Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Reloading mixed brass question

I'm not going to shoot 1k yards, so I don't weigh or sort brass or bullets. For field accuracy, how much difference can I expect if I load the same bullet and charge in brass with a different headstamp? Same primer, same COAL.
I have brass from Federal and Remington, each once-fired. I can keep them separate, but do I really need to?
Again, I understand that reloading lends itself well to minutiae, but I don't want to get to that level of exact.

P

I think I would start by picking out a few of each and measuring the water capacity of the cases.

I haven't done this in a long time but my rememberences using 308 cases was win and rem were very close, fed was slightly less and LC was a bit smaller.

Of course proof is in the pudding. Shoot some groups with 3 of fed and 3 of rem and see how the POI and group size is.

P

I ran some rounds thru my 270 that had brass from three different mfrs. All were processed and loaded the same at the same time with same primers, powder, bullet and oal.

I separated the brass by mfr. and shot them separately at the same target.

I got three distinct groups at 100 yds. Each group just under an inch. Each group at a different POI. The groups stung out linear with about a one inch spacing between.
So with the brass not sorted, I could have easily had 3 inch groups instead of 1 inch groups when fired by brass mfr.

The best thing to do is to do the experiment with your brass and gun and see how it goes with your specific combo.
I would be interested in hearing your results if you do such.
JMHO
Tim

Keeping brass separated by brand is a far cry from being overly picky.

Amen.
A buddy of mine has a 22-250 and was getting 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards, for 5 shots with it. He then discovered that it is important to segregate his brass..LOL He's now getting 5 shot groups at 100 that measure 1/4" to 3/8". Same bullets, powder charge and primers. His rifle is an off the rack Tikka.
Separate your brass.

As a minimum, I'd at least sort to brand to assure some consistency.

Load away, I'm sure YOU will be just fine.

Sometimes if you are stretching the nvelope on the high end,you migh get into a problem,but typicaly not. I do sort by mfgr.
Years ago I got some stiff loads when I switched from commercial brass to military with the same .308 load.

If all you're doing is hunting, you will be on minute of deer out to 400 yds with mixed brass. Until the internet came around it never occurred to me to do all of this picky brass sorting and prep. Of course, now I do it all the time! But absolutely necessary? No.

Pharmseller: Why on earth would you want to mix brass brands?
I have been reloading Rifle ammunition for 51 years now and have never once mixed brass for one Rifle!
I am currently reloading for 61 Rifles and simply would NOT consider mixing brass brands for any of them!
Trade YOUR Federal brass for more Remington brass (or vice versa!) and be done with this mixing.
My good friend Louie some years back had an extremely accurate Varmint Rifle in caliber 220 Swift.
All of a sudden it began "double grouping"!
He (we!) thought of and worked on EVERYTHING to do with that Rifle - including changing scopes, rings, bases bedding format and on and on!
Finally after many months of work and consternation HE struck upon the fact that he had TWO types of Winchester brass and when the two types were segregated and fired seperately his double grouping ceased immediately!
If I recall correctly he had some Winchester brass headstamped W-W and some Winchester brass headstamped WIN.!
Obvioulsy they were of different eras and were also of different dimensions internally or externally!
I have no intention of shooting afield at rnages of 1,000 yards myself either but I also have no intention of ever mixing brands of brass for any of my Rifles.
My advice to you is don't mix BRANDS of brass.
Best of luck with your Rifle/reloading.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

If your only looking for minute of deer accuracey then your probably fine for most cartridges but there are some that you cant get away doing that with. The 257 WBY comes to mind right away. Norma and WBY brass in .257WBY have quit a bit diffrence in case capasity.

FWIW, I ran into a issue with Federal .308 brass with exactly the same headstamp. One box was Federal Premium and the other was standard Federal loads. There was, IIRC, an eleven grain difference, more or less, in the weight of the two different lots. It was more than I wanted to deal with.

Pharmseller... you don't wanna get in too much of a hurry or refuse to spend the relatively small amount of money on components to insure the best accuracy you can get without resorting to bench-rest shooter's "tricks" to gain that last "hair" of accuracy. After all, your hunting trip may cost many, many dollars... so a few extra dollars spent on components doesn't represent a much greater percentage of investment to help you achieve a successful hunting trip and an enjoyable experience.

In any hunting situation, all of us (assuming we are responsible hunters) start with a goal to shoot and make a clean, sure KILL on the game animals we hunt. To do this, a hunter is responsible for using a load giving the greatest accuracy which will enable him/her in placing his shot in the animal's "kill zone"... regardless of the range at which the shot is taken.

