Sorting brass 45 ACP

[cabezaverde]

I carry a Smith 457 when I do carry. I also believe in practicing as much as possible with your primary carry gun.

I usually practice at 10 -15 yards, the maximum distance I believe I would ever have to shoot in self defense.

Given this routine, is there any practical benefit to sorting my 45 brass by headstamp?

[Potsy]

I usually shoot at 25 yards and separate headstamps AFTER I LOAD THEM ALL THE SAME. I don't work up a separate load for each brand, but I do separate after the fact just because differing volumes, weight, etc. between brands will cause less consistent velocity and not do much for my already sad groups.
I've not really tried to prove this on paper but I have proven it over the chronograph.
And really, if you have a couple of each brand left over, it won't hurt anything to practice with them. Your still doing just that, practicing.

[Tom W.]

I ain't quite so picky. At that range a few FPS won't make that much difference.

If you do notice a considerable lack of accuracy, then by all means sort your brass.

[trickg]

I just load and go with my .45 ACP loads which are all random headstamped brass - I'm tearing one big raggedy hole at 25', so I don't seem to be having any issues do to not sorting by headstamp.

I guess it depends on what your goal is. If you are looking for the utmost in accuracy, by all means, sort your brass by headstamp, but my goal is to shoot and have fun - accuracy is always nice, but it's secondary to having fun. :)

[jhalcott]

I sort ONLY for match ammo at 25 yards. For a carry load, I wouldn't shoot beyond about 30 feet. Legal repercussions and all!

[yondering]

I don't sort 45 ACP brass either, and still get great accuracy. The only prep my 45 ACP brass gets is the occasional cleaning, if some of them fall in the mud, etc. Other than that, I just load and shoot them, and can safely say I've never had any issues related to the brass.

Regarding the different case volumes and accuracy, I have a theory that some loads are more forgiving than others. My most accurate practice load is 6gr Universal with a (commercial) hard cast 230gr RN, and any large pistol primer. My 1911 shoots the whole magazine into one ragged hole at 15 yards with this load, despite changes in temperature, unsorted brass, different primers, and any number of other uncontrolled variables.

For what it's worth, I do sort brass in my precision rifles, not just by brand but by weight, because it does help with accuracy at longer range. I just haven't found any benefit to this at short range in handguns.

[Slogg76]

I have to agree with others that posted here. I have been loading and shooting the 45 ACP for over ten years now and have never been able to tell much difference, if any, by sorting or not sorting brass-especially at practical defensive ranges. I use low to moderate loads and my 1911's and XD shoot ragged one-hole groups at 25 yards with mixed brass. I think the 45 ACP may be a little more forgiving than other handgun cartridges to load for due to it's internal case capacity and the lower pressures it operates at (someone correct me if I'm wrong). With top-end, maximum loads I would be a little cautious, but I have never had any desire to hot-rod my 45 autos.

[Lloyd Smale]

i dont even sort for match shooting anymore. Doesnt matter much with any brass thats taper crimped.

[S.R.Custom]

Agreed, sorting brass does not have much effect on accuracy.

But it has a tremendous effect on reliability. In a match, nothing will gum up the works faster than a round loaded fatter than the rest that won't chamber because that one piece of off-brand brass is thicker than the rest. Or maybe that one piece of brass is thinner at the case mouth than the rest, or shorter, (or both) and it doesn't get enough crimp...

I sort my brass religiously so that when I adjust my dies the ammo that comes out the other side is dimensionally consistent and more reliable.

[Bass Ackward]

I usually practice at 10 -15 yards, the maximum distance I believe I would ever have to shoot in self defense.


I had a rude awakening on what constitutes self defense range. Because of the word "self", I only ever considered the distance from myself. Never the distance from a family member that may in fact be some distance from you if you were say separated by your automobile.

David, my grandson, nearly became the victim of a coyote attack and the 10-15 yards was the distance from him, not me.

Considering that fact, my new practical distance is 35-50 yards.

[yondering]

I had a rude awakening on what constitutes self defense range. Because of the word "self", I only ever considered the distance from myself. Never the distance from a family member that may in fact be some distance from you if you were say separated by your automobile.

David, my grandson, nearly became the victim of a coyote attack and the 10-15 yards was the distance from him, not me.

Considering that fact, my new practical distance is 35-50 yards.

Well, did you get the coyote? We need more details, you can't just tease us like that! :-D

[Bass Ackward]

Well, did you get the coyote? We need more details, you can't just tease us like that! :-D


No. I was running toward him at the shots. Panicked, shot discipline was non existent. I was just flinging lead. One of those images worked to change it's thought processes for which I am grateful.

Totally unexpected as most situations of this type will be. Now I know to expand my self defense list in a changing environment. Disease that affected the numbers of deer last year, now is affecting them.

[KCSO]

With target or lower velocity loads the accuracy difference will be on the order of 2" at 50 yards with mixed brass as compared to sorted brass. With hot loads I want all the beass the same so there are no problems with excess pressure. Note that for example Black Hills sells practice ammo with mixed headstamps. We shoot up 5000 rounds of mixed a year with no pproblems and the good shots put it all inside 6" on the combat course.

[missionary5155]

Given this routine, is there any practical benefit to sorting my 45 brass by headstamp?[/QUOTE]

My sorting gets applied to the weapon... My 1911 Colt gets one headstamp. That .45 gets another and so forth.... Just luck of the draw which .45 got whatever brass....
So how much difference does one lot of brand X have from the same brand X but made 20 years later ???

[S.R.Custom]

...how much difference does one lot of brand X have from the same brand X but made 20 years later ???

Winchester and Remington seem to have been pretty consistent throughout the years, but Federal seems to have varied quite a bit. So much so that I automatically toss the Federals in the "assorted" can, which I use for blasting/amusement ammo where my requirements for reliability are not so stringent.

[Echo]

I guess I sorta sort my .45 stuff. Can't reload Remington brass - it's so thin the taper crimp won't hold the boolit. I give it to my neighbor, who is also a shooter (although not a caster). Generally use W-W nickle brass for reloads that I intend to use competitively (have a store of them from my active duty days). Other than that, I try to stay away from GI brass (other than Match, whose primer isn't crimped). For plinking, mixed HS is fine.

[S.R.Custom]

...Can't reload Remington brass - it's so thin the taper crimp won't hold the boolit...

This is actually a good thing in some instances... I've got a 1911 with a match (read: 'small') chamber, yet the groove diameter is .453" (bloody hell). Remington brass allows me to load .454" sized bullets and yet still function reliably in the small chambers.