Anal? No, just making it simple. After setting up your dies do you have to question are the shells all the same length? Do they have the same volume? Are the shell walls the same thickness? You hope that the same brand will have the same length, shell thickness and volume. When you adjust your dies they should be set for that brand for sure. That's not to say other brands will not work with your settings, but there is some piece of mind when working with just one brand. Don't worry, be happy.

 

Nothing wrong with doing it. Mostly it is what you want for a result. I used a few pounds of powder testing doing it with a .308. Same charge, bullets, and primers. First testing from a rest and then snap shooting. Shooting from a rest I also tested grouping cases within brand by weight. I did no resetting of die by brand.

The most interesting thing, for me, that I learned was that the center of the group changed with the brand. No brand seemed to work better than any other brand. The group size was notably smaller when shooting by brand from a rest. I couldn't tell the difference when shot by weight within brand. When snap shooting any difference in group size was so small that it didn't make a practical difference.

That was my experience. As it made no difference for the type of shooting I do, I've never bothered sorting it after that testing. If the need to do it came about, I would sort them.

IMO, it isn't anal to do it.

 

I think it's really kinda silly unless you're trying to wring the absolute utmost in accuracy from your rifle for either competition or extreme long-range shooting. It's time-consuming and a pain in the rear for me, so I don't sort my .223 brass. For my accuracy loads, I trim and chamfer each case anyway, so case length is uniform, and I've gotten perfectly acceptable sub-MOA groups out of a stock AR. If I were shooting a .308 at 700 yards and wanted to really spend time to get it perfect, then I probably would sort my brass, then trim and chamfer each case, polish it, and add some fairy dust for good measure, but for your general shooting needs within 300 yards, I don't think the effect is that significant.

 

Unless you are shooting at ranges longer than 50 yards for standard handguns and over 250 yards for standard rifle cartridges, sorting by headstamp will NOT have any effect on group size.
1) You can test this for yourself and not ask the question.
2) You can determine the case volume for different cases and run an exterior ballistic program on the small variation in velocity and determine the exact drop that different headstamps could give you--in a perfect world.
I have done #1 several times for various cartridges and there has been no difference. In fact, the difference is so small that the average group size for mixed cases (in .45Auto, 9x19, .44Mag, .30-30, and .30-06) has actually been smaller than groups with identical headstamps or case weights.
I can only conclude that, even over a machine rest, my guns' accuracy is not able to show any difference.
However, you also need confidence in your loads. So, if sorting makes you happy, feel free.

 

Deleted. Where is the delete post button. Need 10 words to post.

 

Thanks a bunch.
I think I wont worry about it much anymore. I will sort for the bolt guns but not the semi autos. No competition anymore. My eye blurs & fuzzes after a few 10s or rounds anyhow. The bolts will have relatively few cases to reload so the "best" cases can be reserved for them. With the semi autos I just like to throw lead downrange for the fun of it.
NOW, if I can only find me some H335 powder. I got nothing for my rifles dadburnit!
John

 

Being Anal???... Depends
brands better then others???.. Depends

If your reloading is simply for cost savings then yes, sorting by headstamp is a added step that is really not needed... Now if you are trying to achieve the best in accuracy and velocity then sorting by head-stamp can be useful... There are usually minor differences in case brands.. some walls may be thinner.. primer holes may be larger..things like this can be beneficial when it comes to getting better powder ignition.. Real hardcore bench-rest shooters will trim all their cases so that all of them are exactly the same as far as dimensions go... walls, base, primer hole and pocket will be EXACTLY the same one case to another... If you got the time.. and want to do it.. hey go for it.. but for your average reloader it really is not needed

 

I've never sorted by headstamp and get great accuracy. I will be giving it a try on a future video where I'm reviewing the accuracy of a cheap .223 bullet manufacturer. I don't think it's a big deal but I've got to cover my bases for all the armchair experts out there with keyboards.

 

I've never sorted by headstamp and get great accuracy. I will be giving it a try on a future video where I'm reviewing the accuracy of a cheap .223 bullet manufacturer. I don't think it's a big deal but I've got to cover my bases for all the armchair experts out there with keyboards.

