Bump Sizing Once Fired Brass from 2 Different Rifles

[Blackhawk]

New to reloading (but have done lots of loading using only new brass) so this is a real newbie question. I have 100 cases of once fired Gunwerks brass. Almost all were fired from my new rifle (300 Win Mag) but a few were fired from another rifle of the same caliber. Unfortunately, the cases are mixed together because I did not anticipate that I would be reloading the cases. I recently decided to "go green" and recycle and am regretting my lack of foresight.

How can I determine which case was fired in my older rifle so that I don't have to full length resize all of them? I'm thinking of measuring the headspace on each fired case as well as the case body diameter just in front of the belt and then separate them into the two groups by significant measurement differences. Will that work?

If I determine the max head space dimension for my new rifle using the "close the bolt on a new case with a partially seated fired primer" method and then set my sizing die to bump all my brass by 0.002" (after confirming that the bumped cases will chamber properly), then do I need to worry about whether the brass was once fired in another rifle? I just ordered a Forster Datum tool to do this measurement.

If my once fired brass in both by new and old rifles didn't expand enough to allow a 0.002" bump, then is it still safe to use them without bumping happening? I'm guessing I would effectively be neck sizing using the Redding Type S FL bushing die until I have had enough firings that have more fully fire formed the brass to the chamber so that I have enough expansion to enable a 0.002" bump sizing.

Appreciate any advice.

I would follow the advise given and full length resize all your brass after I had tumbled in a steel pin media. Next I would reccomend the use of the Redding Competition Shell Holder Set(caliber specific) for your rifle in conjunction with the Redding Body Die (again caliber specific). This will allow you to taylor your cases shoulder length to to one certain weapon) The beauty of this is that once your die is set up and you find the optimum setting for your case to bolt closure, well it will never vary. As an added plus you will not constantly be readjusting your FL die. It also will allow cases with slightly enlarged heads to once again seat fully and not hang up, or bind when chambering a round( checked in a head space gauge). Next I would trim to length and then anneal your brass. In this manner you are treating your brass as if it was new and not fired from different guns with different chamber tolerances.
The whole key is uniformity !
Now that you have brought your brass back to your weapons initial chamber dimensions .it would be a simple matter to use the Redding Competition Shell Holder Set and adjust your cases to fit in a second weapon of the same caliber simply by using the different shell holder from the Redding set which vary in thickness from .002"- .010" in order to correctly fit that second weapons chamber. ( What I do is color the newly primed brass by using a magic marker on the seated primer in different colors to keep them segregated as a visual indicator of which brass will chamber into which rifle)
I realize that you already are bump sizing your brass, however I feel that once you use the Redding Competition Shell Holder Set in conjunction with the Redding Body Die you will see just how quickly you can adjust your brass to conform to one or more weapons of the same caliber. Please watch U tube related videos !. Hope this helps!

 

[Mike Matteson]

I would follow the advise given and full length resize all your brass after I had tumbled in a steel pin media. Next I would reccomend the use of the Redding Competition Shell Holder Set(caliber specific) for your rifle in conjunction with the Redding Body Die (again caliber specific). This will allow you to taylor your cases shoulder length to to one certain weapon) The beauty of this is that once your die is set up and you find the optimum setting for your case to bolt closure, well it will never vary. As an added plus you will not constantly be readjusting your FL die. It also will allow cases with slightly enlarged heads to once again seat fully and not hang up, or bind when chambering a round( checked in a head space gauge). Next I would trim to length and then anneal your brass. In this manner you are treating your brass as if it was new and not fired from different guns with different chamber tolerances.
The whole key is uniformity !
Now that you have brought your brass back to your weapons initial chamber dimensions .it would be a simple matter to use the Redding Competition Shell Holder Set and adjust your cases to fit in a second weapon of the same caliber simply by using the different shell holders which vary in thickness from .002"- .010" in order to correctly fit that second weapons chamber. ( What I do is color the newly primed brass by using a magic marker on the seated primer in different colors to keep them segregated as a visual indicator of which brass will chamber into which rifle)
I realize that you already are bump sizing your brass, however I feel that once you use the Redding Competition Shell Holder Set in conjunction with the Redding Body Die you will see just how quickly you can adjust your brass to conform to one or more weapons of the same caliber. Please watch U tube related videos !. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the information. Something I do is mark the back of the case on different areas with finger nail policy. I will mark out a letter or 7 300 Win Mag. I set up a sheet on my computer to save and print out. I more generally use to for weights of brass to kept them in there set.

Thanks,

SSS Mike

 

[Blackhawk]

Yep that'ill work just fine ,however you may find residue on your bolt face. Even if your marker is dry the heat generated from the case head slamming backwards during ignition may cause unwanted caking on your extractor and ejector ,not to mention your firing pin. It is because of this that I use a magic marker. A quip wipe with a q tip and solvent will remove any ink that remains on my bolt if in fact I do get any at all.