Should you separate brass by use?

[twoseventywin]

Say you have 2 rifles, both 308 Winchester, one is a hunting rifle with sporter barrel, the other is a long range target rifle with heavy or bull barrel.

Would you keep the brass for hunting loads separate from brass for target loads, or use the same brass.

I know there are probably a lot of factors that come into play here, but im still pretty new to reloading.

 

[gohring3006]

for best results, I would keep each gun with its fire formed brass...

 

[FearNoWind]

I agree that if you're using them fire formed, with only neck resizing and shoulder bump, they need to be maintained separately. However, if you're full length resizing I wouldn't worry about it; unless of course you're competing in the Nationals.

 

[AZShooter]

I suggest you keep the brass segregated by number of times fired. At some point the brass will show signs that it needs to be recycled. When you find a few cases showing signs of old age it is best to dump the entire group rather than risk injury or failure during a hunt.

 

[BountyHunter]

2 guns will have different shoulders and you will need accurate dimensions and either 2 die sets or die shims to adjust for the shoulder variation if you want good brass life and most accurate loads.

 

[d11r529]

Try making 5 cases A and 5 B, one gun is A the other B, go out and shoot them. Reload the bullets and this time shells A in gun B and of corse shells B in gun A. If you see a big difference in the groups then one of the guns is fussy and you'll have to keep the cases separate but if no difference don't worry about it. For as many calibers and guns of the same caliber I reload for I don't separate by round count, I do closely inspect the cases and anything that doesn't look right goes.

 

[twoseventywin]

Thanks for the input, like I said, im still pretty new to reloading.

 

[Kennibear]

+1 on what Gohring3006 said. I would even color code the plastic boxes for each rifle. For example, buy just the blue plastic boxes for the target rifle and the Green/Black ones for the hunting rifle. Brass lasts longest the least amount you work it. If you buy a Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die you can use one die setup to size the cases.

KB

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I would keep it separate