Hi all,

I had a quick question that I was hoping to get opinions on. When reloading batches of ammo for handguns such as .45, .9mm, .380, Do you use all the same kind of brass on a per batch basis or can say 50 Winchester brass cartridges and 50 Starline brass be used for the same caliber of 100 rounds?

It can be done (and I do it all the time) but brands of brass may have different wall thickness affecting crimp efficiency and there are also differences in primer pocket dimensions, which is infuriating when you're on a role and one just doesn't want go in with the same stroke pressure as another. I don't load to maximum pressures so I don't have much of an issue there. But if you do load to max loads then I would separate brass by manufacturer and reload separately. You'll quickly see which ones burn hot and which ones don't.

It is always preferable to match your brass in batches, but for informal handgun shooting it is not particularly necessary. Autoloaders might tend to be a bit more sensitive than revolvers in this regard.

For rifle shooting, even if somewhat informal, I always separate brass into lots that are as nearly the same as possible -- however, even lots of brass from the same manufacturer will vary as specs and tooling may change over a period of years.

quote:

It is always preferable to match your brass in batches, but for informal handgun shooting it is not particularly necessary. Autoloaders might tend to be a bit more sensitive than revolvers in this regard.

For rifle shooting, even if somewhat informal, I always separate brass into lots that are as nearly the same as possible -- however, even lots of brass from the same manufacturer will vary as specs and tooling may change over a period of years.

+1

quote:

But if you do load to max loads then I would separate brass by manufacturer and reload separately. You'll quickly see which ones burn hot and which ones don't.

Yep, don't do it for max loads, but for near minimum plinking loads, especially in a revolver, it's not a big deal.

quote:

Originally posted by Antelope Sniper:

quote:

But if you do load to max loads then I would separate brass by manufacturer and reload separately. You'll quickly see which ones burn hot and which ones don't.

Yep, don't do it for max loads, but for near minimum plinking loads, especially in a revolver, it's not a big deal.

This is my experience also.

Here in the West we don't have as many indoor ranges and folks will just go out in the desert and blaze away. After you find out one of these spots it's amazing what the volume of brass that you will find there left by the shooters. Many different brands.