i've shot lots of new brass versus fire formed brass with no difference in accuracy BUT i always size at least the necks and mandrel them to the correct size for proper neck tension !
NECK TENSION is the most important prep procedure of brass for accuracy !
and for continueing accuracy in BR FC classes of shooting ANNEALING is a must !
RJ, you are correct on this point, with the rifles "you" shoot.
You're very fussy about chamber dimensions and the quality of the firearms you're shooting, so your method will work very well, 95% of the time.
However, most shooters on this site aren't nearly as "anal" about accuracy as you or I are, nor do they ever go beyond purchasing a firearm/sight platform beyond what is available off the shelf.
The vast majority have never hand loaded for their rifles, and never will.
Snappert might hand load for his rifles, but how he got into it is another question. Good on him for getting into it, no matter how.
I have a "gut feeling," because of the way he worded his query, that he has acquired some very decent components at a reasonable price, and now wants to utilize them for "hunting."
I'm going to advise him against it, especially with "match" bullets, which, no matter how much they weigh, have thinner jackets, and will either not expand at all or tumble on impact, or might just blow up after a few inches of penetration.
Our old friend Al Forslund and I did an experiment on a couple of "road kill" Deer, given to us by the Highway Department.
We shot into the already stiff carcasses at 50, 100, and 200 yds with different 30 cal bullets, 125, 135, 150, 175, and 200 grains. We use one of my 30-06 hunting rifles, so with heavier bullets, velocities were a bit faster than what would be expected from a 308Win.
The light bullets were pulled from 7.62x39, Hornady, and Randy Robinette custom match. The 135 grain, were also Robinette's.
The 150 grain bullets were FMJ Hornady, Spire Point Hornady, and Accubonds.
The 175 grain bullets were Sierra Match and Hornady 180 spbt.
The 200 grain bullets were some unkwown custom match with long ogives, hollow points, and boat tails, very base heavy, pulled cupro nickel fmj, and some Speer flat base spire points.
What happened with the fmj projectiles at all threee distances, other than the 125 grain, was the same, through and through, except any distance beyond 100 yds. The 150 and 200 fmj went through at 200 yds, barely leaving an entry or exit mark.
The hunting 150 grain bullets went through and through at 100yds, and expanded perfectly. Same at 150yds, but the Hornady SP hung up in the hide on the opposite side. At 200 they did the same thing, and both were perfectly mushroomed. The accubonds went through and through.
The 175 grain Sierra Match Kings started showing issues at 50 yds, they penetrated well about 6 inches, before tumbling and coming apart, blowing a hole out the opposite side about the size of a fist.
At 100 yds the same thing happened, but a lot of shrapnel was peppered through the carcass, and the jacket was shed in one of the lungs.
The 180 grain Hornady went through and through with an obvious exit hole.
The 200 grain fmjs went through and through at all ranges, with almost imperceptible exit wounds.
The 200 grain "match" bullets penetrated and tumbled at all ranges, without exiting and blowing up completely at 50/100yds.
The Speer fbsp bullets worked well at all ranges and penetrated through and through, other than at 200 yds, where a few of them hung up on the opposite side.
This was a good test, but only as an indicator. The animals were already stiff from rigor mortis, so provided more resistance than a live animal.
The worst perfoming bullets were the "match" grade, which was the real point of our experiment, as we would have liked to use our match rifles for some of the contract shooting were were doing, using the bullets we knew shot best out to 400 yds.
