Bullet question ?? - The Firearms Forum

AR guy · 11-15-2012, 12:32 AM

These two bullets are suppose to be the same gr. the one on the left I took out of a tulammo .223 case and the one on the right is from a batch I bought from the Everglades. Both are suppose to be a 55 gr weight. Now you can clearly see that they are different. How can they both be 55 gr bullets? How can I tell which one is a 55 gr.?

stev32k · 11-15-2012, 05:32 AM

Put them on a scale and weigh them.

carver · 11-15-2012, 05:51 AM

Just a guess on my part, but the Tulamo probably has more copper than the other. Lead is heavier than copper, so you get a longer bullet with the copper bullets. Seating depth will be different, so you can have the proper OAL. Check that Tulamo with a magnet, it might actually have a steel jacket that is copper plated.

soundguy · 11-15-2012, 07:24 AM

ditto what stev32 said.. weigh them. if you have a digital scle, you can kick over to GRAMS usually and compair.. or if a ballance beam.. just see what they are realative to each other then do the math

woolleyworm · 11-15-2012, 07:45 AM

They are also completely different bullets in term of design. Notice the ogive and the boat-tail. Bullet weight can still be the same and have very different looking bullets.

LDBennett · 11-15-2012, 07:54 AM

AR guy:

It is common for some bullets not made in the USA to use a steel core. If that is the case then the physical size of those bullet will be larger than an all lead bullet. Take a magnet to each and see if that is the case.

Steel core bullets are a problem. Some ranges do not allow you to shoot them as they spark when they hit something hard and can start brush fires. We quit a club recently because they started enforcing that rule (they didn't before) and we had tons of steel core ammo that we could no longer shoot at their range. It is not a myth (fires started by steel core ammo) as I witnessed it nearly two decades ago. It was awful. It started a whole hillside on fire that require water dumps by airplanes and a large crew of firefighters to put out. It spread unbelievably fast on the dry brush in the rolling hills of a California rural area and covered more than a couple of football field in a few minutes. All from one steel cored bullet.

LDBennett

AR guy · 11-16-2012, 09:53 AM

I put the tulammo bullet to a magnet and yes it stuck to it so they must be steel core. And I put both on the rcbs powder scale and the steel bullet weighed in at 58gr and the other one weighed exactly 55gr. So why would tulammo say its a 55gr bullet if its not. Just cuz it's close or what?

gdmoody · 11-16-2012, 10:47 AM

I weigh a lot of bullets when I am reloading, just because I can. I have found that in a box of bullets, lets say 55 grains, that there is a variance of a grain or two. The manufacturing process just will not allow the exact same every time, in most cases. I found that some of the more expensive bullets will be the closest in weight than others.

soundguy · 11-16-2012, 02:30 PM

i wonder if that's because their production is that much more precise.. or if their 'error' sorting is better. IE.. they may turn out the odd +/- 2gr slug now and then.. but those get caught and dumped into lesser quality batches.. or sold bulk no name?

LDBennett · 11-16-2012, 03:02 PM

tulammo is Russian.

Have you seen other products from Russia? They might be OK but they are no match for most of Europe or Japan's products, let alone American made bullets, for example. Now, some Russian products are good, like my pneumatic Olympic style Russian air pistol, but others can be a bit crude.

For good bullets it is hard to beat American Speer or Sierra or some Hornady or some of the more expensive bullets from some of the smaller manufactures. Bullets are all about consistency. As long as they are the same in every way lot to lot and bullet to bullet then there is no concern but I have serious doubts about Russian bullets.

LDBennett

11-15-2012, 12:32 AM	#1
AR guy Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Joliet, Illinois Posts: 555	Bullet question ?? These two bullets are suppose to be the same gr. the one on the left I took out of a tulammo .223 case and the one on the right is from a batch I bought from the Everglades. Both are suppose to be a 55 gr weight. Now you can clearly see that they are different. How can they both be 55 gr bullets? How can I tell which one is a 55 gr.? __________________ * Don't be a fool and die for your country. Let the other sonofabitch die for his. * * Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. * * Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn't give a hoot and hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor ever lose a war.* George S. Patton (1885-1945) *The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing * Edmond Burke --> Last edited by AR guy; 04-22-2013 at 07:43 PM..

11-15-2012, 05:32 AM	#2
stev32k V.I.P. Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 370	Re: Bullet question ?? Put them on a scale and weigh them.

