Do You Sort By Headstamp?

[jeff89]

I know that the benchrest crowd does this and they feel that it is very important. But for action pistol type matches does it really mattter? I can't see a difference in my groups when I sort brass vs unsorted. Or course I may just not be good enough for it to matter...

Jeff

[Rufus The Bum]

I use once fired and don't pick up the brass. So long as it passes my case gage, it's good.

[Rockwell]

I sort my brass to remove problem brass (like A-Merc and a few others). After doing that, every loaded round for a match must pass through my gauge. The rounds that do not pass the "gauge test" go to a practice session and never see my reloading bench again.

[ErikW]

There are a few reasons to sort pistol brass...

It resizes more consistently so you don't have to vary your lever effort and the powder drops more consistently and the overall length is more consistent.

Its primer pockets are more consistent and you don't have to vary your lever effort and the primers seat more consistently.

It has a more consistent length so the case mouth bell you give it, and the un-belling (aka crimp) you give it are consistent.

[eric nielsen]

Sort. For all the above reasons & more.

1. Making Major with a small SD or MAD

2. Don't need to gage your ammo - check setup of first few reloads & you're done.

3. No guessing about the cause of malfunctions - won't have any related to ammo.

[lmccrock]

I do not sort except to pull things like Amerc, but that is for 45. If I were loading something higher pressure, I might be more picky. Would the poll results be differerent if the poll were split by caliber?

I DO sort 223 for rifle.

Lee

[lynn jones]

i really don't sort per se, i just use remington nickle 38 super.

lynn

[Paul B]

It really depends on how finicky your guns are. My .40 will digest about anything so if I can load it, I can shoot it. Never even look at headstamp.

.45 is very little problem. Just remove the Blazers and go.

For .38 super though it is a different story. I shoot only one brand of brass and I know how many times it's been shot. The gun and the load are just too finicky.

[stingerjg]

i dont sort my 45's, i shoot them till they crack. My 38 super comp, i sort by headstamp and weight. i guage everything that comes out of the loader, just to be sure.

[EricW]

I've never sorted pistol brass for anything but eggregious defects. Doing more is a total waste of time IMHO.

[Loves2Shoot]

There are a few reasons to sort pistol brass...

It resizes more consistently so you don't have to vary your lever effort and the powder drops more consistently and the overall length is more consistent.

Its primer pockets are more consistent and you don't have to vary your lever effort and the primers seat more consistently.

It has a more consistent length so the case mouth bell you give it, and the un-belling (aka crimp) you give it are consistent.

Sounds like you need a 1050

[Custom Glock Racing]

I dont bother to sort any of it. I always use new brass for major matches and sorting for a club match is way too much work.

[oddjob]

no sorting here........not even for a major match.......I just chamber check for a major match and thats it. My 1050's and 550 are that good.

[B.J. Norris]

9x19, no way. 9x23, 9 Supercomp, 38 Supercomp, for sure. I don't use the 9x23, and keep the 9 and 38 Supercomp seperate. And since Starline is the only place that makes 9 Supercomp and about the only one for 38 Supercomp in wide spread use.........

[MGK]

I only sort to get rid of the garbage; CCI, Wolf, Amerc, split cases. I am not convinced that sorting brass will have that great of an effect on my shooting ability or accuracy. There are simply too many variable involved; crimp, OAL, bullet type, powder used, etc. that can also have an effect. I can't justify, for me, all the sorting and organizing of the various head stamps. I shoot and reload, because it is a hobby that I enjoy. I don't need "SOMETHING ELSE" to do with yields limited value to me, I have enough of those activities everyday.

My 02

MGK

[Navy Joe]

9mm minor, not a chance. I have had no problems thus far in the 3 months and 6K rounds I've loaded. I did do a test by sorting out two loaded batches of prevalent headstamps in my loaded rounds and at 25yards there was a POI difference and one grouped nicer, but both fell into minute of steel plate. I plan on sorting if I ever start stuffing .38Super or .45 for bullseye.

[Liota]

No sorting for me, since most of the local shooters use the same brass. Heck! I counted and distributed the last batch of .38 Supercomp that came in. Just for the record, 5,000 rounds of brass is a lot to count. Didn't have to count the 9 Supercomp, but did bring it home and distribute as required.

Liota

[Gun Geek]

I just sort out the trash.

When I first started loading I went through this and decided to do a little study. I loaded up a bunch then sorted out the major types in my pile of range brass. Typically S&B, WW, PMC.

I then fired from a sand bag 25 rounds of each type (full size Kimber stainless target). I also mixed up batches of 25 rounds randomly and fired them.

The net is that I couldn't tell any difference in group size. I was shooting 15 yds and getting clover leaf holes - about 3/4 - 1 inch, which is much better than I can do free hand.

Net is that I sort the trash (steel, AL, cracked, distorted) and load it up. I pick up range brass and fire it until it breaks. I load to light pressures and I have some brass that is at about 25 loadings. I can tell the mouths are starting to get brittle from so much working.

BTW I do use a Lee FCD. I decap then tumble (cleans the primer pockets). I use a uni-decapper so I don't scratch a sizing die with dirty brass.

[shred]

No sorting for me. The shellplate sorts out the rimmed Super and I'll even mix Supercomp and TJ for practice. I do mark my brass to make retrieval from amongst a heap of 9mm easier, but I have no problem snarfing up somebody elses abandoned TJ or SC.

For cracked cases, try this-- jingle a handful of uncracked cases, then drop in a cracked case and re-jingle. If the crack is the least bit large, I can easily hear the difference.

[TBF]

Rifle brass gets sorted.

Any other brass used for " when it might be important " gets sorted.

Practice ammo, and pinshooting ammo, just gets the crappy stuff removed.

Travis F.

[JFD]

I do sort my brass, both .45 and .38 Super.

All my loaded ammo ends up in the styrofoam trays from factory ammo where it's then marked. Afer that it goes into gallon containers according to headstamp.

My main reason for the .45 sorting is the different case tension from the different brands of brass. I mainly want to get the brass with poor case tension separated (R-P, Speer, CBC, etc). Those that I have a lot of get their own gallon container (or more), otherwise it goes into an "A quality" or "B quality" container.

While I will always sort "A quality" from "B quality" cases, the rest of the sorting is just a personal preference that could be skipped with no ill effect.

[jimstc]

I don't sort for .45 ACP but do throw away problem brass if I see it even after it has been loaded. For 38 Super I sort nickle vs brass just because it is easy to see the difference. I am not good enough yet for it to matter.

[38super]

Case gauge is a must if using mystery brass, found some roll sized brass (38 Super) that would hold the slide just out of battery (0.922" case length). Barrel chamber was cut to 0.895".

[Nemo]

I have to separate the PMC from the rest of my range brass. My SDB won't decap it.

[n2299]

I don't sort my .45 brass.

But I do when I buy once fired .40 brass.