Mixing brass.

[DalesCarpentry]

How important is it to stay with the same brand of brass? I have 80 Hornady 243 brass that I will use. I also have some Remington, Federal and Winchester brass the mixed brass total a couple hundred. Would it be ok to load them all including the mixed brass and not have point of impact change? I also have 20 of those Nickel plated Winchester brass. What do you guys think of them. Thanks Dale

[Questor]

Some people do it, but I don't. If the brass is different, it's really a different load. I prefer to keep all brass for high pressure cartridges the same brand. For low pressure cartridges like 38 special or 45acp it doesn't matter, so I mix freely.

[Catfish]

If the volume of the different cases is the same you can treat them as the same brand. If they are not just keep the separated as they will probably shoot to a different point of impact. As for nickel brass don`t buy any. If you have some shoot it, but it will not reload very many time.

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

When you start reading your reloading manuals, you will find most have sections on loading "accurate ammo".
One of the three C's of accurate ammo is consistency.
To load ammo that will meet or exceed the accuracy of your rifle (7/8" group @ 300 yds. with factory ammo, per your range reports), mixing the case brands will not help.
Weighing your cases, to maintain specific weight, is just one item to consider.


Bill

[davem270win]

If you want real consistent accuracy, you want to use not only the same brand of brass, but also from the same lot. Weighing brass is important for some target shooting, but not necessary for regular hunting loads. If you're loading varmint rounds where accuracy may be a bit more important, you may want to weigh brass and just eliminate the real highs and lows.

Case capacity varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, so I would be cautious about putting a maximum load in a mixed lot of brass.

[Will_C]

I keep brass separate by brand, number of times loaded, and number of times trimmed. Is this necessary? I don't know, it makes me feel good. I think if you don't load to max levels, I would not be afraid of using mixed head stamps.

[AtlLaw]

I went through answering this question for myself some time ago, weighing hundreds of pieces of commercial and military brass; sorting, shooting, recording, comparing data, reloading, and on and on and on.  It was time consuming, fun, interesting, but not something I would do again!  The end result was, and remember, I am by NO means a bench rest shooter, but an anal retentive hunter who likes better then "minute of whatever I happen to be shooting at" accuracy.    That said:  Commercial brass: sort by Manufacturer/headstamp; close enough.  7.62 Military brass: Sort by Arsenal/year, close enough.

[EVOC ONE]

I like my brass as consistent as possible.  I keep the same brands and lots together.  I don't go as far as weighing the brass because I'm only using them for hunting or paper punching and I rarely load up to max. 

On a log sheet, I maintain not only load specific data, but:

Brand
Lot
How many times it been reloaded
Type of loads
When and how much its been trimmed, etc.

The exception to the above is for calibers such as .38 spl., .357 mag (not including rifle) and .45 ACP.  I do, however, still keep brand consistency and, in the case of .38 spl., if it is a +P load or not.


 

[SHOOTALL]

don't use military brass with commerical brass loads for near max. loads until you have worked them up separately and know they are safe . IE. don't take for granted a safe load in a comm. case is safe in a military case as the vol. in the military case most likely is less ! causing higher pressure .

[DalesCarpentry]

I think I will stay with the Hornady 243 brass. I think I will look around for people that might like to trade Hornady brass for Remington, Federal and Winchester. Thanks Dale

[myronman3]

not this cat.  i dont care what the headstamp says.  i keep track of how many times it is fired,  and inspect it before i load it.   that is where it ends.   you reach a point that you have to decide whether you like sitting at the bench or pulling the trigger.   or to put it another way,  what is the return on your investment?  i find it aint worth the time dinking with all that stuff.  my ammo is plenty accurate as is and my  time is better spent concentrating on my shooting skills.  my 2cents.

[burntmuch]

Load 5 of each brand case. See wht it does for your POI. 

[myronman3]

Load 5 of each brand case. See wht it does for your POI. 

not bad advise.  it could be that your rifle prefers a certain kind of brass.   mine doesnt seem to care.   try like burnt says and see what you find.

[DalesCarpentry]

That is a good idea. I would imagine you could get buy with 3 of each. Thanks Dale

[AtlLaw]

not this cat.  i dont care what the headstamp says.  i keep track of how many times it is fired,  and inspect it before i load it.   that is where it ends.

You're probably right.  I keep track of # of times fired and # of times trimmed, and inspect each case twice during the process.  But sorting by head stamp only has to be done once like uniforming the primer pockets and deburring the flash hole.  For me, my peace of mind, my personality, the way I think, behave, act, react and as a sacrifice to the reloading gods I pray to, it's worth it.    

[IOWA DON]

WEIGH THE BRASS! I shoot a .17 Hornet with a powder capacity of about 12 grains. In the Hornet caliber Remington brass weighs about 5 grains more than Winchester brass. That reduces the capacity of the Remington cases by about 0.33 grains of powder compared to the Winchester brass. In a .17 Hornet that would raise pressures about as much as increasing the powder charge by 0.33 grains. That would be by about 130 feet per second, and the corresponding increase in pressure would be a lot! So, with Remington cases I reduce the powder charge by 0.3 grains. On the other hand, I also shoot a .338-.378 Weatherby with a powder capacity of over 110 grains. I am using some Weatherby brand .338-.378 cases and also some Norma brand .378 cases which I necked down to .338. There is some difference in weight, although I think the Weatherby brand cases are also manufactured by Norma. I think the difference was around 2 grains, reducing powder capacity of one brand case compared to the other by a little over 0.1 grain. A difference in 0.1 grain of powder in a case as large as the .338-378 Weatherby makes little difference in velocity or pressure. Anyway, for it I keep the same powder charge for both brands of brass. Also, this probably will not apply to your rifle, but a friend of mine has a .22-250 with a very tight neck chamber. With one brand of brass the tight neck would pinch the neck area of the cartridges and pressure seemed to go up and crater the primers. Another brand of brass had thinner necks, and otherwise identical loads gave no excess pressure signs. - DON

[30-06man]

Dale unless you can get smaller groups why change your current setup with factory ammo?

[DalesCarpentry]

Dale unless you can get smaller groups why change your current setup with factory ammo?

Because it kills me to pay $30.00 a box for ammo. This past year I bet I have spent between $600.00 to $800.00 in ammo. In one day alone I remember spending close to $100.00. I just really can't afford shooting factory ammo anymore. I will try to duplicate the load my rifle likes. I hope I can come close. I will be using the same brass and bullets. I still need to get a Hornady reloading manual and hope I get some help there. Dale

[30-06man]

Ohh ok. I don't use that much ammo. I normally have a bunch that I bought in bulk. If I used that much I would be reloading also.

[stimpylu32]

Dale

Here is something to look at and remember when loading even the SAME brand cases .

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,126745.0.html

stimpy

[beemanbeme]

This is another sacred cow. Like Mom and apple pie. As if all pies are perfect and there are no bad Mothers.  And there is some basis for fact in it if you are a bench rest shooter or you are motoring your loads at the ragged edge of disaster.  The less variables you have, the more accurate your ammo is.  At least that's the theory. And it's a good theory if you're shooting a bench rifle and wanting to shoot five shots thru the same hole. But if you're an ordinary guy shooting a factory rifle, you can waste a lot of time weighing cases, uniforming primer pockets, measuring stuff that doesn't need measuring, cutting little logs of 4350 in half to get the perfect load, and such. when you could be on the range, sending hot metal downrange, punching holes in targets or animals and generally having a big-eyed time.
I'd load 'em all up using one recipe and then segregate them according to headstamp and shoot 'em up. When you've shot 'em all up, I'd do it again.  You may have to move a couple of clicks when you change headstamps.  As posted, don't buy no more of that plated stuff.

To you folks that don't reload, it don't take too many boxes of ready rolled ammo to come up with the price of a Lee intro reloading kit. It's an interesting hobby in and of itself and you can make better ammo than you can buy tailored for your rifle.  

[DalesCarpentry]

Thanks for the heads up on that. Dale

[DalesCarpentry]

I have an add in the classifieds for Hornady 243 brass. Thanks Dale

[30-06man]

To you folks that don't reload, it don't take too many boxes of ready rolled ammo to come up with the price of a Lee intro reloading kit. It's an interesting hobby in and of itself and you can make better ammo than you can buy tailored for your rifle. 

I know that and I looked at the RCBS on Midway USA. Its $270 and I plan on getting it or something similar. I know I am wanting to get a good cheap power scale and some reloading dies. I am not too sure what power to use but It will mainly be for the loads of .308's and 30-06's I have. And I have already looked a bullets I want to use. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=273029&t=11082005 Any other info would be great.

[30-06man]

I am looking at Nosler Brass. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=115991&t=11082005

[PartsMan]

You could use different brass for different loads. Hornady for varmint, rem for 100g deer load, fed\win for plinking.

I have worked up a load for my 223 that it and I like using Winchester brass, but I also have a mixture.
I was thinking about loading up some "plinking" rounds with the others. Just cheap bullets over starting loads.

[beemanbeme]

IMO for the 30-06, 4350 is the gold standard for powder. I have never loaded for a .308 but I believe a little faster powder would be needed. 

Also, shoot what bullet you would like but both the .308 and the 30-06's performance windows lend themselves very nicely to a standard cup and core bullet.  To me, the gold standard of standard bullets is the Remington Core Lokt bullets. Of course, Hornady, Speer, pretty much all of them make good bullets, they haven't been sitting on their hands all these years.  It's which one shoots best in your rifle.  And too, a lot depends on exactly what you plan on using your rifle for. 

I think folks are making a mistake picking a bullet they like rather than letting the rifle pick a bullet it likes.   

[boommer]

the  RCBS kit midway has for 269.00 mid south has same kit for 219.00 mid south prices are usually much better and staff is great to work with.now as far as mixed brass goes unless you are a bench rest shooter or running your loads up to max-max or compressed powder loads. I  would just make sure they all trim ed to the same length JUST ONE MORE OPINION     

[DalesCarpentry]

the  RCBS kit midway has for 269.00 mid south has same kit for 219.00 mid south prices are usually much better and staff is great to work with.now as far as mixed brass goes unless you are a bench rest shooter or running your loads up to max-max or compressed powder loads. I  would just make sure they all trim ed to the same length JUST ONE MORE OPINION     

I will be hunting Groundhogs with the 58 grain VMAX'S. I will be also be doing a lot of target shooting at ranges between 100 and 300 yards. I would also like to make a trip or two to a range that has back stops out to 1,000 yards. Dale

[SHOOTALL]

So will you be using mixed or sorted brass ?