Sorting Brass

[Combatmedic63]

I know there are those who sort brass by weight but my question is this; does anyone bother to sort and separate their brass by head stamp and reload batches of the same head stamp or does this really matter?

 

[blacktail 8541]

There are a lot of us that sort by head stamp. as well as times fired.

 

[BillLarson]

If your going to sort brass.yes definite sort by headstamp.And much better to sort by volume instead of weight.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I NEVER mix headstamps.
Not even in my handguns.
I keep all same headstamp brass/batches together….I don't mix batches either generally, but for my 44 mag, all the same headstamp brass regardless of batch no. get bundled together. Same goes for my 375 Bee.
All of my brass gets sorted by volume, not case weight.

Cheers.

 

[Combatmedic63]

What would you consider the best way to sort by volume? This is all new to me.

 

[SDPlinker]

Prepare your brass all the same, load 5 of one stamp and 5 of another and record point of impact, then you have your definitive answer. I sort my practice pistol and AR brass, does it matter? NO! I keep my rifle brass separated from the start, number of firings etc. I do keep all brass segregated on firing number though regardless of stamp.

 

[BillLarson]

Unless your accuracy requirements are less than .250 moa.i would not get into volume measurements...
it requires a scale that reads in .02 grains.(thats hundredths not tenths) some guys weigh primers,alot of guys weigh bullets...
Don't hurt to try it though...
Use an eyedropper and H2O..
All this info is available in most reloading books and varies...

 

[Mikecr]

I would not even mix same brand/headstamp brass from different lots.
Weight is possibly the poorest indicator of brass character.

Consider for a bit that our brass matching function is actually different than reaching same capacity.
That it's not directly about H20 capacity, but about same brass hardness, and same chamber clearances from case to case.
With this, the same amount of parasitic energy is taken to expand cases to chamber form, shot to shot.
The best indicator of this is fully fire formed brass springing back to same volume. If it will spring back with the same energy, it will likely expand with the same energy.

Then brass fire formed to stable is critical to a stable load. Once reaching this, you can measure capacities and cull out offenders.
It's a way better return with same lot brass. It's a better return with minimal sizing as well.

 

[Combatmedic63]

Thank you Gentleman for all of this valuable information. This is why I love this forum so much.

 

[snuzzo29]

I sort everything by headstamp and if using military brass I will sort by year stamp too. I haven't tried something by volume or weight yet on top of headstamp yet. I am just loading for hunting and general target shooting right now though.

 

[QuietTexan]

While I agree with all this ^^^, for pinking ammo for ARs:

• I keep my headstamps separate
• LC sorted by year (I've never bought two lots LC of the same year stamp so this is defacto lot sorting for me)
• Kind of try to track firings but in general
• Pull cases when they split, which has been very infrequent so far because I don't load them a ton and not very hot

 

[RidgeTop]

I sort brass by headstamp and keepin a batch and record number of times fired. I do have a balance that weighs to .01gr so I do sort bullets by weight, mostly smaaller caliber. Sometimes a box might vary + - 1.5gr.

 

[Combatmedic63]

I don't shoot much AR, mostly bolt action rifles.

 

[JMW67]

I know there are those who sort brass by weight but my question is this; does anyone bother to sort and separate their brass by head stamp and reload batches of the same head stamp or does this really matter?

Brass is the foundation of your reloading, you start with a foundation that is off you know how the house will turn out your reloading will turn out the same way