this stuff can get real fascinating.
Now that is the truth Ron and I really enjoy all the comments and photos from the different posters. Between all of us, we can keep each other straight and also share some interesting information.
Something that has always facinated me about casting bullets is how different casting methods and techniques can be taylored to match your needs. Those who cast only light weight bullets don't consider the variance in bullet weight because as a percentage of the total weight, those variances don't amount to much, certainly not enough to cause any problems.
But when I was shooting BPCR rifles with bullet weights running 500 grains or more, it became an issue, particularly when those bullets got out there at 800 to 1000 yards at the very end of their rotational stability range and then dropped back through the sonic barrier as they lost velocity and became sub-sonic. That transonic transition from super sonic to sub somic bullet speed causes a lot of problems with bullet stability and accuracy.
Having bullets that weigh the same or very near the same becomes critical to accuracy then because a bullet varience of a half a grain or more in bullet weight makes a big difference when velocity and rotational stability is already compromised and then it hits that transonic range and things don't go very well. At a BPCR match one day a fellow shooter and I were talking and he casually mentioned how he selected the bullets he used in competition and how he cast them using a hand ladle. Heck I hadn't used a hand ladle since I got my first bottom pour pot. But I tried it and was surprised to learn that when I used a hand ladle and cast those big bullets using it instead of a bottom pour pot, that I got more consistant bullet weights even though I was using the exact same metal composition, the same mold, and casting at the same temperature. I never did figure out why, but many BPCR shooters cast their big bullets that way for the same reason.
So a casual remark during the usual shooter talk at a BPCR match improved my over all scores by about 10 percent using that simple technique to cast my bullets. You never know where these gems of wisdom and information are going to come from. They just seem to drop out of the sky every now and then and I am always greatful when they do.
