In the design of my circuit I have exposed the MR pin to my control header. My plan is to set the pin HIGH on setup and pulse LOW to HIGH prior to sending in data. In most (not all) cases I have seen on the web this pin is simply tied to the 5V rail. I have wired it both ways and seen similar results in each case.

What do you normally do with the MR pin when designing a circuit using this shift register?

 

In the design of my circuit I have exposed the MR pin to my control header. My plan is to set the pin HIGH on setup and pulse LOW to HIGH prior to sending in data. In most (not all) cases I have seen on the web this pin is simply tied to the 5V rail. I have wired it both ways and seen similar results in each case.

What do you normally do with the MR pin when designing a circuit using this shift register?

You need only to read the data sheet to answer that question:

The device features a serial input (DS) and a serial output (Q7S) to enable cascading and an asynchronous reset MR input. A LOW on MR will reset the shift register.

Always read the data sheet for every part you use; data sheets have LOTS of good information in them.

 

I have wired it both ways and seen similar results in each case.

That's the expected behavior; as long as the pull up resistor is an appropriate value.

If you connect directly to VCC, you give up the reset option. If you use a pull up resistor, you can use reset functionality.