Brass you won't reload?

[Jal5]

Being house bound creates projects for me in this cold snap. Like sorting thru all my range brass for headstp! Most of the 9mm is WIN, RP, FC but there is an assortment of others. What brass won't you reload?

[Pb Burner]

Worst I've seen, and I won't reload it, is a-merc

[1Shirt]

PMC Hornet=Poorly made Cr@p!
1Shirt!

[Zymurgy50]

Years ago I had a S&W model 39 9mm. I had bought 2 boxes of S&B hardball because they were cheap, and I found out why........ probably 40% of the cases had off-center flash holes, broke my first decapping pin on that lot of brass.

[CastingFool]

PMC Hornet=Poorly made Cr@p!
1Shirt!

Same here. My first experience reloading PMC was trying to deprime 45 acp brass. At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Upon examination, I found out the flash holes were off center in a number of them. I did manage to load 50 rds, but the rest of them went into my scrap pile.

[plmitch]

S&B is garbage.

[DeanWinchester]

I hate all S&B I've seen thus far. Very tight primer pockets.
Also, foreign military 5.56 brass typically sucks.

[Wayne Smith]

I hate all S&B I've seen thus far. Very tight primer pockets.
Also, foreign military 5.56 brass typically sucks.

S&B brass is decent brass. Just normalize the primer pocket as you would military brass and use it. That's what I do.

[williamwaco]

I hate all S&B I've seen thus far. Very tight primer pockets.
Also, foreign military 5.56 brass typically sucks.

I bought 4 boxes of S&B wadcutters for accuracy testing because at the time they were the only brand I could get.

I was disappointed with the accuracy, around 1" at 25 yards. I expected better. I can do that with Winchester 130 grain FMJ practice ammo.

I also wanted a batch of matched wad cutter cases for testing reload accuracy. And now to the question at hand.

One in 5 is very difficult to re-prime. 1 in ten is impossible to re-prime. I do not understand why. The primer pockets are visually identical. I cannot see any flaws with an 8x loupe. I can not measure any difference with a digital caliper. ( Yes I know it can't measure the exact inside diameter but I am only looking for differences. )
I have a Lyman and an RCBS primer pocket uniformer. Neither removes any metal at all. YET- primers still will not enter the pockets easily or some times not at all.

Next. I started load testing with two boxes once fired. Kept each case in the factory box it came in for maximum repeatability.

After six loadings there are only 60 total cases left. 40 either would not re-prime, or split on firing.

When I am sorting range pickups, all S&B head stamps now go into the scrap bucket.

[Bohica793]

Worst I've seen, and I won't reload it, is a-merc

Beat me to it. I reloaded a couple of these in 45 Colt and found them to be pure ****. Into the recycle can.....

[GARD72977]

I load all of it !!!!

[Dan Cash]

I agree, S&B is junk. Send it to me for proper disposal.

[ACrowe25]

Only brass I don't reload is defective brass. I'm not good enough of a shooter to tell the difference offhand and highly doubt many are able to tell the difference between headstamps.

[zomby woof]

Worst I've seen, and I won't reload it, is a-merc

This.

[dubber123]

A-Merc. I think you could solder cases together from scrap plumbing pipe that was closer to spec.

[wv109323]

A-Merc, S&B,Armssport and military crimped 9MM. I just have enough 9MM that I don't swage the primer pockets. What PMC are you talking about? I have loaded a lot of .223 PMC with no problem. Is Hornet one of their product lines. I don't buy much factory ammo.

[MTtimberline]

I agree, S&B is junk. Send it to me for proper disposal.

