How to tell between 124 and 147 Grain Bullets

F

focodude

New member
I took several of my pistols with me on a trip to Illinois. Prior to leaving I emptied the magazines in my guns. Some of the magazines had 124 grain Speer Gold Dots and the other magazines had 147 grain Glod Dots. I put all the bullets in a pile not realizing until afterwards that I mixed up two different types of bullets. I tried sorting the bullets by type but have a hard time telling the difference visually. Does anyone know how to tell the bullets apart without shooting them? Could an electronic scale with .1 gr accuracy be used to see the difference between a 124 grain and 147 grain bullet?
 
Weigh them. There will be enough difference to tell.

You should be able to see a slight ring on the case at the base of the bullet if you look hard. There might be enough difference to tell. Weighing is going to be the easiest.
 
bullet weight and OAL

I'll show my ignorance by asking why the OAL of a heavier bullet is less than the lighter bullet?
 
You can usually see how far the bullet is seated in the casing if you look close enough. The 147gr bullets will be longer in length than the 124gr, so in theory they should be seated lower than the 124gr.
 
Weight would be best... There will be a range for each type, but should not be any overlap between them with that big a grain difference of the projectile.
 
Weigh them. Otherwise the quick way would be to see which are longer. The heavier bullets will tend to be longer, unless you're comparing different cores, like copper core versus lead.
 
Weight them up, there is around 20-21 grn difference but my recommendation is to replace your ammo with fresh one and shoot them all on your first range trip and chalk it up to practice/function test. That will erase any lingering doubts and it is prudent advice to keep fresh ammo in your carry anyway IMHO.
 
That will erase any lingering doubts and it is prudent advice to keep fresh ammo in your carry anyway IMHO.
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Ammunition doesn't go bad with age unless you are talking about 100+ years, and even then ammunition that old has been known to fire fine. Not something I consider prudent. The only ammunition that should be replaced is rounds with setback bullets.
 
an electronic scale will easily tell the difference.

COAL for a Hornady XTP 124 gr is 1.060

COAL for a Hornady XTP 147 gr is 1.140
 
Dragline45: Ammunition doesn't go bad with age unless you are talking about 100+ years, and even then ammunition that old has been known to fire fine. Not something I consider prudent. The only ammunition that should be replaced is rounds with setback bullets.
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I didn't say his ammo is bad, I meant his concerns about mixed bullet weight and yes, bullet setback. I prefer not to chamber the round more then once for carry ammo and I don't repetitively load and unload my gun. But that is MY way, not necessarily what everyone needs to do. I consider it prudent and you don't, that's fine, this country is great like that, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. That is why I also said IMHO ... which is abbreviation for " In My Humble Opinion" :rolleyes:
 
I agree with Vladan- shoot 'em up and start from scratch. Then pick one SD load and stick with it till something better comes along.
 
I can't believe that nobody has suggested looking at the case distortion line caused by the bottom of the bullet. The 147 will be further down on the case. Should be easy to spot with good light. Simple.

Measuring their length with calipers will do no good - they will be virtually the same.

Weighing is a good idea - but still not as easy as just looking at the case wall.

All that said: It's probably time to change out your carry ammo anyway.
 
I can't believe that nobody has suggested looking at the case distortion line caused by the bottom of the bullet. The 147 will be further down on the case. Should be easy to spot with good light. Simple.
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I did a few posts back.
 
I do not know what the laws and implications are regarding taking handguns to Illinois.
It might be perfectly fine.

I have no plan to go to Illinois.

If I was going to Illinois,I'd make darn skippy I found out.Not just the state,but local laws .

Might get real important.
 
I can't believe that nobody has suggested looking at the case distortion line caused by the bottom of the bullet. The 147 will be further down on the case. Should be easy to spot with good light. Simple.
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Read Post #3
 
Thanks to all who replied. I got back home and my new electronic scale arrived. With the scale it was easy to distinguish between the 124 and 147 grain bullets due to their weight difference.

I couldn't tell the difference between the 124 and 147 grain bullets visually but I have 50 year old eyes. I plan on doing a test to see if I can spot the difference with reading glasses or a magnifying glass.
 
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