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Old August 17, 2009, 08:08 PM   #1
roy reali
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Brass Factor

Does the brand of brass you use seem to affect accuracy? Do you use only certain makes of cases or do you mix and match?
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Old August 17, 2009, 08:14 PM   #2
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There have been several articles in Handloader where people did experiments to compare different makes of brass. The "premium" brands did not necessarily come outthe best as far as accuracy goes. But, variability in case neck thickness around the circumference of individual cases does seem to matter. Case neck thickness variations of more than 0.002" seemed to significantly deteriorate accuracy. The consensus seemed to be that you could buy a bunch of cheap cases and segregate them by case neck measurements and do at least as well if not better than buying expensive brass (that probably has already had the segregatoing done before it was sold).

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Old August 17, 2009, 08:19 PM   #3
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It matters because SAAMI only regulates the exterior case dimensions and neck thickness (indirectly based on total diameter limits of a loaded round). The rest of the internal capacity is up to the maker to see to it that it works. The result is some brands of cases have more capacity than others and that affects peak pressure and velocity.

In pistol rounds the difference is seldom noticable. There bullet seating depth matters more, plus they aren't usually up to rifles in target precision. In rifle rounds, it can make a significant difference. The .308 Winchester, for example, has different brand case weights that vary from 156 grains to 186 grains. That 30 grain difference, assuming identical outside dimensions, amounts to almost 3.5 grains difference in water capacity, which comes to around 3 grains difference in powder capacity. Typically it doesn't take that much difference in charge weight to make up the pressure difference, but it can get you an extra 50 fps in MV to have the extra capacity. In any event, if you try to use the same identical charge in all those different cases, the barrel times and velocities will be a little different and can take a load off its sweet spot. A maximum load in the big capacity case will make too much pressure in the heavier case.
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Old August 17, 2009, 08:21 PM   #4
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YES

EVERYTHING effects everything else. Sometimes a lot; sometimes a little. For plinker grade loads I mix all the odds and ends of brass and don't worry about it. For everything else, each finished box has every round exactly alike. This is especially important for any ammo approaching maximum loads and any to be used for long range or competition.
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Old August 17, 2009, 08:47 PM   #5
roy reali
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Brand Loyalty

Do you find any brand of brass to be better then others?
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Old August 17, 2009, 10:26 PM   #6
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Are you talking about pistol or rifle brass?
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Old August 18, 2009, 12:59 AM   #7
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Some are better than others.

Like anything else there's good, better, best and junk. For my .45 Colt there's lots of good brass of various brands but so far it seems that none are better than Starline. Likewise, for my .270, there's lots of good brass. But it's best shooting pet load takes Federal brass. Of course, if it says Winchester on the headstamp it tends to be good to excellent in my experience. Over the course of time it seems that a well used gun sort of lets you know what it prefers. You get to know what it likes if you shoot it enough. Some gun owners are like King Solomon and his wives: They have so many of them it's difficult to get to know more than a few of them very well. An interesting problem either way......

Last edited by Pathfinder45; August 18, 2009 at 01:13 AM. Reason: more could be said
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Old August 18, 2009, 07:00 AM   #8
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since I reload so many cartridges ( around 40 ) & inherited my father in laws stuff, & asimilated it into my stuff... I have a lot of different brass...

I use all kinds, but never mix them in a box, or even use different brands of brass for the same loads...

my expirience shows that some brands of brass are better for some cartridges, some are better for others ( I like Remington 22 Hornet brass as it doesn't have a crimp groove in the brass, & I find it lasts longer for me than Winchester brass... but I have no problem with Winchester brass in other calibers )

Premium brass like Starline, Lapua, etc. is really nice... but for all but extreme long distance shooting the cheaper brass is fine... I use Lapua brass for my 6.5 X 284 I'm building, as it's what the best are shooting, & I'm building the rifle for 1000 + yard shooting ( trimming the cases exactly the same length, then measuring case capacity, neck thickness, & case weight will make loads more uniform, even with cheap brass, than just buying & using good / expensive brass ) I have a over 1000 LC military 223 cases, that have been sorted by case length, weight, case capacity, & neck thickness... something I wouldn't personally take the time to do, but something my father in law thought was worth doing before he died... I have no doubt those used mlitary cases are capable of accuracy that would match anything out there, because they are trimmed & sorted for consistancy...
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