You can have all of mine but there is not enough to justify the garbage. All range pick-ups. I practice catch and release with S&B at the range nowadays.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Amerc and S&B in 9mm and 40
make great candidates for using as Jacket material for swaging J-words in 40 and 44 respectively :)

[Jal5]

So military crimped 9mm are just too much of a PITA to deal with? I would rather not swage the pockets either since I have more WIN, RP, FC than I could probably ever use right now. Maybe I will just put up a bunch on the forum for sale or trade. Joe

[Firebricker]

I am not crazy about S&B but will use it for plinkers. a-merc is the one brand I just throw in the scrap bin. FB

[gunoil]

Trouble with GFL 380acp brass in a loadmaster shell plate but not in my super 1050 dillon.

[marvelshooter]

S&B in any pistol caliber goes in the scrap bucket. There are just too many other kinds out there to screw around with it.

[357maximum]

I have been happily beating the snot out of 500 pcs of 357MAG S&B brass for 3 re-loadings now, so that makes it 4X fired....never seen an issue with it....heck I would call it good stuff....must have got a good batch.

[Boyscout]

I have broken decapping pins mostly on Fiocchi and PMC. S&B I have to separate out to open up the primer pockets. Can't speack for the Amerc as I have never seen any.

[Hawkeye45]

I know this might not be the place....I have a batch of a hundred or so SuperVel 45Acp I won't reload any more.

Mr. Ed

[mold maker]

On advice received on this forum, I haven't tried to load any a-merc, but the S&B get used just like any other.
I've successfully done lots of things, before finding out they were impossible. Guess I'm just happy in my ignorance.

[2wheelDuke]

A-merc is the worst brass I've ever seen. I do have a box where I drilled the flash holes out, and I screw around popping primers with those rubber X-ring bullets.

[leeggen]

Aquila 40 S&W not to good of pic but this is the base only, upper brass not there. Uncle brought me some range pick-up and this was in it. Glad I wasn't around this one when it went boom. Upper brass was torn from base.96422
CD

[dragon813gt]

S&B for priming issues and sizing issues. I can always tell when it's a piece of S&B because it takes more pressure to resize them. Not worth the extra effort to fix the primer pockets or anneal pistol brass. It goes straight into the scrap bin. Don't get me wrong. If it's all I had I would make it work. But I've had to many issues w/ it.

[.5mv^2]

I discard any 40sw Federal plated. I have seen much of it crack when resizing.

[thompsonm1a1]

up here in Canada S&B is very poor brass to reload. I put this stuff in the brass scrap bucket any shell that resizes hard is junked also. I reload 7.62x54r for a friend and I find the primer pockets are a bit tight on this brass.

[Big Z]

Wolf gold in 7mmRM is ****..in my experience.

[mold maker]

On advice received on this forum, I haven't tried to load any a-merc, but the S&B get used just like any other.
I've successfully done lots of things, before finding out they were impossible. Guess I'm just happy in my ignorance.

Let me qualify that by saying I don't have a wealth of brass, and swaging the primer pocket isn't a big deal. I also trim the flash hole on all brass not previously reloaded.
If I were dealing with many thousands, I might be more picky.

[mpbarry1]

amerc is horrible, pmc is bad, and S&B 45 is good stuff. I'm surprised by the responses. I like it.

[owejia]

Cracked, crushed or berdan primed!

[akajun]

I dont load much pistol but for .223 pmc brass is good stuff. I was leary about it at first so I only loaded it in my slow fire ammo for highpower, but It gave me no problems and I just put it in the mix, even saved up enough of it to load my 600yd ammo. Its currently on its 8-9th firing.
S&b brass tends to crack at the neck, which is a shame because it looks like good brass and comes in odd calibers for which there is no american counterpart. I eventualy started annealing the necks of all S&B brass after its first firing before resizing, after than it seems do be doing fine but I have not reloaded any past about 3-4 times. This also aplies to Privi Partisian brass.
Federal brass has a reputation for being soft, and I agree. It is however thick, thich enough that if your shooting at max loads, you might start seeing pressure signs and expanded primer pockets. Some people wont use it, I do, but dont push the limits.
Lastly I have some Igman 6.5x55 ammo that upon reloading, was breaking decapping pins. I found that the flash hole was undersized. I made a drill to drill it out to the proper size then decap and re size, other than that its fine.
There is not much brass that is not reloadable.

