Brass Sorting and RCBS Chargemaster?

[JDBraddy]

I shoot service rifle and have always just used mixed range brass I pick up from the ground at my local range. I literally have several five gallon buckets of it. Then I load on a Dillon 550b progressive.

First, all the books I read talk about sorting brass by lot, then weighing each case, using water to measure case volume etc...etc... I've always assumed this might make some minute difference to a bench rest shooter, but was probably just a lot of work, with very little practical return for HP shooters. As always, l'm looking for a little more accuracy, so now, I'm curious, and wanted to ask some of the more experienced shooters here who actually do some of this stuff, how much difference do you find that all this really make for you in practical accuracy? I spent most of last night sorting one five gallon bucket of polished, resized/deprimed and trimmed .223 range brass, into nine one gallon buckets sorted by brand Winchester, Remington, Federal, Lake City, PMC, etc.... I'm planning to load up about a hundred or so of my favorite accuracy load, which will shoot sub-MOA using mixed range brass, using all the same brand of brass, and see if I notice any real difference.

Second, I know the Dillon powder measure probably isn't the most accurate for rifle, Was considering getting one of those dispenser/scale combo's like the RCBS Chargemaster. Does anybody who uses these think they're worth the price of admission?

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Brass Sorting and RCBS Chargemaster?

How helpful a digital dumpster may be depends a whole lot on your measure operation technique, the type powder you're using and the work flow for your measure-scale-trickler usage.

Sadly, many people are inconsistant, have poor tool locations and are in too much of a hurry to bother with getting things right - so they benefit a lot from the costly digital thingies.

 

[adam3999]

Re: Brass Sorting and RCBS Chargemaster?

Measuring the water weight of spent cases is a technique used to find the internal case capacity. If these weights are different for various headstamps of brass, the same powder charge will result in more pressure if the internal case capacity is smaller, and likewise less pressure if the internal capacity is larger. Different pressures in the case pushing the same bullet will end up affecting your point of impact, and thus accuracy if you fire mixed lots in the same string.

Nine separate lots sounds like a lot, however. You may consider just choosing 1 or 2 quality lots like FC, LC, etc, and use the rest for plinking ammo. Or, instead of sorting by each individual headstamp, it may make sense to weigh the contents of say 20 of each and average them. If you find out, for example, that 3 of those headstamps are all within 0.1-0.2gr, it probably makes sense just to toss them in together. If you want to move your pet load to a different headstamp, you can also use the difference in internal case capacity to help direct you to slightly lower or raise the powder charge into the new headstamp.

Personally, for ARs in 223 I just stick to the same headstamp, charge and bullet if I want ~1 MOA accuracy. I save the anal primer pocket cleaning and preparation for the bolt gun

This site has a ton of great info, including average case weights and capacities.

 

[johnsta]

Re: Brass Sorting and RCBS Chargemaster?

I would buy the RCBS Chargemaster. It is outstanding. Makes reloading precision rounds faster and easier. Very accurate as well.

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: Brass Sorting and RCBS Chargemaster?

For Service Rifle?
Sort by Headstamp and be done with it, you are wasting valuable shooting time sorting brass by water volume for an AR15. Sorting by case weight is useless. You may sort by water volume for a precision rifle, but even then if you aren't in a race for 1000yd BR world record I wouldn't bother.
The Dillon PM is likely fine if you know how to use it, I will put my Uniflow and 505 setup against any of the electronic equipment made by an actual reloading company. Lab scales are another ball of wax entirely. I get consistent charges from my old Uniflow because my movements are consistent. Operating a powder measure is an art not a science.

 

[Hunt]

Re: Brass Sorting and RCBS Chargemaster?

If you are using a good ball powder through your Dillon, I don't think you will gain anything by going the Chargemaster route. I have found that my Chargemaster can vary as much a .2 gr and has me resorted back to a Lee PPM and a RCBS 505. Experiment with your Dillon and see what you can do to reduce variance.

As for brass sorting, I think this is a decent idea. As for it being range brass, the best advice I can give is to make sure the inside is not clogged with dirt after cleaning. That might ruin your day.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Brass Sorting and RCBS Chargemaster?

When you shoot 1 load with multiple brands of brass, each brand will have a different internal case volume. This will effect the pressure of the load, which will also increase/decrease the fps of the bullet. You will also get different neck tensions with each brand. All these factors can alter the accuracy in the rifle. The best thing to do is select 1 brand of brass and run with that brass. Do a load work up with that 1 brand of brass to see what shoots the best, and use that for your comps. You can also do a seperate load work up for the other brands. The sweet spot should be very close to the other brands of brass, unless it's a military brass (LC, etc) compared to a Win headstamp (more internal case volume).

For my hunting rifle, I have 3 different loads for 3 different head stamps of brass. If I load my Winchester brass load in a Rem case, I will pierce primers and have sticky bolt lifts. But in a Win case it shoots great with no pressure signs.