Does Mixing brass matter?

M

Mosin-Marauder

New member
I have 3 different brands of 8mm Mauser Brass, S&B, PPU, And Winchester. Would it make much of a difference in accuracy if I loaded the same load in these cases in my M24/47? I wouldn't be loading anything really hot. I will trim them all to a uniform length, as they are all once fired.
Thanks For your help!

Regards,

-Mo.
 
yes it makes a difference because of the case capacity will be different thus it will change the pressure. so you will get eratic velocities.

fine for plinking
 
But you probably wont notice major differences dude, I use mixed brass in every rifle I own, but they are all hunting rifles, and no better than I can shoot, I haven't noticed any Big differences.
 
I think you won't notice in a rifle that isn't 1.5 MOA at 100 YDS or better. My pistol and ar15 ammo is all mixed.
 
If you're really into bench rest accuracy, you should weigh your brass and sort it by weight, rejecting the heavy and light cases. The case capacity will be reflected by the case's weight.
 
If you're a bench rest shooter you may see a difference. If you're shooting for deer it won't matter a bit. If like most of us you're plinking it doesn't matter either. I separate my cases just because I have a lot of each type and I'm curious to see if there are any long term differences. Case breakdowns. With my bench pistols I can see small differences but not enough for me to loose any sleep over.
 
You'll never see the difference.
The rifle itself doesn't have the level of accuracy required to justify the extra effort.
Weighing and sorting cases is the equivalent of hair-splitting.
 
I'd probably drive my self mad(er) if I had to weigh each piece of brass.
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I don't think anybody is advocating weighing EVERY piece of brass. I think what they are referring to is weighing a few of each headstamp to get an idea of which cases are similar and which are different.
 
It all depends on the precision that you are seeking. With my Mini-14 with open sights, if I can hit a regular paper plate consistently at 100 yds, I'm good and mixing brass doesn't matter. The odd thing is that I try a lot harder with revolvers at that range and I want to hit a 6" paper plate or a clay pigeon.
 
I shoot a good bit, and have never been able to actually find the difference. I use the same headstamped brass when making "match" ammo, for consistency reasons, but I just do it to make me feel better. if I was sub-moa anything maybe I would be able to find the difference, but I am not
 
Plinking and hunting out to 100 yds, no problem. But if you're looking for benchrest accuracy, then you will want to sort by weight, brand, and trim equally all to same length.
 
I found that the "European" brass is quite different capacity wise vs. domestic brass. A starting load(with WW brass) listed in the manual I was using loaded in PPU brass resulted in velocities close to the listed max load and primers showed signs of much higher than starting load pressures.
Considering the conservative pressures of even the max loads for 8x57, safety wasn't an issue but it might be if one didn't start with the lowest charge listed.
 
About 2 years ago I was testing some 223 loads and reloading dies, to see what gave best accuracy in my Ruger Hawkeye. When i finished up with all that, and had tons of shot up targets and group measurements, I noticed an MTM box with random brass in it - some Lake City, Nosler, Hornady, WW, and Remington. Some had been prepped. Some had been shot enough that they needed retirement. Some had not been prepped. I loaded up a mess of them and went back to the shooting bench and shot 10 round groups. The groups were not as good as my best groups with fancy brass, but quite honestly the difference was small. Like others have said, if you are into tiny groups, mixed brass isn't likely what you use, but for hunting purposes I doubt you'd notice any difference.
 
Its pretty much all been said.
For the purpose of this discussion,I suggest we use the terms "Reloading" and "Handloading"
The old Winchester and Lyman "tong"type tools,and the original Lee Loader are about "Reloading".They use a dipper,no powder scale.The point is to make good,useable ammo.It goes "bang",it does not blow up the gun,and it will put meat on the table.
Nothing wrong with that.
From that point,you can travel,by degrees,into "Handloading"
Handloading becomes crafting ammo to meet your needs.

Often that has to do with pursuing performance and accuracy.

Both of these pursuits involve reducing variation.

When you are loading near max.your margin of safety is less.Case variation effects pressure.

Pressure variations effect accuracy.

MM,your priorities ,I assume,are good,cheapshooting.Use the brass you have,load moderately.You can hit cans,squirrels,deer,or Bullseyes just fine.
 
Thanks again for all the advice, everyone! Very helpful!

It will be quite a bit before I start reloading for the 8mm Mauser, as I've got a bunch of ammo to shoot. :D
 
I don't think anybody is advocating weighing EVERY piece of brass.
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I do.

As Col. Whelen said, "only accurate rifles are interesting".

No rifle will be accurate with inconsistent reloads. You cant have consistent loads without consistent brass.

Brass in the most important part in accurate loads. (Along with seating the bullet).

If you really care about your rifle and loads read "The Secret of the Huston Warehouse"

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2013/...-warehouse-lessons-in-extreme-rifle-accuracy/
 
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