It depends on the quality of the Brass you are using and the level of consistency/accuracy you are looking for, however, I do it for all my cases. In my opinion it is less of a necessary step if you are using Lapua or Norma Brass. If domestic supplier then more necessary. I believe it does improve upon the consistentcy of your handloads which does improve accuracy. However, this is just one step and overall consistency/accuracy is "built" upon many such steps.

I deburr flash holes, primer pocket uniform, sort cases, and use the best components available, etc to get the accuracy I am looking for.

First off,..sinclair sells one with an attachment to go into a drill which makes it super fast. The parts only come to ~$35. The rule in benchrest shooting is that "CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO ACCURACY". The more you uniform any and all aspects of your cases,..the more your groups will shrink. Many of these steps only matter in benchrest shooting,..so the main thing for you to decide is whether you are looking for the utmost accuracy at longer ranges or whether "hunting" accuracy is acceptable.

Ditto jjs. Most domestic brass has a punched flash hole. This leaves a ragged or even occluded flash hole. Norma & Lapua drill their brass so they are generally perfect. I use the RCBS tool during the prep stage. You can remove too material so go slow.

I have gotten away from the primer pocket uniformer because it tended to loosen primer pockets. Otherwise I match prep all my brass with the usual accuracy steps.

BigBrass - Agreed - a lot of folks can't shoot well enough to tell the difference. However, you should read through Precision Shooting magazine. There are numerous articles of tests conducted outlining the accuracy benefits of match prepping ammo. The precision shooting crowd match preps their brass for a reason - accuracy



The real argument comes down to factory loads are just as accurate as many hand-loaders so why go to the trouble of reloading at all? After all, if all you are attempting is 1 to 2 MOA, you can do that with factory ammo in most guns.

Robz: I don't uniform or debur the flash holes. One thing that I notice is that while there are many handloaders who buy the equipment for this and use it very conscientiously, apparently almost none of them have actually loaded ammo both with and without flash hole uniforming and deburring, in order to compare the groups to determine whether it actually makes a difference in group size. Most of them just assume that if some company sells tools for these things, then they must be helpful to accuracy. If it really were helpful, you would think that one or another of the companies that offer the tools would post group size comparisons (with and without flash hole deburring and uniforming) on their web sites; but I haven't seen any.

ZD:

I believe you are correct in those observations. Most if not all Factory Ammo today is capable of producing accuracy results better than the level of most shooters and/or rifles. However, with a rifle that is capable and if one cares to improve upon the level of accuracy, then reloading for accuracy can achieve significantly better results.

Case in point...I have a Remington 700 SS with 5R barrel..now these guns will shoot sub MOA with Factory match grade stuff with my handloads these rifles have produced 5 shot 100 yd group less than .190", the factory stuff can be no where near that. My loads are so consistent that loaded rounds weigh within a 1.5 grains and the runout is very very little. Is all the work that goes into it worth it...It is for me ...as I shoot 600 yard F-class and just enjoy seeing a rifle shoot sub MOA.

I am just now developing loads for a CZ 550 in 375...now this rifle is for hunting. I still sort cases (but not to extreme), deburr flash holes, uniform primers (even with the Norma Brass, and go through the normal reloading procedures/processes I follow. Shot the gun this weekend using Barnes TSX (a great hunting bullet that is extremely accurate) and Solids....The gun/load shoots under .5" at 100 yds...It is more than accurate enough for the intended use...and the few extra steps I go through are worth it to me. It is a significant confidence builder to know your ammo is that good. I do not think I would get that kind of performance from factory ammo...JJS

Yep!

I got into the competitive long range bit for a while. At times, it's a lot of fun to accurately shoot 600 & 1,000 yards, then there are times when you wish you where shooting trap. The bottom line is, this type of precision accuracy is not necessary for the average 75 to 100 yard deer hunter. 2 MOA is more than sufficient to bag a deer.

Many of us reload because we enjoy the process and there is the benefit of improved accuracy over factory loads. I match prep partly out of habit and partly out of the enjoyment of reloading. De-burring flash holes is just part of the process. An RCBS flash hole tool is a whopping $9 so I don�t see it as superfluous expensive gear and it only takes a few seconds to clean up the flash hole.

At the end of the day, you can go to either extreme of hand loading and still hit the target with sufficient accuracy to bust a deer at 100 yards. But if you are after more than that, match prepping brass is proven to help in the accuracy game.

ZD:

Agree!

I have an RCBS flash hole deburrering tool...however recently switched to Sinclair I really like the Sinclair set-up...

I also switched to Forester Press, trimmer, and dies (where possible) if not I use Redding...I really like the Forester Co-Ax Press...

JJS