New to reloading, case question

klink1983

klink1983

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Location
Ontario Soviet Socialist Republic
Givens: Rem700AACSD, 10x40 Bushnell 3200 elite

I have amassed about 300or so spent casings, which are a mix of my rifle and fired from others. I wish I knew before the fact about fire forming and how important it is to have casings from ones own rifle they are reloading for in terms of accuracy but it is what it is.

On advice of a family member (teaching me to reload this weekend) I was told to segregate my brass by brand as well as keeping track of how many times it has been fired. All of my brass with the exception of what I am using currently for load testing has only been shot once and is a mix of Rem, Win, S&B, some Federal and some Hornady.

Here is my question, well questions.....

Is there a brand name which offers superior quality over the rest (outside of Lapua) or is it good enough to organize my batches by brand?

Is S&B worth reloading in terms of quality? I ask this because most of my S&B rounds I have used were only running me 15-18 bucks per box

Is Lapua brass really what it is measured up to be?
 
The biggest problem with mixed brass is the internal capacity of the case not being the same, this will cause chamber pressure and velocity variations which will cause accuracy problems. For hunting under 100 yards the mixed brass might be OK as long as your not loaded to near maximum loads.

Below are two pressure and velocity charts using the exact same powder charge and bullet. The top chart is with a .223 case with a internal case capacity of 30.6 grains of water and the bottom case has a capacity of 28.8 grains of water.





The majority of .223 cases are close in weight and internal capacity BUT two grains difference in case weight could put you over maximum rated chamber pressure with mixed brass.



Below notice that Lapua cases only varied 1.2 grains in weight while the Winchester cases varied 6.5 grains. Uniform case weight and cases with uniform case wall thickness will give you the best accuracy. Cases that are thinner on one side of the case will warp when fired and increase neck runout and cause alignment errors with the bore. (banana shaped case)



For close range practice with mid range loads NOT approaching maximum, shooting mixed brass will not hurt anything. If your serious about uniformity and accuracy I would use one brand of brass and keep things simple.

I say this because I have three five gallon buckets of mixed range pickup .223/5.56 brass gathered after our local SWAT and Police had a practice secession. It consists of Remington, Military Lake City and Federal cases, they are not all the same lot number or year of manufacture. Bottom line I sorted the Remington cases by weight for my bolt action .223 rifle and the rest are used for my two AR15 rifles and loaded to below .223 rated chamber pressure. (55,000 psi)

I'm retired and have been reloading for over 46 years, even though its free, range pickup mixed brass can be a pain. If your not poverty stricken I would buy new brass from the same lot number and have uniformity.

Below, these .308 cases were full length resized with the die making hard contact with the shell holder (cam over) without adjusting the die for minimum shoulder bump. This will give you a ball park idea which brands of brass have the most longevity when reloading.





Again the above is an estimate that can vary depending on your rifles chamber size, your reloading die, chamber pressure and the quality of the brass manufacturing that CAN vary. In all my years of reloading I have primarily used Remington brass followed second by Winchester and have never had a problem.

Most people reload to make more accurate ammunition than store bought factory ammunition, and you will not be able to maintain accuracy with mixed brass.

Complete Precision Case Prep
Preparing Cases for Long-Range Accuracy
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/reloading/complete-precision-case-prep/
 
Last edited:
bigedp51 said:
The biggest problem with mixed brass is the internal capacity of the case not being the same, this will cause chamber pressure and velocity variations which will cause accuracy problems. For hunting under 100 yards the mixed brass might be OK as long as your not loaded to near maximum loads.

Below are two pressure and velocity charts using the exact same powder charge and bullet. The top chart is with a .223 case with a internal case capacity of 30.6 grains of water and the bottom case has a capacity of 28.8 grains of water.





The majority of .223 cases are close in weight and internal capacity BUT two grains difference in case weight could put you over maximum rated chamber pressure with mixed brass.



Below notice that Lapua cases only varied 1.2 grains in weight while the Winchester cases varied 6.5 grains. Uniform case weight and cases with uniform case wall thickness will give you the best accuracy. Cases that are thinner on one side of the case will warp when fired and increase neck runout and cause alignment errors with the bore. (banana shaped case)



For close range practice with mid range loads NOT approaching maximum, shooting mixed brass will not hurt anything. If your serious about uniformity and accuracy I would use one brand of brass and keep things simple.

I say this because I have three five gallon buckets of mixed range pickup .223/5.56 brass gathered after our local SWAT and Police had a practice secession. It consists of Remington, Military Lake City and Federal cases, they are not all the same lot number or year of manufacture. Bottom line I sorted the Remington cases by weight for my bolt action .223 rifle and the rest are used for my two AR15 rifles and loaded to below .223 rated chamber pressure. (55,000 psi)

I'm retired and have been reloading for over 46 years, even though its free, range pickup mixed brass can be a pain. If your not poverty stricken I would buy new brass from the same lot number and have uniformity.

Below, these .308 cases were full length resized with the die making hard contact with the shell holder (cam over) without adjusting the die for minimum shoulder bump. This will give you a ball park idea which brands of brass have the most longevity when reloading.





Again the above is an estimate that can vary depending on your rifles chamber size, your reloading die, chamber pressure and the quality of the brass manufacturing that CAN vary. In all my years of reloading I have primarily used Remington brass followed second by Winchester and have never had a problem.

Most people reload to make more accurate ammunition than store bought factory ammunition, and you will not be able to maintain accuracy with mixed brass.

Complete Precision Case Prep
Preparing Cases for Long-Range Accuracy
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/reloading/complete-precision-case-prep/
Click to expand...

Dam great answer, well done !
 
How would you like to reload the same case 15 times --- IN A M1A

Are these RCBS X-Dies a cure for this? I decided to use my rack grade M1A to put them to the test
Click to expand...

h t tp://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?916814-New-to-reloading-case-question

Start reading at post 14

The test was concluded after the 15th firing based on incipient head separation. One case developed that slight speckled circle at the expansion ring. There was no clear-cut crack and probably no gas cutting happened. I may or may not continue the test with the rest of the cases.
Click to expand...
 
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