Why sort by headstamp?

You don't have to sort your .223/5.56 brass except to know which brass you need to remove the crimps from. Some people sort brass to get more consistency out of a specific batch of reloads. If you have all of the same manufacturer then hopefully you will get more consistent weights and in turn more consistent internal volumes which will get you to more consistent pressures. Some brands produce more consistent case weights than others That doesn't always work in practice but could help if accuracy is you end goal. Others just like to be able to easily identify their shot brass at the range. Some are just partial to a particular brand. And just because you have 5.56 brass does not mean that you can load them hotter than .223 brass.

Yes, and case volume. How you deal with different case volumes is up to you.

I don't sort by headstamp for any caliber unless it is premium brass like lapua/norma/nosler.

Depends on what you want from your ammo. Probably not worth sorting cases for blasting ammo, but if you're loading for accuracy in a bolt action rifle, you want as much consistency as possible. And I'd want sorted brass even for blasting ammo when working up a load.

I've found that some are better than others. Win and Blazer for example never give me any issues but ones like PPU the primer pockets will often be loose so I'll sort those and use them last.
Also I'll try to keep the same load in the same headtstamp brass so I know that if I drop/spill any I can match them to my label on the box.

enine said:

I've found that some are better than others. Win and Blazer for example never give me any issues but ones like PPU the primer pockets will often be loose so I'll sort those and use them last.
Also I'll try to keep the same load in the same headtstamp brass so I know that if I drop/spill any I can match them to my label on the box.

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very true! PPU gets special treatment in my reloading room!

KentM said:

I get a lot of FC brass, both military and civilian.

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No, you don't. FC is Federal Cartridge.... it is not a military headstamp.

For range fodder I don’t separate. For match ammo I certainly do.

The main reason I sort pistol is due to brass hardness. This in my experience cuts down on seating depth variations to almost zero. In rifle everything matters and most headstamps are different in hardness, thickness primer pockets and the list goes on adnausium

C’mon guys...the reason you sort by headstamp is OCD. Don’t sugarcoat it.
I do it because you do it.

CQB45ACP said:

C’mon guys...the reason you sort by headstamp is OCD. Don’t sugarcoat it.
I do it because you do it.

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X2...load em...shoot em.

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm CDO (that's OCD in alphabetical order).

When I was shooting Service Rifle competition, I went through a time of sorting cases by head stamp and weighing cases to minimize weight variation. I'm not a good enough shooter to see a difference so I just began using the same head stamp and kept track of the number of times the cases were reloaded.

I also do that with my 204 Ruger prairie dog ammunition.

Finally, I've gotten away from using much range brass unless I generate it. Too much reloading aggravation from the odd case that is not quite made to standard dimensions. But I understand when folks are looking to save a few bucks.

As for the differences between 5.56 and .223, search 5.56 vs .223 on this forum and you'll find lots of information.

I think most reloaders sort brass in an effort to gain some consistency especially for bolt guns and high accuracy. Brass varies between manufactures, and quality and consistency vary greatly. Equal neck thickness in a batch of brass promotes consistent neck tension from round-to-round on bullets as well as better concentricity to the bore both of which give better accuracy. Sorting helps but isn't the whole answer. Google precision reloading and neck turning (I stopped turning years back by buying certain brass as below).

If I'm looking for a better accuracy than close range plinking, say varmint hunting, then I'll sort and I'll weigh prepped cases to keep within +/- single digit percentage. For precision rifle at long range, I just buy by lot number Hornady or Lapua which have proven to be very consistent expecially in a numbered lot.

For hanguns, it's more a matter of habit, but I do sort. I buy by the bucket, and I do it as I inspect. I'd say Winchester and Federal make up the majority, but I've seen some strange headstamps. It's interesting to trace them down.

I keep all brass in batches and by number of firings. For pistol, if case problems ususally loose primer pockets starts to show up, then I just toss the batch (1,000 to a batch) and move on to the next bag. For rifle, I track to know when to anneal.

None of this probably makes any difference in casul shooting. But, if you're going to put a lot of effort into your reloading like hand weighing powder, then sorting is a good idea. I'll bet your accuracy improves.

KentM said:

Is FC 1 6 15 with a crimp not a military casing?
And is FC 223 REM not a civilian casing?
I think I have both military and civilian FC brass.

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Military brass for me is determined by primer swaging. That might not hold up in court but that's my factor

When I sort range brass it's to cull out Berdan cases. I also throw out MAL marked cases. They have undersized flash holes that eat decapping pins.

I’ve run my own tests on sorted brass vs mixed brass for both 223 and 308. Group size often doubled with mixed headstamps. If I sorted the brass by weight, the difference was considerably less. It’s easier for me to sort by headstamp than weigh each piece of brass. BTW, until I ran the tests, I didn’t believe it made much difference but the results were obvious.

I don’t sort pistol brass as I’m pretty sure my shaky hands would negate any differences there.

I've always sorted the 223 brass into 2 piles:
nato
commercial

Legionnaire said:

Depends on what you want from your ammo. Probably not worth sorting cases for blasting ammo, but if you're loading for accuracy in a bolt action rifle, you want as much consistency as possible. And I'd want sorted brass even for blasting ammo when working up a load.

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My method as well.

One of the 1st steps I do with range pick-up brass is decamp and wet tumble in SS media, next step is check primer pockets for crimps and loose.

My bolt guns and precision built AR15 get sorted brass and that brass is prepped, annealed etc. I prep and use that brass in 100 pieces 'lots' so I can track loadings, annealing etc. The brass is sized to that rifles chamber.

My 3Gun close in ammo (about 90%) is mixed head stamp because 1.5-2 MOA is "good enough" for COM & headshot hits out to 50 yards or so. It's all FL sized because reliability in a match trumps accuracy. I do separate my brass that's used on the long stages where I need to get a close to MOA as possible. They often use these little skinny targets that amount to about 2MOA at that distance. Hard enough to hit while shooting off a barricade or simulated roof top, never mind when your ammo accuracy is about equal target MOA.

Legionnaire said:

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm CDO (that's OCD in alphabetical order).

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Good one, but I’m dyslexic, so it’s ODC for me. That’s alphabetical but backwards.

KentM said:

Is FC 1 6 15 with a crimp not a military casing?
And is FC 223 REM not a civilian casing?
I think I have both military and civilian FC brass.

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Well, here's the tricky part... FC is not a military headstamp, but some FC, when Federal was running Lake City, was run up on the same machines that produced LC (military) ammos... so they very likely will have a primer crimp. I would be surprised if any FC headstamped ammo had the NATO compass on it, however... it is not necessarily loaded to NATO spec. There also might be special runs for special purpose ammos that might be stamped FC, but not have a primer crimp (think match ammo) that were made outside the LC contracts.

At the end of the day, I treat it all the same, anyway...

For plinking I use what ever brass I have I try to stick the with same head stamp. Fore accuracy I try to use new brass, carefully measured and weighed, using only very closely matching cases. Also try to load every case the same during the reloading process.