.277 Nosler bullets, varying weights and accuracy

[Alibiiv]

I just weighed 200 Nosler, .277 caliber, 130 grain, boat tail bullets. The bullets were from the same batch number, however they were marked as seconds. The weights varied from 129.6 grains to 130.5 grains out of the 200 bullets. I kept the bullets that weighed between 130 grains and 130.3 grains to reload and to put some ladder loads together with some RL 23 for the .270 AI. This is the first time that I have used this powder and the first time playing with the 130 grain bullets in this rifle. My question is does .3 tenths of a grain make that much difference to affect accuracy. I did do a search on the various posts on the forum, some of the results stated that it did not make that much difference, some were not so sure it did. Then there was a comment that what makes more of a difference is the distance from the back of the bullet to the ogive. I did have some time on my hands so started making some measurements on the bullets. Is seemed for every .1 of a grain that was over on the weight, it equaled about .001 thousandths on the overall length. Next I tried taking the bullets that weighed in more than the 130.3 grain limit and tried sanding the base of the bullet (with 1200 grit paper) to bring it into the weight range that I had set of 130-130.3 grains. Again if I sanded .001 thousandths of an inch off of the base of the boat tail the weight dropped about .1tenth of a grain. In the past my experience has been to reach into the box, take out a bullet and seat it on meticulously processed brass and have had good results. However like most on this forum, we're all trying to eek out as much accuracy as we can. What are other's opinions of the varying weight of the bullet in conjunction with accuracy?

 

[Carlos88]

You need to have a benchmark. Shoot the 130.0s. If your rifle is properly set up you should get the groups you want. After that shoot the 129.6, 129.8, etc. I would be you an adult beverage the rifle shoot those as well.

The sanding of the base? You'll never get them square to the bore doing that.

 

[Alibiiv]

You need to have a benchmark. Shoot the 130.0s. If your rifle is properly set up you should get the groups you want. After that shoot the 129.6, 129.8, etc. I would be you an adult beverage the rifle shoot those as well.

The sanding of the base? You'll never get them square to the bore doing that.

Yes I get sanding the base and the squareness of the process. I was using the tool marks on the base if the bullet as a guide, but I get what your saying and agree 100%

 

[Carlos88]

Just be sure you are confident you've checked everything on the rifle to make it as fault free as possible. Otherwise you'll be chasing your tail. When I was younger I'd rush through all the things I checked now before launching the first one. That ended up in much hair pulling. Not good.

 

[Alibiiv]

Just be sure you are confident you've checked everything on the rifle to make it as fault free as possible. Otherwise you'll be chasing your tail. When I was younger I'd rush through all the things I checked now before launching the first one. That ended up in much hair pulling. Not good.around

The rifle is a custom built Ruger 77 that has been blueprinted and it does shoot the 150gr ABLRs under an inch at 300 yards. I'm just messing with the 130 gr bullets to see how they run in the rifle. I posted this thread because I am curious about others members experience with bullets that vary in tenths of a grain in weight. I've really never bothered with weighing each bullet individually until recent. What I have found is that the weights vary quite considerably. Also I just managed to get a couple of pounds if RL23 that I've been anxious to try in this rifle.

 

[Jud96]

Don't sand on your bullets. That's going to do WAY more bad than a bullet that's 0.5gr heavier or lighter than the average. Bullet weight variations of less than 1.0 grain do not make a big enough difference to matter for 99% of shooters. Bryan Litz and several other very experienced and talented shooters have discussed this before. In a perfect world there would be zero variance in bullet weight, case volume, powder charge, muzzle velocity, shooter repeatability, etc. From what I gathered from Bryan Litz and others, the heavier bullets will have a slightly and I mean slightly higher BC and will travel slightly slower. However the minimal BC advantage cancels out the minimal loss in velocity. Litz gave a bullet weight variance range that was acceptable but I know it was greater than 1gr in total weight difference. I wouldn't worry about them. Go shoot them and see how they do. I've learned through experience that 90% of my reloads accuracy problems stem from the wrong load, whether that's powder charge and/or seating depth. Chasing minute things like case weight, bullet weight, powder charges to the kernel, etc really don't benefit the vast majority of shooters including myself. As long as you're using quality components and good, repeatable techniques, you shouldn't have a problem. An accurate rifle and lots and lots of practice and testing help out too.

 

[Netz]

I just weighed 200 Nosler, .277 caliber, 130 grain, boat tail bullets. The bullets were from the same batch number, however they were marked as seconds. The weights varied from 129.6 grains to 130.5 grains out of the 200 bullets. I kept the bullets that weighed between 130 grains and 130.3 grains to reload and to put some ladder loads together with some RL 23 for the .270 AI. This is the first time that I have used this powder and the first time playing with the 130 grain bullets in this rifle. My question is does .3 tenths of a grain make that much difference to affect accuracy. I did do a search on the various posts on the forum, some of the results stated that it did not make that much difference, some were not so sure it did. Then there was a comment that what makes more of a difference is the distance from the back of the bullet to the ogive. I did have some time on my hands so started making some measurements on the bullets. Is seemed for every .1 of a grain that was over on the weight, it equaled about .001 thousandths on the overall length. Next I tried taking the bullets that weighed in more than the 130.3 grain limit and tried sanding the base of the bullet (with 1200 grit paper) to bring it into the weight range that I had set of 130-130.3 grains. Again if I sanded .001 thousandths of an inch off of the base of the boat tail the weight dropped about .1tenth of a grain. In the past my experience has been to reach into the box, take out a bullet and seat it on meticulously processed brass and have had good results. However like most on this forum, we're all trying to eek out as much accuracy as we can. What are other's opinions of the varying weight of the bullet in conjunction with accuracy?

