Reloading pistol brass

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Light Infantry

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I havent reloaded in a very long time and am just going to get back into it.


In the past, i was diligent in tracking my brass. I.e. this brass was fired out of this pistol, and it was fired x amount times, and this brass came from Federal, this is winchester etc. Used to also load a lot of military brass when it was plentiful. So I would sort and compartmentalize my brass.

Now, I’m thinking: who cares? Should I care? Was I over thinking the whole process? Should i just gather up brass from Win, Fed, IVI etc and load it up? I mean other than tracking how many times it has been shot?

(Talking mostly, but not exclusively, 9mm)
 
Thanks guys, as i figured.

For rifle brass, specifically my bolt action target rifles, obviously more tracking is in order.

FYI, my past experience, when using 9mm IVI brass, it lasted forever. Untold reloads and still was good.
 
Light Infantry said:
Thanks guys, as i figured.

For rifle brass, specifically my bolt action target rifles, obviously more tracking is in order.

FYI, my past experience, when using 9mm IVI brass, it lasted forever. Untold reloads and still was good.
Click to expand...

I got a small hoard of prepped 9mm. I shoot it once and don't bother picking it up due to the abundance of it.
 
JohnnyPython said:
I got a small hoard of prepped 9mm. I shoot it once and don't bother picking it up due to the abundance of it.
Click to expand...

Seems a lot of guys don’t bother keeping it, so yes an abundance out there. But one day it may be gone. Storing it doesn’t take up much room. But I understand what you are saying.
 
I dont think I emphasized my other point: accuracy and switching from one brass manufacturer to another in the same magazine. Now I realize the shooting most of us do (and I myself as well), is not target shooting, but I assume the accuracy doesn’t really change.

Anyhow, i’m overthinking this too much.
 
I have never sorted brass aside from loading some JHPs for personal work. Even then it was only a psychological thing. I haven't seen much to worry about on my targets or with my Chronys to warrant sorting.
 
At 15 yards I doubt you’d see much of a difference on steel with a 30-40fps difference. You probably see more variance in the powder drop. If you want to print groups on paper to post on the interwebs, sorting and individually weighing everything is probably the answer.
 
I do try to at least use brass from the same manufacturer for some consistency but I truly doubt that it makes much difference in terms of accuracy, at least for me.

However, if you're really concerned get a cartridge case gauge or use the 'plunk' test with your reloads. My biggest concern is that the rounds chamber reliably which can be an issue with mixed brands of brass, once fired vs. multi fired cases, varying bullet shapes and firearm chambers (for example CZ's seem to have relatively shorter, tighter chambers which don't like longer rounds or certain bullet profiles). As long as the rounds chamber consistently your results should be satisfactory.
 
I used to sort my 9mm brass by manufacture because I thought it improved accuracy. Maybe it does, but it makes no difference for minute of A zone in IPSC. I no longer sort. I use a 100 round case checker and my pistol never jams.
 
Like everyone else here, I do a visual inspection and if I cannot see any flaws I reload it otherwise it goes in the garbage.

Interesting note... If you grab a handful or put a handful in a small bag and shake it you can hear a difference in pitch if there is a bad round in the bag.

Just to be sure - I do this with my handgun rounds. I am more particular when it comes to rifle rounds
 
I don’t sort or keep track of how many times the brass has been cycled pistol or rifle. I do however wet tumble and inspect the brass to ensure it has not been deformed, split, or stretched and if In doubt just toss it out.
 
I have two 11 liter totes. One has clean brass, the other is dirty brass. When the dirty brass one gets full, I tumble it and dump it into the clean brass tote. It then gets loaded. Lather, rinse repeat.

Auggie D.
 
I stopped counting after I reloaded the same lot of brass 30+ times. I shoot cases until they split (and will shoot split cases one last time if they get through my initial QC). I do sort brass but only to cull the stepped, foreign or crimped brass. I'll use any of the popular North American brands (again, no crimped brass...I'm looking at you WIN NT), mixed, without worrying about accuracy. Your skills affect accuracy way more than mixed brass ever will.
 
I think I'll blame my outlying shots on using mixed brass. lol!
Like others, I toss the NT, and I do have a batch of sorted brass that has the annoying tight primer pocket brands pulled out. I often leave reloading until the last minute, so I like having some brass that'll fly through the press with no issues, when time is tight.
 
For Bullseye and ISSF shooting I'll use brass from the same maker for matches and practice. Doubt it would make a difference for IPSC.
 
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