Mixed Brass for Reloading?

[Metal God]

I'm not sure if my last post was read but are you all saying you don't notice the difference in the brass when you're sizing , flaring , seating and crimping ?

What is mixed brass to you all . I bought a bag of mixed brass a few months ago ( 500ct ) there were no less the 15 different head stamps . If you all are just mixing a few maybe you don't notice the difference . I'm here to tell you though , The difference between PPU and Speer 45 acp is night and day . When sizing Speer it feels like I can barely get the case fully into the die . The PPU barely feels like it touches the sides of the die . When dies are set up the same . A bullet seated in the Speer case takes two or three wacks to remove . Same type of bullet seated in a PPU case takes one light wack to remove . How is that no noticeable difference ?

Do you guys really not notice that or is it that you don't care ?

 

[243winxb]

Do you guys really not notice that

Who would notice at 7 yards?

 

[cougar1717]

I sort brass for the same reason Metal does - not necessarily performance or accuracy, but for uniform flares and crimps on rimmed brass. It's just easier to take the time to sort it upfront and make small adjustments among the different headstamps. I try to go thinnest to thickest - Rem, Win, CBC, Herters, etc.

 

[ljnowell]

I shoot NRA Bullseye, and obviously load my own ammo. I have won many trophies and hang out with lots of old farts that have won much more than I.

Not a single person I know sorts cases by headstamp. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

It's a waste of time, even when shooting 50 yard bullseye.

 

[murf]

ljnowell,

45acp cases all have pretty much the same dimensions. 9mm is a different story. the 9 is a tapered case and the wall thickness varies a lot along the length. i don't sort 45acp cases. i do sort 9mm.

probably why nobody shoots 9mm in bullseye competition. do you know anyone that does shoot 9mm in competition? not being facetious, i really would like to know.

murf

 

[X-Ring]

A bullet seated in the Speer case takes two or three wacks to remove . Same type of bullet seated in a PPU case takes one light wack to remove

If accuracy doesn’t suffer, what difference does that make? They are all easily removed with one hit on the primer. For target shooting other than safety, accuracy is the only thing that maters.

 

[243winxb]

45acp cases all have pretty much the same dimensions.

Sorry, no. Neck tension from 45 lbs to over 100 lbs difference. Only way to know is, do your own testing. On target also.

 

[Metal God]

The PPU have close to no bullet hold and as I said in my first post I had one set back .070 when it tried to be chambered and failed . So I'd say poor neck tension and bullet set back sounds like a pretty good reason for concern .

 

[ljnowell]

ljnowell,

45acp cases all have pretty much the same dimensions. 9mm is a different story. the 9 is a tapered case and the wall thickness varies a lot along the length. i don't sort 45acp cases. i do sort 9mm.

probably why nobody shoots 9mm in bullseye competition. do you know anyone that does shoot 9mm in competition? not being facetious, i really would like to know.

murf

I know a few guys that shoot S&W 952s, and there are guys shooting Berettas in service pistol. I myself do not.

I was more commenting regarding the OP mention of 38 special. I load more if it than anything else, around 15k per year. Most all of it HBWC match ammo. I use everything but mil cases with primer crimps.

As far as 9mm I load it also, the only sorting I do is to sort out mil cases. That's because of the crimps also. I only load plain lead sized .001" over or the RMR hardcore match bullets that are a .356 diameter so I really don't have any problems with neck tension.

 

[RPegram]

I don't sort by headstamp for anything I load except .357. I have a picky .357 that is very particular to brass, but the rest I just load away. I'm sure some can say that certain brass is more accurate, but my accuracy can't tell the difference.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Agree 100% with ljnowell.
Absolutely no reason to sort straight walled handgun brass.

As far as price for 100 pieces of .38 Spcl, I would say $6-$8 would be a fair price.

