Loading Range Brass and expecting Precision

[SteelBanger]

How bad am I chasing my tail trying to reload essentially range brass and get any sense of precision out of it? I've been reloading for about 5 years and had saved my own brass for a few years before I jumped into loading and also picked up a bunch of brass over the years when at the range. My supply is endless and I do sort it by head stamp but there's just no way it is consistent from piece to piece. Even if I take my sorting to the next level and sort by weight I could still have dramatic volume differences, neck tension, etc. Most of my shooting over the years has been at 100y and I was barely satisfied with my mostly MOA shooting but I've recently started stretching it out to 500y and quickly realized how lacking my loads are. SD / ES no where near what they need to be even with an RCBS chargemaster throwing my charges.

Right now I'm just messing with .223 in my AR's and was thinking about grabbing some Starline brass ... at $63 for 250 pieces it's not bad and I've seen enough decent reviews about starline to feel like it's good enough to take my loads up a couple notches. I also use starline brass for my .357 loads and it's been good for that, but not quite the same as bottleneck rifle cartridges. Is buying quality brass going to help me much and are there other brands of brass I should consider at comparable prices? I'm not willing to pay Lapua prices, especially in an AR.

 

[cohunt]

Depends on who left it, why, and how much they left. Most of the time you can usually tell the difference between 1x fired and reloaded-- I wont touch reloaded brass, there is a reason it's still there.

I once found 1x fired nosler 223 brass- lots of it and all the empty boxes in the trash at my range-- nice score. One nice thing about mil/nato brass is the year headstamp if you use it.

I usually reserve range pick up rifle brass for plinking or trading or selling.

Pistol, I'll keep as long as it's the same headstamp I use

Its gonna depend on your shooting distances too...300-400 and under - I say go for it-- past that I'd go back to brass bought in lots

That's just me though

 

[LVJ76]

Agree with @cohunt , you can tell when its once fired and when its reloaded. Id it looks new try it out.

Separate by brand and weight sort it at least especially if you have lots of the same brand.

If you hunt/compete save the best brass for this and the rest for plinking. Or buy like he mentioned for hunt/competition and use the one you picked up for plinking so if there are any failures you won't regret it.

Best of luck and stay safe

 

[243winxb]

Do a full Benchrest prep of the new brass. Sort by weight 3/10 gr. batches.
Buy a Redding Type S fl sizing bushing die.

Bullets should be match grade. I use CCI Br primers.

Then & most important, is the rifle going to know the difference?

Its still fun to find out & a great excuse to go shooting.

Oh, the higher the power scope, the better for small groups. Needs some wind flags too.

 

[SteelBanger]

I guess my main concern or question is that I have several years worth of what I'm pretty confident is very mixed 99% 1x fired brass ... even sorted by head stamp they are from who knows how many different lots over the years and how much accuracy can be expected from it?

Out to 300y it will likely do what I need it to do, but getting SD / ES down to single digits to get a load tuned to sub-moa at 500y - 600y has evaded me and I can't help but think quality brass might help reduce big inconsistencies in the brass.

For up to 300y I just shot load ladders with Hornady 55gr SP bullets, one ladder with H335 and one with Varget - H335 looks the most promising with a good node at the top end, which I suspected. I chose these bullets because they are very cheap and I've seen great accuracy reviews so if I can get them to shoot they should be great plinking rounds.

For 300y - 600y I just shot a ladder with Hornady 73gr ELD-M and Varget, with a nice node at 25.9gr if I remember right.

Need to load up some additional rounds around those nodes to shoot for groups and see what I get!

 

[LVJ76]

Then buy some new brass and leave the rest for plinking. I think it will give you piece of mind and it will aid in accuracy.

You'll need to develop loads again but that is always fun anyway.

 

[okie man]

If you wanna make use of range brass, clean it, sort it and sell it to buy good brass!

 

[WildBillG]

The only thing I would rely worry about on range brass is head space problem. You can check that with a paper clip straightened out and a 90 degree bend in the end feel for the little dip above the web. If it is all good sort byhead stamp and sort by weight. Then size so it will fit your rifle and do your regular new case prep. Brass is not cheap so when you find free brass make the best of it.

 

[SteelBanger]

If you wanna make use of range brass, clean it, sort it and sell it to buy good brass!

That's not a bad idea, thanks!

 

[SteelBanger]

Then buy some new brass and leave the rest for plinking. I think it will give you piece of mind and it will aid in accuracy.

You'll need to develop loads again but that is always fun anyway.

I think you're right in that it'd probably give me a little more peace of mind knowing that broad range brass inconsistencies shouldn't be a factor with good quality brass, I just wasn't sure if I should expect to see a dramatic jump in the quality and consistency of my loads moving to higher end brass ... wanted to make sure my expectations were realistic and correct that I should see better results with better brass.

 

[rsmithsr]

that aint headspace.
and aint how you check headspace
that is tired worn out brass getting ready to separate. and the rifle in use could have great headspace, just tired worn out brass.

The only thing I would rely worry about on range brass is head space problem. You can check that with a paper clip straightened out and a 90 degree bend in the end feel for the little dip above the web. If it is all good sort byhead stamp and sort by weight. Then size so it will fit your rifle and do your regular new case prep. Brass is not cheap so when you find free brass make the best of it.

 

[WildBillG]

Is that not where a case seperates if a gun has a head space issue.

 

[SteelBanger]

Do a full Benchrest prep of the new brass. Sort by weight 3/10 gr. batches.
Buy a Redding Type S fl sizing bushing die.

Bullets should be match grade. I use CCI Br primers.

Then & most important, is the rifle going to know the difference?

Its still fun to find out & a great excuse to go shooting.

Oh, the higher the power scope, the better for small groups. Needs some wind flags too.

Forgive my ignorance, but what will the Redding die do for me? I'm currently just using a lee die set. I'm also using Winchester small rifle primers, and a Gen II Vortex Viper PST 3-15x scope.

 

[243winxb]

Redding die

Doesn't over work the brass neck when sizing. Longer case life.
Sizing 1/2 of the neck centers the round in the chamber.