[Firebricker]

Probably should clarify my opinion on S&B brass I had some in .357 for some test loads and the flash hole is way off but they reload fine. I just think their quality control is sketchy like was said above could just be some bad batches out there. Now the A-mercs I have encountered was not just from being fired in loose or unsupported chambers the primer pockets seem shallow I can swage them and make them work just too much work not enough reward. One correction on my statement I do throw a-mercs right in a scrap can but it is a can I know I can dig through if I am desperate just to dang cheap to toss them permanently. Huh I cheap &&S reloader who woulda thought LOL. FB

[1hole]

I won't use any cases that are split/cracked, Berdan primed or steel.

[Rick N Bama]

I will also gladly dispose of any 7.62X54 S&B Brass you might have laying around.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Found a piece of belted 20mm brass out on an old military range here I do not think I will get to. Have used it for a brass hammer a couple times and it is holding up well.
As tough as it is here to come up with any componet I only pitch berdan stuff. Every thing else can be salvaged and made usable.
Mike in Peru

[Cmm_3940]

Aguila in .45ACP seems to be remarkably crummy.

[Mike Kerr]

S&B primer pockets are frequently undersized. Don't know why because not all of them are that way but enough to know that if there are primer seating issues on one of my progressives a S&B case is a "usual suspect". The actual case seems ok once you get the primer seated.

[country gent]

I have some ballon head cases in various calibers here I wont reload they are in a box on the shelf and some very old 38spl with large primer pockets that are with them.

[destrux]

A-merc is scrap for sure. I accidentally let one slip into my brass pile and wouldn't you know it.... it was the only round out of a batch of 300 that jammed.

I had some S&B .32 S&W that had rims that were under spec. My shell holder wouldn't pull them out of the die. What a pain.

I don't write off all S&B brass though, their 7.62x39 brass is excellent.

I've heard that anything with an arabic headstamp is absolute trash, but I've never seen any, so I don't know for sure.

[John Boy]

brass you won't reload? Bertram Custom Brass!
In fact, I'll never buy another case from them ...
Paid $171 for 40 cases in 25-21. First reload: 38 cases split from the web to the mouth. Their brass is drawn and the quality is from hunger.

Ordered 100 of the same cases from Rocky Mountain Cartridge. Paid $212 ... all their brass is lathe turned. Not one case has split so far and these 25-21's are long thin wall cases

[thebigmac]

S&B primer pockets are frequently undersized. Don't know why because not all of them are that way but enough to know that if there are primer seating issues on one of my progressives a S&B case is a "usual suspect". The actual case seems ok once you get the primer seated.

I agree with Mike Kerr 100%+. I was loading .38 Spl. on an electric progressive machine. I recievd brass from a Police range and a lot
of them were S&B. SMALL PRIMERS & screwed up the works. Had to cull all the brass (???)and remove all S&B stuff. What
a BUMMER!!!! bigmac

[Patrick L]

I have only limited experience with S&B brass, but the 200 or so pieces of .30 carbine brass have in my current working batch is excellent. I had similar success with a box of 50 .357 magnum cases (obtained from firing a box of S&B factory) from about 20 years ago.

As for brass I wont reload, there isn't any specific brand or type I avoid. I do like to use commercial brass from one of the big three if possible. I do have a lot of mil surp .30-06 brass, and I will process and use that. I don't load any oddballs except for the 7.7 jap, and I got 100 pieces of Privi for that, so I should be set for that too.

