5 Deer with that Gun and they all dropped in their tracks. It has caused me to want more out of my other gun. A 50 cal LHR Redemption. There are so many variables with a muzzleloader that it has become not Good Enough. I'm looking at every detail to see where I can get better. If I can tweak those details to benefit both Me and my Gun, then in the end it will all come down to Me. Where I aim, where I hit. Squeezing the trigger with my elevated heart rate. My Gun will be Spot On, I will have nothing to blame except for myself. All the other parts did their jobs, I just need to do mine. No Longer do I want to be that person that says, " Just hold the crosshairs about 2 inches to the northwest of the Bullseye and you'll be close." because I could never quite dial it in. The Animals we hunt deserve more than "Close Enough." Thank you Folks for taking time to comment. Max
 

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