anyone notice a difference in poi when doing this??? noticed some range brass for sale with mixed headstamps…jst wondering if it makes a huge difference to plinking loads.
I reloaded a significant amount of 9mm a year. This year I reloaded around 16,000 rounds. I use all sorts of headstamps, whatever I can get my hands on, and there is little to no difference in POI with my reloads. Even at the chronograph, I am pretty consistent with shooting 1,050 fps +/- 10 fps with 124gr CMJ Montana Gold Bullets. At times some headstamps might be around 10 or 20 fps in difference, but my 25 yard static groups are the same whether I am shooting all starline brass, or a mix of everything brass.
My .223 plinking ammo had mixed headstamps. I’m not trying to shoot tiny little groups with it, all I know is it’s accurate enough for my needs.
I shoot mixed headstamp brass and never noticed anything for range/practice ammo. I never looked for it but never noticed anything either.
For plinking loads it won’t make any significant difference.
As noted above I haven’t had any issues when in the plinking pressure range but you might encounter problems when loading close to max. Good practice is of course to work up to max or near max in small increments checking for signs of pressure. Having a load that’s safe in commercial brass might well put you beyond safe limits jumping over to brass with less capacity, military brass for example.
Keith
I don’t bother sorting headstamps on my .223/5.56 brass, other than to toss out ones I’m specifically avoiding, even when loading up stuff like OTM match rounds.
I’m not shooting anything with optics over 4x, though, so between me, the rifle, and the optic I’m not likely to notice much difference if I’m doing everything else right in the reloading process.
With some other brass, like .308, I’d do it differently, though.
Truthfully I don’t mess with sorting by headstamps on “most” handgun cartridges or my 223/5.56. Most of these are practice stuff and not maxed out loads. I have yet to see any noticeably larger groups. However for most of my hunting or serious work loads I do sort by brand or headstamp and often keep separated by different lot numbers.
Load it up and blast away. I like to go with once-fired military brass because you can be pretty sure it is indeed once-fired.
I only sort off brass if I know a specific headstamp needs a crimp removal or something. After that, I couldn’t care less.
i only due it with my bolt rifle. As lousy as i shoot it, i dont know why i do but i do.
I’ve reloaded thousands of 9mm over the years. I was told early on that due to the very limited space in the 9mm case and the differences in space from brand to brand that I should separate cases by brand. I did this for years, then got lazy and stopped. I don’t load to high pressure, I load for competition, low recoil, muzzle blast, etc. The few times I have loaded a batch of high velocity loads I used once fired brass in good shape from one manufacturer. Case capacity will effect pressure, velocity.
No problems at all pistol/rifle for blasting. When it is range pickups of questionable origin, I will review headstamps looking for the rare Berdan primed brass. Ruins your day when you break your decapper pin.
I do sort only for my for my “match” rifle grade reloads. Lake City with common year.
In my plinking/practice loads, it does not really matter since I load to well under max which lends some headroom. When striving for the best accuracy or making hot loads then I sort.
There are other variables including the powder burn rate that can affect what happens with varying case dimensions so be careful. Fast burning pistol powders can spike quickly.
The bulk of my loading is for handguns although I’m doing more rifle since I picked up a 6.8 spc. One thing I did do was pitch every military .38 spl case I found as the walls are thicker and I’d end up with a case that needed to go through the sizing die twice. It wasn’t worth the bother. If I’m working up either a ‘accuracy load’ or one that is near max pressure (very rare) I’ll seperate brass by headstamp and times used. I’ve found that the plastic tubs that coffee comes in are great for this.