Using brass from a different rifle…

[Vern400]

Where you run into issues is if it was fired in a rifle with a larger diameter web area of the case. Thats where it’s going to stick if it is. You can push the headspace back where needed but unless your die is specifically cut to resize the base small enough, you’re never going to get rid of that issue.

You can also get some false pressure signs from this even if it does fit, guys will call them clickers.

If it’s for a plinker, give it a go and see what happens.

For a precision rifle, If your a new reloader, I would avoid the headache of dealing with brass fired in another chamber, I’d also not even mess with mixed lot brass. You’re just setting yourself up for some head scratchers down the road.

That's a good point. Even the small base dies that I recommended if he's using 223 won't work if you're fudging around trying to get fairly snug shoulder fit.
I totally forgot about that.

 

[TheViking]

Thanks all.
I will defintely use the same headstamp for my loads. I have a few - hornady, lapua, adg and peterson. I will separate them, full size them and see how it goes.
I really don't want to buy new brass, I have probably damn near 1,000 pieces.

 

[wind gypsy]

Thanks all.
I will defintely use the same headstamp for my loads. I have a few - hornady, lapua, adg and peterson. I will separate them, full size them and see how it goes.
I really don't want to buy new brass, I have probably damn near 1,000 pieces.

There is notable lot variance with same headstamp at times too. If you know you bought some boxes together or they are same lot, i'd keep them separated if possible. Might be a nothing burger but might be worth it.

 

[Lawnboi]

Thanks all.
I will defintely use the same headstamp for my loads. I have a few - hornady, lapua, adg and peterson. I will separate them, full size them and see how it goes.
I really don't want to buy new brass, I have probably damn near 1,000 pieces.

You would also preferably want brass that was all fired through one other gun. Example would be if I had 200 pieces of brass fired from another barrel, the dimensions will be similar when sized, versus if your trying to size a bunch of brass from a bunch of different rifles, with varying headspace.

Powder and bullets are expensive, I’d much rather have a few hundred pieces of same lot Starline than range pickups.

I’d just put the Hornady in the recycle bucket

 

[tree stick]

Anneal (if you anneal), FL resize, trim if needed. After firing in your current rifle adjust your die for 2-3 thou of shoulder bump. The hornady case comparator set helps with this.

If you want the cases to work in each rifle bump the shoulder 2-3 thou back from the tightest chamber. Use the comparator set to measure a case fired from each rifle or resize enough for it to fit into one then try the others and adjust your die down a little at a time until it fits in the last rifle.

 

[madcalfe]

i honestly wouldn't put too much thought into matching the headstamp.
i literally open the necks on various 270wsm cases to use in my 300wsm.
I've ran Nosler, ADG, federal, Hornady, and whatever else i have sitting there and have noticed no difference in accuracy that would impede on real world hunting scenarios.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Do you know how many rounds were on that particular piece of brass?

Not really. But knowing my Dad and how he did things, I am sure it was 10 or more. One other thing to remember, his rifle was an sporterized 03 Springfield (that I now have) with a chamber that was big, but still within tolerances. I took it to my 'smith who checked it.

 

[RockAndSage]

If you’re new to reloading, I’m assuming all this different brass is probably factory ammo. Hornady possibly?

I would absolutely just start with a new batch of brass. The $180 you save isn’t even worth the potential headaches you could encounter.

Never heard anyone recommend this for the reasons stated, but it makes a ton of sense. Personally very interested, as, while I've done mounds of pistol reloading, I've done virtually zero precision rifle reloading. Just some .223 and 30-06 to shoot during Covid.

If you don't mind sharing...after starting with a new batch of brass, what kinds of headaches would start popping up, how common, etc?

 

[huntnful]

Never heard anyone recommend this for the reasons stated, but it makes a ton of sense. Personally very interested, as, while I've done mounds of pistol reloading, I've done virtually zero precision rifle reloading. Just some .223 and 30-06 to shoot during Covid.

If you don't mind sharing...after starting with a new batch of brass, what kinds of headaches would start popping up, how common, etc?

If you start with a new batch, no real issues.


If you use brass from 2 other chambers, you can get clickers, stuck cases, false pressure signs and inconsistent shoulder bumps. All dependent on the reamers used and the headspace they ended up with on the other chambers.

You can definitely measure brass from the other chambers for differences and try a couple pieces and verify things. But to think you’ll just grab em all and run them through a die and mix them all together without verifying how close they are, likely isnt going to work out great.

 

[MallardSX2]

I FLR and don't worry about it.

 

[Hondo64d]

Full length dies reduce the brass, but not all the way back to where it started, especially the web near the base. Small base dies are full length dies with smaller dimensions to get the case closer to unfired brass.

Usually it’s cheaper to toss brass that doesn’t fit rather than buy a small base die for cases that can’t be chambered when sized with normal full length dies.

I used to save money by reloading mismatched range brass for practice ammo. I’d keep new or once fired brass for hunting loads and mismatched brass for practice. If you ever hunt with range brass just make sure to chamber every round before the hunt. Even range brass for practice loads should be checked before loading or you’ll have to pull bullets from oversized cases.

This the way…

John