For "general" handgun reloading, do you sort by headstamp?

[Rule3]

I am not talking about serious competitive shooting, just general range shooting. Do you sort your brass so you load only one specific headstamp. Is it worth doing? Does the brass dimensions vary enough to effect(affect) accuracy? Mainly 9, 40 and 45 calibers.

 

[Rule3]

I am not talking about serious competitive shooting, just general range shooting. Do you sort your brass so you load only one specific headstamp. Is it worth doing? Does the brass dimensions vary enough to effect(affect) accuracy? Mainly 9, 40 and 45 calibers.

 

[nitesite]

I do not.

I have some hunting .357 Magnum loads that are all nickel plated cases but that's about it.

 

[bmcgilvray]

For general purpose shooting using .38 Special and .45 ACP I load batches of mixed cases. I'm loading some .45 ACP just now.

For special purposes I take more care.

I think the inherent accuracy of the firearm along with the shooter's ability matters more than the mixed brass.

I can weigh individual cast bullets and segregate them, weigh cases of the same brand, measure cases for length, hand weigh powder charges, ad infinitum until I've crafted truly fine target ammunition ... and have driven myself to distraction.

This shows a reasonable performance for my "blastin' quality" .38 Special load at 25 yards. Sorry about the brand "X" revolver shown.

 

[Rule3]

Originally posted by bmcgilvray:

This shows a reasonable performance for my "blastin' quality" .38 Special load at 25 yards. Sorry about the brand "X" revolver shown.

Very nice shooting and there is nothing wrong with a Colt, some fine firearms. I came real close to buying a Dick special 38 yesterday but got a Model 66 pinned a recessed instead.
I am a EO gun purchaser.

 

[bmcgilvray]

Yeah, I find myself "dually afflicted." I do like Smith & Wesson revolvers the best but enjoy owning and using the classic Colt double action models as well.

Ya' might should a' picked up that Dick Special! They really do make nice toters. Though it pains me to have to say this, I can shoot them better than I do my J-Frames. Of course my 2-inch snub K-Frames shoot best of all.

 

[Paul5388]

I normally sort my brass by head stamp. Not because of accuracy issue, but because some brass is junk that only needs to be used for plinking purposes.

It also allows me to treat some brass differently than other brands, i.e. ECS 42 .45 ACP brass has very tight primer pockets that need a little more attention given to them.

I don't shoot Colt revolvers because they don't fit me, they turn backwards and the cylinder release just ain't right.

 

[Spotteddog]

I always segregate brass by head stamp and material. It's not because I'm good enough to have it matter. But more because, I don't have a life? And doing it lets me play a bit longer.

 

[38-44HD45]

No, I do not, except for precision loads. A number of years ago, I was doing some legal work for Federal Cartridge. I sent some of my ratty old IPSC practice .45 ACP ammo up to Anoka with my expert witness, for P&V testing. It was about 5 different headstamps, brown, and fired from 4 to 12 times. It was loaded on a Dillon RL550B. Pressures and velocities were more consistent by a large margin than Federal required for its factory match ammo. As Paul noted, if a given brand requires special treatment, like thin Remington brass, then there's a reason. Otherwise, there is not, unless it just helps you cope with your OCD...

 

[Amici]

I used to sort cases by headstamp.

Then again, I used to load pistol ammo on a single-stage press.

I need too much production and see no value in wasting what should be reloading time by sorting pistol cases. Tumble them, sort by caliber (now done with sorting pans) and feed them into the Dillon!

 

[epj]

I do not sort headstamps. I do segregate nickel from brass cases. The reason is that the nickel cases clean much faster in the tumbler than brass, and excessive cleaning can wear the nickel permaturely. The military headstamps need the primer pockets reamed the first time. This isn't much of an issue with revolver ammo where you get your own brass back every time,but with auto cases, you may do some trading at the range. (As well as accumulate a few extra, hopefully) Some headstamps, such as Amerc, need to be discarded, as they are generally way out of spec.

 

[OFT]

At my age I'm doing good to sort by caliber.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

For the most part, no.
I do sort if I'm working up new load and want to ensure consistency for evaluation of velocity, accuracy, ES and SD.

 

[NKJ nut]

For the most part I do sort.

 

[Skip Sackett]

The only time I would sort by head-stamp is for serious competition or load development. Sometimes not even then.
It's a mood thing!

 

[R. Walter]

I sort by headstamp/maker. It's not that hard. I especially sort the larger the caliber.

In my Casull I'm very particular how my hunting loads are developed.

 

[max]

No, have way too much brass.

 

[ChuckS1]

Nope. Don't think you could tell the difference, accuracy-wise. I do know some bullseye guys who sort brass when they're loading for the 50 yard line, but then they're also sorting bullets by weight and condition of the base. I don't shoot well enough to make it worth the trouble.

 

[MrPhil]

For 9mm and 45 ACP I use mixed brass of indeterminate age. Each case gets an eyeball as it goes into the shell plate. Damaged and A-merc cases go into the trash. S&B's get swaged after sizing and decapping.

I do segregate 357 and 44 mag brass. I tend to load them pretty warm. I want cases to be uniform length for consistent crimping. I keep track how many times each batch has been loaded. The only new brass I've ever purchased is Winchester 44 mag. Since then I've found a reasonable supply of true once-fired brass.

 

[n4zov]

Yep, I always sort by make primarily because I don't reload just any cases that I come across. Usually start with new or once fired cases and keep them all together until they are worn out for reloading purposes. That way I don't have to adjust dies and fiddle with different primer seating depths, etc. They all get trimmed at the same time, tumbled together, and thrown out together. It just simplifies the whole reloading process to me and it insures a more consistent reload.