Weighing Brass

[N.F.W.M]

I have just taken delivery of some new brass, I usually use Lapua or Norma, but for this caliber I can only get Remmington brass.

I feel the need to sort this brass weight wise........ What is the best way of doing this ?

Full resize trim to length and weigh ?

Weigh straight out of the bag ?


Cheers

Sticks

 

[loiner1965]

never done this but if i had to then i would full length trim etc and do all the necessaries like chamfer / primer pockets etc then weigh

 

[flyingfisherman]

+1 with loiner.. F/L resize, while your on i would measure them all, find the shortest case and trim to that length then weigh.

 

[taylor]

fully prep then weigh

 

[Brithunter]

The old Hodgdons #26 has an interesting article on case weights and just how it improved the grouping in the authors rifles.

 

[Muir]

I have just taken delivery of some new brass, I usually use Lapua or Norma, but for this caliber I can only get Remmington brass.

I feel the need to sort this brass weight wise........ What is the best way of doing this ?

Full resize trim to length and weigh ?

Weigh straight out of the bag ?


Cheers

Sticks

Why not weigh Lapua and Norma as well?? If you must weigh any brass, all of the above is correct.~Muir

 

[User00014]

I've never weighed a case yet , be it once fired new or used. All I do is fully re-size and trim to factory length and use them !

That's what works for me , and I've used remmington , federal , norma and lapua and all may loads are with in. 50fps sso I wouldn't bother if I were you !

 

[AndrewS]

If you do weigh them, what sort of weight differences would be expected?

Andrew

 

[Brithunter]

In that article in the Hodgdon #26 he says this:-

As a rule, very small cases (.22 Hornet, .222 rem and the like) should be culled to eliminate variations exceeding .5 percent (.005). Standard cases (22-250 rem to 30-06 Government) should vary no more than +/- 1 percent (0.1) and magnum cases are segregated to eliminate those deviating more than 1.5 percent (0.15) from average.

 

[Sinistral]

I have just taken delivery of some new brass, I usually use Lapua or Norma, but for this caliber I can only get Remmington brass.

I feel the need to sort this brass weight wise........ What is the best way of doing this ?

Full resize trim to length and weigh ?

Weigh straight out of the bag ?


Cheers

Sticks

As these are new cases what's the point in full length resizing or even trimming them . It won't make a jot of difference........ and how would you tell anyway? OK - a few of the necks won't be circular, but these can be sorted out by a light touch with the neck expander ball.

You've paid the price for new shiny brass rather than once-fired, so take advantage of this convenience for the first firing. You're only working the brass unnecessarily - plenty of time to do this later on. You could fireform on the first firing, and then neck-size them thereafter until full-length sizing or trimming is needed. Maybe they'll last forever - what a hope.

I do weigh brass after sizing as a routine as I've got about 20 different makes, and it's useful to see which makes are the most consistent - Min. to Max. What's maybe more important is segregating them by brand from lightest to heaviest if you're using full-power loads. Even the small cases such as .223 can vary in weight from one brand to another by 10% so internal capacity must vary in the same way........ Que? This doubt bugs me a bit, so I usually develop loads in the heaviest brand of case (such as RWS) to give myself a bit of elbow room when moving on to the lighter brands of cases.

 

[Brithunter]

Hmmm well I have always sized new brass, even Lapua brass, then trimmed to a common length. Sorts out all the little dings, nicks etc and I KNOW they are the same and will have similar neck tension. I mean just how long does it really take to do?

 

[Cyres]

I resize, trim and weigh, and try and keep batches separate. V important in my .223 with Varget as a slight difference in case capacity can result in a comporessed load. Even Lapua cases can differ between job lots ( sometimes there is a slight difference in the head stamp).

Easy to do an I use a laboratory electronic balance.

D

 

[deeangeo]

I always F/L size & trim new brass. It doesn't take long, then I know all are 'uniform'.

I have weighed 100 cases of new Remington brass once before after doing the above - just for interest and sorted them +/- a tight tolerance into: Light weight, medium & heavy.

I tested each different batch, on two firings, first the initial F/L sized, then neck sized and couldn't tell any usable difference at all.
I never bothered weighing brass again.
Cheers,

 

[swarovski]

for stalkig etc not worth bothering,if benchrest shooting yes