5.56 head stamps, sorting

[justeric]

I'm going through my once fired brass and I have a bunch of different head stamps. About half is LC and the other half is WW.

Should I sort the brass by maker? LC and WW.

Should I further sort the brass by head stamp within the same maker. For example LC 02 and LC 97 being in different piles.

Is the WWC01, WWC11 ... as good as the LC brass? I noticed the Winchester (WW) brass does not have a NATO stamp on it.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Traveler]

When I just plink, I don't care. For a match, you would want to sort them.

 

[tony b]

I sort It might be a sickness. Just primed a batch of LC brass today. Got about 300 ready to load this weekend

 

[Fishinblues]

I would sort the brass by headstamp. Different brands have different loading characteristics.

 

[IndispensableDestiny]

I always sort by headstamp. I wouldn't go as far as sorting by different year of manufacture for Lake City brass, unless I had tons of them. Maybe not then, either.

 

[Pinecone]

In .223, there is a not a lot of case volume difference between the different cases, or between mil and commercial.

And WCC with a year, to me, is the same as mil brass.

But I still sort by maker. If I have a lot of one year, I keep it separate, but if not, then I just run it in a batch.

This is with light to mid range loads. If I were loading to max, I would be a bit more anal about it.

BTW, if you get into .308, there is a good bit of difference with the different cases. Enough to make 0.4 grain differences in charge weight based on case maker.

 

[paxfish]

I batch LC versus other 5.56 and also by brand for .223. At match time, I at least feel like I've reduced ammo variability somewhat.

I think bullet choice is MUCH more important though.

 

[Mooseman]

Some people sort some don't. I guess the truly technical answer is to sort by brand and year. This would give you the most consistency. How much of a difference will this make, not much.

 

[Deep Creek Rock]

My experience, and this is in a .223 bolt gun (not an AR), the same load, in a different case - the POI changed. This is firing 2 different lots of the same case head markings, on the same range outing. The loading was exactly the same per lot, just different cases. The barrel was allowed to cool as well.

I used WWC 5.56 cases in the first group, and PMC 223 in the 2nd. I found the POI was different, but both grouped very well.

For an AR thats fired offhand or plinking rounds, its isnt overly critical if you are not loaded at or near max. For precision bench rest rounds, then ideally you should sort - and even better yet, use cases from the same lot.

According to some of my older load manuals - they state 5.56/Military cases are thicker. Speer did their testing with those type of cases, and stated powder adjustments were not required.

However my Nosler book, stated their testing was done with production cases.

Here is what is quoted from Nosler under the load notes:

"The loads listed here were developed using standard commercial brass. Military brass has less case capacity because of heavier construction, which often yields higher pressures. We recommend caution when using military brass, and suggest starting at or below the minimum loads listed."

I tend to believe the bullet/powder manufacters, who have pressure testing equipment VS armchair/ keyboard reloaders/commandos, who do not.

Depending on what your swaging methods are - you should also sort your cases, for setting your swage (primer crimp removal). Some cases do have thicker case heads, and require more or less of a swage setting.

 

[Pinecone]

The truly anal sort by case weight. An group into lots.

But those people also weigh every bullet, measure every bullet, and weigh powder charges down to the 0.01 grain.