A week or so ago I was kibitzing about the justification behind using Linotype vs #2 Lyman (I should have called it an alloy blend) and bottom pour vs ladle cast. Thanks for the help.
I went back and looked at the load data from this year's BR Nationals held at KC. I don't mean to offend anyone who doesn't shoot competition and exclude their input. You do not have to shoot in registered competition to be all in on accuracy. My thinking is that if you invest time travel and expenses to compete in a sanctioned match that's a bunch of miles from your home range you're probably going to bring your "A" game, whatever that may be, to the match. I took away a couple, three things.
- Linotype vs an alloy blend: It looks like alloy choice is heavily biased towards the velocity you're shooting. Twelve of the 12 shooters shooting 1900 to 2200 fps were using Linotype. Four of the 9 shooters shooting velocities between 1700 and 1850 were using Linotype. Nine of the ten shooters with velocities under 1650fps were using an alloy blend (20/30 - 1 / Pb - Sn).
- Ladle vs bottom pour: Overall 26 of the 37 competitors ladle cast. Of those that bottom poured about one in three used Linotype. Of those that ladle cast about 6 in 10 shot Linotype. Kind of a mix there. First impression is that it was a personal thing.
Then I looked at those who shot under MOA. Across all classes of the 37 competitors that shot 100 yard agg's there were 20 that shot under MOA. Those 20 were from the following classes: PRO (2 of 7 that competed in that class), HVY (5 of 7), UnP (4 of 4), UnR (3 of 4) and PBB (6 of 9). Overall 60% of the competitors who shot sub MOA were using Linotype. At face value that's neither here nor there.
Velocity effecting the choice of alloy: The 12 shooters using Linotype that shot agg's under MOA had a listed average velocity of 2052fps. The remaining 8 of the 20 that agg'd under MOA used alloy blends (20/25-1 / Pb - Sn) and their listed velocity averaged 1478fps.
Ladle vs bottom pour: Of those shooting sub MOA and using Linotype, 75% ladle cast. And coincidentally 75% of those shooting an alloy blend also ladle cast. So for whatever reason 75% of the shooters shooting sub MOA chose to ladle cast.
In summary, if the '23 BR Nationals were an accurate finger print for how to do it I would come away with the conclusion that the velocity you're shooting dictates alloy choice. I can understand why soft alloy would be impractical at high velocity but I am clueless as to why Linotype isn't the choice for low velocity. And as far as ladle vs bottom pour (whether out of need for accuracy, personal preference, habit or out of peer influence) most lean towards ladle casting.
As an aside I though it was curious that only one in four loaded at the range.
Appoligize for the number crunching. I spent 4+ decades in management. Bill C.
A “Measured Response” is as effective as tongue lashing a stuck door.
