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Posted: 7/18/2012 11:03:28 PM EDT
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I am thinking about reloading end of the year, early next year, so I have started saving my brass. I haven't done much reading yet, I was just wondering how I should be sorting and separating my brass. I plan to do .223 and 9mm, mainly for volume to save money, not looking to tailor rounds for accuracy.
Obviously different calibers. 1. Separate 5.56 from .223? 2. Separate different brands? Brass fired from different guns? 3. other than split necks/heads, what should I look for? 4. FAQ said I can't reload berdan primed? As far as primer pocket, can I reload anything as long as it has only 1 flash hole, assuming all else is g2g? 5. THIS States he throws brass with flattened primers? Is the primer on the right a flattened primer? Just because of the rectangular shape? All the brass from my Glock 17 comes out like this, I don't think there's anything I can do about it due to the shape of the glock firing pin. |
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Get a box of medium sized (sandwich) ziplock baggies and do what I do, sort them by cartridge and headstamp. Then, mark the bags 'cleaned' , how many cycles the brass has and finally add the cartridge type and amount of cases in the bag. Once done, you at least know what's in the baggie.
I always clean my brass when I get back from the range. That way, it's ready to size/deprime (then trim if needed for rifle brass,) prime and then charge/seat. Many people don't bother sorting pistol cases by headstamp, but I do. Chris |
I dont run max loads, and I still get sub-moa, I'm content with that. just inspect as I reload, and if i have to take a second look, i scrap it.
| By head stamp, but most important is to keep in lots so you can count how many times they have been reloaded. It has to do with the ability of the brass to achieve proper neck tension. Many of us anneal after 3 cycles. Top benchrest shooter anneal after each time fired. Regards |
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Quoted:
I am thinking about reloading end of the year, early next year, so I have started saving my brass. I haven't done much reading yet, I was just wondering how I should be sorting and separating my brass. I plan to do .223 and 9mm, mainly for volume to save money, not looking to tailor rounds for accuracy. Obviously different calibers. 1. Separate 5.56 from .223? 2. in different brands? Brass fired from different guns? yes, Separate 3. other than split necks/heads, what should I look for? Bulge in the web area. 4. FAQ said I can't reload berdan primed? As far as primer pocket, can I reload anything as long as it has only 1 flash hole, assuming all else is g2g? no aluminum or steel cases . 1 flash hole is good. . 5. THIS States he throws brass with flattened primers? Is the primer on the right a flattened primer? Just because of the rectangular shape? All the brass from my Glock 17 comes out like this, I don't think there's anything I can do about it due to the shape of the glock firing pin. Flat primer (Glock) not a problem. Its best to sort & keep your fired brass of the same lot/brand together. I have had some 223 brass where the necks split on the first firing. about 95 of 100 were scrap by the 3 firing. Bad brass.Another problem in 223/5.56 is, some brass (made in turkey & others) will be a lot heavier.. Not good for accuracy, but high pressure can be a problem if loading close to maximum. |
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Quoted:
I am thinking about reloading end of the year, early next year, so I have started saving my brass. I haven't done much reading yet, I was just wondering how I should be sorting and separating my brass. I plan to do .223 and 9mm, mainly for volume to save money, not looking to tailor rounds for accuracy. Obviously different calibers. 1. Separate 5.56 from .223? No. 2. Separate different brands? Brass fired from different guns? Some people sort by headstamp, some don't. I only sort 2009 Lake City brass to use for long range loads, just because I have a bunch of that year. 3. other than split necks/heads, what should I look for? A white-ish line around the brass near the head is a sign of bad things to come. 4. FAQ said I can't reload berdan primed? As far as primer pocket, can I reload anything as long as it has only 1 flash hole, assuming all else is g2g? Mostly yes. 5. THIS States he throws brass with flattened primers? Is the primer on the right a flattened primer? Just because of the rectangular shape? All the brass from my Glock 17 comes out like this, I don't think there's anything I can do about it due to the shape of the glock firing pin. I might separate the brass with flattened primers and check them carefully. |
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Quoted: I am thinking about reloading end of the year, early next year, so I have started saving my brass. I haven't done much reading yet, I was just wondering how I should be sorting and separating my brass. I plan to do .223 and 9mm, mainly for volume to save money, not looking to tailor rounds for accuracy. Obviously different calibers. 1. Separate 5.56 from .223? Not needed, but sort out the 223 PMP cases as they are heavier than the norm. 2. Separate different brands? Brass fired from different guns? I do, but you don't have to. 3. other than split necks/heads, what should I look for? This info is in reloading manuals, I suggest you get ABC's of Reloading and Lyman 49. 4. FAQ said I can't reload Berden primed? Yes, true for beginners. As far as primer pocket, can I reload anything as long as it has only 1 flash hole, assuming all else is g2g? Yes, called Boxer primed. One centered flashole. 5. THIS States he throws brass with flattened primers? This is a great Tutorial but you misunderstand a flatened primer. Again covered in the books I mentioned above. Is the primer on the right a flattened primer? Not what was meant in Tutorial, Glock brass is Glock brass. Just because of the rectangular shape? All the brass from my Glock 17 comes out like this, I don't think there's anything I can do about it due to the shape of the glock firing pin. Correct. |
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IMO your sorting process should depend on volume and the type of ammo that you want to make.
