Sorting brass

[Catpop]

I don't believe it is necessary or that it give any real advantage yet I still do it and the reason I do it because I load my pistol rounds on a progressive press and it just adds another level of consistency. First the sorting is just another step to inspect the brass for defects or failures/cracks. Next as mentioned some brass has thinner walls or tighter primer pockets and while I'm loading on my progressive press I am using all my senses. Sight, sound, feel. When something doesn't seem the same I stop and inspect. Be it a tight resize, a tight primer or a bullet that seats too easily.

And in the case of the 45acp I am also inspecting for large and small primers.

With 45 acp, I usually find spp cases when the large one won’t seat

 

[Ironicaintit]

I sort by headstamp, just because it appeals to me. I enjoy sorting....
when sizing and belling, I can tell with a pretty high degree of accuracy, which brand it is. I'm weird, and it's fun.

 

[Blue68f100]

I sort my head stamp for all pistol and rifle. Since i do my pistol ammo on a AP it give you a more consistent feel when using all the same head stamps. RP gets pulled due to the reason stated. I've had primers pierce using RP and not any other mfg. The reason is the over generous radius they put on the primer pocket. Also if you using a lockout die or powder cop it will run more consistent using the same mfg brass as to mixed.

 

[kcofohio]

I've noticed from some recent range brass, that some R-P had less of a chamfer/radius than usual.

I started sorting all brass after the 1st time I ran into wall thickness differences. It was the crimping that caught me.

 

[ATLDave]

I sort by headstamp. I do this for a few reasons:

• I generally want to reduce the number of variables in my reloading. If some problem arises, having already controlled a bunch of variables makes troubleshooting easier.
• Relatedly, if I find out that some particular brass type is problematic, it's much easier to deal with it if all my loaded ammo is in runs of single or small mixes of headstamps, rather than just everything together. And it's easier to cull out the problem brass from the cleaned empty cases if they're sorted.
• For some headstamps with tight weight tolerances, if you're also using projectiles with tight weight tolerances, you can get meaningful information from total cartridge weight. If, for instance, you're using a headstamp that weighs +/- 1.5 grains and a bullet that weighs +/- .5 grains, assuming you have a pretty consistent powder throw, all the finished rounds should be within a ~4gr window. If your powder charge is 6-something grains, double-charges and no-charges should be pretty apparent on a check weigh. Even if you don't weigh rounds coming off the press routinely, if you've got some reason for concern, you have some reasonable investigative step beyond just pulling down everything.
• Since you have to sort out certain "bad" brass, you should be looking at every piece anyway. May as well make a few piles.
• There is some brass that you will come to really like because of its consistency and resilience. Other brass you may not like as well - maybe it can only be loaded a few times before the primer pockets get loose or the brass gets work hardened and loses tension. If you're sorting, you can use your preferred brass when you shoot somewhere that makes brass recovery easy, and you can use your less-favored brass for times when you know the brass is mostly going to stay on the ground.

Examples of times this has helped me: I have had setback issues with two particular headstamps of brass in two particular cartridges (R-P in 45ACP and PPU in 10mm). Because I sort brass, it was far easier to detect that the setback problems were only coming from those specific headstamps. Moreover, I was able to easily segregate that ammo that I had already loaded. (In the case of the .45, it just goes in my moonclip-fed revolver, where setback isn't a thing... the 10mm got junked). In 9mm, I have noticed that S&B works great for 2-3 reloadings in high-pressure loads, and then gets expanded at the base such that it cannot be resized adequately to pass a case gauge. So S&B is one of the headstamps I use when I know I'm going to lose the brass.

So, is it "necessary"? No. Do I find the relatively small time investment of making different piles and using different ziploc bags to store brass (that I'm inspecting after cleaning anyway) a sufficient value-add to keep doing it? Yes.

 

[Texas10mm]

Never have, never will.

 

[sequins]

I don't bother sorting my semi auto brass, it makes hardly any difference. I do sort all revolver brass.