I have no doubt you do get great accuracy.. but the kind of accuracy i am talking about for benchrest shooters is putting 10 or 20 rounds thru the same hole at 100 or 200 meters... I doubt you are achieving that...

 

I have no doubt you do get great accuracy.. but the kind of accuracy i am talking about for benchrest shooters is putting 10 or 20 rounds thru the same hole at 100 or 200 meters... I doubt you are achieving that...

You are correct. I get 1.0-0.75ish MOA with surplus pulled ss109 bullets out of the AR and that opens up just a little with the 55s used in 3-gun. As long as the plates fall I get the points so I've never felt the need for expending that kind of time to chase that kind of accuracy I am interested to see what I can do when going all out for accuracy vs. stockpiling for the next competition. Who knows, I may be a convert after I try it.

 

You are correct. I get 1.0-0.75ish MOA with surplus pulled ss109 bullets out of the AR and that opens up just a little with the 55s used in 3-gun. As long as the plates fall I get the points so I've never felt the need for expending that kind of time to chase that kind of accuracy I am interested to see what I can do when going all out for accuracy vs. stockpiling for the next competition. Who knows, I may be a convert after I try it.

Well.. the 556/223 round is an inherently accurate round.. and I have seen a couple AR's that could put 10 or so rounds into a 1/2 inch a 100 meters off a bench... so 1/2 MOA is possible with the AR platform... But if I were to chase that kind of accuracy I would go all out and get a dedicated Benchrest set up... 12 pound gun, Single shot, Bolt action.. HEAVY LONG BARREL, rested on 30+ pounds of sandbags, with maybe a 8oz trigger...

 

You are correct. I get 1.0-0.75ish MOA with surplus pulled ss109 bullets out of the AR and that opens up just a little with the 55s used in 3-gun. As long as the plates fall I get the points so I've never felt the need for expending that kind of time to chase that kind of accuracy I am interested to see what I can do when going all out for accuracy vs. stockpiling for the next competition. Who knows, I may be a convert after I try it.

Your current MOA shows a variation of 33% in your reloads.

You really should start by just trying getting a more consistent MOA than what you are now. Maybe using match bullets or non pulled bullets.

 

FWIW, the reason for sorting by headstamp is based on the idea that the cases made by different companies have a different internal volume. One has to determine if they do or don't before doing a test of it.

 

Sorting by headstamp makes for a more uniform round overall. Adds accuracy as well as cases that will more likely be the same length after firing.

 

Your current MOA shows a variation of 33% in your reloads.

You really should start by just trying getting a more consistent MOA than what you are now. Maybe using match bullets or non pulled bullets.

That could be varying external factors - Shooter skill on that particular day, varying crosswind, temperature fluctuations, barrel being slightly more or less dirty, etc.

I tend to get slightly larger groups than his with SS109 bullets, but I can cut my groups in half with precision measured powder charges and good quality bullets. On a good day. When I'm shooting my best.

 

That could be varying external factors - Shooter skill on that particular day, varying crosswind, temperature fluctuations, barrel being slightly more or less dirty, etc.

I tend to get slightly larger groups than his with SS109 bullets, but I can cut my groups in half with precision measured powder charges and good quality bullets. On a good day. When I'm shooting my best.

Which unless you are bench rest match shooting, is tons accurate enough. 1" moa is still a 10" group at 1000 yards. Which is darn near anything you'd want to shoot at.

 

That could be varying external factors - Shooter skill on that particular day, varying crosswind, temperature fluctuations, barrel being slightly more or less dirty, etc.

Yup. There are a whole lot of variables that have to worked out and considered before one can do a worthwhile test of sorting by headstamp. That's why it can easily run into a few pounds of power. If one isn't careful, they'll only fool themselves one way or the other.

It certainly isn't just a matter of loading 5 round each of brand A, B, C and 5 of mixed. More like 100-200 of each. That, IMO, is why so few people ever test it.