Sorting brass for a 9MM . . . Any real need to do so

[TCLouis]

Title says it all.

Going to start shooting bullets and Boolits and is it worth the effort to sort by brand?

Worried about pressure variation as much as accuracy in the lil bitty case.

Plan to use AA#5, #7 and Blue Dot for powder.

124 RN and 115 grain HP bullets and have yet to order mold for boolits, but likely about 120 grain there unless I just use the 356402 i have now.

[sagamore-one]

I do sort my 9mm brass as some is MUCH thicker walled than other. In the late 1980's I purchased several cases of Lake City Match 9mm that has the thickest brass I have ever seen. When loading .358 cast 120 gr boolits it will not always chamber properly in Bar Sto barreled guns.

[Petrol & Powder]

I don't sort 9mm brass by make. I do sort it to remove steel cases, aluminum cases, berdan primed cases, etc.
I've never had a problem. Some of those casings come out of Glocks, some come out of a fluted chamber (H&K P7) and a half dozen other pistols. I don't load for max pressure and some of those casings have been loaded many times. (I don't bother counting). I tend to lose them before I wear them out.

[Garyshome]

I sort by manufacturer, I found case length varies greatly, which leads to trouble with the crimp.

[Ed_Shot]

I sort 9MM by head stamp and cull brass shorter than .747. 9MM brass as short as .740 is not uncommon...that's a problem for me.

[bedbugbilly]

I'm lazy . . . I don't sort mine at all other than to inspect it for flaws and cull out bad ones. I buy "range brass" so it's all different head stamps. I just do general plinking though and no competitive shooting. I've never really had an issue with using mixed - I load on a Lee classic 4 hole turret and each round that comes off the press goes in to a cartridge gauge to check though.

[bobthenailer]

IMO sort by brand and use that brand only for a particular load , use the other brands for other loads , that way you can look at the brand & know what load is in the case.
if you are trying for very accurate match loads and have a gun and shooter ablity to use the increased accuracy level ? use the same lot # or at least same brand sorted by length .

The 9mm is probley the worse round for widely varying case deminsions since its loaded by so many mfg over the world . since 9mm range brass is so avalible for free i only keep R&P , Federal . & Winchester brand range brass the rest usually goes in the scrap bucket.

[williamwaco]

I'm lazy . . . I don't sort mine at all other than to inspect it for flaws and cull out bad ones. I buy "range brass" so it's all different head stamps. I just do general plinking though and no competitive shooting. I've never really had an issue with using mixed - I load on a Lee classic 4 hole turret and each round that comes off the press goes in to a cartridge gauge to check though.

Ditto.

If it is thick enough to be dangerous, it will chamber and the slide will not close.

Unless:

If you are going to load hell-fire-missles, disregard the above and you are "on-your-on".

[scattershot]

As long as it's in good shape and not cracked, full of dirt, etc. I'll reload it. Never separated brass by headstamp.

[MrWolf]

Just inspect but don't sort but I only shoot for fun.

[tomme boy]

9mm is all over the place as has been mentioned. If you want better accuracy then try to find the longest brass you can. It really helps on this cartridge to sort.

[upnorthwis]

Watch out for the Berdan primed hulls. I accidently loaded one. Only way I found out was by finding a loose primer in box. Searched out the round missing a primer. Decapping pin punched its own hole. Brass was so soft that I didn't notice any difference in the force required with the arm on a Dillon 550B.

[OptimusPanda]

About the only reason I look at my 9mm head stamps is to separate out the .380s and the odd 9x18 or 38 super. Never had a problem using mixed brass other than having to stop the press to remove a crimp on the primer pocket once in a while.

[seaboltm]

I just tumble and load. No sorting of any type. I do get the occasional 380 case, but you can feel the difference in the sizer. Easy to spot. I stay below max charges in order to account for case differences.

[beex215]

only cbc cases are tight as heck and the boolits never seat fully for me. it still fires though.

[dubber123]

I guess it depends on how accurate your pistol is. If you have a 4" at 25 yard combat piece, I wouldn't worry too much. If you have a 2" or less gun, I know it makes a difference.

[Bullshop Junior]

I used to think it was important, but I don't mess with it anymore in cartridges like that.

[TCLouis]

Not sure about the guns ability right now.

It seemed to put the 356402s pretty close together at 50 during function fire testing.

I always try to load the most accurate ammo possible so that there are not two different variables in the "precise placement of boolits".

Oh well, I may as well keep going, I am over half way through sorting 6 gallons of brass . . . and yes I am finding some 380s in there even though I just went through it looking for 380 brass recently.

I was as concerned with pressure issues as much as anything with the small case capacity and variable brass thickness.

[osteodoc08]

If it makes you feel better. Have at it. Otherwise, no real need for in for plinking ammo

ive got thousands of loaded 9,40,45 downstairs in buckets with assorted HS.

[Motor]

I separate out military and nickle cases. That's just about it.