Sorting brass?

[Jay6]

What is the advantage of sorting your brass by headstamp? I know this does take a little bit of time but is it worth it from a performance perspective?

[GentlemanJim]

Im sure in some cases it makes a differance.....But I find it hard enough just to sort calibers

Jim

[chirpy]

Just because you sort by headstamp you probably will have mixed lots of brass which might make a difference also. Maybe RL aka TGO or TJ or BE could tell the difference but it's not worth the time.

[SLM]

I sort mine by brass or not brass. Ever since S&B came out with their brass plated steel cases I keep an ear out for them. They make a different sound. I've actually reloaded some for my production gun with no problems but I'm hesitant to run them through my Open blaster.

Other than that, I don't worry about it. I will say I'm not a big fan of R-P brass though. It just seems really soft.

[Jay6]

So pretty much I have been being anal and wasting time for no reason at all. Super

[NMBOpen]

I've noticed (primarily with .45ACP, but also with .38Super) that different brands have a different feel when going through my 550, so I sort for consistency - to more readily detect anomalies (haven't use that word in a long time ) while loading.

Edited February 22, 2008 by NMCOpen

[boz1911]

I really don't think for IPSC shooting that brass sorting is needed except perhaps for 9 major. Now for precision rifle that's a whole different story. Case volume varies. Each year I will hunt with 5-10 different rifles, each will be sighted in with a particular headstamp ammo and from the same box (loaded at the same time). That ammo is set aside and solely used for the rifle for which it was sighted in with.

[sargenv]

I tend not to sort my brass for semi-auto pistols. The only way I sort for a semi-auto is to remove certain brands that my open gun doesn't like.

Now for my revolvers, I always sort my brass. It has to do with what will fit in my moon clips and what won't. For my 627 I only use RP or Federal brass. It's all that will fit my moon clips 100%.

For my 610 I use only Winchester Brass cartridges. I prefer Winchesters mostly for consistency. It also helps to keep my minor loaded brass away from my major loaded brass. I also have more Winchester 40 cal brass for my 610 than about any other head stamp.

[NC Shooter]

It's just my - probably not so humble opinion but; for rifle it is a must to sort brass not only by manufacturer but separate by lot if you can and certainly if you are using military cases sort to manufacturer, lot and year if you can. The internal dimentions of different manufacturers and especially millitary case manufacturers make a huge difference in shot to shot consistancy (because of internal pressures generated with differing volumes). I have not found the same differences in pistol case manufacturers but I am still anal enough to sort those too based on listening to bullseye pistol shooters.

Having shot NRA highpower for almost twenty years I am just very set in my ways and it may make no difference if the target is under 25 yards away but it can make a great difference if the target is a 100 or more yards away. The care and attention you give to your ammo pays off in a confidence factor and allows you to forget about that part of the issue if you have a mike and don't know why (although you should if you called each shot).

Ken H.

[CenTX]

Since I need to cull the 9x21, 9mm Largo etc. and sort the rimmed & rimless cases I go ahead and sort all my 38 Super/SuperComp/TJ etc. by head stamp.

For 40 and 45 I just sort nickel or brass.

[JThompson]

I shoot 9 major and if it makes it through the press I shoot it. I never have jams.

So to answer your question... no, it's not worth the time.

[blue edge]

+ 1

[Steve J]

I tend to be picky about everything, my ammo, the cleanliness of my mags and gun. Very anal, but I never have malfunctions. My buds who are not picky malf all over the range. I've been buying once fired single headstamp brass. Now that that's harder to find, I'll be sorting my mixed headstamp. Leave nothing to chance.

[AlamoShooter]

So pretty much I have been being anal and wasting time for no reason at all. Super

Anal ...Thats such a crappy way to look at it.

I sort my brass over a plastic egg create grid = 1/2" squares over a sheet of glass, I get all 300+ Pisces set in and thin I look down in them to make shurr they are clean of junk and I check for cracks in the case neck.

Thin the second piece of glass goes over that and I roll the entire thing over and sort it by head stamp.

ALL the regular supper comes out and goes into the give away box. the TJ and the Stare-line TJ go in to my Steel challenge loads box. the Reg super comp stare-line is what I load for the USPSA loads

38 super

The older 40 call I separated all the rem brass that was shot in my REV. To keep it separate from my Auto.