A local gunshop here has mixed headstamp .38 brass in a bin for 0.06 each (or did a year ago). I have purchased several hundred from them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Metal God]

As 243winxb shows cases will have different bullet hold strength . The interesting thing for me about the cases he tested . I would consider those all thick walled cases because I measured the same manufaturers excluding the WCC 94 but did do other WCC cases . They all would be in the same lot . I would bet money that PPU and aguilla and other brass I've measured and showed to have thinner walls have less then 30# of pull .

If memory serves . The PPU and aguila and others walls were .010 to .011 thick and Win , Fed and others were .012 to .013 thick when I did my mic test .

I use a Lee FCD and the thinner cases pass through the swage/pressure ring area with close to no resistance . While the thicker cases take some force to get them through it .

 

[zb338]

Teddy Roosevelt told me it was O.K. so I've
been doing it for a long time.

Zeke

 

[murf]

243winxb,

why are the sized diameters all different (first column in post #32)? i would think they would be all the same using the same sizing die. is the case stretch back that much different after sizing?

murf

 

[243winxb]

Spring back of the brass, is my guess.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

How is that no noticeable difference ?

Do you guys really not notice that or is it that you don't care ?

I think we mean no noticeable difference in performance. When I'm shooting it I can't tell a difference and I would be no one else would either at pistol ranges.

No we don't care if one offers a little more resistance in the sizing die, or if one brand has a slightly tighter or looser primer pocket. Not even a little bit.

 

[Walkalong]

Mixed brass .357 targets shot at 7 yards through the chrono at 5 yards. One with some pep, and a couple of light ones.

.38 Spl targets, mixed brass, 18 shots each (6 PB, 6 PF, & 6 PL) at 7 yards through chrono at 5 yards.

Like I said, the mixed brass shoots better than I can.

 

[Dudedog]

I don't sort my handgun brass but I am shooting for fun not competition.
I have found that with mixed brass the limiting factor with a good load is me.

 

[bluetopper]

I don't sort my handgun brass and I have so many containers of it now and takes up sooo much room. If I sorted by headstamp my gosh where in the heck would I put all the containers of each head stamp of each caliber?
Sorting makes NO difference.

I have taken pics of 25 yard handgun targets I was proud of but never at 7 yards.

 

[mstreddy]

I'm in both camps. Generally I don't sort my handgun brass, but I do sort my revolver brass 38 Spcl, 357 Mag, and will do 45 Colt soon. I've sorted it, not due to any concerns over accuracy, but, as Metal God mentioned above, consistency in the loading process, flaring, and subsequent crimping.
I will add, that since I started using the Hornady bullet feeder dies which require more flaring, the brass thickness differences are showing up in the flaring, and seating steps.
One additional thing, given the bullet feed die, in 380ACP, I have to find and pick out the cases that have the internal shelf, as the flaring die goes in too deep and creates a bulge that is pronounced, particularly after seating. I just don't like the look of it, so I'm culling those out and giving them to a buddy

 

[joneb]

If I have a issue with my reloads and I am using sorted and consistent brass I have about a 1/2 a dozen potential possibilities already eliminated.

 

[Jeff H]

As 243winxb shows cases will have different bullet hold strength . The interesting thing for me about the cases he tested . I would consider those all thick walled cases because I measured the same manufaturers excluding the WCC 94 but did do other WCC cases . They all would be in the same lot . I would bet money that PPU and aguilla and other brass I've measured and showed to have thinner walls have less then 30# of pull .

If memory serves . The PPU and aguila and others walls were .010 to .011 thick and Win , Fed and others were .012 to .013 thick when I did my mic test .

I use a Lee FCD and the thinner cases pass through the swage/pressure ring area with close to no resistance . While the thicker cases take some force to get them through it .

So you are swaging the bullet down in those thicker cases, seems counter productive. Toss the FCD and the brass variances will bother you less.

Honestly, if there are no noticeable differences in shooting straight walled pistol cases, why go through the effort? Who really cares if the brass is a little thicker as long as the round chanbers and is accurate.