Head stamp sort or not?

[Paddy]

You guys that use range brass or gravel pit brass do you sort by head stamp? My OCD tells me to, but I'm not sure if it's really necessary or even worth thinking about.

I know that bottle neck cases can have more fuss about brands and wall thicknesses and whatnot so maybe there's a reason but what about pistol?

 

[James2]

I never do.

 

[jwrowland77]

I do but that's just me.

With rifle brass, it's smart to sort as you'll have different internal pressures.

Pistol brass, most people don't sort. I do, but it's just because that's me.

 

[whughett]

I try not to as a general rule.I have noticed that many LGS that sell reloads will have mixed head stamps. One shop I knew would allow customers to sort through the boxes.

 

[rcmodel]

I sort too.

Even handgun brass.

There is a lot of variation in some, like 9mm, that can slightly change the way you do things.

Then, if you do have a problem with one brands case neck tension or something?
Well, you won't have loaded 127 of them before you find out.

I'd much rather sort brass then pull bullets!

rc

 

[Paddy]

Well I'll keep on then. I only load 3 calibers now so Tupperware city is not too out of control but if I had too many more it would be a fairly daunting storage conundrum.

So what do you do with the "rare birds" that don't fill a tuppie compared to the common names like win, pmc, cci?

 

[billybob44]

Misc..

So what do you do with the "rare birds" that don't fill a tuppie compared to the common names like win, pmc, cci?
^^^I put those in the bag/box with a 'Misc' tag on it....Bill.

 

[kcofohio]

I like to, for 1, if I shoot with somebody else that reloads, I know what headstamps should be mine. For 2, compulsiveness.

 

[Trailduster79]

I don't. I am not doing anything but target shooting. I haven't found it to be a problem.

 

[Paddy]

Ya OCD and hand loading seem to go together like the black and white squares in grade school.

 

[savanahsdad]

Well I'll keep on then. I only load 3 calibers now so Tupperware city is not too out of control but if I had too many more it would be a fairly daunting storage conundrum.

So what do you do with the "rare birds" that don't fill a tuppie compared to the common names like win, pmc, cci?

all of my same cals go in one bin but in there own zip-lock bags , and Rare Birds are used for spray-n-pray guns with other mixed brass ,but for any loads I care about, I sort , I did a test some time back with 9mm sorted brass and mixed brass and tested in my Ruger P89 , glock17 and UZI , and got a lot of flyers with the mixed brass and better groups with the sorted brass , all loads fed and fired just fine , so in most cases you can get away with not sorting but you will have better ammo if you do sort .

 

[jmr40]

I do. For some loads it probably doesn't matter much, but if you want real accuracy you need to. If shooting mild plinking loads it can be safe enough. But if you are trying to get close to or exceed factory speeds, loads that are perfectly safe in some brands of brass would be over pressure and dangerous in other brands.

 

[mugsie]

I only sort my range pick up rifle brass. I find it shoots much more consistently. Pistol brass just gets cleaned, sized and thrown in a bucket for later reloading.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

I always have. I returned to shooting sports and reloading last Summer and have been shooting all reloads for a few months now. I started with about 400 rounds of 9mm Fiocchi and kept the cases and reloaded them....when I pick up brass at the range I just sweep the floor (indoor range) and throw it all in a bag.

I pick out the calibers I load and bring the rest back the next session saving all the 9mm I find and tossing the non Fiocchi in a big bin. Load the Fiocchi and repeat 2X a month.

A few weeks ago I reloaded 100 round of random 9mm brass out of the mixed brass bin with no regard to headstamp and loaded my "Go To" load of 124gr Berrys plated flat noses with 4.8 gr. of Unique and measured the OAL and checked every other round for setback with firm pressure against the metal rim of the bench. No problems - minor variations in OAL of about .005 so I took 'em to the range.

They were just as accurate and never missed a lick. Couldn't tell 'em from my sorted finicky loads. When I run out of Fiocchi or it gives up on me I'll try loading random brass and see what happens. I suspect I'll be done sorting by headstamp...loaded another 100 random this afternoon.

We'll see.

VooDoo

 

[rcmodel]

So what do you do with the "rare birds"

Take them back to the range and 'seed' the gravel with them the next time you get done picking everything else up.

Somebody else out there needs 3 more to make up a 50 rounds of cases he couldn't find the last time!!

Rc

 

[witchhunter]

I sort and run only one headstamp in my calibers. I trade out the Remington or Winchester to others that I know. My son uses the exact opposite of mine for instance in .243, I use Remington so he uses Winchester, etc. Pistol, not so much, I like to use one headstamp, but he loads em for me on his progressive, so beggars can't be choosers. (I sort when he aint lookin)

 

[gamestalker]

For pistol, no. Bottle neck, definitely so, I've encountered significant variations in pressures with different had stamps.

GS

 

[murf]

9mm case wall thickness varies with different manufacturers. all 9mm cases vary around the circumference. surprisingly, they also vary along the length.

the variances along the length should affect bullet pull and case volume (and therefore pressure).

a summary of my findings is attached.

for accuracy, i sort by head stamp.

murf

 

[Paddy]

So do people actually measure case volume for accuracy too? I know it would be excessively time consuming, but possible.

 

[murf]

no. in the 9mm, a reduction in case volume increases pressure for a given load. if your load is already at the top of the chart, a decrease in case volume can easily put you well over that chart.

accuracy is obtained by consistency in reloading. making everything the same for each round loaded. that is why i sort by headstamp.

murf

 

[Potatohead]

Heck yea, I sort. Who wants 16 different headstamps in a completed box of 50 pcs of ammo? Looks tacky IMO. Even if I have them bullet end up in the box, it would still bug me.

 

[GBExpat]

Head stamp sort or not?

I always do.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I only sort head stamps for rifle loads and max-effort handgun loads. My 9mm and .38 Special plinking ammo just gets whatever mixed brass is clean and ready to go when I load. But that's ammo that is loaded to either just the minimum of what will function (9mm) or the middle of the load range (.38 Special, 125gr bullets being fired in a .357 chamber).

 

[45lcshooter]

I dont have OCD. But i sort everything!!!! for the simple fact of, someone comes on here and asks "how is this bass better than this brass, or how many firings can i get from this brass, or which brass works in your press better" those type of questions.

I keep track of all my firings in my log, even pistol. So i try and reload and shoot all the same head stamp at one time.

And you also have to ask yourself. If there are so many brass companies, there has to be differences in their brass, from raw material to finished product.

So that is why i sort my pistol and rifle brass, plus it also looks nice when you go to the range and you see 20 headstamped Winchester rifle shells begging to have the firing pin hit the primer. hahahaha. yes yes yes trigger finger is getting very itchy!!! Thats because i found a sportsmens club with a 24/7 open indoor archery range, shooting my compound bow with my release, makes me want to put holes in paper with a faster projectile

 

[newfalguy101]

I don't sort anything by headstamp, however, I almost always run my handloads closer to mid range than top end.