Rifle Brass Sorting Experiment - Part Two

In the first part of this series, I spent a significant amount of time and energy measuring several dimensions of the same rifle cases, over and over for five firings. The goal was simple – to measure the relationship between the weight and volume of the cases. The theory-first approach I took does have its merits, but admittedly the results were a bit less clear.

Another valid way to approach this experiment is results-focused. To simply record the performance (muzzle velocity, score, etc) of each case, look for outliers, then try to better understand why they are outliers.

Rifle Brass Sorting Experiment - Part One

Weight-sorting brass has become a fairly common practice in the world of competitive rifle marksmen and precision reloaders. Similar to bullet sorting, this operation seems intuitive when the goal is maximizing consistency by minimizing variation.

Those who sort their brass by weight may believe that case weight is directly proportional to case capacity and a shortcut to the tedious process of measuring volume with a liquid. Personally, I haven’t seen much evidence to support this belief, so this experiment series will begin by exploring the relationship between case weight and case capacity.

Chronograph Shoot-Out

Which chronograph should I buy?

Most likely, you’ve been asked this question, heard it asked, or have asked it yourself. I certainly have.

It’s no wonder, with so many options to choose from, each using different techniques and offering greater accuracy and precision than the rest. Since high-quality chronographs are an essential tool for the work I do here at Ammolytics, I thought it would be helpful and interesting to provide a direct comparison of some modern options. I already own a MagnetoSpeed V3 and some friends loaned me their LabRadar and Two-Box Chrono, which created an excellent opportunity test them head-to-head and to satisfy my own curiosity.

Bullet Sorting Experiment - Part One

One of the conclusions that I drew from my Recoil vs Muzzle Velocity experiment was that my reloading practices had some room for improvement. There were two slow rounds in one of the 10-round groups that disappointed me and I had suggested that it might relate to my bullet sorting method. I used this opportunity to create another experiment – to measure the impact of bullet sorting by weight, bearing length, and by base-to-ogive. Specifically, I wanted to compare the effects of firing the extreme cases side-by-side: (e.g. lightest vs heaviest, longest vs shortest).

Experiment: Recoil vs Muzzle Velocity

Earlier this summer, one of the F-class shooters in our league was trying to diagnose an issue with his new rifle. He was using a reliable load that he had previous success with, but his chronograph was showing some pretty extreme muzzle velocity variation of around 35 ft/s. Remembering a SnipersHide article I had read about recoil management technique contributing to inconsistent muzzle velocity issues, I suggested that as a possible cause. I went home and found the article, intending to share – but when I read it again, I noticed some things that made me question the results.