I guess you really should weigh your brass

JFriesen

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
90
Location
Nebraska
First time loading for 308. Got a pile of once fired Hornady Tap brass for pretty good price. Long story short. Spent over 300 rounds fighting 5 shot groups that had 3 and 2 together or 4 and a flier, cussing my chronograph, and scratching my head at random pressure signs showing up. Turns out Hornady changed their match brass at some point. I have some that weigh right at 160 gr. Some right at 172 gr. And a handful of regular head stamp Hornady at 190. All mixed together when tumbled and pulled back out in random batches. Go me.
 
Sounds like maybe two types of Hornady .308 brass and maybe different lots? I have Hornady Match and "regular" Hornady 308 brass, I keep them separate.

Curious - are you sure it is all only fired once? Was some of it trimmed?
 
You really need to check capacity. Different brands of brass have different brass thickness so weight is a moot point. The best thing is to purchase good brass to begin with and you will have less fustration. There are some good posts on this forum to explain. Just do a search on Brass H2o capacity.
 
Last edited:
I think the "weight sorting doesn't matter" logic relies on the assumption you're using cases from a single lot of brass that you have some kind of history on. Case capacity is more important then weight sorting inside a lot. If you have a bunch mixed you'd have to weight sort, then volume sort. If you haven't deprimed yet start checking some with water.
 
I do trust that it was all once fired. The guy doesn't reload and was all in original TAP boxes. Primer pickets still crimped from factory. Before I checked it, I had no reason to assume that one brands match brass would change that much. It's fine brass. Up to 8 loads on some. And what I have is consistent once I sort it into light match and heavy match now that I know. Goal was making a plinking rifle.
to that point 168 smk can hold .75 moa at 200 yards with over a hundred FPS spread! Good to know.
 
JF, quality new brass all same lot is well worth the investment. Used brass of unknown origin isn't compatible with load development. Good luck
I would agree with this. If the goal is to control your variables, why introduce an unknown? I know the supply issues can make buying once fired range brass desirable but it's not worth it for quality reloads, IMO. cheers
 
Won't take long. Grabbed a box I loaded of 40 and sorted loaded rd weights. Plus or minus about 1 gr. They fall into 370, 380, and 402.
 

Attachments

  • A602383C-1A9C-4A4B-9810-31FE434FB4EC.jpeg
    A602383C-1A9C-4A4B-9810-31FE434FB4EC.jpeg
    819 KB · Views: 130
I think the "weight sorting doesn't matter" logic relies on the assumption you're using cases from a single lot of brass that you have some kind of history on. Case capacity is more important then weight sorting inside a lot. If you have a bunch mixed you'd have to weight sort, then volume sort. If you haven't deprimed yet start checking some with water.
Go to 21st Century to primer plugs, and get extra O-rings. Then you don't have to worry about dead primers.
 
Top