Sorting brass by maker or not.

[Tinknocker]

I am new to reloading and just loaded and shot my first batch of .38 specials. I sort all the different brands of brass and used only one brand. I read that you should only load one brand at a time, i.e. not to mix brands. Is this correct? or does it matter if I size and trim them all to length? I have 100's of different brass with about 8 different brands. I'm thinking of reloading .223 and 9mm in the future. I understand there are differences in case walls etc. Thanks for any input.

[TKM]

Precision rifle, yes.

Have you ever shot .38 well enough to detect a 20% improvement in anything?

[Cowboy T]

For handgun cases, nope, it doesn't matter. I've shot...well, a lot...of .38 Special reloads. Same goes for .45 Colt, .44 Special, .45 ACP, etc. The one exception might be 5.7x28 due to the bottleneck case and the type of action that a lot of those pistols use (you've got to set back the shoulder). But even there, the brass likely will fail before there's enough stretching of the case to matter. Sorting by brand is likewise not really useful, I've found.

I certainly don't resize any of my handgun cases. Likewise with sorting by brand. What I *do*, though, is make sure they're clean and free of cracks. That's one reason why I tumble my cases to where they're pretty shiny on the outside, so I can more easily see any cracking. That, and I like shiny, new-looking cases. :-)

As TKM said, for precision bolt rifle, yes, and I would add rifle rounds that you shoot in a semi-automatic as well, since you have to full-length resize those (e. g. M1 Garand, M1A, AR-15, Mini-14, CETME/HK91/PTR91, and so on). Full-length sizing does stretch the cases a little.

[Tinknocker]

Precision rifle, yes.

Have you ever shot .38 well enough to detect a 20% improvement in anything?

No, I'm just loading for plinking, I have factory +p hollow points for home defense.
funny how I didn't like paying $36 a box of fifty rounds but will spend $300 to get started reloading.

[Grendel Guy]

Call it a long term investment. I've been reloading since 1985

[Grendel Guy]

My son's friend brought two boxes of the 'stepped brass' ammo. It was made by some euro country IIRC. He had several FTF and FTE and kept the balance of the ammo to shoot with my Blackhawk convertible to shoot on another trip (he had a Hellcat). Later, the ammo had issues in the revolver. The guy at the LGS told me the reason for the step was to reduce case capacity so less powder could be used but the pressure would be sufficient to cycle the action. I guess they didn't figure right. I agree to dispose them.

[ar15robert]

Only for precision accuracy is when I will sort by maker.

besides that nope just plinker load and fire away. And even then the mixed plinker stuff does have good accuracy too.

[IronsightsRifleman]

I sort by number of times fired.

[Cowboy T]

No, I'm just loading for plinking, I have factory +p hollow points for home defense.
funny how I didn't like paying $36 a box of fifty rounds but will spend $300 to get started reloading.

Yes, it is a long-term investment, and boy, is it worth it. My .38 Special progressive press (in my case, a Lee Pro 1000) paid for itself in about 12 boxes. The .45 Colt version paid for itself in 4 boxes, due to the higher cost of that ammo. I also use that press for .44 Special, which is equally expensive.

Reloading doesn't so much save you money on an absolute level. Rather, it saves you money per round, which allows you to go practice more. A lot more. And that's good for keeping your marksmanship skills up.

Also, since you're loading .38 Special, you can load 'em from "mild" to "wild" as you see fit. I've got a very mild load for the wife, which also is quite nice for those "Airweight" pocket revolvers. I also have a "wilder" load which is more like the old FBI loads (".38 Spl +P+"), which I use in the .357 Magnum K-frame. You can do that sort of thing when you're reloading for revolvers, due to the nature of the action ("cycling" is done by the trigger mechanism vs. the round's own power).

And finally, since you're rolling your own, you don't have to beg the nanny-state "mommy, may I, pleeeease?" whenever you need ammo. There's none of that for components. Components can be shipped into California legally, whereas assembled ammo cannot without getting permission from Granny Goodness. I hope more Californians elect to reload their own.

[TimRB]

I hope more Californians elect to reload their own.

I agree, although I sometimes fear that if enough people do that, the CA legislature will make mail-order purchases of components illegal too. I can't even remember the last time I bought ammo from a gun store--I bet it was literally over 30 years ago (although I DID have a lot of milsurp ammo shipped to me more recently, when you could still do it).

I'd wager you wouldn't need too many hands (maybe a few toes) to count the gang-bangers in California who actually have the brainpower to make their own ammo.

Tim

[newbie1234]

I reloaded thousands .38SPL and shoot in : Ruger Black Hawk, replica Revolver Colt, Henry Big Boy Riffle.

- I sort all the different brands of brass and used only one brand.
NO,

- I read that you should only load one brand at a time, i.e. not to mix brands. Is this correct?
NO

- does it matter if I size and trim them all to length?
NO

The best thing is: bench rest, shoot same brass brand, shoot difference brass brand, shoot some with trim same length, shoot some with whatever brass length . Collect all the data then reload the way is best for you, reload is a science of OBSERVATION and EXPERIMENT.

Good luck.

[Jason_2111]

I used to way back when I started. Then things sort of escalated.
Now, I still sort nickel and brass... because I like using the nickel for experimental loads, new projectile types, etc... and it's a quick and easy way to spot the "not everyday" ammo.
I headstamp sort 223/5.56... but only for "Lake City" or "Not Lake City". The main reason there, is I chop a lot of LC brass into 300BLK.
I do sort my 30'06 by headstamp, and keep them separate. That's mainly because my 30'06 batches tend to be small... like 200-400 rounds... whereas pistol batches tend to run upwards of 2k when I do them.
I am not a benchrest shooter though, I run around and hit steels, so trying to get 1/4 more MOA out of a 45 ACP isn't really that important to me.

Oh, and I always toss any stepped brass I find. I process a LOT of pickups, so it's never more than 40 or so in a batch. Not enough to worry about a different recipe or powder.

[Cowboy T]

Funny you mention nickel-plated cases. I do sort those, but not for any functional reason. Rather, it's because I simply like the look of "all yellow brass" or "all nickel" in the ammo box. It's totally about aesthetics.

I do have some cases that are headstamped .38 Spl +P+. That's what I load my "wild" .38 Special loads, which are similar to the old .38-44HV Elmer Keith loads. Those, I don't sort by nickel/yellow, since that's a special load. It's also another indicator (of several) for me that, "hey, this is the hot load; don't run this in the S&W Model 10 or 64."

Now, when I reload .45 Colt, I *do* segregate by yellow or nickel-plated. This is because the nickel cases have a bit more friction in the resizing die, and it is noticeable. So, it's simply to keep the feel consistent while pulling the handle. Why not do so for .38 Special as well? Simple. There's more surface area, and thus friction, in the larger-diameter .45 Colt case than in the .38 Special case (same for .357 Magnum), and I just don't notice the difference with the smaller-diameter case.

[jaborni]

It can make a difference to sort brass if you want the best accuracy , or if your loading near the max pressure. Sometimes cases have different internal volumes , some less then others, and the ones with less volume will produce greater pressures at the same charge weight compared to ones with greater internal volume.

some cases are softer then others and tend to show ejector wipe marks sooner than others. and some are more brittle and split sooner.

But if your just throwing loads with a powder spoon/ dispenser , they are not near the max , and your not concerned with precision. Then you don't need to sort them.

[Imageview]

Interesting video that details someone's experiment with mixed headstamp brass. Short version: he got pretty good results.

https://youtu.be/fkBGFG2lJ7E?si=A_mjjLzXTByThDXx