Random Brass at 200 -- Anyone ever make that work?

Jeffm004 · July 15, 2018, 06:33 AM

Minute of man, fine, minute of prarie dog, not so much with 55 and varget. Suggestions? Day 3 with the boy scouts, they are slowing down..... me too :/

IdaSpud · July 15, 2018, 08:04 AM

????

higgite · July 15, 2018, 08:43 AM

This one time, at band camp...

buck460XVR · July 15, 2018, 08:51 AM

We talkin' .223 accuracy from random brass @ 200 yards?

Probably not just the random brass.

Mike38 · July 15, 2018, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Probably not just the random brass.

Probably not. The environment, a bunch of boy scouts, that can't hold an attention span for more than 5 seconds has more to do with it than mixed brass. At 200 yards, even mixed brass should give minute of prairie dog.

reinert · July 15, 2018, 10:15 AM

Go home, get some rest, and review the situation. I've found range brass works well @ 200 yds., and as I've always found in my .223 bolt gun, Varget is good stuff to push those little pills. And mostly, good for you! I'm assuming you're at least an assistant Scout Master. Kudos!

Don Fischer · July 15, 2018, 10:32 AM

What are you talking about?

disseminator · July 15, 2018, 07:04 PM

Must.....work....on......grammar......

I haven't had any trouble with range brass and 55 grain bullets.

std7mag · July 15, 2018, 08:50 PM

I haven't bought a piece of 223 brass yet.
And shoot to 600 yards with it.
I didn't say how accurate I was. But the rifle does fine.

HiBC · July 15, 2018, 09:07 PM

I've bought some 5 gal buckets of mixed unprocessed .223 brass.
In my case,it was nearly all crimped primers,(once fired mil)the majority Lake City,a fair amount of WC,and the rest mostly mongrel.A few IMI,PMC,etc.

Many folks don't bother to sort.They make ammo that meets their needs.

If you want to reduce variability,sort. If you are shooting all Lake City,or WC,
Your brass is not a problem.

55 gr bullets.There is a broad spectrum of quality in 55 gr mil spec bullets.Some don't shoot so good. I don't use 55's,myself,but my brother has been pleasantly surprised by the cheap,bulk Hornadys.

Powder is a definite player in accuracy(but not so much as bullets)

Varget,IMO,is a very sweet spot for 69 gr MK's. Not so much for 55's.

There are a number of good 55 gr bullet powders. H335 is one of the favorites.If you use H-335 with 55 gr bullets,you can rest easy that you have a very good combination.Its not the only choice,but its not wrong.Varget is a little slow.
While not the only primer,the CCI military grade primer costs a bit more,but resists slamfires.

Use a universal decapper (Lee) to decap. Clean your brass. De-crimp,size,trim,and neck chamfer your brass,inside and out. (lightly)

De-lube them.Corn cob works.

It does not hurt to run a brush through the necks.

If you have trimmed your brass to uniform length,and if your bullets have a cannelure,a light crimp with a Lee factory crimp die will resist bullet setback and may provide more consistant ignition.

Most seater dies have a buily in roll crimp which can cause you problems..You can defeat it from your process by backing theseater die off the shelholder 1/2 turn,ot the thickness of a penny or a washer..whatever you can do consistently.Re-adjust your seating stem for LOA.

This process will get you 200 yd ammo,easy.

Of course,you need a 200 yd barrel and a 200 yd shooter.

T. O'Heir · July 18, 2018, 11:16 AM

Random brands of brass makes no difference to accuracy. If you didn't work up the load for each and every rifle you're using, that does matter. So does the bullet type used and the rifling twist.
Mind you, a horde of boy scouts(aged 11–17) won't know or likely care about accuracy.
"...can't hold an attention span..." That's mostly about the instructor. Not the kid. Spent 6 years training instructors in the Queen's Service. ADHD was invented by high school teachers to explain why a kid could graduate without knowing how to spell, put spaces after punctuation, write a sentence or do simple arithmetic. They'd rather blame the kid than accept responsibility.