[SlippShodd]

I recall a time in my life when every case was precious and as long as it wasn't split, I would load it; even steel .45 ACP cases. Decades of acquiring and accumulating have changed my perspectives, as well as having provided a veritable surfeit of components now. I now have the luxury of scrapping the troublemakers or just choose to not include certain components in my personal stash. That said, A-Merc cases have caused entirely too many stoppages on the Dillon to even be considered momentarily before being 2-pointed into the recycle bucket. S&B have managed to work their way in over the years, but as those loaded rounds are fired, that headstamp is not invited back; which seems a pity... the brass *looks* good. I no longer add military brass to my stores, having processed a plenty of it over the years, thank you very much. That already in use may stay, but I truly detest working over primer pockets. A several thousand round session with .223 soured me on that forever. Speaking of .223, PMC brass became my mule for loading cast in that caliber. I have a lot of it, it was sufficiently consistent, and has been serving me well. FC .223 automatically goes into the SEP pile, after far too many inconsistencies a couple loadings in.
Like the previous poster, I've managed the luxury of trimming down to a handful of known quantities. Some really good brass gets culled just because I don't want or need any more interlopers, but then I get to sell that brass cheap to guys who are trying to establish their brass empire like I was years ago.

mike

[Spawn-Inc]

brass, steel, aluminum i load it all!

today i had a FC brand 9mm case rim rip off while i was loading, never had that happen with brass before.

[sabot_round]

A-merc is garbage!!

[mj2evans]

LOL LOL LOL I saw title and IMMEDIATELY thought A-merc! I see someone else thought that too. Those clowns have no business making ammo. S&B 45 ACP cases have been a pain at times. I have sooo much 45 brass I just scrap S&B.

[SlippShodd]

In all fairness, I will amend my above post, somewhat. I recently started reloading .380 ACP, using a 900+ round stash of mixed brass I had. I've loaded weeeell over half of it, and discovered several A-Merc and S&B cases that made it through without any questionable issues during loading. Perhaps on that small a scale the deficiencies don't show up. I'll cull 'em after I fire them...

mike

[scattershot]

I pitch a-merc if I catch it in time. Lately I've been having trouble with split necks in 40 S&W with nickel cases. Never happened before, but it occurred often enough in the last batch of reloads that I'm leery of it now.


I read somewhere that a-merc was acceptable at one time, but I make a habit of pitching it anyway.

[.5mv^2]

40 sw Federal nickel plated. They crack. At least they stand out.

[jonk]

I don't reject ANY brass by brand only. I reject based on damage, out of spec that can't be fixed with trimming or pocket swaging, etc.

Glad so many folks here can afford to be so particular. Some of us like to be thrifty and not waste something that can still work with a small amount of effort.

[Bullet Caster]

I only cull steel, aluminum and berdan primed cases. I'm still trying to build my empire of brass as was mentioned above. I've never even seen an A-merc case. I've reloaded S&B and find no problems with it, esp. the 7.62x39. I'd be glad to dispose of anyone's brass they deem "not reloadable". BC

[mj2evans]

Hey I don't want to pitch ANY brass but after seeing soo many a-merc split on FIRST firing (30 carbine) tells me I don't need them going back into my guns.

[quack1]

One time I got some once fired 380 brass with "cavum" on the headstamp, along with the .380 caliber marking. By far, the worst brass I have ever loaded, shot it and left it lay in the grass at the range. Never did know what brand it was, the guy at the next bench that gave it to me threw the box in the trash, but I didn't think to look at it at the time. I figure it was foreign made, but have never run across that headstamp again.

[scattershot]

40 sw Federal nickel plated. They crack. At least they stand out.

Just checked that batch of reloads, and they were all Federal plated cases.

[DxieLandMan]

I'll reload just about any but I prefer not to reload mil brass with the crimped primer pockets. Too much of a hassle as others are fairly easy to find.

