How fussy are you with sorted brass ?

powdergun

powdergun

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I was wondering how fussy you guys are with sorting brass. Today I was wieghing and sorting brass. The brass has been separated into lots with the same weight measured to .1grams. Do precision loaders sort to .01g or more or am I on the money for consistancy.

Just curious and thanks for any info.
 
Actually, Other than rifle brass, I don't sort until AFTER loading. Mind you I load lighter usually anyways.
Win, Speer, CB&A, Rem, Fed, S&B all sorts.
My 40's all get the same Win Primer, 4.3gr of Universal, and 180gr WC Plated. Once I load them all, they get sorted until I shoot them all and they get mass tumbled again. Repeat until brass is toast.
 
I usually try to seperate rifle brass by headstamp. As for pistol...to be honest I used to go through all the mandated, required acts, i.e., sorting by headstamp, weight, uniforming primer pockets, cleaning flash holes, etc...a lot of work if you're reloading any amount...then one day just tried loading my pistol rounds with a grab bag of mixed headstamp brass and other than a good tumbling, that was the extent of my "brass prep." Later, at the range, I could detect no really discernible difference in performance of the pistol ammo. The stuff I took more care with gave slightly more accuracy, but not enough to justify the time spent.

Rifle brass is a different story. I still go through all the hoops there, as I do find more than enough improvements in group size/performance to justify the extra effort.
 
Jarlath said:
Actually, Other than rifle brass, I don't sort until AFTER loading. Mind you I load lighter usually anyways.
Win, Speer, CB&A, Rem, Fed, S&B all sorts.
My 40's all get the same Win Primer, 4.3gr of Universal, and 180gr WC Plated. Once I load them all, they get sorted until I shoot them all and they get mass tumbled again. Repeat until brass is toast.
Click to expand...

Ditto for procedure, but not the same load. With "target" loads, brass seems to last forever in revolvers and in autos you lose a few on the range, or to your friendly shooting buddy using the same caliber..:runaway:
 
for rifles, yes I do
for pistols... OMG no.
I go to the range and usually come home with more brass then I went there with....
the only sorting I do is to seperate the .40's from the 9's.. sometimes they get mixed in with each other.
 
powdergun said:
I was wondering how fussy you guys are with sorting brass. Today I was wieghing and sorting brass. The brass has been separated into lots with the same weight measured to .1grams. Do precision loaders sort to .01g or more or am I on the money for consistancy.

Just curious and thanks for any info.
Click to expand...




A few points:

Just sorting by weight isn't sufficient for truly accurate reloads. You can't mix manufacturers cases, even if they weigh the same, in fact you should try to stick to the same lot number. Small differences in the brass alloy and annealing of case necks and mouths can make significant changes in chamber pressures and hence, p.o.i. in new or once fired brass. Cases that have been reloaded multiple times, especially the case mouths, become work-hardened and need to be re-annealled by standing them in water up to the shoulder. Heat the case mouth until cherry red and then tip them over into the water. Now the work begins: Don't weigh the cases, which have at least been sorted by manufacturer until you:

1) make them all the same length
2) chamfer the mouth both inside and out
3) clean and "swage" the primer pocket
4) ensure the flash holes are exactly the same diameter.

There are tools for all the steps I've mentioned available from any gun store. Now you weigh the cases. .01gr. is fine.

A final few points for maximum accuracy:

!Protect the base of the bullet! it's the steering end, not the nose!

If you're firing in a bolt action rifle, neck-size only and single shot only, don't use the magazine.

If the bullet ogive allows, load the bullet so it is almost touching the rifling when chambered, note I said almost.

Crimp all the cartridges the same.

There is a lot more I could write about accuracy, email me at sapper740@grandecom.net if you're interested in more info. Derek.
 
Depends on the gun, rifle pistol? Extream fro my target rifles, fair for a few 308, target rifles, picky for the wild cats, but not so for or big mags? and my short range hunting rifles i just tumble check the neck and load there a bit id difference at 100y with brass type but min 1 or 2 at te most.
My long range hunting rifles picky need 2-3 MOA with hunting loads at 300 y to be confident in that gun and load.

So it depends on th eapplication for me
 
Very good advice. That explains why I had a hell of a time resizing. I found out I was using a 300 wby brass in a .222 rem die.:D
 
I sort pistol brass by caliber (and primer size for 45). One time a .40 sneaked in with my nines, I made a half decent 357 sig case out of it when I tried to ram it into the sizing die.

I sort rifle brass by headstamp. If I change headstamps, I work up the load again, just in case. 50 000 PSI right next to my face is a bigger deal than 30 000 PSI at arm's length.
 
I never bother to weigh brass, I find it a dubious practice at best. Not all weight changes affect capacity necessarily. Besides, in a good rifle with a good rest, I can shoot .3's with un-sorted brass
 
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