Segregating brass
- Thread starter TonyAngel
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jcwit
member
Hangun brass? By manufacturer.
Rifle brass? Again by manufacturer, except for the rifle I shoot off the bench, it has a diet of the same 5 shells over and over. When these 5 go bad I'll have to find another 5 pcs that weigh the same, are the same brand and give the same accuracy as the last 5 and use them over and over again.
Rifle brass? Again by manufacturer, except for the rifle I shoot off the bench, it has a diet of the same 5 shells over and over. When these 5 go bad I'll have to find another 5 pcs that weigh the same, are the same brand and give the same accuracy as the last 5 and use them over and over again.
Searcher4851
Member
I sort by number of reloadings, then by manufacturer for handgun, just so I can see which brass holds up better.
mr-mom
Member
Ditto Searcher's post
Handgun brass? Show me that it makes a difference. The only segregating I would do is to sort out the longest cases for use in accuracy-related competitions. This is particularly true for 9x19 cases. Like most handgun brass, it is too short. Those few cases that are at least 0.750" long will give the best accuracy.
Rifle brass? Some actually track each case (somehow) and trash the case after four trimmings or other criteria. Me? I buy virgin brass and shoot is and scrap it if there is something wrong or there is any indication of head separation.
Rifle brass? Some actually track each case (somehow) and trash the case after four trimmings or other criteria. Me? I buy virgin brass and shoot is and scrap it if there is something wrong or there is any indication of head separation.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. I'm talking about rifle brass.
I shoot all Winchester. I bought it all brand new and have kept it segregated by number of firings in lots of 50. Some of it has six or seven loadings on it and some of it only has two or three. I was just processing a lot that only has three loadings on it and noticed that some needed trimming and some didn't (didn't stretch at all after firing and resizing). In this lot, I also found one case that showed the ring of impending doom indicating that a separation is coming.
Anyway, it appears that tracking the number of loadings isn't going to be an indication of remaining case life. I'm wondering if I wouldn't just be better off separating them by weight and then just relying on visual inspection to get rid of the ones that are going bad. I mean the weight has to be some indication of something.
I shoot all Winchester. I bought it all brand new and have kept it segregated by number of firings in lots of 50. Some of it has six or seven loadings on it and some of it only has two or three. I was just processing a lot that only has three loadings on it and noticed that some needed trimming and some didn't (didn't stretch at all after firing and resizing). In this lot, I also found one case that showed the ring of impending doom indicating that a separation is coming.
Anyway, it appears that tracking the number of loadings isn't going to be an indication of remaining case life. I'm wondering if I wouldn't just be better off separating them by weight and then just relying on visual inspection to get rid of the ones that are going bad. I mean the weight has to be some indication of something.
FROGO207
Member
I just pay real close attention to the brass as I am processing it. Separate by brand and load em up. I look for brass failure and anything odd. Loose primer pockets get the marker applied to head stamp area and are not reloaded again. I shoot until primer pockets fail, splits develop, or case separation starts to show. I catch almost all problems with my brass but the casing splits that develop with my pistol brass.
Sunray
Member
Cleaned and not cleaned plus primed, ready to load and not. It's not that big of a deal for handgun brass. Not much of a deal for rifle brass either. Unless you're a bench rest shooter.
I think I'm just going to adopt a system based on weight. I'm not a benchrest shooter, but my rifle is capable of near benchrest accuracy. When I'm shooting from a bench, I like to be as accurate as possible and the fliers are driving me crazy.
Yesterday, I shot 12 consecutive groups of three rounds each. That was four groups with each of three different loads. I had a few groups that were in the .2s and .3s, but I had several that had two rounds going through almost the same hole with the third opening the group up to around .5 or .6". After first starting this thread, I went out and dumped all of my .308 brass into a bucket and started weighing them. About 85% of it falls between 156 and 157.9gr, with the other 15% being in the 154-155gr and 158-160gr range. I'm wondering if this might account for the fliers.
I'm not trying to pick nits here, but I have a LOT of work into my rifle and want to feed it the best that I can.
