Reloading .223. How do you sort your brass? By head stamp? Or by case weight? Which one is better?

[@cory8791]

Great vid!

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

Thanks, Cory. I appreciate your watching.

[@peteregger7928]

Nice work! Your documentation is superb!

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

Thanks Peter. I appreciate it. I've been enjoying your channel as well.

[@18wheelsandadozen6shooters5]

Great job! Good info

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

Thanks. I appreciate your watching. Please subscribe if you haven't already.😀

[@richardwills8017]

I use only Lapua brass and do not sort the brass. I sort primers by weight and bullets first by weight, then by base to ogive measurement. I do have every case numbered though and keep track of its measurements after it is fired and again, after it is sized. By numbering each case I can see trends in a particular case, such as neck, or expansion issues. I record the measurements of each piece of brass throughout its entire life and find this documentation very helpful in selecting what rounds, will go into what groups.

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

That's expensive. You must be a competition shooter. Thanks for watching. I hope you subscribe if you haven't already.

[@richardwills8017]

@@EverydayReloadingandShooting Nope, not a competition shooter, just a 70 year old guy shooting against himself. I just like try to remove as many ammo related errors as I can, so I can concentrate on that elusive one hole group. I do love watching your video’s, subscribed long ago. I have picked up some very good information from you. Thanks and keep making these great video’s!

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

@@richardwills8017 I appreciate that Richard. I am the same. I also turn 70 next week, and my joy is trying to shoot as tight a group as possible. Searching, like you for that one whole group. Thanks for the input. Always appreciated.

[@robertreed2300]

Very informative. Thanks

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

Thank you, Robert. I appreciate your watching. I hope you will subscribe if you haven’t already. Thanks again.

[@lemonaid1605]

One problem with the case weight method is that the extractor cut on the case head can vary enough that it dose not accurately represent the internal case volume. I would guess that the larger the case diameter the more difference in case weight variation due to variations in depth of the extractor cut. (I checked out this topic and agree with the many author's conclusion that it is effort/time wasted for little benefit.)

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

An extractor Mark may squish metal to the side and indent the case head but it usually doesn’t remove any brass from the case. I have reloaded over 10,000 cases since the start of last year, and I don’t think I’ve seen any cases where metal was removed from the case head. It is worth consideration, though, I admit. As always, I appreciate your input.

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

Also, Case diameter is only going to vary from one caliber to the next. If you were running all of your cases through the same resizing die , and trimming them to the same length, there should not be any difference in the diameter or external dimensions. Once again, something worth thinking about.

[@lemonaid1605]

@@EverydayReloadingandShooting Sorry, my description was not clear. In the making of brass in order for the extractor to be able to "hook" onto the case there is a groove by the case head, often cut by a lathe type device. That groove can vary from maker to maker, how deep it is or wide. A larger case having a bigger diameter will mean more brass mass is cut off when the case is made and in my opinion will yield more weight variation from that alone independent of what the case volume is. If it case sorting by weight works for you even if it is just a confidence booster then enjoy!

[@RimfireAddicted70]

For me this approach isn't supported by by any data anywhere that I know of. Case weight at best would only apply to like brand brass once you get into mixed brass the variables of geometry, brass composition, hardness, neck thickness and more all become variables that will play with end results. I think it in the long run it will be a wild goose chase but during the process as seen previously with shooters, if you "want" to find a benefit you will convince yourself you have found one whether it's there or not. For me I use only Win brass for for my bolt .223's and they are kept separate never mixed. In my AR's loading varmint, practice, plinking ammo its all mixed cases and I do no sorting or reloading counting of any kind, I check the necks and go. Been doing that for 20 yrs and been successful so I have confidence in my process. Match brass for AR's is all LC and marked and never mixed again it's neck checks and go. Reloaders can get into a bad habit of over thinking reloading trying to get too critical for perfection at the bench. The problem is all of that time and effort is for naught if you are not equally critical with each shot at the range, prefect breath control, position building, trigger control, not over heating the barrel, wind reading, etc, etc. No point making perfect ammo if your execution isn't perfect. YMMV

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

Hi rimfire. I appreciate your well reasoned and thought out comment. I value input like this. You say that my approach isn’t supported by any data. I think the test I just ran is supporting data from my point of view. I also make the comment at the end , that the best way to sort brass might be to sort by head stamp, and by case weight. I appreciate your watching. If you haven’t already subscribed, I hope that you will. Thanks again.

[@RimfireAddicted70]

@@EverydayReloadingandShooting Hi, I am a subscriber and have been for awhile. The reason I say no data is one person's data is never considered relevant not to be mean but it's far too little data to be useful in any metric. Once you get into sorting by case weight AND headstamp on mixed brass well forget it because what is the point then?? You're numbers will be all over with the different brands and you'll always have insufficient quantities at the same stage. It becomes a futile effort of logistics. I was trying to explain in my comment and it can be difficult sometimes that every reloader has a vision of "ideal" loaded rounds. We can sometimes get lost trying to achieve that and will spend abundant time, effort, and money trying to reach it but in reality the end result is little if any actual real world improvement because ammo is only 1/3 of the equation. If the rifle/optic are not up to par, and most importantly the shooters skills are not up to par on every single shot then the whole process of making that ammo was pointless. I hope that better explains my thought process. We see guys with $3-4k rifles in rimfire topped with $400 optics ...WTH?!?! Using bulk box ammo and complain it doesn't shoot like the ones on youtube. Every part of the equation has to be on par for it all to perform, if not then you cannot expect the results to match. I'm reloader myself, have been for over 30 yrs. and learned a lot along the way refining techniques. I reload pistol, rifle, shotgun everything from match grade to competition and varmint hunting. I've won enough matches over the years that I'm confident mt processes while not perfect as I think there is no such thing do perform reliably and consistently. I believe in understanding variables that you can control and knowing what you cannot. Hope this clears my previous response up a bit.

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

@@RimfireAddicted70 I appreciate the comment. I see what you're saying. My point about sorting by case weight was that if the external dimensions are all identical, then a difference in case weight can only mean a difference in the internal volume, which would make a difference in pressure, and that by separating by case weight, you get a more consistent load. To me, that concept just seems logical. I get what you're saying. I don't think I'm wasting time pursuing this, because it's a hobby, and I have fun doing it. I truly value your input. Thank you. If you're a dad, I hope you have a great Father's Day tomorrow.

[@EverydayReloadingandShooting]

@@RimfireAddicted70 and thank you for being a subscriber!