Henry Rifle Forums

When cleaning and sorting 38, 9 and 45 for plinking how important is separating by headstamp?

I separate by times shot and weight. If I run a hundred through I like to keep projectiles and brass within a tenth of a grain in order to keep the final weight as close as possible. When done I measure, head space die and weigh every single round as a final safety check.

I don't bother separating them. You go through a lot more steps than I do. I'm picky on powder weight and OAL but other than that just go shoot'em.
Jake

To each there own but those pistols that shoot that ammo are not bench guns. Being cautious with powder charges is fine but Im the same as Jake go shoot

I just clean, load, and shoot em - no sorting.

Thanks for the feedback, I was thinking it was ok and maybe I'm a little overboard.

Luv the lever wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 06, 2023 4:46 pm

When cleaning and sorting 38, 9 and 45 for plinking how important is separating by headstamp?
...

The only head stamp I sort is between .223 and 5.56 once fired brass. The once fired 5.56 primer pocket needs to be swagged before a new primer can be inserted.

Mags wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 06, 2023 10:27 pm

Luv the lever wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 06, 2023 4:46 pm

When cleaning and sorting 38, 9 and 45 for plinking how important is separating by headstamp?
...

The only head stamp I sort is between .223 and 5.56 once fired brass. The once fired 5.56 primer pocket needs to be swagged before a new primer can be inserted.

I would sort 9 mm NATO from the non-NATO because the walls are a different thickness. Same with 7.62 and 308.

Just me but I always seperate. With different brass you get differing case capacities and that can change pressures, that can change velocities and on and on. Some cases are a little thicker/thinner which effects seating force required and thus depth and more importantly tension on the bullet.

If Im just loading blaster stuff Ill mix headstamps no problem but most of my loading is done with accuracy and precision in mind so really, anymore I mostly seperate.

I only reload 38s and 357s using factory brass which I maintain in the original 50 round lots that I purchased before I started reloading.

I have a couple of thousand pieces that have been reloaded many times over the last ten years (my reloads are on the low side of mid-range powder weights). I do not mix brass, not even between different boxes of the same headstamp.

My reasoning is that factory loaded ammo likely requires consistently uniform components in the manufacturers' high volume production lines. That to me suggests that fifty rounds of brass from the same lot will be just as consistent on my own loading bench. Of course, I could be wrong about that, but so far, it seems right.

Whenever I reload a box of brass, I set the bullet depth and crimping die once and the last round is always consistent with the first.

Thicker/thinner brass? I haven't noticed a performance difference in POI.

Most of my shooting whether rifle or handgun has been geared with accuracy in mind. I sort everything by headstamp and am too old (and OCD ) to change now. With rifle ammo and some hunting handgun ammo I also record the number of reloads on a label inside the ammo box. I still have the equipment for neck turning, reaming primer pockets and flash holes, concentricity gauges, etc but don't use it that much lately. Having one bullet seating hard and the next seating with very little resistance would drive me to take up knitting for a hobby!

With 9mm or .45 ACP it would make a big difference what kind of gun you're shooting. I've got a few 1911's that would be competitive in a bullseye match and can't comprehend feeding them mixed headstamps. Doing speed drills at close range for training and practice would be a whole different ballgame, especially in a situation where you're unlikely to recover all your brass. There the big factor is reliable feeding.

This thread caught my eye because that's how I've spent my time after total knee replacement...sorting through a couple years worth of coffee cans, plastic bags and boxes of range pickup brass. With the pain meds I wasn't clear thinking enough to load but I could still read headstamps!

I have a couple of bolt action rifle that I only neck size for so that brass is sorted. Also I load for an M1-A and use only 7.62 brass so that gets sorted. Lastly I do sort commercial 223 brass from 5.56 for my AR loading.

Although I agree with it being OK to mix headstamps, I keep the different headstamps for each handgun caliber in different containers - just a habit left over from rifle loading. I wouldn't be concerned if headstamps of 9's or different ones of 45 ACP's got mixed within caliber though. I just have a habit!!
Not a benchrest shooter, so not concerned with nuance of defensive loads. As long as I get decent groups at defensive distances, I'm happy.
I don't have a progressive press, but I'm sure like you guys, I want to be careful of powder loads like squibs and doubles, so all primed no-powder cases are upside down in the tray. Every right-side-up loaded case is looked into for load and level before the bullet goes on.
With hunting loads (I hunt with 44 mag and 7mm-08 handguns) I definitely wouldn't mix headstamps because I do see changes at 50 to 100 or more yards.

CT_Shooter wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 26, 2023 3:34 pm

I only reload 38s and 357s using factory brass which I maintain in the original 50 round lots that I purchased before I started reloading.

I have a couple of thousand pieces that have been reloaded many times over the last ten years (my reloads are on the low side of mid-range powder weights). I do not mix brass, not even between different boxes of the same headstamp.

My reasoning is that factory loaded ammo likely requires consistently uniform components in the manufacturers' high volume production lines. That to me suggests that fifty rounds of brass from the same lot will be just as consistent on my own loading bench. Of course, I could be wrong about that, but so far, it seems right.

Whenever I reload a box of brass, I set the bullet depth and crimping die once and the last round is always consistent with the first.

I bought 50 white ammo boxes from Midway when I first started to reload about ten years ago. On the end flap of each box I identify the mfgr and the number of times the brass has been fired. I use a "cigar ring" label to identify the bullet and the powder used. It seemed like a good idea and I've stuck with it.

I also use a single stage press and always visually check each step in the process, round by round, to insure that I'm consistent. No music. No videos. No distractions. I just focus on the very important task of making good ammunition for my guns.

Very nice....looks great. Henry cloth and "cigar ring" label.
Maybe we should all try to have Henry merch in the pictures we post. Sure makes the pics of ammo more interesting.