Range brass vs. Sorted by head stamp? Does it make a difference?

[bergmen]

Well, I don't have any range brass in my stock of 10s of thousands of rifle/pistol brass. These have all come from the small amount of factory ammo I have bought over the years or new brass ordered from time to time.

And yes, I sort my brass as to mfr. Always have.

Dan

[smoothy8500]

Just like someone bragging about their "single-digit SD's"...for pistols shot at 25yds?

[ysr_racer]

I shoot steel, USPSA, and ICORE. Most of the targets are 10 to 15 yards. With occasional standards out to 25.

[bergmen]

Just like someone bragging about their "single-digit SD's"...for pistols shot at 25yds?

What's a "single digit SD"?

[pennstater]

Just like someone bragging about their "single-digit SD's"...for pistols shot at 25yds?

LOL! This ^^^^^. No kidding.

[kevin c]

USPSA shooters have another reason for liking loads with low SD's besides the accuracy potential: power factor, aka PF.

The rules of the sport require a minimum PF for each division, calculated from bullet weight in grains times velocity divided by 1000. The scoring value of a hit on target depends on the declared (or, in major matches, the measured) PF of the competitor's ammo. It is possible to shoot the whole match for no score if the PF falls below the minimum accepted.

As USPSA Is a game of rapid fire where fast follow up shots is important, competitors try to tailor their ammo to reduce recoil. That means running the ammo close to the PF floor for the division, but not going under it. Bottom line is that a low SD makes the ammo more consistent and therefore more predictable when tested at a major match.

[noylj]

My issue with questions like this is: why not test for yourself?
Likewise, before trimming straightwall cases for better consistency, why not actually shoot several groups with longest and shortest cases and trimmed cases and find for yourself if consistency always equals better accuracy or if increasing head space gap ruins accuracy?
It isn't hard to test these things.
I can tell you that my.30-06 shoots 0.75-1.25" groups at 100 yds with mixed head stamps, matching head stamps, mixed case length and matching case length, and you could only hope your Pistol was that accurate.
Might as well sort cases by weight, outside turn case necks, adjust bullet runout, deburr flash holes, and every other trick being pushed by those shooting well past 200 yds.

[capo602002]

Generally - mixed seems to work fine for pistol. Any obvious oddballs are tossed.
Mixed also works well for .223, they all get FL sized, then trimmed and are never loaded to max.

[ysr_racer]

[Fishslayer]

I've always sorted by headstamp.

There are differences from one to another. Even one particular brand can have several variations. Then there is the infamous small primer .45ACP. A minor annoyance if you sort.

Sorting by headstamp means your flair will be uniform so you can seat your bullets with minimum working and your crimp will be uniform.

One big difference is the wall thickness of R-P .45ACP brass. It's thin enough that I only use it with cast .452" bullets. The difference is visible in the finished round.

Anything Amerc goes right in the scrap bucket.

[Cowboy T]

I don't bother sorting by headstamp for handgun rounds, either. At 100 yards or closer, which is as far as I'd ever shoot a handgun, there's no point. Same for the leverguns; no point. Bolt-action rifle, yeah, I sort that.

Regarding Maxtech brass, I've reloaded and fired plenty of that in .357M, .44M, and .45 ACP. Works great every time, so I don't see the problem with it. Haven't run across Perfecta yet at our range, so I cannot speak for those.

[anonymouscuban]

USPSA shooters have another reason for liking loads with low SD's besides the accuracy potential: power factor, aka PF.



The rules of the sport require a minimum PF for each division, calculated from bullet weight in grains times velocity divided by 1000. The scoring value of a hit on target depends on the declared (or, in major matches, the measured) PF of the competitor's ammo. It is possible to shoot the whole match for no score if the PF falls below the minimum accepted.



As USPSA Is a game of rapid fire where fast follow up shots is important, competitors try to tailor their ammo to reduce recoil. That means running the ammo close to the PF floor for the division, but not going under it. Bottom line is that a low SD makes the ammo more consistent and therefore more predictable when tested at a major match.

You are correct about making minimum power factor. However, this only becomes an issue if you're one of the goofballs chasing bunny fart loads. Most of us load our ammo with enough cushion so you don't run into issues meeting minimum PF at a major match. Especially when you factor in differences in chrono readings, elevation and temperature, etc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Donny1]

I just loaded a few hundred mixed 9mm last night. Besides the annoying .380's that got in the mix the only difference I noticed were the FC (Federal) headstamp had no resistance on the crimp because they are 1-2 thousands shorter. Not really even a crimp, just a slight bump to knock down the sharp edge. Steel plates will not know the difference.

[smoothy8500]

power factor, aka PF.

As USPSA Is a game of rapid fire where fast follow up shots is important, competitors try to tailor their ammo to reduce recoil.

Yes, that's true about Power Factor, but most smart competitors have a "buffer" to accommodate changes in velocity due to ambient temperature or altitude. Besides, that difference in ES/SD's whether single-digit or wider isn't making any significant change in felt recoil...

[ysr_racer]

For a power factor of 125 I always load up 126 just to be safe.