[SODAPOPMG]

9mm marked AMMO LOAD
this brass has a reinforced base that has a shelf for the bullet to sit on
this reduces the powder chamber so your favorite load is too hot for this brass
also someone else posted that the brass separates where the shelf is after just 1 or 2 loadings

.223 Norinko brass had a "j" on the headstamp old stuff but people are breaking out their long term storage ammo
primers just fall out of it on the first load

[mold maker]

I just went to inspect some a-merc brass, from the last bunch i processed. The flash hole is slightly off center. Thats the only thing I can find wrong with it.
What does that matter? Did ya ever see a primer from the back side? The 3 holes there aren't centered either.
The primer pockets feel right. The primer seated depth is right. They size without undue force. I think folks are just too picky.
From now on they get loaded. The only thing I cull is berdan primed, steel, and damaged.
If I really need to, the steel will get used, as long as the coating is intact.
Folks we need to be more frugal with the once thought of as free resources. I can remember when every hardware store carried lead in 5-25 lb slugs for plumbers. There used to be a lead collar, around every vent pipe. All wheel weights were lead. Primers were available everywhere at $8./K, and a box of 22s were .69
If ya don't want to use them now, you may soon be glad you didn't trash them. It isn't like ya gonna have to park your caddy in the rain because the a-merc brass is taking its place in the garage.

[robertbank]

Amerc is junk plain and simple. Works well in the recycle bin.

S&B has a crimp of sorts. I give my S&B 9MMM brass to a friend who has a Dillon 1050 with the built in primer pocket swagger. I get a lot of S&B 38spl brass and use my manual swagger on the pockets to clean them up. Good brass with very tight primer pockets.

Take care

Bob

[btroj]

That explains why my 550 chokes so much on SB brass.

[Marcduper]

I only keep WIN,FED and REM for pistol. I only reload one type at a time. I find it gets rid of most if not all of my reloading problems. There is a lot of junk out there. I have also had good luck with Blazer 9 MM. They were consistant.

Marc

[45 Zulu]

Tried to load some 9 x 18 Mak brass today that has a MFS head stamp. Wow what a fight to get a primer into that junk. I had to sort all of it out of my brass.

[robertbank]

Tried to load some 9 x 18 Mak brass today that has a MFS head stamp. Wow what a fight to get a primer into that junk. I had to sort all of it out of my brass.

I am guessing the brass has a military crimp. This has to be removed before you attempt to reload the brass. I use a Dillon primer pocket swagger for this purpose. I also use it when I get S&B brass.

Take Care

Bob

[mold maker]

I find the double standard in primer sizes in 45 ACP to be a much larger problem than the A merc brand.
My tired eyes require lots more light and really clean primer pockets to easily see the difference. Even than I keep a short length of heavy wire just under LPP size to make sure.
So far I've found Speer, Winchester, Blazer, and Federal to have both sizes. Have you found others?
I can usually find the crimped pockets by noting the pressure needed to deprime.

[ravelode]

[QUOTE=mold maker;2711947]I find the double standard in primer sizes in 45 ACP to be a much larger problem than the A merc brand.
My tired eyes require lots more light and really clean primer pockets to easily see the difference. Even than I keep a short length of heavy wire just under LPP size to make sure.
So far I've found Speer, Winchester, Blazer, and Federal to have both sizes. Have you found others? QUOTE]

I can usually find the crimped pockets by noting the pressure needed to deprime.[/

Fiocchi USA some of their .45 ACP has small primers which according to the boxes is made in Hungary

[Shiloh]

Worst I've seen, and I won't reload it, is a-merc

Amen!!

Shiloh

[texassako]

I usually load any brand after an inspection. Weird thing is I have 50 .38 Special cases of Amerc that are actually pretty decent and have been loaded many times. I guess even bad brands can have a good day, but normal .38 Special loads are not exactly hard on brass either.

[bigblockbill]

Well after 4 pages someone finally mentiond Ammo-Load, for my reason of reduced capisity. Although I have never delt with a-merc.

[Garyshome]

A-Merc.

