Am I wasting my time?

[jfields]

I had picking up range .223 & 5.56 brass for years and finally decided to start processing a few month ago. I had it all stainless media tumbled and annealed, spent hours swaging primer pockets on about 25% of the 2100 pieces and then primed it all with a Lee handheld while sitting in front of the tube.

Question is... should I bother sorting this stuff? There is a bunch of LC, and FC head stamped cases, but they are from many different years. Are LC and FC the same? There is also, RP, Winchester, Speer and PMC. Should I sort this stuff or just load it and shoot it?

My current load that I worked up in the Speer brass is 23.4 grains of H335 under a 60 gr. VMAX.

Thanks for any insight.

-J

 

[Ultraman550]

yes you should sort it. Different brass has different internal volumes, case wall thickness, primer pockets, brass hardness/softness. Search the reloading section for this question that has been asked and answered thousands of times before. I promise you that if you go about reloading not knowing the limitations of the brass you are using, you will get very hurt. Its only a matter of time.

 

[ZombieMonkey]

Depends on what kind of consistency you're looking for, if it's bulk ammo I never bother and never have any issues with it keeping 1.5MOA or so for general blasting purposes. If you're looking for the tightest groups, sorting by headstamp helps. I only worry about it for my SPR when it comes to 223, but that's just me.

 

[Rattler56]

Yes to sorting.

 

[pinsandpitons]

If it was me... I wouldn't bother sorting unless you're looking for consistency as stated above. 23.4 grains of H335 is a moderate load load for that bullet, so I would just load it and shoot. If you want to be extra safe, back it down to an even 23gr and blast away.

 

[jfields]

Thanks for all the replies!

-J

 

[steve123]

Save this kind of brass for close in on paper or general plinking and load it down a little. I use this kind of brass for our local short range 3 gun type shooting and don't reclaim it. For anything serious I use all new brass and the same lot number, I keep them.

 

[JoshcBoucher]

I did what you did. Brought home buckets full, before the crunch. No body leaves their brass, these days. I sorted some out for "good loads", then loaded the rest up with a lite load, for plinking/blasting. Nice to have several thousand rounds around. I figure the difference in case capacity was offset by the lite load safety margin, like some seem to agree with.

Save this kind of brass for close in on paper or general plinking and load it down a little. I use this kind of brass for our local short range 3 gun type shooting and don't reclaim it. For anything serious I use all new brass and the same lot number, I keep them.

 

[CharlieNC]

Initially you will need to FL size to fit your chamber (measure headspace clearance to get a close fit). Then for me the LC brass shoots great AFTER fire-forming in your rifle, especially with a Lee collet neck die. Also unlike the 308, the 223 has higher water capacity than commercial brass. I haven't found any difference between the various LC years, and I sort into a range of 1 grain because it's fast and simple.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Weigh a bunch and find the heaviest brass. That will have the least case capacity, and you can verify that with water. Work up a load with that brass. Everything else will have slightly lower pressure with the same load due to increased case volume. For me, it has always been FC brass that has the least case capacity.

For my really accurate loads, I use same headstamp LC brass. For varmint hunting loads, I load misc. brass with good results.

 

[BuzzBoss915]

Is this pick up brass for use in an AR style rifle? If so, I'd still sort it, but it's just plinking ammo, don't expect too much in the way of accuracy. As you say, it's all different lot numbers even if it is the same head stamp. From an economy standpoint, might as well use it but then again, extensive case preparation might be a waste of time since you simply can't recover all your stuff that is flung all over the place and stepped on, etc. etc. Super processed brass is a bolt gun game, as far as I am concerned. This is why you need to know exactly the motivation behind all the suggestions and recommendations. Some is more necessary and some is less useful. Depending on your application. The only real feeling of freedom in banging away with range brass is in not caring if you are able to find it when you are through jerking the trigger. BB

 

[Mike402]

I had the same exact dilemma w/ 5,000 rounds of once fired LC brass, all different years. Took me better part of the summer doing a little bit at a time to SS wet tumble, trim, size, and prime em all. Boy what a good feeling that was to get that very last one done. I didn't sort by year, but this is my plinking/training ammo. I have Lapua .223 brass that I match prep for serious accuracy work.

