Complete loaded round quality assurance?

[ShortStake]

Gents and madams,

BPCR loading has certainly been a revelation after 43 plus years of loading smokeless.

Has anyone delved into weighing the completed round when loaded?

Seems that case weights are a given, also primers, powder and bullets.

When combined these factors should be equal and consistant.

In all the perused printed matter dealing with BPCR loads this element has never surfaced as a quality control measure.

[Gunny]

While you certainly could do this, i personally feel that it would be an unnessasary step. there is a variance in the weight of all primers, also the brass itself is never the same. One also must take into consideration the wad or wads, I use three wads on every round I load. Once you take into consideration all of these varibles i don't know what would be gained by all of this knowledge. I weigh every powder charge for every round I shoot in a match, I use a electronic scale which means I have an error factor of plus or minus 2 tenths of a grain, as this is as accurately as any electronic scale will measure. i also weigh each bullet for a match and use a variance of .5 or half a grain. I also weigh all of my match brass and use for a match all brass that is plus or minus 3 grns. But with all of these variables I see no need to weigh a completed cartridge. Now having said that it sure as hell wouldn't hurt anything. But you have to ask yourself do I really gain any information that I can really use or make my ammo any better.

Gunny

[Coydog C.]

I agree with Gunny. I weigh brass (and segregate by weight lot), bullets and each powder charge. So there’s not much of a chance of something big getting by.

If I was worried about Alzheimer’s setting in, or I routinely forgot stuff, then weighing each loaded round might be a step I’d look at.

Now where was I going with this…..

    Oh yea, now I remember. If I were to add another final QC check, it would probably be with a concentricity gauge to check run-out.


Chuck

[horsefly]

Windcutter,

     I agree with Gunny and Coydog B., but for another different reason.

     There are at least five components in the usual BP cartridge that would contribute to weight variability.  They are 1. case, 2. primer, 3., powder, 4. wad, and 5. bullet.  If you use additional wads, grease cookies and/or filler, there are just more varying components.

     Each component has to have a tolerance.  As mentioned, cases within three grains, Powder within +/- 0.2 and so on....  So when you assemble a cartridge, you may use all light components, all heavy components or ANY combination in between.

     Using the case at three grains, powder at +/- 0.2, and a bullet at +/-0.5 and ignoring everything else, you still have a completed cartridge weight varying by 4.4 grains.  (3 case + 0.4 powder + 1 bullet)

     When you weigh a cartridge, there is nothing to tell you what combination of component tolerances produced that weight.  I don't believe that you would get any illustrative information from knowing the weight.  I know I'm much better off using the extra time to cast and load more.

     I do pay close attention to concentricity on cartridges assembled with neck tension.

Y'all be good.

horsefly