Differences in commercial brass?

charlie brown · 06-11-2005, 10:10 AM

Hey all,

When I go to the range, it is like payday. I have come across about 250 rounds of .223 brass, 100 of 38 Special, and countless 9mm Luger. Just this spring! You can also throw into the bunch some .30-06, .270, and .243. I collect every piece of brass I can find out there. With the .223, I have separated all of the military brass from all of the commercial brass.

My question is - Is it REALLY necessary to separate between commercially manufactured brass for SAFETY reasons?? I am sure that the accuracy will not be the same as using one brand of brass all the time, but for 200 yard shots out of my single shot H&R at jacks, there isn't a whole lot that is really NEEDED as far as accuracy is concerned. But, will I see a DANGEROUS pressure jump by throwing in the same charge as my Winchester brass? So far, I have seen Federal, Winchester, and a few PMC and RP.

The reason I ask this, is I have come across reman pistol brass with multiple headstamps in the same bag, and I have loaded my .45 ACP in mixed brass with no noticable pressure signs from one piece to another.

Thanks.

charlie brown · 06-11-2005, 10:30 AM

Well, I just went through all of that commercial brass. As it turned out, there was mostly RP brass, which I sorted, and was able to find some once fired RP brass that I had shot from the factory. I weighed the difference between the RP brass and the Winchester brass I have (fired w/ primer still in it), and it all came out to about 96 grains each, +/- 1 grain. So it appears I can safely load the RP brass with the same load as my Winchester brass. Anyone have anything to prove differently?

Thanks.

firstshot · 06-12-2005, 02:23 PM

charlie brown

When swithcing to a different brass, don't assume that they will work at the same pressure levels as other brass for which you've worked up a load.

I just ran into this yesterday. I had worked up some 7mm08 loads for 140Grn Accubonds on top of 39Grn - 42.0Grns of Varget in.5Grn incrments with Remington Brass. The 40.0-42.0Grn loads shot extrememly well, 1/2"-3/4" 100 Yds Groups, in my MTN LSS and showed no pressure signs at all at

I bought some Norma brass and rather that do a full work up, I loaded some at 41.0, 41.5 and 42.0 grans. The 41.0 and 41.5 grn loads shot just fine, but the 42.0 grn loads showed definite pressure signs. Sticky bolt when ejecting and ejector marks on the bottom of the brass.

Lesson learned......don't take any short cuts!

firstshot
-------------------------------
Make your first shot count

Roskoe · 06-12-2005, 02:37 PM

Charlie - I have done the same for years with .45 ACP brass. Don't even look at the headstamp - just load them. No problem. Have not enjoyed the same luck with CF rifle. In fact, you will find that certain lots of brass of the same headstamp can show pressure signs that were never evident before. Same thing with lots of bullets and powder. I have found, generally, that Winchester brass is a little thinner and tougher than Remington brass. And Federal brass isn't even worth the effort to bend over and pick up. Military cases run heaviest of all.

An old rule of thumb for loading brass that differs in average weight from what you were using before is to weight ten cases of each - calculate the average - and reduce (or increase) the load by 10% of the difference in average case weight. So if your Winchester .308 cases weigh 237 grains, and the Lake City cases weigh 257 grains; then you would reduce the load by 2.0 grains when you switch to the Lake City brass.

vangunsmith · 06-12-2005, 02:40 PM

The only time i have found,and other people do the same,is when im using rifle brass. Different rifle brass has different dimensiions as far as thickness in the walls,and the volumes are different. This means a lot to somone whom is loading ammo for real accuracy, and consistant loads. vangunsmith

NVMIKE · 06-30-2005, 01:08 PM

charlie-I've never had preasure signs in one brass that didn't show in another brand with the same load. BUT... I have had some pretty drastic changes in accuracy....so was it preasure change that caused it? Maybe I always use the same brass in each gun. Usually it doesnt matter what brand in what rifle, but you do need to adjust the loads to get your accuracy.

rick_reno · 07-03-2005, 08:46 AM

I'll pick up pistol brass, I'm a bit more cautious about rifle brass.

Slamfire · 07-03-2005, 05:33 PM

I've developed some loads using Winchester brass, only to find I can't get that much powder into a Remington case. I'd really prefer Norma but I can't justify the expense.

charlie brown · 07-04-2005, 12:47 AM

Thanks for the info guys. I will take it all in, what has been said. I appreciate the response. Thanks.

FastShootingCarts · 07-09-2005, 09:09 AM

Does anybody have a preference from exprience when buying new Rifle brass? Does the Remington hold up better than another brand and is Norma worth getting?

I'm looking at midway to pick up some brass in .22-250, 7mm mag.

Thanks.