competition reloading question

[savageshooter86]

If I sorted and prepped my best cases for my 1000 yard loads and am wanting to develop new load with different bullets and powder. I have a good load now and brass has 2 firings. Do I keep them sorted and work up new load with that brass, or new load= new brass?

Guess I'm getting at do you mix loads with same brass or do you only shoot one load with that brass?

 

[Jay Christopherson]

For me, it's mostly about how much money I have to spend on brass... Brass - good brass - is not cheap. If I have the cash, I would buy a new set of brass, maybe to start replacing existing brass as it wears out. I usually buy 500 pieces of a particular brass at a time and if I tried to do two different load developments, plus matches, I think I would wear it out pretty quick. That's just me though.

If you have a lot of brass to run through to the point where you aren't wearing out your brass too quickly by cycling it through load development, then I'd say go for it.

 

[savageshooter86]

I bought 300 pieces and sorted by initial neck thickness. The brass that had 1 thous or less variation I kept as my "match brass". Pieces with 1-2 thous I put aside. Ones with 2-3 I put as load workup/sighters("culled"). I neck turned all of them to same thickness. Uniformed primer pockets/deburred flash holes.

So I worked up my current load and it has done very well for me. So I have 125 pieces of that. So I am working up a load now with new bullets and new powder but now am debating whether to use the current "match" 2x fired brass from my current load or use the other brass I sorted prior.

I might be thinking too OCD that keeping brass fired with same load would be better than using different loads in same brass. My thought was primer pockets should last the same and everything would be kept constant until brass wears out. **I had previously used the same brass for load work and for my matches.

 

[seymour fish]

Savage, You might use new brass blueprinted the same as your 125 pieces, to arrive at 200-300 pieces all the same # of firings, then rotate them. Have plenty for practice and plenty to load for big matches, and should all shoot the same.. Seymour

 

[Lapua40X]

..
I might be thinking too OCD ..

I share your pain. :'(

 

[gotcha]

Two words: Simplify --- Uniformity. Shoot each piece of brass once then put it aside until you've shot them all. Then F/L resize using your HS gauge as a guide for shoulder set back........ Cases that were used for powder chg selection or bullet seating depth tests (jammed) will have varying once fired dimensions. A F/L resize will bring ALL of them back to a uniform size and give you a more uniform capacity.......Sorting by neck wall thickness is really pointless. Simplify & turn'em ALL. Just my way for what its worth.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Work up your new load with the called brass, then I would try it in the sorted match brass before taking it to a match..


Ray

 

[savageshooter86]

Dale, I have FL sized the brass. And all have 2x fired. Just annealed all the brass. Just didn't want to shoot new load in my prepped brass that shoots well with my current load.

My current match brass has been shot 2x with the exact same load.

 

[gotcha]

So happy you're doing well with the new Barrel Believe me I've had the same OCD moments. I've just found that for me its easier, faster and more consistent results to match prep everything. I don't question the results of working up loads with "culls". Just one or two screwy culls could ruin a potentially tack driving load causing you to focus on a second best load that never lives up to potential.

 

[savageshooter86]

think this all started back when I sorted new brass by neck wall thickness before doing anything else to the brass ??? Not sure if that sorting helped or just caused more attention than needed. To say a virgin brass with 0.0145-0.015" will shoot better than the ones I "culled" that were 0.016-0.018" after I turned them all to 0.014"

I think that was an extra step to try to get the best brass I could possibly as some people probably would have just turned them all to 0.014 and shot.

 

[Dos XX]

You had Lapua brass, or any .308 brass, that was .018" thick? That won't even fit in a .342 neck chamber.

 

[savageshooter86]

IIRC I had a couple that went to 18. But mostly 16-17 were the outliers

 

[amlevin]

I bought 300 pieces and sorted by initial neck thickness. The brass that had 1 thous or less variation I kept as my "match brass".

Are you measuring the neck thickness from case to case or for uniform thickness around the circumference of the neck.

I was discussing this a week ago at the range with one of our premier shooters (code words for "Old Fart" ) and he pointed out that if you have a thin part of the neck on new brass the chances are great that the "thin" will continue on to the head of the case.

He sorts his cases for uniformity of thickness and out of 200 pcs in a new batch, kept only 75 he deemed uniform enough for match purposes. BTW, he wins a lot.

 

[jrm850]

Hopefully you have 66 good ones for Blakely tomorrow morning.

 

[savageshooter86]

I checked each case prior to turning and took measurements at 4 spots on each case. That is how I sorted the virgin brass before doing anything to them

My thought was least variance in neck thickness with virgin brass would possibly translate thorough the entire case for uniformity and least runout.

That was what I was referring to earlier when I said I want sure if that process of sorting would show up on paper, but it couldn't hurt.

Reassuring that others so that and are ocd

 

[savageshooter86]

Not sure I'm going to make it. Don't have a new load worked up yet!! Been too busy with work to even go shoot.

I have 125 good cases

 

[jrm850]

Not sure I'm going to make it. Don't have a new load worked up yet!! Been too busy with work to even go shoot.

I have 125 good cases

I hear you! I don't feel like I've shot a match yet that I was truly prepared for.
I've talked my wife into shooting her first 600 and I'm anxious to try out my new Burris 8X40, so we're making the drive.

Re: Original Topic: I just can't make the time to be as meticulous as you sound with case sorting. I used to try to keep the brass separated by weight and the amount of times it was fired but now they all go into the rotation as long as they are the same lot# and have been fired twice. Of course, my complete domination (Heavy Sarcasm Font) isn't exactly a glowing recommendation for whatever I do.

 

[6BRinNZ]

From the Litz daily Bulletin article - The only brass prep was mandreling the necks of the new brass for consistent neck tension. Bullets were slightly pointed, but nothing was segregated by weight, base-to-ogive, or anything. All the ammo I shot in Lodi was loaded in brand-new Lapua brass.

I truly believe that many F-TR rifles are hindered in their precision potential by something in the way they are set up and shot.

Maybe we are all missing what we need to really focus on

 

[gotcha]

[

I truly believe that many F-TR rifles are hindered in their precision potential by something in the way they are set up and shot.[
[/quote] Definitely something to be said for this statement

 

[rduckwor]

"Hopefully you have 66 good ones for Blakely tomorrow morning. "

Is AIM (or whatever they renamed it) open to civilians again?

Thanks,
RMD