im a newby so bear with me,
i have a bit of a mixed bag of brass, winchester, fedral, highland, pmc etc.... they will all reload ok? but other than life expectancy is there any better one than the other?
ps the gun is a 308w
thanks greg

Yes, brass varies in quality as well as in internal capacity. So at least, the collection of brass you have should be sorted according to headstamp and reloaded in batches of like headstamp. Some people choose to reload a mixture of different brass (often mixed military brass, obtained as once-fired). You can do so, but you have to make sure your load is suitable to the brass of smallest capacity, and don't expect the world as far as accuracy is concerned when you fire brass of varying capacity into one group.

Is all your brass reloadable?? I can't tell exactly what brass you have, but basically all brass cases with a boxer primer (centered flashhole) are reloadable. Berdan primed brass (sometimes found in military brass, from Eastern European countries, say), is also reloadable, but it is a pain in the posterior to decap, and is best confined to the rubbish bin.

Is any brass better than other?? This article from 6mmBR.com has some good points about the quality of .308 brass. Other than that, make sure you get a couple of good reloading manuals (Sierra, Hornady and Nosler are ones I use regularly), and study the reloading sections carefully before you start your reloading life... Reloading is a great sport, and will provide you with hours of work and enjoyment, but it is an activity best undertaken in full safety and knowledge of what you are doing.

Good luck.

- mike

quote:

but other than life expectancy is there any better one than the other?

I don't think one is consistantly better than another. Some will disagree however!!!

MHO hit the issues very well. It is best to separate them for reloading charges and especially so if the brass you have contains any military stuff.

If it was me, I'd scrap/sell/trade the stuff for a batch of "same kind" brass....unless you have a large number of a particular brand.

To learn on, it's all fine. There is a difference in brass manufacturers, particularly in hardness and internal volume. For that reason, don't mix cases in a batch.

When you start out loading, most people first try to use everything. After a while, you learn to just order brass in 100 case lots. Most brass is cheap. Bullets and powder are expensive. JMO, Dutch.

You may find some brand bashers here but they all work pretty well, BUT do not mix them when trying to shoot groups or a scope adjustment. Different brands have different manufacuring tolerances therefore you will have different trajectories if you mix. Find one manufacturer that you prefer and stick with it. I use strictly Rem. Some love Lapua or Winchester or Federal. Just pick and enjoy loading.
Don't mix primers and powders either. It is just like cooking. A slight change in recipe changes the taste.

That pretty much covers it. For the Record, my preference in order is Remington, winchester and only if I I have nothing else federal. I've never tried norma or lapua brass.

In sorting brass recently there was one brand of 44 Magnum brass all of which had eccentric primer flash holes all of which I discarded. That brand was consistently bad so I won't use it again. I also had 44 Magnum Federal and Remington brass none of which had eccentric flash holes.

I was going to deburr the flash holes of some Hornady 458 Lott brass except there was nothing to deburr on a number of cases so I gave it up; I was impressed. In past deburring sessions, I had always had irregularities to smooth out. When it comes time to buy more brass, I try Hornady again.

I also load for a couple of 308 Winchesters. What I've found is that Military cases take 1½ to 2 grains less powder to give similar pressures to Federal, Remington and Winchester brass. My best accuracy comes with using one brand of brass (i.e., not a mixed lot).

From my limited experience i have already learned it does perform slightly different for the reasons listed above.

Depends. With rifle ammo I would say it could make a difference. But my experience with handgun ammo does not show there is any difference. I load a fair amount of 45 ACP, 45 Colt and 44 Mag. If the brass is good quality to begin with, make does not seem to matter.

I have found Norma brass to be the most consistent, of the brands I have used, in weight as well as the most concentric in neck thickness.

thanks for the info i think i will try to keep to one brand and see how it gos