 

[TacticalBoltKnob]

I would sort by .223 or 5.56, but not by manufacturer and year … unless, like others have said, you are looking for supreme accuracy.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

Sort it. You'll find the groups to be consistent by head stamp. You may even find a load for each case that hits the same POA.

Lake City is consistent enough that the year of the head stamp doesn't matter. I don't think LC and Federal are as equal for the same load.

 

[Khavic]

Sort it. Even varmint shooting and plinking is more fun if you're able to be more consistent shot to shot.

 

[pawprint2]

Sorting may be the best way to go, however; it pays to know what you'll gain. In short load 50 rounds at random, then 50 that have been sorted, if you are getting a worth while, consistent reduction in group size with the sorted brass-you know what to do. But, as you say this is "plinking" ammo, you may find the amount of work involved is not worth the effort. Just because you have sorted by head stamp, there is no way to tell how many times it's been fired, etc., there may be a reason someone left it where it hit the ground. Regarding the statement, heavier brass has less capacity, maybe if you're dealing with one manufacturer from the same lot, but in reality this is bull shit, sometimes heavier brass has more or the same capacity. Not every mfg. uses the same density brass-this is a myth. Those that have actually taken the time to weigh cases and check capacity(s), and keep records, know this. Posts to the contrary, are done by those that have not.

 

[ARsR4ME]

How the heck did you swag it without sorting? I find even L.C brass webbing can be so differnt in differnt years that my dillon 600 will do nothing if its adjusted for another year or bind like crazy.. And if i put winchester in with adjusting its even more so. So i sort by make, then year after the first cleaning. For my match load i then sort by wieght every grain. I know some guys go further by sorting by web thickness. I dont do that yet.

 

[ZombieMonkey]

How the heck did you swag it without sorting? I find even L.C brass webbing can be so differnt in differnt years that my dillon 600 will do nothing if its adjusted for another year or bind like crazy.. And if i put winchester in with adjusting its even more so. So i sort by make, then year after the first cleaning. For my match load i then sort by wieght every grain. I know some guys go further by sorting by web thickness. I dont do that yet.

On the super swage you can set it up for a deep swage and do it by feel fairly reliably. That's how I get away without sorting if swaging is of concern, I've heard of others doing the same.

 

[ARsR4ME]

On the super swage you can set it up for a deep swage and do it by feel fairly reliably. That's how I get away without sorting if swaging is of concern, I've heard of others doing the same.

So your saying on those cases that are different you would just not push the handle all the way down. Whats the ratio on the ones that you have to redo? Seems inconsistent but im always looking.to speed.up the process.

 

[ZombieMonkey]

So your saying on those cases that are different you would just not push the handle all the way down. Whats the ratio on the ones that you have to redo? Seems inconsistent but im always looking.to speed.up the process.

Exactly, I rarely need to go the full press of the handle. You can feel as the swaging rod removes the crimp so it's pretty simple as to when you should stop. I get maybe 1-2 cases every couple hundred I load that require me to remove them from the priming station and quickly run back through the super swage. Consistency of the swage is not of major importance so long as you remove enough of the crimp to allow seating of primer correctly. Obviously you don't want to over-do it either as then you can end up with loose primer pockets. I have yet to lose a case to loose primer pockets from using the super swage while using this method, I just find there are better ways to spend your time processing brass.

 

[elfster1234]

Unless you absolutely need to load 2k plus rounds for the next zombie attack i recomend loading in batches of 50 or 100pcs..... Just in case you fuck up on say bumping shoulders too much or whatever... This way you can make adjustments on the next batch and not fuck up a bunch of brass (which ive seen way to many people do).... Also you can keep track of how many times you have fired the brass, max out the brass life, trash and recycle that batch, and then pull another 100pcs of once fired. Yes, it helps to have matching year / headstamps for accuracy.

I had picking up range .223 & 5.56 brass for years and finally decided to start processing a few month ago. I had it all stainless media tumbled and annealed, spent hours swaging primer pockets on about 25% of the 2100 pieces and then primed it all with a Lee handheld while sitting in front of the tube.

Question is... should I bother sorting this stuff? There is a bunch of LC, and FC head stamped cases, but they are from many different years. Are LC and FC the same? There is also, RP, Winchester, Speer and PMC. Should I sort this stuff or just load it and shoot it?

My current load that I worked up in the Speer brass is 23.4 grains of H335 under a 60 gr. VMAX.

Thanks for any insight.

-J