How do you load up ammo for a match?

[SavageMOA]

How would you guys suggest sorting out match ammo? Try to come up with 200 rounds with the same brass? Any other tips?

Let me know if I can be any more clear.

[badchad]

How would you guys suggest sorting out match ammo? Try to come up with 200 rounds with the same brass? Any other tips?

Let me know if I can be any more clear.

My practice ammo goes in a a military ammo can. My match ammo gets taken out of the can, case guaged, and stuck in those blue Dillon ammo boxes where I can see if I have a backwards primer or something. Other than that no difference. I shoot mixed range brass at any and every match and hardly ever have a problem in either .40 or 9mm. FWIW I think I shot over 150 matches last year and I maybe had 2-3 minor jams the whole year, but then I shoot a Glock.

[mscott]

I don't really sort anything differently either. I chrono loads every now and then and weigh powder once in a while, but it's all just ammo to me. If anything I'd use my crappy brass at a lost brass match, but I also shoot Glocks that eat about anything.

[TMC]

Its all the same to me, I just case gauge match ammo and count it out to make sure I have enough.

[TonyT]

I make sure that the rouimnd will chamber properly in the barrel when the barrel is removed from the gun. Otherwise no special preparation.

[Al Capizzo]

For local/club matches I don't even think about it. For a larger match, say an Area match or Nationals, I'll case gage ever round, inspect for high primers and make sure I've got more than enough. I usually take 25% to 50% more than I expect to shoot. There is always the chance of having to re-shoot a stage and I want to be able to fill my mags on the last stage just like on the first stage.

[SavageMOA]

Thanks for the replies.

I've got my first match very soon, and I'm starting to get nervous

[jmaass]

Thanks for the replies.

I've got my first match very soon, and I'm starting to get nervous

The good thing is that all these ammunition checks are done before the match, so you don't need to deal with bad ammo during a course of fire. During the match, just concentrate on getting your hits and keeping your runs safe. Speed comes quickly when you have a reliable gun/ammo to use.

I spent too much of my first year with a "jam-o-matic" combination, a well-built Open .45ACP built by Clark Custom (this was 1992), and a 152 grain LSWC load that fed part of the time. When I finally tamed the ammunition problem, scores went up and stress went down.

[sargenv]

Um, same here.. all of my ammo is match ammo. The only diff I might do is moon clip it all up and check em in the cylinder to make sure they go in then box em up so I don't have to moon clip any ammo while shooting.

[AlamoShooter]

Thanks for the replies.

I've got my first match very soon, and I'm starting to get nervous

Nervous replace that word with excited

I been at it a wile , I still get nervous -IF- I don't do all the rite things to prepare.

I will sort the brass culling out any thing that looks off, I want ever piece of brass to have been shot in my gun at least once. Twice makes me feel better.

I set aside a time to load the match loads so that I can pull some out of the case checked boxes and crono it the week before the match.

most of the time the brass gets my mark like for club matches so that I can look down after a stage and make certain the brass is ejecting the predicted amount it normally does.

Any piece of brass that feels different when I size or seat the primer gets pulled out of the match rounds.

Match ammo to me means I had to stay in a hotel at least two nights.

[DougCarden]

I just got done loading ammo for Bianchi, so this is fresh in my mind....

I use at least once fired brass, that goes through the CasePro....

I use Dillon lube and then run it through the 1050. I use Redding dies and throw a Lee FCD in before the Redding crimp die, which is by far the best crimp die I have ever used, period.....

I then use big chunk corn cob media to tumble the lube off. I then case gauge the match ammo and put them into 50 round blocks where I can inspect them under a light and run my fingers over the primers to double catch a high primer. The match ammo goes into Dillon 100 ct. boxes, they get taped shut and I write the load info on the box. For my practice ammo there I didnt case gauge them, but I did inspect primers and throw them into ammo cans.

Biggest thing I see people NOT doing is checking primers or case gauging the ammo. They do everything else *BUT* check the damn ammo, and it crushes them at the match when they have a great match going and the gun pukes due to poor QC on the ammo.....A high primer cost me a gun years ago at Second Chance, and the lesson was not lost on me. I have spent the last 10yrs or so learning how to load good ammo, so the only thing I have to fight at the big match, wherever it is, is ME.....

