Sorting 357 Magnum brass?

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ripvanwinkle

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I am getting back into shooting and reloading after a very long nap. I have started sorting my 9mm brass by head stamp and then again by weight for my target pistol, to try to eliminate fliers. Everything else is loaded up for practice for my EDC. Does anyone do that for your 357 brass? My shooting is 30 yards or less.
 
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Wish I had enough 357 brass to sort it. Don't need a lot in a wheel gun so I get by. Do you think that is what is causing the flyers? I often wondered when I shoot a 5 shot group with any gun why 4 holes can be touching and then there is the flyer. As it happens with all my loads and all my guns even my less then 1/2 MOA AR15 I have started to blame it on my shooting. The fix for me is measuring the best 4 of 5 shots. lol
 
I sort by maker after i noticed that my .44mag brass volume vary up to a full grain.
 
I've never trimmed or sorted pistol cases before or after 10s of thousands of reloads.

I do try to keep fired cases in groups that have been fired the same number of times.

I usually try to avoid nickle cases;they seem to crack after a few or even one reload.

I'm very strict with powder charges,primer seating,bullet seating and overall length.
 
A lot depends on the revolver's Cylinder..............

Have you tested them for "True" ?

I have weapons that have one or two cylinder holes that shoot better or worse than the rest, off of sand bags.

In my new 686, I have one cylinder marked with finger nail polish, since it out shoots the others, if used for game.

To me this is way more important than sorting brass................
 
There are all kinds of variables.....

if you have very high standards or are a competitive shooter there are all kinds of variables that you can tweak and adjust. Case wall thickness and uniformity probably has more bearing on consistency than the weight of the case. You can go as far with this as you want to.

Me? I take range brass and reload it. I don't even sort it unless I've got a good reason to.
 
Unless you are shooting long range, there is no need to sort to this extent. Keeping them sorted by times fired might be a good idea, so you keep the newer brass for heavy loads and use the several times fired for mild target loads. Once you find an accurate load for your revolver, you probably should be very happy for the distances you are firing. Revolvers are notorious for having one or two cylinder holes that shoot outside of the group. That would probably be more of a factor regarding accuracy than sorting.
 
I don't bother sorting handgun brass unless I am looking for ultimate accuracy, like my 44mag stuff that will go to 200yds. Short of that, not really worth the time. I have had to trim magnum rev brass, it does stretch if running well above midrange.
 
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I sort ALL my handgun brass by head stamp to eliminate one source of variability and because I'm a bit OCD and have the time. Probably doesn't make much difference in performance. However, to prove I'm only mildly OCD I throw all cats and dogs brass I have few of in a bag to use in lost brass situations.

Many other aspects are more important such as accurate, repeatable powder charges, uniform bullets, good crimp, etc.
 
Even most competitive shooters don't bother to sort brass. If I were to sort on anything, I would do it on case weight, not headstamps.
 
I sort because it is just one easy thing to do and then you don't have to wonder if not doing so "might" have caused that wild shot. :rolleyes:

I think almost all of us would have to admit that is not likely, but you do take that doubt out of your mind. :D

I agree that sorting is important for more uniform crimps (roll crimps), and probably not a safety concern with any sensible load. I suppose the modern way to think of the practice would be to say that sorting is a "feel good" thing. ;)
 
With a revolver, it is likely that the variations in shot placement on the target may be more a result of differing chamber dimensions than what the case headstamp is. If you are serious about testing ammunition for MV and grouping consistency, fire every round from the same chamber. I always get more consistent grouping and MVs that way than from firing sequentially from every chamber.
 
The only sorting I do for handgun brass is to separate nickel and brass cases. The only reason I do this is because mixed nickel and brass cases offend my sense of order in the universe.
 
Brass Quirks

I sort brass by caliber. All my 38 spl brass is brass, all my 357 mag brass is nickeled. Nickel 38 spl and brass 357 mag brass finds a new home.

I trim FIRED 357 mag and 44 mag brass to 1.265" +0.005" ,- 0 . I get uniform crimps and the brass will crack before it needs to be trimmed again. I trim the brass, do not deburr the mouth. The sizer die removes the outside burr, belling the case mouth removes the inside burr, and the square edged case mouth securely grips the cast bullet when the case is crimped.

