Questor,
I dunno....maybe I'm a snob when it comes to my brass but here's what I do:
I shoot at my club's weekly steel plate speed shoot. It's just a fun thing and winner gets bragging rights until the next shoot. Now, I load only Starline brass for my 45acp. However, at the end of the day, I will find that when I am done cleaning the brass, I have "picked up" some other brass. Some have a headstamp and some have been around the block so much that the headstamp is gone. So, if it doesn't say "Starline" on the headstamp (you know, if it doesn't have the star...line...star) then I pitch it. Yup! I don't reload it. I don't care how good it looks or what brand it is.
Why? Well, I have found that when and if my gun jams, most of the time it's from "other brass". Now, I'm not sayin that Starline never jams, but what I am sayin is the "other brass" usually has had the snot beatin out of it. It will have a scar here or a chunk from an extractor taken out there that if I didn't turn the brass and catch, my gun will certanily catch.....and usually jam.
So, if I shoot just "my brass" and I know my brass is newer, and kept in good shape, this kind of stuff just has less of a chance of happening.
JMHO
Brass Snob Dave