To insure this happens, it is a hunter's responsibility to use the most accurate ammo possible. If he/she is a handloader, there's no reason to accept less than the most accurate possible load which includes using not only the SAME brand of brass, but even brass out of the SAME lot of manufacture.

To do this, I recommend you BUY 100 new, unfired, virgin brass in your rifle's caliber which will go far in insuring that the powder capacity of each cartridge case is as close to the same as possible.

The same powder capacity yields equal-as-possible internal gas pressure in the cartridge when fired, assuming all components used to make the rounds are the same (same type/brand, from the same lot of powder, primers and bullets, exactly the same amount of powder used, same bullet-seating depth, etc.).

Once you've fired all the new cases in your rifle, if your rifle is a bolt-action or single shot rifle, begin neck-sizing ONLY by backing your resizing die out a turn or so. This will insure your cartridge cases EXACTLY fit your rifle's chamber which helps in the accuracy department.

By doing all of this, you have done about as much as you can (without going into bench-rest shooter type modifications), within reason, to insure maximum accuracy. And if you really wanna get "picky", you could even weigh your bullets and use only those bullets which weigh EXACTLY the same.

It really doesn't take all THAT much longer to do the above... and it simplifies buying components since you have 100 new cases because both primers and bullets usually come in containers of 100.

When you need to buy a new container of powder, you should at least load up 9 new loads and shoot three, 3-shot groups to determine if your new powder is shooting to the same point of impact as your previous container of powder did. Again, this doesn't take all that much time to check... and going shooting is fun!

I recommend you also keep your brass separated as to the number of times it has been reloaded and fired. This helps you to realize when the brass is going "bad" since all brass has been exposed to the same amount of use. Therefore, if you have one brass failure (split mouth, etc.), you'll know that all the other brass MAY be getting ready to do the same thing.

Of course, there is always the possibility that one or two cases simply had weaknesses that the others don't have, but... regardless, any brass failure should put you "on alert" that mutiple brass failures may soon be in the offing.

Yes, all of this will take a little more time... but then, even reloading is an enjoyable task... and you can be assured and take pride in the fact you've done everything possible to load the best, most accurate hunting ammunition you could possibly load.

After all... reloaders should never be-in-a-hurry and responsible hunters should always want the best, most accurate ammunition possible!


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Just sort everything. How in the heck do you not sort your BULLETS, FFS? Geezus! It's easy to do and may save your life...

For general shooting I don't get overly picky about commercial brass headstamp. You do need to be careful though because military brass usually has less case capacity and will show some pressure signs sooner than the thinner commercial brass. Forgien brass is kind of a crapshoot on capacity. You have to know your brass. So it really is a good idea to sort your brass.

For hunting, I am very picky about my brass with my favorites being W-W or Norma brass when I can afford it. They only get shot to assure my scope adjustment before the hunt and on the hunt. Some of my hunting brass I have had for 30 years. Last a long time when you only shoot 4 to 6 rounds a year.

I'd say go for it. I still think you would come out better w/mixed up reloaded brass & having the same powder charge, primer,coal,ect, rather than just grabbing a box of store ammo.

You'd have to see how the mix does in your rifle. If your goal is to simply kill something, I'm sure your method will work. However, as you reload more and shoot more, your interest in better accuracy will grow.
There are many things you can do that will increase your accuracy without getting all done up in the "busy work" endorsed by some reloaders. And seperating your brass or, better yet, standardizing on one brand is one of them.

A few years ago, I lucked into a superbly accurate 308 that has become my main rifle. I get a lot of close shots due to terrain and vegetation, so most of my practice is offhand under 100 yards. I don't sort brass for that, or for hunting in those conditions.

I do sort brass when I expect shots over about 100 yards.


Okie John

"For field accuracy, how much difference can I expect if I load the same bullet and charge in brass with a different headstamp?"

Not a soul living can answer that.

I agree with the guys that say only "your gun" will tell you.
I once owned a 270 win that not only shot different brands of brass to the same point of impact but even shot 130's 140's and 150's to the same point of impact. It was a rare gun admittedly.
If you have access to a chrono I'd spot pick 5 rem brass and 5 fed and load em with an identical load. I'd go to the range and shoot them for accuracy and check the speed. If one is a bit speedier than the other you can adjust your charges accordingly.
Although your gun may be as "picky" as some noted above I'd bet a 6 pack it will shoot fairly consistantly with those brands of brass.