mixed headstamp brass - Rifle ammo

[bean357]

Hope this is not a repeat, but I could not find it searching....just getting into reloading for a .223 and .243 for varmints, and I am wondering if using mixed headstamp brass will be a problem with accuracy. After finding loads that worked well, I ordered what was advertised as winchester brass, but that was not the case, it was a mixed bag. Wondering what I might expect from this...
Thanks!

 

[trickyasafox]

i practice with mixed headstamp in 223 in my encore. if im doing something serious or doing something long range then i'll use all the same, but to be honest, at 100 yards, i doubt you'll notice much

 

[Six-Gun]

Actually, I'd be pretty pissed if I ordered one makers brass and got a mixed bag. You can definately expect some accuracy variation, but as was stated, for 100-yard work, it's not too big of a deal.

 

[The Bushmaster]

You would be asking the wrong person here...I'm a neat freak and must have every head stamp match in fact if I can get a set of 20 rifle or 50 pistol/revolver cases from the same batch I am in heaven...

 

[Smokey Joe]

Mixed instead of Win

Bean357--You didn't get what you paid for. I'd call the sender and complain. They may just send you a bag of Win brass; they may say send it back and we'll replace it. Ask for $$ for return postage in that case; it was their error.

As to accuracy--I DO find accuracy variations @ 100yd using mixed cases with my more accurate rifles--"just plinkers" aren't inherently accurate enough to show the difference.

If you're planning on varminting with this brass, it would seem that you want as much accuracy as you can get, any way you can get it. Prairie dogs and such aren't much of a target for size.

 

[elric]

In my experience mixing them will affect accuracy significantly. In my very accurate .223, I can shoot a tight group (around .6" at 100 yards) with Headstamp X, and a tight group with Headstamp Y, but the group from X may be centered 1" above point of aim, and group Y will be .75" down and right of point of aim. If I mixed X and Y in the same group, it'd be a terrible group.

 

[halvey]

Yes you will find accuracy suffers at even 100 yards.

In addition, because of case thickness, you may have big pressure differences with different brass. NOT GOOD.

 

[USSR]

You WILL have pressure and velocity differences when shooting mixed brass. Sort them by manufacturer and shoot the same type at any one time.

Don

 

[bean357]

Thank you all for your replies I appreciate the information and advice!

Smokey Joe- yes they will be used for prairie dogs and shots would be in excess of 100 yards

Guess I better just weed out the other ones and stick with the winchester brass, since that is what has been used when finding the load the gun "likes"
Thanks again!

 

[Hutch]

One pretty good method is to trim them all to length, and then sort by weight. Doesn't guarantee anything but gives you a good chance that the internal volume is about the same. Much easier to do with an electronic scale, of course. Grab 10 of any make, weigh 'em all together. Grab 10 more, and if they are +- 5% or so of the first group, you know what the average case weighs. Then sort them into 3 groups: average +-5 %, average +5% or more, and average -5% or less. Works out okay, IMHO.

 

[Dave R]

I can tell you from personal experience that some .223 brass will not hold a max load of Varget. Some brands will. There is obviously going to be a pressure difference if there's that much difference in volume.