Case weights

[craiger40]

Hey guys iam working a load for my .243 and need to know what kind of case weight tolerance i should accept. I am trying to be extremely precise since this will be a varmint load and should be used at long ranges. I will be using new Remington brass. All my cases have been trimmed to size. The average weight is 161.36gr with 160.5 being the low and 162.7 being the high. Should i dig and find less of a spread or is this acceptable?

 

[Val]

I don't think you'll be able to tell any difference. Maybe the highly competitive bench rest shooters could but not in a load used for hunting. You'll find more of a variation in shots because of rifle shake than you will due to case weight.

 

[Glock Man]

The Nosler brass is weight sorted to plus or minus .5 grains for every box. Consistency is the easiest way to keep accuracy from one shot to the next. The more consistent you can be from one shot to the next the better. I would have to agree with Val though and say that you probably won't notice the difference.

 

[Desert Fox]

In smaller cases like the 243, keep it within 1 grain +/-. Agreed with the previous responder that it probably won't make a difference but the name of the game in reloading is consistency so, all variables must be remove or at least minimized.

 

[fredj338]

I've tried loads in min. wt. brass & purposely wide spread wt. brass. There is a tiny diff. in groups @ longer range, so it sure doesn't hurt.

 

[YoteSmoker]

I believe trim length and neck thickness/tension is more important but with all things leading to accuracy I weigh all my cases before I start loading. (very easy to do with my rcbs chargemaster). I know some guys through out cases that are not within a certain grain range. I do not. I sort them by grain then load like grain cases in rows of five in my 50 slot loading block and the same in the ammo cases. I know each row of cartridges is going to be very close in consistency when target shooting. For hunting purposes I don't care because I'm always loading, unloading, and carrying them in various pockets to keep from rattling around. Don't know if this is the best way of doing things or if it really matters much, but it seems to work good for me.

 

[Desert Fox]

I believe trim length and neck thickness/tension is more important but with all things leading to accuracy I weigh all my cases before I start loading. (very easy to do with my rcbs chargemaster). I know some guys through out cases that are not within a certain grain range. I do not.

Like I said in my attach signature!!!

Consistency is the name of the game in reloading. There's no other way. If I'm not willing to do that, I must as well shoot factory round. I must have total confidence in my reloads. It's a real comforting to know that when I yank that trigger, the result will always be predictable.

 

[rigpig78]

I don't think you'll notice much difference. Make sure they are all trimmed to the same length to ensure consistency. Most literature will tell you a variation of +-2gr is totally acceptable. Have fun!