Super noobish question about X fired brass

[300WSM]

brass is a combination of copper and zinc, its an alloy, as you resize it, it becomes work hardened. it developes springback as it hardens. meaning the more you size it the more it attempts to stay the fired size. this affects neck tension, which affects velocity, which affects consistancy. This is why neck sizer guys reach the point where they have to FL size to bump the shoulders back .002. I worked in a copper mill for 4 years so I fully understand what annealing does and the work hardening of copper based alloys.
If you don't believe me, sight your rifle in at 500 yards, load 3 once fired brass,, shoot a group, then take 3 brass that are 1, 5, and 8 times fired,, load them up and shoot the same 500 yard group, then get back to me.

How about 1000? I shoot many things at 1000. Match or for fun etc...challenging myself
I'm well aware the properties of a brass case and I can simply say from my experience any difference I've found is completely negligible or coincidentally nature doing it's thing.
Certainly well within nature's possible affect on POI

In other words I've shot a group with a hunting platforn at 1000 yards with a 3x,5x,8x whatever times fired (mix n match) and shoot a better group than all cases being "x" times fired.

Any difference I've seen is well within nature's margin of error.
Especially when significant distance is involved which starts at 600 yards for me onward to 1000

 

[nhenry]

how far are you shooting , and what size group are you happy with ?

400’s my max on game. My rifle shoots the load I developed with Hammers into 1/2” groups at 100, and I’d prefer to stay below 3/4”

 

[cloverleaf]

My issues are case head separation. Whether thats from over sizing or work hardening I cant say accurately, other than by times fired. I loose some brass that way I suppose, but I cant tell imminent case head separation in my rifle well enough. Visual inspection and a "paper clip" dont cut it for me. CL

 

[KinleyWater]

For my purposes, I don't really worry about sorting: headstamp, number of times fires, caliber... no, wait, I do sort by that. Anyway, a while back, I wanted to see how many times I could reload the same pieces of brass before they wore out; it was a cost efficiency question. Specifically, it was with .38 Spl. brass and what ended up being low-charge loads with 700x (about 3.8 grains, if I recall correctly). To track reloads, I used a dykem pen and drew a line from the primer pocket to the edge of the rim. I did this after decapping.

What I learned was that after 7 reloads (8 uses if you count that it was loaded ammo when I purchased), the brass still hadn't worn out. I still have most of it, though I lost some over the years to literally misplacing them. All of that, was, of course, full-length sizing. Admittedly, that was very low pressure loading, pushing 125gr. plated bullets.

How long your cases last seems to come down to how much you work them, both under pressure when firing, and when resizing. I would suppose that metallurgy of the brass would be the other determining factor. And dykem, great way to mark cases.

 

[jimbires]

400’s my max on game. My rifle shoots the load I developed with Hammers into 1/2” groups at 100, and I’d prefer to stay below 3/4”

I doubt you'll see a difference in group size with mixed times fired brass at that distance . I would keep track though . it will help you stay aware of the brass life . the brass pics I posted , I discard that brass at 15 cycles . it's at the end of it's life .


I anneal every cycle . I shoot mixed times fired brass . this brass is all the same lot number , all prepped the same . the mixed fired brass shoots fine for me . I have two rifles I shoot the most . both shoot under 1/2 MOA at 200 yards , both shoot around 1/2 MOA at 1000 yards . the one rifle I shoot to 2000 yards fairly regular . there is so much going on at these extended distances that I can't say the mixed fired brass has any effect on group size .

 

[TackDriver284]

I doubt you'll see a difference in group size with mixed times fired brass at that distance . I would keep track though . it will help you stay aware of the brass life . the brass pics I posted , I discard that brass at 15 cycles . it's at the end of it's life .


I anneal every cycle . I shoot mixed times fired brass . this brass is all the same lot number , all prepped the same . the mixed fired brass shoots fine for me . I have two rifles I shoot the most . both shoot under 1/2 MOA at 200 yards , both shoot around 1/2 MOA at 1000 yards . the one rifle I shoot to 2000 yards fairly regular . there is so much going on at these extended distances that I can't say the mixed fired brass has any effect on group size .

Yes, I agree that shooting mixed fired brass of the same brand may not have any difference in group size as long as its annealed at every cycle. It may affect those who do not anneal due to brass hardening which gives different neck tension. There are other variables that may affect group sizes as well.
I have my preference though, I sort them anyway.