My reasoning is that a taper crimp to remove the bell has enough leeway on the die setting that if my thinnest brass plunks from proper crimp so will thicker brass and the few thousandths difference at most 0.002" won't crease a bullet or anything so theres no harm. As long as my crimp removes the bell on the worst cases just enough the other cases will be fine too. It's so hard to keep semi auto brass sorted into lots I gave up. The precision difference is lost on me for semi autos.

For revolvers I sort by headstamp and maintain lots so i can count firings, maintain an equal trim length, and ensure maximum consistency and accuracy. I take my revolver shooting more seriously and want to eke out that bit of accuracy, the crimp plays a much larger role in accuracy on a revolver.

With rifles I always sort as well so I can neck size and get great groups at long range.

 

[km5]

mixed 45 acp brass some large primer/small primer some have out of round primer pockets those out of round keep or throw?

 

[Dudedog]

I don't sort my 9mm or .45 brass for practice or match loads.

In 9mm I do get rid of the ones with the stupid ledge, those are bad news.
In .45 I have to sort LP vs SP, for some reason my hand primer just refuses to put LPs in SP cases ( I have tried, it does not work....)
(SP .45 cases shoot fine, but sometimes I wish they never made them-Blasphemy!, but on the other hand they are nice because you only need one size primer for the two....)

I don't load MAX loads very often but If I do I like to have the same flavor brass so I sort it.

keep or throw

I tend to be in the if in doubt throw it out camp. (or throw in recycle can)

 

[Skeptic13]

I do sort 9mm even though it is not necessary. I like to cull out the cases I do not want to reload. Also I have so much 9mm range brass that I figure I might as well just shoot 3 or 4 brands rather that everything.

 

[Bugster]

I load start charge weights for plinking and I don't sort for my plinking rounds. You don't have to unless you are trying to load for consistency in pressure or accuracy, etc. In the past I have gone without sorting in target loads with no problems. It's really your call on that.

 

[Highland Lofts]

I only sort brass by caliber not by head stamp. I deprime it, wet tumble it, prep it and load it. It works for me.

 

[dave bennett]

It won't hurt a thing but it helps to glance at the headstamp before you load it.

FM brass comes to mind. It has a thick shelf on the inside that basically cuts its capacity in half.

That garbage is gonna get somebody hurt.

Have not seen brass with FM head stamp. Please clue me in . . .

 

[swagbrdr]

I don’t. What you do have to watch out for is small vs. large primer pockets...at least on 45 ACP. I had three small primer pockets sneak by me that jammed up my Dillon 650.

 

[Highland Lofts]

Most of my brass is gravel pit pick ups. My oyher used brass is bought used through the different gun forums.

I occaionally come across the small 45acp primer pockets, brass with Beridian primers and the 9mm brass with that internal step. I toss all of these in to my recycle bucket.

Like I wrote earlier i don't seperate by head stamp. 99% of the ammo I load which equates to about a hundred 38spl & fifty 357mag and a hundred or two of 223 the occasoinally some 44spl or 44mag and some 32 caliber (32 long, 32H&R mag or 327 Fed Mag)
For my grandson to shoot. I take him shooting every weekend spring after tye snow leaves until the snow returns up in the Washington Cascade Mountain Range.
I just keep reloading the several hundred cases in each caliber over & over again.
When any of the cases fail I crush the ends of the cases, toss them in to the recycle bucket and grab processed cases to replace the failed cases ill regardless of head stamps.

 

[kmw1954]

I have posted this before but here goes again. I do sort my brass, all of it. Not because I think it is going to improve the ammunition in any way because whatever that advantage is will be so small I wouldn't recognize it. I do it because I reload most all my ammunition on a Progressive press and I operate as much by feel as I do by sight or sound. I sort so that each stroke feels alike and when it doesn't I stop to investigate. Tight or loose primer, tight or loose resize, tight or loose bullet seat. Powder measure binding. Anything. Amazing just how sensitive the hands and muscles can be.

