Sorting brass

[TMB]

I haven't started hand loading yet. I'm working on setting up an area in our 3rd bedroom. I've been reading some.of the threads here. I've read about keeping brass together in lots of 20 or 50 so you can keep up with how many times they have been shot and loaded. I've also read about cleaning brass in a tumbler.

My question is: if you shoot 20 round and 50 round lots. How do you keep them separate when your tumbler holds 200 or more shells?

[JEBar]

for nonhunting ammo, I don't worry about it .... I visually inspect every case prior to feeding it into the resizing/decapping die .... the ones that pass are reloaded .... prior to tumbling I try to separate calibers that allow one case to slip into another .... example : 44 and 357/38

[CT_Shooter]

That's a good question. I'm sure you will hear several different answers. I'm a bit obsessive, as you will see by the way I do it.

I store 50 round boxes of brass with the same head stamp and having been fired the same number of times. If I have two boxes of the same head stamp, but have been fired two different numbers of times, I tumble them separately so I can keep the "times fired" data sorted.

Otherwise, if I have two boxes with different head stamps, I tumble them together and separate them after cleaning.

If I happen to find a case that's defective, I replace it in the box with a one time fired case of the same head stamp (if I have one) or with another brand (and make a note of it). It's fairly simple, but it works for me.

My question is: if you shoot 20 round and 50 round lots. How do you keep them separate when your tumbler holds 200 or more shells?

[Mistered]

for nonhunting ammo, I don't worry about it

Neither do I.
If you feel you must separate brass then by all means do it but if you are not loading 'full house' ammo its really not necessary.
As JEBar said a quick inspection of each case before sizing is good enough.
I think I have found one split case in the last year or so of reloading and that been a lot of ammo.
Ditto as well on tumbling. Make sure you don't tumble different size cases that will 'nest' inside one another.

Before you decide on a tumbling method research liquid Vs. dry tumbling to determine what might be best for you.

[RanchRoper]

I have 2 big plastic tubs near the reloading bench. 1 is marked 1 TIME FIRED BRASS...the other 2 TIME FIRED BRASS. When I get back from the range the empties go in one of the other. Once I cycle through all the 1 time stuff, I'll re-label the tub...seems to work.

[BigAl52]

Im the same as the others. I dont worry about range ammo. I just throw it all together and load it with a quick inspection before I actually load it. One can make way more work out of it than it needs to be.

[TMB]

Thanks to all for the information. It seems I was making a mountain out of this mole hill. Mostly because articles I have read say to separate the shells by lot number which is stamped on the box of factory ammo. One article I read said to discard all the shells in a lot if a defect such as a crack or signs of excessive pressure were found in only one.

[JEBar]

for folks who fire at ultra long ranges or are precision shooters striving for single hole targets, such precautions may be worth consideration ... for those of us who aren't, doing so is OK but not necessary .... my natural wobble is much more of an issue than any possible variable like using different brands of primers, etc

[runnin n gunnin]

Im the same as the others. I dont worry about range ammo. I just throw it all together and load it with a quick inspection before I actually load it. One can make way more work out of it than it needs to be.

Agree with BigAl52 for pistol brass. I do a quick check when I resize and decap. I have some .38 brass that is 40 years old both brass and nickel I found in a bin in the garage. Still reload as new, and I have only found a half dozen split necks after multiple reloads.

[Mistered]

WIth regard to sorting brass on a side note IF you load any calibers that are also used by the military you might want to 'cull' out the military brass due to the crimped primer pockets.
This can be a headache when priming when you encounter a crimp that is a little tight.
For brass like .223, 9mm or .45 it might be a good idea to dump all your military brass and stick with civilian mfg. or you might have to consider swaging or reaming the primer pockets on the military brass.

Also another well known primer pocket issue is with Sellior & Bellot cases. These have normally tighter primer pockets than any other brass and some pieces will not accept standard primers. Most all of it primes very tightly as it is and I have encountered some that will not allow a primer to seat fully.

The up side is with multiple loadings the primer pockets 'stretch' a bit and start priming more or less normally. I would judge your use of and availability of brass as your guide.

[CT_Shooter]

Good points. I don't have any military brass, but S&B primer pockets are absolutely tighter than others I use. The few boxes of it that I have have all accepted standard primers, but were noticeably harder to seat with my hand primer than any other brand.

WIth regard to sorting brass on a side note IF you load any calibers that are also used by the military you might want to 'cull' out the military brass due to the crimped primer pockets.
This can be a headache when priming when you encounter a crimp that is a little tight.
For brass like .223, 9mm or .45 it might be a good idea to dump all your military brass and stick with civilian mfg. or you might have to consider swaging or reaming the primer pockets on the military brass.