I have never trimmed 9 mm, 40 S&W, or 45 acp brass.
 
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Clean'm, pack'm, shoot'm. Only time I sort is when I get home from the range with 1 bag of mixed calibers...and I still manage to get a 380 in the 9mm bucket every now and then!
I have 2 buckets for each caliber, one marked "once fired", the other "twice fired". I clean and reload from the once fired, fired brass goes in the twice fired. When the once fired is empty I pour the twice fired into the once fired and start all over again. I guess you could call that sorting.
 
In the current issue of American Handgunner, writer John Taffin has a page on sorting hand gun brass. You can Google it to read, but to answer the question for those who want to know, yes, it makes a difference.
 
Collo Rosso said:
Clean'm, pack'm, shoot'm. Only time I sort is when I get home from the range with 1 bag of mixed calibers...and I still manage to get a 380 in the 9mm bucket every now and then!
I have 2 buckets for each caliber, one marked "once fired", the other "twice fired". I clean and reload from the once fired, fired brass goes in the twice fired. When the once fired is empty I pour the twice fired into the once fired and start all over again. I guess you could call that sorting.
Click to expand...

Hate getting those 380 in with my 9s and large primer 45s in with my small primer 45s which is the onlt ones I load. Those 380s look funny when they get a bullet seated in them.
 
I like sorting brass. Put the Commanders over here and the Captains over there and keep the enlisted. Sorry guys I had to do it.
 
Like Engineer1911 I trim all revolver brass to the same length but don't bother with the autos for the most part. I don't sort much.
 
Tom S. said:
In the current issue of American Handgunner, writer John Taffin has a page on sorting hand gun brass. You can Google it to read, but to answer the question for those who want to know, yes, it makes a difference.
Click to expand...

His article says by head stamp and makes no mention of weight.

If you are that OCD you should be measuring case volume.

Be safe and good luck
Ruggy
 
Only by headstamp and only for one pistol that will not run Winchester brass because of the thickness of the rim. For plinking I don't worry much about 1/2 to 1gr either as I am not near good enough. I weigh each charge, am not near max and don't compete. I can't say I've noticed much difference in accuracy by brand. I even went so far as to segregate 38sp wc brass and compare. Apparently, I can't shoot good enough to notice although I know there are many on this board that can. I don't think that volume of powder vs volume of case in a pistol round is enough of a variation due to the dimensions of the pistol case (volume) to matter as much as a rifle case but I'm no expert.

Has anybody noticed that much variation in volume in pistol cases, ie. 1gr or more that would matter with seating depth in the smaller pistol cases? It's something I've never considered.

For accuracy in a pistol I don't shoot good enough to notice that. All of my pistol brass I get used I trim to length regardless of manu and leave it at that. IMHO unless the brass from certain makers does not work in your gun then I'd leave that level of care to the rifle competitors.
 
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Engineer1911 said:
I sort brass by caliber. All my 38 spl brass is brass, all my 357 mag brass is nickeled. Nickel 38 spl and brass 357 mag brass finds a new home.

I trim FIRED 357 mag and 44 mag brass to 1.265" +0.005" ,- 0 . I get uniform crimps and the brass will crack before it needs to be rimmed again. I trim the brass, do not deburr the mouth. The sizer die removes the outside burr, belling the case mouth removes the inside burr, and the square edged case mouth securely grips the cast bullet when the case is crimped.

I have never trimmed 9 mm, 40 S&W, or 45 acp brass.
Click to expand...

That's funny. All of my brass is brass. All of the nickel I get is sent on down the road much like I don't care for a shiny revolver
 
I have always sorted my brass by headstamp, since my days shooting PPC. I still have and shoot some of that 38 Special brass! It was always trimmed and kept separate from my other brass.

I continue to sort by headstamp, all of my pistol brass in 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 acp. I only keep about 5 headstamps in all calibers, the rest I sell, trade or in 9mm, give away to a few reloading buddies. I don't usually use nickel in any caliber, but do in 45 acp, since that brass can be expensive to buy, even once fired.

Probably makes no real difference, but I sleep better at night knowing it was done LOL :-)
 
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