 

[ericuda]

I have been sorting all my brass. Lately I have been just stopping by public range in the morning and come up with a few handfuls of 9 most of the time and lately 380 some 45 and 357. Oddly enough even a handful of 50 ae. To me it is not more accurate or needed just what i do and if I keep up it's easy. Most is blazer and win anyway. I use oddball brass headstamps for my walking in woods ammo.

It is a mile from my house, I shoot in my own range but easy to stop.

 

[Charlie98]

I always sort my handgun brass, but it is not necessary. Like tightgroup tiger, I do it to cull out brands I don't like...that, and I find it therapeutic.

In the OP's case, with midrange loads, it's probably not necessary. I'm too OCD to just arbitrarily load mixed brass, and I would probably need counselling if I opened a box of ammos and saw a bunch of mixed headstamps... let alone nickle and brass mixed in. Joking aside, well... sort of... (get it? 'Sort' of?) Sorting brass is part of my reloading process. While I'm sorting that brass, I'm also looking for weirdo cases to cull out, damaged and otherwise bad cases (split case, split mouth, etc...) and stuffs like that. I don't load everything... every cartridge I load for I have a specific list of headstamps I load... anything else goes in the scrap bucket. I also like to know what I have.... for instance, I know I have 1153 RP .41MAG cases. I know... I counted them.

 

[sparkyv]

That's a good amount of 41 Mag brass. When you gonna load some up?

I also like to know what I have.... for instance, I know I have 1153 RP .41MAG cases. I know... I counted them.

 

[Toprudder]

For 9mm, there are headstamps I will toss out, like all of those with the internal step (FM, Ammoload, IMT, Maxtech come to mind). I also look for the NATO headstamps, as those have crimped primer pockets that need to be dealt with, or just tossed out. Run a magnet over them as well, some will be brass plated steel. Some may have Berdan primers, but most of those (not all) will be steel.

For 45acp, as everyone has already said, look for small or large primer pockets. And not only are the "NT" versions of Federal and Win small pockets, they are also crimped.

Besides steel cases, some are also aluminum, toss those out.

 

[Toprudder]

I have had setback issues with two particular headstamps of brass in two particular cartridges (R-P in 45ACP and PPU in 10mm).

I have noticed the same problem with 10mm PPU. I even ordered an undersized sizing die from Lee, but still could not get it to work well. The walls were thinner than all the other headstamps. Funny, I have not had a problem with PPU any any other calibers that I load.

 

[ATLDave]

I have noticed the same problem with 10mm PPU. I even ordered an undersized sizing die from Lee, but still could not get it to work well. The walls were thinner than all the other headstamps. Funny, I have not had a problem with PPU any any other calibers that I load.

I found it worked just fine for a few firings, then just lost all ability to be resized. I even tried annealing it to bring back the springiness - no dice. Worst part was that it wasn't consistent from case to case. Some would go and go (like 10mm starline), but others would be done after one factory load and one reload. I got to where I could feel the ones with no tension on the press when I was seating a bullet... but by then, I'd seated the primer and dropped the powder. I got tired of pulling them down. Really tired.

 

[Toprudder]

I found it worked just fine for a few firings, then just lost all ability to be resized. I even tried annealing it to bring back the springiness - no dice. Worst part was that it wasn't consistent from case to case. Some would go and go (like 10mm starline), but others would be done after one factory load and one reload. I got to where I could feel the ones with no tension on the press when I was seating a bullet... but by then, I'd seated the primer and dropped the powder. I got tired of pulling them down. Really tired.

My problem was with the expander during the loading process. There was almost no resistance on the expander, so the necks got a very large flare trying to push the powder measure.

 

[Hondo 60]

Is it necessary to sort brass by headstamp

Necessary is a strong word.
No, it's not necessary.
But for me, I have OCD issues with this.
So yes I do separate by headstamp.

A box of 48 or 49 drives me NUTS as well.

 

[H&R Glock]

I sort it at the range when I pick it up. Yes I re-load it, NO I don't reload it. Does my buddy re-load it? Everything else I leave on the deck for the next brass monkey.
Yes my buddy loves the 45ACP brass that's there for the picking. The police leave scads of it 5 feet from the targets and it's all once fired taxpayer brass. Go figure.