Also another well known primer pocket issue is with Sellior & Bellot cases. These have normally tighter primer pockets than any other brass and some pieces will not accept standard primers. Most all of it primes very tightly as it is and I have encountered some that will not allow a primer to seat fully.

The up side is with multiple loadings the primer pockets 'stretch' a bit and start priming more or less normally. I would judge your use of and availability of brass as your guide.

[Mags]

.
I shoot some Federal military grade 5.56 in my Long Ranger
https://www.federalpremium.com/rifle/am ... XM193.html

A few months back I was at my shooting buddies place. He was trying to get me interested in reloading. I reloaded several rounds of these military grade cases. I had no difficulties seating primers in these. Even though they say military grade on the retail ammo box are they really military grade brass?

[BigAl52]

I get tired of picking up center fire brass to reload. I dont think Im that energetic to pick up the 22. But more power to ya Bandit for doing that.

[Mistered]

Even though they say military grade on the retail ammo box are they really military grade brass?

I suspect the term 'Military Grade' on the box is a misnomer - kind of like how 'Mil Spec' is hung on stuff not even used in the Military.
Kinda like how 'Green' is hung on some of the most non- 'Green' products?

It could in fact be military ammo as well simply boxed for civilian sale.

'Real' Military cases will have a headstamp designating the manufacturer (typically abbreviated), year and sometimes other markings.
For example I am looking a a piece of .38 Special Military Brass right now that is headstamped 'W C C 72' so Winchester Cartridge Corp. 1972 however it does not appear to have a primer crimp.

Also real Military brass typically does NOT have the caliber on the headstamp.

The crimp will be more pronounced on some military brass than others. Most 5.56 Military brass has pretty noticeable crimp. I am looking at a piece of it as well marked 'L C 09' (Lake City 2009) and it has a very pronounced primer crimp.

Sometimes primers sneak past the crimp with no problems then you sometimes run into a 'streak' of them the primers do not want to seat in.

Swaging or reaming military brass primer pockets was more common back in 'the day' when there was more of it than civilian brass but that's no longer the case.

[clovishound]

I never worry about how often my brass has been loaded. Of course, I don't load that much rifle ammo, mostly just pistol calibers.

Also, I inspect my brass after completely loading. I have had brass split in the seating/crimping phase. Also, it makes sense to me to have a final inspection in case there is a seating issue, buckled case, or bullet defect. By waiting til the end, I don't have to inspect twice.

I do, however, set my cases ready to be deprimed up in batches of ten, and quickly look at them from the top to make sure there is nothing hiding inside them, like tumbling media or a .22 cartridge. It also has the benefit of alerting me when I need to weigh my tenth powder load, without having to count.

[RanchRoper]

Doing each round 1 by 1 in my turret press I can inspect at various stages. Brass gets a look over going into depriming/resizing stage. Primer seat gets a look as I check the powder dropped. Final gets a good look over, and every dozen or so get measured. So far so good. I have caught a couple of split cases, and they get tossed.

[Mags]

.
Pictures below.
The head stamp on these LC 18, no caliber stamp. Which is somewhat perplexing. Marketed by Federal, manufactured by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (but originally by Remington). Some of these look like they aren't seated as deep as they should be.

Worst OAL 2.267 and best 2.247.

...
'Real' Military cases will have a headstamp designating the manufacturer (typically abbreviated), year and sometimes other markings.
...
Also real Military brass typically does NOT have the caliber on the headstamp.
...
The crimp will be more pronounced on some military brass than others. Most 5.56 Military brass has pretty noticeable crimp. I am looking at a piece of it as well marked 'L C 09' (Lake City 2009) and it has a very pronounced primer crimp.
...

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[Mistered]

LC 18

Lake City Arsenal, 2018

Are the rounds in the stripper clips 'new' out of the box?
If so this is probably surplus military ammo just repackaged. I can tell by the color of the cases at the taper & mouth.

[Mags]

.
Yes new out of the box.

LC 18

Lake City Arsenal, 2018

Are the rounds in the stripper clips 'new' out of the box?
If so this is probably surplus military ammo just repackaged. I can tell by the color of the cases at the taper & mouth.

[Mistered]

no caliber stamp. Which is somewhat perplexing

I don't know about the 'perplexing' part and Like I said this is typical for military brass.

Worst OAL 2.267 and best 2.247.

Again not untypical for military ammo.
It ain't match grade stuff.