I wanted to get into reloading mainly for economical plinking at first. Fired or range brass goes into a 5 gallon bucket after an outing. When it gets full I sit down and sort out all the calibers into 19qt bins. Then a 5.5qt bin is used for brass that has been deprimed and cleaned. For pistols it is GTG from there, but for rifle it gets sized and trimmed and goes in another 5.5qt bin. Was a bit time consuming to set up, but whenever I get a chance to reload all of the components are ready. Someday I might sort by headstamps on a search for accuracy and then the zip top bags will get used within the bins. |
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I sort my .223/5.56 brass. That is commercial in one container military in another. Then I go from there. Many commercial .223 cases now have crimped primers so if you intend to reload cases that had crimped primers you will need to remove the crimp.
All my pistol cases are just sorted by caliber. If I have enough I'll separate out the nickle coated ones. You will eventually find a brand or year that you have a lot of and end up separating them out too. I currently have a lot of 350, LC 11's that I use for one rifle. I have another lot of about 1000, Remington's that I use for another. It's fun. You'll like it. |
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Thanks for all the help everyone, I think I've got enough info for now just to keep it sorted, the rest I'll pick up when I get to reading. I have been looking at buying bulk (1000 rnds) .223 or 5.56 as I can't seem to find much of that in town, whereas I have little problem finding 9mm in the same 2 brands/loads. From a reloading standpoint would I be better off getting bulk .223 or 5.56 (m193 or m855)? Any recommendations on brands or loads? Most ammo is going to be more accurate than I am so I'm looking at lower cost.
I can't afford to shoot hundreds of rounds each trip either, only been out twice, first time was 100, second was 60. That will be pretty typical unless I bring a friend. ETA: looking at buying bulk LOADED .223 or 5.56 cartridges |
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Quoted:
Thanks for all the help everyone, I think I've got enough info for now just to keep it sorted, the rest I'll pick up when I get to reading. I have been looking at buying bulk (1000 rnds) .223 or 5.56 as I can't seem to find much of that in town, whereas I have little problem finding 9mm in the same 2 brands/loads. From a reloading standpoint would I be better off getting bulk .223 or 5.56 (m193 or m855)? Any recommendations on brands or loads? Most ammo is going to be more accurate than I am so I'm looking at lower cost. I can't afford to shoot hundreds of rounds each trip either, only been out twice, first time was 100, second was 60. That will be pretty typical unless I bring a friend. I sort rifle brass by head stamp, this way when trimming i know all brass in that lot is at X OAL . I see a lot of variation between LC, FC and R/P when it comes to trimming. The web is you friend for almost all your shopping needs.These are just a few places i pulled up quickie like. I use MG buy 2 cases at a time and split it with other reloaders in your area. There are a few FAQ's on bullets and other components here to browse through. Buying in bulk saves on HAZMAT (where applicable) and in the end lowers your cost. Reloading is not cheap, starting up, i have been fortunate otheres in my neighborhood reload and we share cost to keep it affordable for all. http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/catid/5/pid/24169/Winchester_Bulk_Bullets__223_55_grain_FMJBT http://www.wholesalehunter.com/product.asp?productid=3363 http://www.montanagoldbullet.com/ http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2011/04/discount-bullets-hornady-55gr-fmjbt-for-7-92-per-100/ |
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Quoted: Perhaps my last reply wasn't clear, I meant I was looking for LOADED ammo that I can shoot once and have a bunch of the same brass for reloading later. Previous post edited to be clearer Best would be to buy WWB. (Win white box) Very good quality brass and no primer crimp. Next would be LC. PMC is also high quality. LC will have primer crimp, PMC some is crimped, some not. Read the FAQ's for more info on 223/5.56, the brass is the same. Read the 4 posts "how to load 223" up in Tutorials. Step by step how to reload with lots of pics.
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i started with 1000 rounds of pmc bronze (none crimped) from a gun show was only about $260 for those.
was a good way to start off the brass is pretty decent excepting some off center flash holes. $260 is pretty close to what i would pay to make ammo if i had to buy brass. currently for 1000 rounds without buying brass i spend $100/k for bullets $30/k for primers and for 223 about $70 for powder so $0.20 a round i can get brass for $30/k from a local range (+$7 to shoot while I'm there) don't worry you'll slowly collect a hoard, you gotta be ever vigilant for delas as a reloader buying in bulk and when prices are good is the only way to really save any money. my numbers would be a lot lower if i was getting bulk pulldown powder and cheaper primers online but to make it work right for the hazmat I'd have to put in a much bigger order than what i can afford lately. |
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