Jc85
Member
naw I mean im dead tissue..
haha yes, my bad. spell check dosnt always work in your favor =)
haha yes, my bad. spell check dosnt always work in your favor =)
Sorting Handgun Brass - What Say You?
- Thread starter exnodak
- Start date
I always sort for length and headstamp for 9mm, as I think it makes a difference (I shoot bullseye). I quit using range brass years ago now I only use Starline for everything but 327 (only because they don't make it yet). I guess I just like consistency (German and Finnish). - gene
bobbyd
Member
Sorting DOES make a difference
As a buyer, I am willing to pay more for sorted brass. I believe it definitely does make a significant difference in the consistency of the reloading process. For example, R-P 45ACP is consistently "thin" and loose and requires a lot more crimp; Speer 45ACP is stiff and tight and requires more of a flare to prevent shaving the bullets when seating. Federal and W-W are the most consistently uniform.
Does it make any huge difference in accuracy? Well,if you're just plinking around, probably not enough to notice, but, if you are in a bullseye tournament where a few points seperate places, I believe in giving myself every chance possible.
The only time I will use mixed brass is if I am just banging around in the great outdoors where I will not likely be recovering the used brass anyway.
As a buyer, I am willing to pay more for sorted brass. I believe it definitely does make a significant difference in the consistency of the reloading process. For example, R-P 45ACP is consistently "thin" and loose and requires a lot more crimp; Speer 45ACP is stiff and tight and requires more of a flare to prevent shaving the bullets when seating. Federal and W-W are the most consistently uniform.
Does it make any huge difference in accuracy? Well,if you're just plinking around, probably not enough to notice, but, if you are in a bullseye tournament where a few points seperate places, I believe in giving myself every chance possible.
The only time I will use mixed brass is if I am just banging around in the great outdoors where I will not likely be recovering the used brass anyway.
Bah!
For handgun shooting I doubt it makes a difference.(Actual shooting maybe a mental thing) Unless you are some pro competition shooter.
I would like to see a study done with average to good shooters and give them ammo all loaded the same, only with different brass and see what the results are.
For competition benchrest rifle shooters where everything matters to them, yes it probably matters.
For handgun shooting I doubt it makes a difference.(Actual shooting maybe a mental thing) Unless you are some pro competition shooter.
I would like to see a study done with average to good shooters and give them ammo all loaded the same, only with different brass and see what the results are.
For competition benchrest rifle shooters where everything matters to them, yes it probably matters.
Smith357
US Veteran
Rifle brass get sorted by head stamp, rifle and usage count. Handgun brass not so much, I only sort it by nickle or not.
shortrange
Member
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2009
- Messages
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The ransom rest has proven to me that sorting absolutely makes a difference in accuracy. Unfortunately I cant shoot well enough myself to tell the difference. I still sort it though just in case my shooting ever improves to that level. (actually just a dream) 
Peter M. Eick
Member
I do it becasue I can see the difference on the target in certain calibers with certain guns. For example, with my SIG 210-5, not sorting brass will normally increase the group size about 1 to 2" over sorted brass.
The same hold true with my Les Baer 10mm.
Try it yourself and see if it matters to your gun and your shooting skills.
The same hold true with my Les Baer 10mm.
Try it yourself and see if it matters to your gun and your shooting skills.
With those two guns you could load them with ball and black powder and shoot 1" groups.
dsbock
Member
I'm going to start sorting my .380 ACP by headstamp. When depriming MRP stamped brass the head of the primer comes off but the primer itself doesn't. Annoying to say the least. 21 rounds out of a box of 50 (or at least what I recovered from the range) did this.
David
David
MRP is another headstamp for Magtech which is part of the CBC group. CBC, Magtech, Men and Sellier and Belliot.. It is excellent ammo and brass.
It's odd that you are having problems with depriming it??
dsbock
Member
I know. None of the other calibers have this issue. Only the .380 ACP. It could be just this batch. I'm keeping my eye on it now.
David
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Freischütz
Member
I sort mine. I've noticed different case thickness between makers. For example I've found R-P 45 Auto brass is thinner than Federal or W-W.
That works well when using .452" diameter bullets in my 22-4. W-W and Federal cases are so tight that I can't easily push a full moon clip of cartridges into the gun. With R-P they drop right in.
