Pete Wass
Well-known member
I took the afternoon off and DanZaked some bullets I had left to do. After I finished DanZaking I sorted the bullets using the Infamous comparitor. After reading a couple of contributing posts on the other thread I devised a test to see if I have been aspousing bogus information. I have some 30-45 brass I made from Lapua cases using a Pumpkin hand lathe and have annealed them through a ken Light annealer. They have not been fireformed. I ran them through my Jones full length die before I began.
I had 7 distinctly different sizes when I had finished measuring the bullets. I broke out my Wilson seating die, my Sinclair Arbor press and seated one bullet from each of the four lots closest in size to each other. The first round measures 1.951 using a digital vernier with a Stony Point 30 cal. comparitor screwed to one of the jaws. This is from a lot that was .001 larger or longer than the size I chose to be zero. The next round loaded with a bullet from the zero lot measures 1.950. There is a skip to a -2 lot because there was only one bullet that measured -1. the round loaded with a bullet out of the -2 lot meaures1.948.5 The fourth one loaded from a lot that is -3 from the zero lot measures 1.947.5.
This is why I sort my bullets. I don't give a snap why it works but when I load I want to have consistent OAL's without having to use a bullet puller and re-seating. Prior to sorting I had to pull and compensate with changing the length of the seater stem. I have other seater dies but I used the usual tools people who load at the range use. I load everything at home so that I am sure I have everything as near to exact as I can get it. I use Forester adjustable seaters at home so that I can easily go from one measured length to another.
I know from the tuning I do a .003 difference in seating depth will make a distinct cloverleaf into a round hole. I have tuned this way for 5 years or more so I know it works. If one is lucky one can find the round hole without a lot of jam. I suspect one could choose a seating depth and adjust powder to find the round hole but that would work a lot better if all the bullets were the same size. Faced with varaitons in size differential, I think it better to choose a load and use seating depth to find the round hole.
I make no clain as to any of this being right or THE way to do things. I only am reporting what I have exoperienced for the past couple of years. I feel I have complete a test that is as good as anyone can do one. Pete
P.S.
The problem with loading randomly selected bullets is that if a .003" difference turns a round hole to a cloverleaf and the oposite, a .007 difference in size will usually make a cloverleaf that looks like a Deer Rifle shot it. Perhaps the one that went way over there or way down there went because it was a much different size than the ones we tuned with. Perhaps it wasn't the conditions at all that caused it to happen or a bad piece of brass or a wimpy primer. There usually aren't many in a lot that are way out but it only takes one or two to wreck one's day. Sometimes 1000 bullets will we within .001 of each other, split pretty much equilly. Nice to find those.
I had 7 distinctly different sizes when I had finished measuring the bullets. I broke out my Wilson seating die, my Sinclair Arbor press and seated one bullet from each of the four lots closest in size to each other. The first round measures 1.951 using a digital vernier with a Stony Point 30 cal. comparitor screwed to one of the jaws. This is from a lot that was .001 larger or longer than the size I chose to be zero. The next round loaded with a bullet from the zero lot measures 1.950. There is a skip to a -2 lot because there was only one bullet that measured -1. the round loaded with a bullet out of the -2 lot meaures1.948.5 The fourth one loaded from a lot that is -3 from the zero lot measures 1.947.5.
This is why I sort my bullets. I don't give a snap why it works but when I load I want to have consistent OAL's without having to use a bullet puller and re-seating. Prior to sorting I had to pull and compensate with changing the length of the seater stem. I have other seater dies but I used the usual tools people who load at the range use. I load everything at home so that I am sure I have everything as near to exact as I can get it. I use Forester adjustable seaters at home so that I can easily go from one measured length to another.
I know from the tuning I do a .003 difference in seating depth will make a distinct cloverleaf into a round hole. I have tuned this way for 5 years or more so I know it works. If one is lucky one can find the round hole without a lot of jam. I suspect one could choose a seating depth and adjust powder to find the round hole but that would work a lot better if all the bullets were the same size. Faced with varaitons in size differential, I think it better to choose a load and use seating depth to find the round hole.
I make no clain as to any of this being right or THE way to do things. I only am reporting what I have exoperienced for the past couple of years. I feel I have complete a test that is as good as anyone can do one. Pete
P.S.
The problem with loading randomly selected bullets is that if a .003" difference turns a round hole to a cloverleaf and the oposite, a .007 difference in size will usually make a cloverleaf that looks like a Deer Rifle shot it. Perhaps the one that went way over there or way down there went because it was a much different size than the ones we tuned with. Perhaps it wasn't the conditions at all that caused it to happen or a bad piece of brass or a wimpy primer. There usually aren't many in a lot that are way out but it only takes one or two to wreck one's day. Sometimes 1000 bullets will we within .001 of each other, split pretty much equilly. Nice to find those.
Last edited: