Mixed brass

[ForneyRider]

Of 200 count of once-fired .223 brass for 30$:

Most were Remington headstamp, small bunches of LC and Winchester. The rest were FC(about 20).

The FC brass were pretty short. The 26gr of Varget was at the base of the neck. After full-length sizing, they were all shorter than 1.75. I hear a lot of complaints about this brand. Should I just use this brass for plinkers?

From all the complimentary things I hear about the Remington .223 brass, I will make this my hunting/target brass. Appears to me, that the Remington has more capacity than the FC. I haven't loaded any of the Winchester or LC, so not sure of their powder capacity.

I full-length sized all this brass, trimmed where necessary, and chamfered the case mouth. I will try neck-sizing down the road.

 

[ilbob]

I think the concern over mixing brass is mostly overdone. If you prefer to have the same brand of cases, that is fine. Go ahead and trade the off brands to someone else.

I suspect you will find there is very little difference in most cases for typical plinking and hunting chores.

For people into serious accuracy, it can make a difference.

 

[scrat]

agreed if your into loading then just plain recreational shooting then load up and have a go at it. if your into serious competition then you would serperate the brass. size them trim them weigh them then sort them again. So that you have the best consistant brass available.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

If you're just loading range ammo near the middle of the charts, mixed cases are fine.

 

[ForneyRider]

yes, I am not ready to trim shoulders and bullets.

But if some of the brands have more capacity and/or live longer than those puppies are going to be treasured above the others.

By the way, a recent Handloader journal article backed the Remington brass as more accurate. But I wonder if it lasts as long as the Lapua and Norma. It's been my experience that the thicker brass brands last longer but have less case capacity.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I'm looking at 5 gallon buckets full of .223 brass in my shop right now. Other than sorting out the obviously reloaded brass, I just load and shoot for informal practice ammunition, but I do trim prior to loading, since .223 seems to stretch more than some others. Even my ground squirrel loads for my Varminter are mixed brass, and I can still hit them way out there off the bipod.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[scrat]

5 Gallons dangggggggg that will keep you busy. i cant imagine trying to reload that amount.

 

[goon]

Another +1 for mixed brass.
As long as you're not working near the maximum you should be OK.
Standard reloading precautions apply.

 

[tiger rag]

Agreed for mid range loads mixed brass is not a problem.

 

[Slamfire]

The FC brass were pretty short. The 26gr of Varget was at the base of the neck. After full-length sizing, they were all shorter than 1.75. I hear a lot of complaints about this brand. Should I just use this brass for plinkers?

My complaint with Federal brass is that the primer pockets open up well before any other brand of brass. The stuff will shoot X ring groups, and then one day, the primers won't stay in.

I regularly shoot mixed brass out to 300 yards in Highpower Competition. I rarely get 200, but often shoot 198's and 199's with the stuff. I don't think shooting one type of brass will suddenly give me 200's, rather what will give me 200's is more practice on my position, sight alignment, and trigger pull.

I do shoot one type of brass at 600 yards. I think it makes a difference there.

I have had excellent service out of R-P, LC, and Winchester. I have heard good things about IMI.