That works well when using .452" diameter bullets in my 22-4. W-W and Federal cases are so tight that I can't easily push a full moon clip of cartridges into the gun. With R-P they drop right in.
WyoStillhunter
Member
+1 what Smith357 said.
98% of all my handgun loading is designed to duplicate standard pressure and velocity (not +P, etc.). I have small lots of new factory and once fired brass for hotter .38 loads and .357 Magnum loads.
I use a single stage press and handle each piece of brass multiple times resulting in lots of visual inspection. I toss out any case that shows the slightest split, bulge, wrinkle, etc. Otherwise, it's load and shoot.
Peter M. Eick
Member
If you don't sort them, how do you do final inspections? I handle every round as part of the sorting process and occasionally toss some back for breaking down.
Fishslayer
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
For me, sorted is not a plus unless it's all Starline, Federal, whatever. Name brand stuff. Surprisingly, PMC is my favorite headstamp for .45ACP.
I've bought several batches of used .45ACP. As long as there wasn't any steel or aluminum or large amounts of Amerc in it I was happy. I do my own cleaning & sorting. Name brands and "others."
Now that we are seeing so much SPP .45 brass sorting by headstamp is kinda mandatory.
.357 Magnum brass gets sorted to major brand name & "others." Brass I buy used serves as range fodder with .38+P loadings to avoid carbon rings. I like to load my target batches with same headstamps.
For full house Big Dogs I use Starline that I bought new.
Just a hint, I'm almost always in the market for used .357 Magnum brass if the price/trade is right.
I'm of German ancestry as well.
ummm... I actually sort 9mm brass...
I've bought several batches of used .45ACP. As long as there wasn't any steel or aluminum or large amounts of Amerc in it I was happy. I do my own cleaning & sorting. Name brands and "others."
Now that we are seeing so much SPP .45 brass sorting by headstamp is kinda mandatory.
.357 Magnum brass gets sorted to major brand name & "others." Brass I buy used serves as range fodder with .38+P loadings to avoid carbon rings. I like to load my target batches with same headstamps.
For full house Big Dogs I use Starline that I bought new.
Just a hint, I'm almost always in the market for used .357 Magnum brass if the price/trade is right.
I'm 5/8 German, after all.
I'm of German ancestry as well.
ummm... I actually sort 9mm brass...
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ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I always separate my handgun brass by headstamp and even store them in 50 piece trays before loading and after shooting. (I can't help myself, I'm a little OCD about stuff)
Rifle brass gets separated and firings are counted. Handgun brass gets shot until it splits or the primer pockets get too large. BUT, I've been shooting the same 1,200 pieces of Remington .38 Special brass for over 6 years now and haven't had to toss one yet!
Rifle brass gets separated and firings are counted. Handgun brass gets shot until it splits or the primer pockets get too large. BUT, I've been shooting the same 1,200 pieces of Remington .38 Special brass for over 6 years now and haven't had to toss one yet!
Frank46
US Veteran
I sort just about all my rifle and handgun brass. When I first started shooting my springfield armory 45 i did not have much money and since a lot of the shooters did not reload they became my source for extra brass. Was a bad day that I did not come home with at least 2-300 empty cases more than I had left with. So basically all cases regardless of headstamp went into the same bucket.What I did do with the 45 brass was sort it and the oddballs that only amounted to less than 100 cases got put into another bucket. All the speer,rem,ww,federal the big 4 were loaded and shot at steel plate matches. The good stuff like wcc match got saved for a rainy day. And I have to say that shooting mixed headstamped cases showed me that there is little to no difference than that of only one headstamp. We'd fing fiochhi, tzz Israeli, mfs hungarian and a few others like sellier and bellot. The s&b's went into a special box for another rainy day. About the only thing bad with the s&b brass was that it would not accept a large pistol primer easily. Took the deburring tool for doing casenecks and chamfered the opening of the primer pocket. After that no probalems. Frank
Fishslayer
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
I actually bought the tool for reaming primer pockets. I find a lot of crimped 9mm NATO brass, and while I've never had a real problem seating in S&B cases the reamer does make life much easier.
Easy to find the S&B brass. The primer goes "PING!" when ya decap it.
lazy
Member
I just drop it all off at dads and let him deal with it.