Yesterday, I shot 12 consecutive groups of three rounds each. That was four groups with each of three different loads. I had a few groups that were in the .2s and .3s, but I had several that had two rounds going through almost the same hole with the third opening the group up to around .5 or .6". After first starting this thread, I went out and dumped all of my .308 brass into a bucket and started weighing them. About 85% of it falls between 156 and 157.9gr, with the other 15% being in the 154-155gr and 158-160gr range. I'm wondering if this might account for the fliers.
I'm not trying to pick nits here, but I have a LOT of work into my rifle and want to feed it the best that I can.
bloominonion
Member
- Joined
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I sort it by cleaned/sized/trimmed/primed, and that's it. I just make sure it isn't messed up or showing signs of fatigue.
243winxb
Member
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_4_48/ai_83483904/ Brass prep for Benchrest. 
Prep the brass and learn to read the wind. Those fliers are more likely wind related than case related. Not to mention that the slightest gun handling error will do that and more.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=415549
LiveLife
Member
For rifle brass, I segregate by weight and the number of shootings in batches.
1. After cases are deprimed/decrimped and primer pockets/case necks cleaned, I tumble polish them.
2. I use HF storage bin with 3 rows of bins labeled to sort cases by weight and put them in the bottom row bins.
3. After I resize the cases and remove the sizing lube, I move them to the middle row bins.
4. After I trim the cases to length and chamfer/deburr the case neck, I move them to the top bins.
5. When I am ready to reload, I pull cases from the top bins by weight.
1. After cases are deprimed/decrimped and primer pockets/case necks cleaned, I tumble polish them.
2. I use HF storage bin with 3 rows of bins labeled to sort cases by weight and put them in the bottom row bins.
3. After I resize the cases and remove the sizing lube, I move them to the middle row bins.
4. After I trim the cases to length and chamfer/deburr the case neck, I move them to the top bins.
5. When I am ready to reload, I pull cases from the top bins by weight.
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Arkansas Paul
Member
I just sort by headstamp. Maybe I should keep track of the number of firings, but I don't. I do very carefully inspect each piece of brass before I load it though to check for splits or signs of case head separation or anything out of the ordinary.
tony angel, i would shoot some factory ammo and see if you still get your fliers. could save you a lot of wasted reloading research. fwiw, i place more importance on the number of firings. i want all my brass work hardened the same amount (i don't shoot benchrest). my cases are always from the same manufacturer when i work up a load.
murf
murf
Hondo 60
Member
I try to keep ALL of my brass sorted by maker & number of firings (handgun & rifle)
I had several that had two rounds going through almost the same hole with the third opening the group up to around .5 or .6".
I had a similar thing going on just before hunting season this year. First outing was with new brass, FL resized and had loads for 3 different bullets. Had fliers with all three bullets types. After a thorough cleaning & checking for anything loose or binding, I went back to the range and still had fliers. Removed the scope and checked the mounts. Used a bubble level and leveled the gun in my gun vise. Mounted the scope with a second bubble level on the top turret and the third trip to the range I placed a level on the gun to see if I was canting the rifle. No more fliers.
There are a few other things to check for also. Roll your ammo on a flat smooth table and watch for the tip of the bullet for any wobbling or runout. Your bullet seating die or case neck may be to blame, or both. There are gages you can buy to check for runout and Hornady makes a concentricity gage that will check for runout and straighten it as well.
I had a similar thing going on just before hunting season this year. First outing was with new brass, FL resized and had loads for 3 different bullets. Had fliers with all three bullets types. After a thorough cleaning & checking for anything loose or binding, I went back to the range and still had fliers. Removed the scope and checked the mounts. Used a bubble level and leveled the gun in my gun vise. Mounted the scope with a second bubble level on the top turret and the third trip to the range I placed a level on the gun to see if I was canting the rifle. No more fliers.
There are a few other things to check for also. Roll your ammo on a flat smooth table and watch for the tip of the bullet for any wobbling or runout. Your bullet seating die or case neck may be to blame, or both. There are gages you can buy to check for runout and Hornady makes a concentricity gage that will check for runout and straighten it as well.
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