Our OUTLOOK on anal is .? How good do you want to prepare to win? do you want to go just part way ?

[superdude]

i believe Charles Petty (or some gunscribe) tested this a couple years ago with 45 ACP brass. mixed headstamp versus same headstamp, from a ransom rest. he found no difference in accuracy. that's something many of us had suspected for the 45. it might be a different story for other handgun calibers, higher pressure loads and cases with a known internal capacity difference such as 38 super and TJ 38. but i suspect it has yet to be thoroughly tested, and reported, in some of these other handgun cartridges. as many folks have pointed out, it might make a difference for rifle.

[kildar]

When I shot PPC and Bullseye we we're very anal and sorted brass religously. Trying to shoot cloverleafs required it in those competitons. Shooting USPSA, while accuracy is important one hole groups aren't necessary to win. In the beginning I still sorted by headstamp but later found I didn't loose many stage points using mixed brass. I still peruse my brass for certain headstamps I don't like or trust though.

[Johann the Horrible]

I shoot .45 and my daughter 9mmP(Luger). If it makes it through the FCD in 45 it goes to the match. 9mm needs to get sorted because our military brass is Berdan primed and the military and police are just to plain lazy to pick up their brass. Still use a Lee de-capper/sizer die adjusted so that the pin gets pushed up and not snap. At the distances we shoot it is not necessary to sort except in high pressure stuff were internal differences will push pressure to unsafe levels.

[G-ManBart]

I wouldn't say it's not worth the time....depends on a number of factors. I stumbled onto this last year while developing some loads for my Limited gun. Same gun, same press, same primers, same powder, same powder charge, same bullet, same OAL and loaded one group after the other, then chrono'd on the same day/time.

Starline .40 S&W case, Zero 180gr JHP, 4.90gr VV N320, Fed SP primers, 1.20" oal. Avg 950fps for a PF of 171...perfect right?

Winchester .40 S&W case, Zero 180gr JHP, 4.90gr VV N320, Fed SP primers, 1.20" oal. Avg 991fps for a PF of 178....whoa!

If I'd developed that load using Win cases I'd have dropped the powder charge. Then at the chrono if I got a couple of SL cases I might have gone minor....bad!

The Starline cases have more case volume which drops the pressure and velocity. Needless to say, I won't use mixed brass for a match. I guess it would be fine for practice. Luckily I have a steady supply of once-fired Win cases so that's all I use now...which makes it a non-factor, but I'd still sort if I had to. R,

[DonT]

Yep, I definately sort. By headstamp and also by how many times fired. Different headstamps of the same caliber have a different feel when loading on my 550. And if you load a mag with a couple of once fired, a few 12 times fired and a mixed bag for the rest, which one did you chrono with? I run all nickel brass in my .40 and I can chrono my load @ 170-172pf using once fired brass. I can load that same brass 10 times with the same load and might or might not make pf. Then it goes in a seperate bin to someday be loaded @ a higher charge to make pf.

DonT

[Stefano]

I always clean and check ALL my brasses, before reloading.

This is absolutely the only thing I hate about shooting but ... I'm happy of the results I've gained with this activity and - in my opinion - it has always payed me off.

I don't care about headstamp sorting for those that I use for training, but during the check I take apart all those of a particular brand (S& that I use for matches.

I like to use in competition only brasses with the same headstamp.

Shooting Production (minor) I've found PF differences of 3/4 poins between one brand ant the other, so I want to be sure that my "match-ammo" is the most possible constant ....

Edited February 23, 2008 by Stefano

[grammaton76]

In 223, I make a point of sorting by manufacturer. Mostly because I hate it when I have to swage primer pockets, so it's more convenient if I have one batch of brass where I worry about pockets every other pull, and on the others I don't have to worry so much.

[plinker625]

I sort all my brass.....except 9mm. The WW and Fed 45ACP I use for my 625's, all else goes for the USP's! The 9mm just gets cleaned and put in the pail for the next reloading session. I have real anal tendancies for the the 308 brass....and the 223 brass each is sorted for purposes.

[Chills1994]

A-MERC .45 ACP brass sucks, for some reason... I only find it after I have loaded a primer, powder, and a bullet into it. It cuts into the Berry's plating and won't case gage.