How do you sort brass by weight. I have been experminiting with this. I made a chart in EXCEL that was like a 50rd loading block. I weighed each peice and noted the wieght on the chart. I started moving the brass to another block lightest first. I loaded and stored the brass with out changing the order they were in. Should I start with 500 rds and group them into 100pcs and just keep the 100 group lots together.

Gard,

We buy our brass in bulk, and we carry out several operations before getting to sorting them out by weight.

1. Run them through a full length sizing die.
2. Trim them to uniform length.
3. Uniform the primer pockets.
4. Deburr the flash hole.

Then we weigh them.

The way we do it is set several wooden loading blocks, and place each case in one of the holes.

For example, one block has cases that weigh 150 grains in the first row of holes, 150.1 in the next and so on.

Next block has case that start of 151 grains, 151.1 etc.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

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Originally posted by Gard:
How do you sort brass by weight. I have been experminiting with this. I made a chart in EXCEL that was like a 50rd loading block. I weighed each peice and noted the wieght on the chart. I started moving the brass to another block lightest first. I loaded and stored the brass with out changing the order they were in. Should I start with 500 rds and group them into 100pcs and just keep the 100 group lots together.

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The other post sounds like a B/Rshooter if he sorts by .1 grain, for normal loading for accurate loads you may have to go to a little broader window if you don't have 500 cases to start with, make you a average weight for groups of 10/20 cartridges after the trimming/primer pocket uniforming,flash hole deburring and then take that average and weight and group the cases by .1 as the other post states or by .5 grain if you don't have a bunch and a B/R gun, after seperating the cases into the like weight then see if you have enough to make a loading group of each weight, 20 to 50 cases and if you have too many similar cases in one weight group the divide the group into smaller weight divisions such as the .1 or .2 variance and keep these together for all your loading and load development, this helps in a really accurate gun with precision reloads but not in a run of the mill gun/reload combo unless the brass is very up and down in weight differences, good luck and good shooting!!!

Hey Gard, I do something similar to Saeed. In addition to his list of pre-weighing case preparation, I also:

2a. Deburr the outside of the case mouth.
2b. Chamfer the inside of the case mouth with a Lyman VLD tool.
2c. Polish the mouth with a good size piece of "0000 Steel Wool" wrapped around a Bore Brush which is in a plastic handle. (No need to spin it in a drill.)

Item 2c has proven to be a real accuracy trick for me. It prevents any scaring of the jacket as the bullet is Seated. And, it eliminates Moly being scraped off the jacket as well.

Now, the biggest difference between our methods is that I place a small piece of 3M's "Scotch Magic Transparent Tape"(SMTT) on each case after weighing. Then I write the weight on it.

SMTT is the only tape I've found that will not leave a residue on the case when you remove it. So, if you use a different type, you have at least been warned.

I also keep a list as you mentioned you are doing with Excel, but I just do mine by hand in whatever order the cases are weighed(List 1).

I take List 1 and segregate them into the same weight cases on another list(List 2), which results in the same thing Saeed has. (You can do this with the "Sort Function" in Excel.)

Then I take List 2 and break it into any size groups I desire. I normally prefer 9, 15, or 18 cases as close to alike as possible for my Load Development.

Now, some folks think this is a total waste of time. It may or may not be, depending on the individual Lot of cases. But, it does one more thing for me - it helps develop confidence in my final Load. So, for me it is worth the effort.

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Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

Gard, you might also want to see the information posted at this site: http://www.members.home.net/mi-silhouette/caseprep.html#Weigh%20and%20sort%20cases

I think you will find that a practical approach is best.

Best regards,
Alex

Greetings, Gard.
I do the same prep as Saeed, then start weighing them with a Hornady electronic scale. I lay out a piece of masking tape on the bench, and as I weigh them I place them in an appropriate spot and write the weight on the tape. After a while, I have them lined up, and it resembles a bell curve if you look at it from the top.
Then, I store them in plastic tupperware containers, with the weight marked on a piece of tape on the lid. I group the cases +/- 0.1 grains (so I'll have a container labled "50.1 -50.3", and so on).
I do the work in operations, for all the brass at the same time. In other words, I'll size all 300 cases, then trim them, then de-burr them, then do the primer pockets, then weigh them.
I really haven't tried the .243 and .308 at long enough ranges to see how much help it is, but I know it makes a measurable difference with my .22 Hornet loads at 100 meters.
Regards, George.