Good luck and I hope some of this is helpful.....

DougC

[Brooks]

So far when I reload I put all of my rounds in 50 or 100 round boxes. So I grab the same for practice and matches. But I am fairly new to USPSA.

[Putty]

For major match if using used brass I inspect each round out of the tumbler for embedded rocks or brasso globs. I spray the brass lightly with some form of lube and load the ammo, doing pre-checks on powder load weight. Once loaded I pull my barrel out of my pistol and chamber check every round also looking for upside down primers. Finally, I use a big rag soaked in isopropyl alcohol to clean the ammo of the residual brass lube...in my case the hornady one-shot lube.

[Mark K]

I am primarly a Limited shooter, but occasionally shoot Production/IDPA, and will be shooting more Open soon.

I chamber check all my 40SW ammo. Any ammo that does not just drop into the chamber, and drop out, maybe it needs a little nudge to completely chamber goes into the practice box. This maybe only 20 rounds out of a thousand. All the "Good" ammo is use in matches and practice. This is an easy process I can do while watching TV/Movies with my son in the evening.

Why do I use it in practice as well? My range time is limited, if I am practicing, I want to be able to concentrate on the practice that same as a match. Jamming up in the middle of working a technique, is a waste of my practice time.

9mm - I am not serious about IDPA or USPSA Production right now, all I do check the primers on them while putting them in the plastic boxes.

Mark K

[G-ManBart]

For a major match I use either new or once-fired brass. If it's new I inspect each one to ensure the flash hole was done properly. I'll double check my powder charge before starting, load in batches of 100 or 200 at a time, case gauge every round and place them in Dillon 100ct ammo boxes. I also load a little slower just to make sure I don't forget to look in each case at the powder when seating a bullet. I do that all the time, but slowing down reduces my chance of thinking I saw what I expected to see.

Yeah, leaving new brass on the ground sucks, but I figure if I've spent anywhere from $500 to $1000 for the match (hotel, gas, entry fee etc) I'm not too concerned about leaving $30-50 worth of brass there for the ROs who deserve some nice brass as a reward!

For local matches I do pretty much the same but use older brass. When the primer pockets start feeling a little looser that becomes practice brass.

[badchad]

Jamming up in the middle of working a technique, is a waste of my practice time.

Being able to quickly clear an unexpected jam isn't bad practice.

[Theodore]

Practice is the same as Match except for the following:

Lead vs Jacketed (Same Weight )

Not case gauged vs Gauged (not Inspected vs Inspected)

50 Cal Ammo can VS Dillon 100 Rd Case

I do not use any lube all my dies are Carbide. All brass is fired at least 2-3 times in the gun it will be use in.

I might vary the power charge between the lead and jacket but only to matain the same Velocity (therefor the same recoil and response from the gun).

Everything else is the same

Powder

Primers

Pace that I load (either the 1050 dillon or 550B dillon)

Ted

[Jay6]

I load all of my ammo the same. Chrono now and then, and check the powder every 100 or so rounds. Any ammo that does not case gauge or looks to have a high primer goes into the practice bin. Everything else is match ammo.

[dajarrel]

I load up what I want to carry to the match. Barrel check them for fit. Put them in the 100 rnd boxes and check for high primers and any supercomp that might have sneaked into my super loads.

After that, I don't worry about ammo at the match.

It's like several posters have noted, eliminate as many potential problems as possible. Then it's up to YOU to shoot the match.

fwiw

dj

[t0066jh]

For practice........mixed brass, same load and specs as match. No case gauge. If I have a missfeed it's good practice for clearing a jam.

For a match......Win brass that I've shot before. Case gauged and placed in a 100 rd box, primers checked and then rounds marked with a black sharpie.

Dump them into my ammo bag. I'm ready to go. I'll only load a marked round into my mags.

Good shooting

Joe

[boz1911]

Local matches rounds get chamber checked and boxed where I can inspect every primer. After that I put into a bulk tupperware container.

Major match everything is loaded with specific brass and tumbled for an hour or so afterwards then the above steps are added.