Working up a load with virgin rifle brass? Should I wait until fire formed?

[Rmeju]

I've just got started in bolt rifles, and I've been working up a load with Hornady brass and H1000 with good results so far--I shot a couple of 5 shot groups ~0.465" with some of the loadings.

My question is that I also have some Nosler brass that I want to try out now, but it's never been fired. It is worth putting in my best reloading effort for the first loading, or will the fact that the brass hasn't yet been fire formed to my chamber throw off my data such that I should just make a box of plinkers the first time around?

Thanks in advance!

ETA: Since I plan on trying a new powder with the new brass, I will naturally starting over regarding how hot to load them. My question really centers around whether the first 100 rounds should be loaded with the same care that I would load brass that had already been fire-formed to my rifle, or if I should just load the virgin brass up with moderate heat and junk bullets just to get them fire-formed, because of the fact(?) that unfired brass will not give me meaningful data for working up loads.

 

[Otto]

It's a new component so start off with the recommended starting load...there's no need to size or trim it unless it's visibly dinged up.

 

[arizona98tj]

OP, that is a good question. I'm pretty much in the same situation as I recently started loading for my 6.5 Grendel AR. I picked up a couple hundred pieces of brass (Lapua) and have been working up loads with them. I was somewhat surprised how much the 1st fired pieces of brass "grew", when measuring from the case head to the datum line on the shoulder. I've just about cycled through those two hundred pieces and will start loading my once fired brass after another range trip or two. It is my intention to bump the shoulder back about .003" when I full length resize. I look forward to seeing if I can detect any change against the loads I've already done. I don't expect much of a velocity shift but would be happy if the groups shrunk by another .1"~.2".

 

[Rule3]

I really do not understand the question or the issue.

You are reloading, so yes reload with all the care you would or should load with. I did not know there was different methods.

If you load your new brass then load it correctly (powder charge bullet) COAL etc. After you shoot those then you can prep them by only neck sizing them So I guess i don't get it?

Even if it is new brass I size it , measure it, de burr it chamfer it etc.

 

[gamestalker]

I understand what your saying, do I do the whole nine yards, or just load something that will get them formed and ready for a serious work up, right?

New brass, regardless of how top end the quality, is almost always going to shoot different than formed brass will, because it isn't formed to that chamber. I've loaded new brass with the same identical components, charges, oal, and shot them side by side with formed brass, and the results are almost always different, sometimes significantly.

So what I do is I load it exactly the same, I always at least neck size them, I go through it all to check trim lengths, I inspect the flash holes, I ream and chamfer, and then I load it with the same load I would usually shoot. I actually have a couple rifles that have rather tight chambers, so FL sizing is often necessary just to get the brass to chamber in this circumstance.

GS

 

[murf]

some rifles are more accurate with full sized brass than partial, or neck sized brass. you can shoot groups with this full sized brass then compare with the next go round.

murf

 

[Rmeju]

@GS: Exactly. That sounds like I should just load up something that will shoot for the first time around.

 

[sage5907]

It all depends on whether you're a target shooter or a hunter. Most hunters full length resize so the dimensions of a full length resized case and a new case are similar. So similar, in fact, that for practical purposes it doesn't make any difference. A hunter wants the case to chamber easily in his one hunting rifle or multiple rifles if he has several that use the same cartridge. A serious target shooter is a whole different animal. He will go to the n'th degree for that smaller group. Some of the steps look foolish to the novice.

 

[gahunter12]

Op I usually run all my virgin brass through my FL sizing die set as if they were once fired. Then I load a low end load maybe .5gr to 1gr above recommended start charge just to fire form the brass.

Some say it's useless to resize new brass. It may be, but I still do it.

 

[WestKentucky]

For accurate ammo the #1 thing is consistency. Some loads are inherently more accurate than others but you will never know that unless you are meticulous in every step every time. As Rule3 alluded to their are multiple ways to reload good ammo but there's only 1 way to do it, and that's to do it right. If you practice making "plinkers" then that's all that your best loads will be because it will eventually become habit. Also if you halfass reload you might wind up half handed, one eyed, deaf, or dead. Load each shell carefully, precisely, and with the utmost amount of craftsmanship you can. Fire formed brass isn't very much different than virgin brass anyways so your results with virgin brass are not insignificant.

 

[witchhunter]

Your loads with a different brand of brass may not be the same. Use only one headstamp. That is like using the same load for different brands of bullets. Your load may change after it is once fired, but it will be minimal, usually a couple of tenths of powder.

 

[WestKentucky]

After my comment earlier I thought I should add one caveat. If you are forced to form brass from a different case then yes there may be a significant change in which case you could be excused for sending inferior lead down range but still loaded with care to be safe. At a minimum use powder dippers or a dropper with appropriately sized volumetric loads. Examples of such necessity are not uncommon as a lot of older or newer cartridge cases are not easy or cheap. Examples would be making 300blk from .223 or 5.56, 7-30w from 30-30, .256winmag from .357 or .357sig from 40sw. That does not seem to be what you are asking about but it is the only real reason to intentionally create junkball ammo for fire forming purposes.

Load with the utmost care.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

We really need more info.
What are you loading?
Are you loading for hunting, or target shooting, or competition, or...
I see you are using H1000 so I'm guessing it's a magnum class cartridge like the 7mm RUM or similar.
How far are you shooting?
If for hunting what are you hunting and at what distances?

More info please...

 

[rskent]

Rmeju – The answer is yes and no. When I can find new brass, I run it through the reloading process just like any other. I just use it for practice.
After it is fire formed to my chamber, then I use it in a match. Will it give you “meaningful data for working up loads”? I don't know.
Will loading junk bullets give you meaningful data?

 

[jwrowland77]

It's a new component so start off with the recommended starting load...there's no need to size or trim it unless it's visibly dinged up.

Every bit of new brass I've ever run across at minimum needs the expander button run through it to make sure the mouth is round...and almost every bit of new brass I've run across normally always needs trimming.

FL resized brass and/or new brass will have a different result than fire formed brass.

If this is a different brand of brass you're using, start back at the starting load and work back up.