11-15-2012, 05:51 AM	#3
carver TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: DAV, Deep in the Pineywoods of East Texas, just west of Shreveport, LA Contributor Posts: 11,254	Re: Bullet question ?? Just a guess on my part, but the Tulamo probably has more copper than the other. Lead is heavier than copper, so you get a longer bullet with the copper bullets. Seating depth will be different, so you can have the proper OAL. Check that Tulamo with a magnet, it might actually have a steel jacket that is copper plated. __________________ Y'all be safe now, ya hear! Lamentations Chapter 5: 1. Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. 2. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers [are] as widows. 5. Our necks [are] under persecution: we labour, [and] have no rest. 16. The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 21. Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. Last edited by carver; 11-15-2012 at 05:53 AM..

11-15-2012, 07:24 AM	#4
soundguy Advanced Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: florida Contributor Posts: 4,440	Re: Bullet question ?? ditto what stev32 said.. weigh them. if you have a digital scle, you can kick over to GRAMS usually and compair.. or if a ballance beam.. just see what they are realative to each other then do the math

11-15-2012, 07:45 AM	#5
woolleyworm TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: SW Fort Worth Contributor Posts: 4,883	Re: Bullet question ?? They are also completely different bullets in term of design. Notice the ogive and the boat-tail. Bullet weight can still be the same and have very different looking bullets. __________________ . What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death? -- (on Sigourney Weaver's worry about Guns in Aliens) "Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands." "I carry a small gun to compensate for my huge Blue press." .

11-15-2012, 07:54 AM	#6
LDBennett Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 5,714	Re: Bullet question ?? AR guy: It is common for some bullets not made in the USA to use a steel core. If that is the case then the physical size of those bullet will be larger than an all lead bullet. Take a magnet to each and see if that is the case. Steel core bullets are a problem. Some ranges do not allow you to shoot them as they spark when they hit something hard and can start brush fires. We quit a club recently because they started enforcing that rule (they didn't before) and we had tons of steel core ammo that we could no longer shoot at their range. It is not a myth (fires started by steel core ammo) as I witnessed it nearly two decades ago. It was awful. It started a whole hillside on fire that require water dumps by airplanes and a large crew of firefighters to put out. It spread unbelievably fast on the dry brush in the rolling hills of a California rural area and covered more than a couple of football field in a few minutes. All from one steel cored bullet. LDBennett

11-16-2012, 09:53 AM	#7
AR guy Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Joliet, Illinois Posts: 555	Re: Bullet question ?? I put the tulammo bullet to a magnet and yes it stuck to it so they must be steel core. And I put both on the rcbs powder scale and the steel bullet weighed in at 58gr and the other one weighed exactly 55gr. So why would tulammo say its a 55gr bullet if its not. Just cuz it's close or what? __________________ * Don't be a fool and die for your country. Let the other sonofabitch die for his. * * Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. * * Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn't give a hoot and hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor ever lose a war.* George S. Patton (1885-1945) *The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing * Edmond Burke

11-16-2012, 10:47 AM	#8
gdmoody Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northeast Georgia Contributor Posts: 6,325	Re: Bullet question ?? I weigh a lot of bullets when I am reloading, just because I can. I have found that in a box of bullets, lets say 55 grains, that there is a variance of a grain or two. The manufacturing process just will not allow the exact same every time, in most cases. I found that some of the more expensive bullets will be the closest in weight than others. __________________ NRA Endowment Member GeorgiaCarry.Org Member Retired US Army Postal Worker Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take an ass whoopin'.....author unknown (but obviously brilliant)

11-16-2012, 02:30 PM	#9
soundguy Advanced Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: florida Contributor Posts: 4,440	Re: Bullet question ?? i wonder if that's because their production is that much more precise.. or if their 'error' sorting is better. IE.. they may turn out the odd +/- 2gr slug now and then.. but those get caught and dumped into lesser quality batches.. or sold bulk no name?

11-16-2012, 03:02 PM	#10
LDBennett Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 5,714	Re: Bullet question ?? tulammo is Russian. Have you seen other products from Russia? They might be OK but they are no match for most of Europe or Japan's products, let alone American made bullets, for example. Now, some Russian products are good, like my pneumatic Olympic style Russian air pistol, but others can be a bit crude. For good bullets it is hard to beat American Speer or Sierra or some Hornady or some of the more expensive bullets from some of the smaller manufactures. Bullets are all about consistency. As long as they are the same in every way lot to lot and bullet to bullet then there is no concern but I have serious doubts about Russian bullets. LDBennett