July 15, 2018, 06:33 AM	#1
Jeffm004 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2013 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 255	Random Brass at 200 -- Anyone ever make that work? Minute of man, fine, minute of prarie dog, not so much with 55 and varget. Suggestions? Day 3 with the boy scouts, they are slowing down..... me too :/

July 15, 2018, 08:50 PM	#9
std7mag Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2013 Location: Central Taxylvania.. Posts: 3,609	I haven't bought a piece of 223 brass yet. And shoot to 600 yards with it. I didn't say how accurate I was. But the rifle does fine. __________________ When our own government declares itself as "tyrannical", where does that leave us??!! "Januarary 6th insurrection". Funny, I didn't see a single piece of rope...

July 15, 2018, 09:07 PM	#10
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,283	I've bought some 5 gal buckets of mixed unprocessed .223 brass. In my case,it was nearly all crimped primers,(once fired mil)the majority Lake City,a fair amount of WC,and the rest mostly mongrel.A few IMI,PMC,etc. Many folks don't bother to sort.They make ammo that meets their needs. If you want to reduce variability,sort. If you are shooting all Lake City,or WC, Your brass is not a problem. 55 gr bullets.There is a broad spectrum of quality in 55 gr mil spec bullets.Some don't shoot so good. I don't use 55's,myself,but my brother has been pleasantly surprised by the cheap,bulk Hornadys. Powder is a definite player in accuracy(but not so much as bullets) Varget,IMO,is a very sweet spot for 69 gr MK's. Not so much for 55's. There are a number of good 55 gr bullet powders. H335 is one of the favorites.If you use H-335 with 55 gr bullets,you can rest easy that you have a very good combination.Its not the only choice,but its not wrong.Varget is a little slow. While not the only primer,the CCI military grade primer costs a bit more,but resists slamfires. Use a universal decapper (Lee) to decap. Clean your brass. De-crimp,size,trim,and neck chamfer your brass,inside and out. (lightly) De-lube them.Corn cob works. It does not hurt to run a brush through the necks. If you have trimmed your brass to uniform length,and if your bullets have a cannelure,a light crimp with a Lee factory crimp die will resist bullet setback and may provide more consistant ignition. Most seater dies have a buily in roll crimp which can cause you problems..You can defeat it from your process by backing theseater die off the shelholder 1/2 turn,ot the thickness of a penny or a washer..whatever you can do consistently.Re-adjust your seating stem for LOA. This process will get you 200 yd ammo,easy. Of course,you need a 200 yd barrel and a 200 yd shooter. Last edited by HiBC; July 15, 2018 at 09:23 PM.

July 18, 2018, 11:16 AM	#11
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	Random brands of brass makes no difference to accuracy. If you didn't work up the load for each and every rifle you're using, that does matter. So does the bullet type used and the rifling twist. Mind you, a horde of boy scouts(aged 11–17) won't know or likely care about accuracy. "...can't hold an attention span..." That's mostly about the instructor. Not the kid. Spent 6 years training instructors in the Queen's Service. ADHD was invented by high school teachers to explain why a kid could graduate without knowing how to spell, put spaces after punctuation, write a sentence or do simple arithmetic. They'd rather blame the kid than accept responsibility. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

July 15, 2018, 08:04 AM	#2
IdaSpud Junior Member Join Date: February 1, 2018 Posts: 8	????

July 15, 2018, 08:43 AM	#3
higgite Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 2010 Posts: 1,025	This one time, at band camp...

July 15, 2018, 08:51 AM	#4
buck460XVR Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2006 Posts: 4,342	We talkin' .223 accuracy from random brass @ 200 yards? Probably not just the random brass.

July 15, 2018, 10:15 AM	#6
reinert Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 646	Go home, get some rest, and review the situation. I've found range brass works well @ 200 yds., and as I've always found in my .223 bolt gun, Varget is good stuff to push those little pills. And mostly, good for you! I'm assuming you're at least an assistant Scout Master. Kudos!

July 15, 2018, 10:32 AM	#7
Don Fischer Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2017 Posts: 1,868	What are you talking about?

July 15, 2018, 07:04 PM	#8
disseminator Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 2016 Location: Minnesota Posts: 960	Must.....work....on......grammar...... I haven't had any trouble with range brass and 55 grain bullets.