Separating Brass...

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280PLUS

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Once again I'm looking to maximize the accuracy and consistency of my .45ACP loads. BTW, for those who recall my "Which Trickler" thread I did in fact opt for a 1/8 tsp measuring spoon (for now) and a dillon balance beam. The results were fabulous. Every round went exactly where the red dot said it did, which is a welcome change from the results I was getting with the stuff I was buying from my friend. I shot a very good match. I would venture to say that being very accurate from round to round with your powder measure IS worth the extra effort even with your .45. Anyhoo, I'm back to the part where I need to load more and the FIRST thing I have to do is separate all this random brass I've accumulated. One question I have so far is that I have a lot of shells stamped with WCC and a 2 digit number (that I assume is the year). Will the brass be the same with different numbers or should I also separate the numbers as well. While I'm at it, who do you feel is the "best" manufacturer of brass out there? Why? :D
 
I'd seperate the brass by head stamp and match the dates. Of course I'm just that way. Must have everything look the same. Must be military training that I can't seem to break after retiring 21 years ago. :D

I use a wide variaty of brass manufactures. Not really partial to any particular one. Although I do tend to use Winchester the most. I use R-P nickle plated when I use a leather cartridge belt and Winchester and R-P for my rifles.
 
I you want to load for best accuracy by all means seperate brass. If you are real serious buy some new brass which should be all from the same lot which can make a difference. Its not that exspensive and will last a long time. Me... I shoot range pickups and once fired from the brassman. When I get serious about checking loads I use the once fired stuff which is usually matched up pretty good. You can sort it by wieght as well as headstamp to help consistency. At close ranges it doesn't make a big difference.

http://www.brassmanbrass.com/

Get what he says your getting and good prices.
 
Thanks guys. Turns out I have several hundred WCC 92 and several hundred RP so I'm in good shape for consistent brass right now. I WILL weight them and sort them out that way as time progresses. I think it'll be faster to do this on a digital instead of the balance beam so I'll wait till I get one. I like the balance beam better for weighing in the powder though. I just feel like it's more accurate.

Bushmaster, I noticed in a post by you elsewhere you were Navy. Me too! Only 5 years though. 75-80. :D
 
I was looking to buy some .38 special and .45 ACP from the Brassman. His site is down. I emailed him earlier. I hope he is still around.

--AJ
 
That's weird. Still no luck here. Can't find the server. I'll try from my laptop later. Glad to hear it is still up. Thanks for posting.

--AJ
 
If you really want to get picky, and this will have a mucher large effect on big cases than small ones, after resizing check the internal volume of the cases. There are a few methods to doing this but seperating by weight is an attempt to match internal volumes. It works well, but not as good as going straight to source. Matching headstamps should be fine for 45 ACP. You can also chose powders that aren't as sensative to case volume. I find Tite-Group to work extremely well with mixed brass.
 
Black Snowman
Here is a Quote from Hodgdon -

TITEGROUP – “Unlike pistol powders of the past, powder position in large cases (45 Colt, 357 Magnum and others) has virtually no effect on velocity and performance.”

I believe it’s not case volume, rather powder position.

Can anyone tell a difference (on target) by weighing cases or measuring case volume in handguns? I doubt I could tell a difference firing different headstamps. Maybe I need more practice.
 
A few points. I bought the original reloads from a very good competitive shooter. As I went through most of the brass in the boxes today I found that almost every box contained the same headstamp throughout. This is how I ended up with so much WCC 92 and RP. This leads me to believe he considered matching brass provided some advantage. I can tell you, despite what others have said about weighing in the powder by hand, that doing so led to exceptional accuracy and consistency throughout the 90 rounds I shot in the last match. So at the level at which I'm shooting I now believe that everything I can do to make each round exactly the same as every other round will afford me a leg up over those competitors that don't. When you're shooting against some of the top shooters in the area, as I am, every point counts and can make the difference between a win and an also ran. At the very least I know that inconsistency between the rounds is not an issue because I did everything I could to make it that way. Is it worth the effort for my plinking rounds? Not likely, but it sure is for the ammo I use to shoot against some of the guys in this particular league. I was VERY pleased with the results from my first ever batch of reloads. They put me right there at the top. Now I'm trying to improve on that.

BTW, if Bushmaster is still out there, I'm sure he'd be pleased to know that I learned to shoot a 1911 so well many years ago in boot camp from a Master Chief Gunners Mate. These days I'm learning to shoot combat style pistol in my spare time from a retired Master Chief who once did time as a greenface and from a former Marine as well. I'm just lucky like that I guess. :D
 
280PLUS Outstanding. They are among the best. I left the Navy with an Expert with .45 ACP on the combat range. Afraid the eyes wouldn't let me do that again.:D
 
280PLUS Quote – “I was VERY pleased with the results from my first ever batch of reloads. They put me right there at the top. Now I'm trying to improve on that. “

Congratulations on becoming a reloader. Now that you load your own you can try different things and see the results you get in your gun. Good luck to you in your competitive shooting.
 
Thanks guys! It IS fun to experiment, even if I'm only playing with powder charge right now. My initial inclination came from wanting to shoot more and pay less but I've found there's something rewarding about shooting well with rounds you've made yourself. I left BC an expert at 50' with the .45. That was pretty much the last time I touched one until ~ 4 years ago. I've ony been doing the combat stuff a couple years now but learning to shoot accurately while moving is a whole new ballgame. I'm thoroughly hooked. :D

The Master Chief is in his 60's while the Marine is pushing 50 (so am I). They can both draw and put two out there in something like 1.25 seconds on a good run. I'm about a second behind that. I'm so slow... :p
 
Oh, just so we're clear, these super accurate rounds I seek are for Bullseye. I don't compete in the combat stuff. Well, technically I do, but I'm there trying to learn, not win.
 
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