As an avid .270 reloader and shooter, my experience shooting 130 grain bullets with a .5 grain variance will not make a difference to accuracy. I spend a lot of time trying to minimize material variances is brass, bullets and powder and have learned that improving my accuracy results from practicing better shooting techniques. Enjoy journey to precision shooting.

 

[TRexF16]

The rifle is a custom built Ruger 77 that has been blueprinted and it does shoot the 150gr ABLRs under an inch at 300 yards. I'm just messing with the 130 gr bullets to see how they run in the rifle.

Well for the love of Pete then man, quit doing that!
Just kidding of course but a sub 1/2 MOA rifle with the 150 ABLR is not going to be improved upon by any 130 grain load. If you're worried about needing a "tougher" bullet I would play with the 150 Partition.
You clearly have the riflery equivalent of a "first world problem." Congratulations!
Rex

 

[xsn10s]

I've weigh sorted bullets, brass, and hand trickled powder. I've also taken a small sliver on jacket material off to see what a grain looks like. Shot the loads through my PSS and didn't see much difference. Through your custom blueprinted Ruger you may see a difference. I'd argue you'd be better off using the time it takes to weigh sort all those bullets towards practicing at distance in field conditions. That's what I've done for the last thirty years. At a minimum it's been more fun shooting than weigh sorting. YMMV.

 

[xsn10s]

I wouldn't sand off or alter the the base since it may change the turbulence at the boattail. I'd opt to weigh sort if I was going to do anything. Benchrest practices find some accuracy advantages. It really depends on the shooter's gratification. If you find it suits your wants and needs to get the most accuracy out of your rifle then by all means do it. I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from getting out there and having fun.

 

[Alibiiv]

I've weigh sorted bullets, brass, and hand trickled powder. I've also taken a small sliver on jacket material off to see what a grain looks like. Shot the loads through my PSS and didn't see much difference. Through your custom blueprinted Ruger you may see a difference. I'd argue you'd be better off using the time it takes to weigh sort all those bullets towards practicing at distance in field conditions. That's what I've done for the last thirty years. At a minimum it's been more fun shooting than weigh sorting. YMMV.

Thank you for your input. I am 75 so...sometimes putting time towards something like this is more an essential element for my mind instead of actual shooting, which also is for my mind but in a different way. The day that I was weighing these bullets I was killing some time and also satisfying some curiosity about the reason these bullets were marked "seconds"?? Once I found the varying weights, then....I got curious about the reasons behind the varying weights, and what these varying weights will/would have upon accuracy, thus I posted this thread. Right now I am working on some ladder loads for this rifle with some new powder that I was able to get my hands on RL23. I know that this gun will shoot with RL19 and 150gr ABLRs. Presently I can get enough bullets that weigh "exactly" 130 grains to work up a load. Once I have found a load that will shoot in this rifle I will experiment with the various weight bullets to find out how the varying weights will affect accuracy. I find this forum to be wealth of information and thought to post here to get other's input and experience.

 

[xsn10s]

Thank you for your input. I am 75 so...sometimes putting time towards something like this is more an essential element for my mind instead of actual shooting, which also is for my mind but in a different way. The day that I was weighing these bullets I was killing some time and also satisfying some curiosity about the reason these bullets were marked "seconds"?? Once I found the varying weights, then....I got curious about the reasons behind the varying weights, and what these varying weights will/would have upon accuracy, thus I posted this thread. Right now I am working on some ladder loads for this rifle with some new powder that I was able to get my hands on RL23. I know that this gun will shoot with RL19 and 150gr ABLRs. Presently I can get enough bullets that weigh "exactly" 130 grains to work up a load. Once I have found a load that will shoot in this rifle I will experiment with the various weight bullets to find out how the varying weights will affect accuracy. I find this forum to be wealth of information and thought to post here to get other's input and experience.

I'd suggest cleaning the barrel and get all ABLR jacket material out before shooting the BT's. You could try "seasoning" the barrel with 20 rounds of the BT's to finally get more consistent results. AB's and ABLR's can be like some mono's, they don't play well with other copper fouling. Have fun Sir. It's good to exercise the mind!

 

[Lenny Foffa]

Hi I also shoot a 270 extensively and I also use Nosler 130 grain bullets. I have weighed the 277 Nosler 130 Grn Ballistic Tips. as purchased from Nosler in the black cardboard box I have purchased 150 grain Accubond Long Range from Nosler and I have also purchased 150 grain Nosler 150 Grn ABKR Blems from shooters pro shopIn the plastic bags. Like you I have found a difference in billet weight ! I have weighed 150 Of the 150 Grn ABLR factory bullets and with my RCBS scale find about 40 percent are 149. .9 abd about 40 percent are 150.0 ! Theee are some that are 149.8 and a few that are 150.1. So when I make my target / Hunting. Load I never mix them up !! In my 270 Weatherby mag I. Find no significant difference weather I am shooting the 149.9. Or 150.0 Grn projectile At 2950 at 100 yards . I will be testing them at 300 yards this summer to see if that difference in bullet weight makes any real world accuracy difference! Regarding. Measuring bullet base to bullet OGIVE That is extremely important to my Bench Rest friends! I take the measurement of the entire completed round to the OGIVE of the bullet to be an extremely important measurement and that length seems to have greatest effect on accuracy. This is true in both my Weatherby Ultralight Mark V in 270 Win. And my 270 Weatherby Mag in a MarkV Delux ! Even though these are both Hunting rifles I strive for the best possible hunting accuracy, as we all do!!!

 

[rsnell]

Have you checked the accuracy of your scale?