Sorting Brass

[ron brooks]

Here is my question, does it do any good to sort out brass by brand. By this I mean W-W from Winchester, R-P, PMC, Midway, etc. I do sort out the commerical from the G.I.

This is for 45 Colt, 45 acp and 44 Magnum.

What do the rest of you think?

Thanks,

Ron

[Hairtrigger]

I do not sort out handgun brass. I am picky about my varmint rifle brass.

[BruceB]

Well, I do sort the pistol brass by headstamp. It's a holdover from our Bullseye competition days, when I strove to eliminate every possible variable.

Besides, I like the way all-the-same headstamps look in my 100-round boxes.....

I guess this stuff is really getting to me!

[mag_01]

---I don't sort pistol or rifle brass--its really up to you----If your load is good and you do your part-----Some loads are easy to shoot and 45 long colt and 45 auto and 44 mag fall into that category---Trigger control is the most important part of shooting---other things are important but without trigger control results will be poor-------Mag

[krag35]

In the 44 mag, I sort by R-P for accurate plinker loads (429667X7.0 Unique) starline for heavy hunting or OMG, it's eating me loads. and all the rest for everyday normal 1200fps loads.
In 45acp I sort federal for serious loads and everthing else gets loaded with unique and 225-230gr squeeze-bang-explode fun loads.

[arkypete]

I don't sort 45 acp brass, most of which is range pick up.
45 Colt I do sort, then I trim to uniform length. Most of mine is Star.
Jim

[chunkum]

Consistancy is what is to be desired in any aspect of reloading and the brass is no exception. For plinking purposes, some sacrifices will not make a lot of difference. As distances increase and accuracy becomes more of a critical issue, consistancy in as many parameters as possible becomes more important. Sorting brass is one area in which varibility can be controled, as is trimming to a cosistant length for uniform crimp/neck-tension results. Bottom line: It depends on what kind of shooting you intend to do and what you expect of your reloads.
Best Regards,
chunkum

[ron brooks]

Thanks to all who have replied. Much appreciated.

Another question, is W-W and Winchester the same with different headstamps ?

Thanks again,

Ron

[robertbank]

I shoot a ton of .45acp and never sort the stuff. The brass shortens over time, lasts forever and I have not noticed any difference over my chrony using mixed vs sorted brass in .45acp.

I shoot some .45LC and use Starline brass all trimmed to the same length. I do sort my .38spl cases, and trim them to same length but I am not sure why. Just habit.

Take Care

Bob

[felix]

Brass is just like powder. Every lot is different! ... felix

[Bass Ackward]

Brass is just like powder. Every lot is different! ... felix

I had to think about this for a minute because I simply couldn't believe that it would be done any other way. That gives you the hint about me huh?

Yep. I agree. And I not only sort by brand but by batch as well.

[klausg]

I fall into the BruceB category, I sort everything. For 80% of my handgun shooting it's probably a waste of time, but I too like having all of the same headstamp in a box. Felix is also very correct, every lot of brass is different, though I don't think that even if I had a rifle good enough to know the difference, I could shoot well enough to see much change. to answer your question, "W-W' & 'Winchester' are the same & different. I don't sort them seperately, they all go into the Win bin.

-Klaus

[9.3X62AL]

You'll find me in the Bruce B/Klaus G camp on this question. I sort by make, and it might be a waste of time with most of my handguns......but I do it anyway.

One caliber where it ISN'T a waste of time is the 9 x 19 Parabellum. There are significant differences in dimensions and weights between the several makers' cases. I have settled on R-P as my "go-to" case for this caliber, and usually trade off or discard others.

[FISH4BUGS]

My machine guns don't care. They aren't bullseye shooters anyway. Most of my shooting is just plinking anyway.
What is important is case length more than anything in my opinion.

[robertbank]

I agree with Deputy Al when it comes to 9MM cases. For .45acp I have not seen any difference in performance. Sorting .45acp, well I haven't been retired long enough to bother.

Take Care

Bob

[ron brooks]

Felix,

I understand what you mean about how eah lot of brass is different, but when you have as much brass for pistol caliber as I do that has been either bought used or is range pickup I figure the best I can do is sort by maker.

Thanks,

Ron

[C1PNR]

I sort everything by headstamp. I guess I'm just anal about that.

I've been doing this since I first started hand loading and bought 1,000 .30 Carbine military brass for $10. I sorted them by arsenal and by date, even to the point I had 18 of this and 23 of that. Not sure why, and darned sure it didn't matter in the Carbine.

But I'm sure there is a difference in SOME loads, so I just do it for all.

Just like I ream out the flash hole on brass that's new to me, whether new or range pickup.

[Hunter]

I do not sort brass in my .45 ACP for range use or IDPA but if I am going for bullseye style shooting then yes. I will sort by headstamp and weigh after trimming.

[Sven Dufva]

Consistancy is what is to be desired in any aspect of reloading and the brass is no exception. For plinking purposes, some sacrifices will not make a lot of difference. As distances increase and accuracy becomes more of a critical issue, consistancy in as many parameters as possible becomes more important. Sorting brass is one area in which varibility can be controled, as is trimming to a cosistant length for uniform crimp/neck-tension results. Bottom line: It depends on what kind of shooting you intend to do and what you expect of your reloads.
Best Regards,
chunkum

I agree with you to 100%. length/ crimp is very importent for accuracy.

[bobthenailer]

i sort all of my pistol & rifle brass by brand & if possible by lot # , i also trim all of my pistol brass for straight wall pistol that use a roll crimp . i usually use a different brand of brass for different loads ,so by just seeing what brass i have i can tell what the powder charge is, which is usefull when you use a few loads with the same bullet. for all pistol brass i have at least 4 brands for each caliber for some i have 8.