[woodbutcher]

:grin:The only milsurp brass that I have ever used was 30-06 and 45 acp.The 06 was ALL 66 LC match that I got from a friend that shot on the NG rifle team.What sweet stuff.IIRC,the 45 was also gotten from the NG team also.so am guessing that it was also NM stuff too.Also IIRC,got some 38 special milsurp also,that also worked great.I don`t think that any of it was crimped.Wound up with almost 5K of each.And the price was right too.FREE.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Bjornb]

I just ran into an issue I haven't had to deal with before. I recently acquired a Remington Model of 1934 in 7X57, built on the 1917 action. I had a stash of about 200 rounds of factory S&B ammo, 2011 manufacture. Now fired once, not a single one of these cases will fit in the appropriate shell holder (tried Lyman, RCBS and Lee); the brass has expanded and pinched part of the extractor groove past specs. They would not chamber in the rifle after sizing either. After grinding down a shell holder in order to run the die lower on the case I was able to return the cases to a chamber fit, and the extractor will pull the case back out. I have relegated these cases to back-up duty and put S&B ammo on my "do not buy" list.

[fred2892]

In my experience, S&B brass is totally worthless for reloading. Neck annealing is always insufficient and is prone to splitting. My most extreme experience was with S&B .303. Out of 100 new cases I lost over 20 on the first reload another 40+ next time and only 4 cases lasted 3 reloads. I know of the same with their 7.62x54r which also had over softened bases where the rims would bend and peel off whilst reloading.
And don't forget they head stamp their brass for other companies too. Winchester for one.

[ROGER4314]

For many years, I sorted all of my pistol cases by brand but had to change due to the economics of it. I have a class of loads that are my range loads. I use any brand of case on those. If special loads are required, I still sort my brand.

Rifle brass is different. If I'm going to burn all of that power to throw a .30 cent bullet, I'll clean primer pockets and do a first class job of hand sorting components.

In .45acp, I do NOT load small primer brass. I cull those and save them just in case.

Today, I ordered 500 .45 acp Starline brass cases and I've had very good luck with those in the past.

Flash

[Swede 45]

I see that S&B brass gets alot of negative here.. I´m wondering if the S&B that sells in the US are different from the S&B brass available here in europe?
I use S&B brass in 9mm,40s&w,38spl,357mag and some for 45acp for my competition ammo.. never had any problem with any! And I reload 1000´s and 1000´s of them!
Primer seats just fine (lee pro1000), cases holds up just fine without cracking.. I have some 38spl S&B that are on the 12th run through the process.. some of my 9mm brass are so worn that you hardly can read the headstamp.. lost track of how many times I´ve run them?!

My crappiest brass are nickel Winchester in 38spl.. cracks after 2-3 reloads of moderate charges! Uses them only for "lost brass" matches..

Riflebrass.. well, I use S&B 7x57R to form my rare 6.5x57R without any trouble.. 6.5x55,308win,22Savage HP and 30-06 brass goes straight in the box in the corner.. just because Norma and Lapua brass are available in a neverending supply!:razz:
Swedish military cases in 9mm, 6.5x55 and 7.62x51 goes into the recyclingbin as they are berdan.. no use for those!

[robertbank]

Swede 45, the problem I have with S&B brass is it has a crimp on the primer. The brass we get up here does anyway. I only use S&B 38spl brass and I use my Dillon primer pocket swager to swage out the crimp. Takes time and even then the pockets are overly tight. If I wasn't so cheap I probably would not bother. I also wil take the time to swage out .45acp cases as well. 8MM brass goes straight to the recycle bin.

Bob

[Swede 45]

Bob, then I guess there is a difference!
None of the S&B brass I´ve used had crimped primers or tight pockets.
Primers come out just fine and new ones goes in smooth and nice.. used Magtech, Federal, CCI and Remington primers without any trouble or extra work.

[robertbank]

Yes they are definitely different. You could not get a SPP in the 38spl cases I have without swagging the pocket. Tough enough as it is after swagging. Sounds like the same is true in the US. Good brass though.

Take care

Bob

[trails4u]

My advice would be to do your own testing and make your own determinations. Not to say that I don't agree with much (most, actually) of what's been posted, but I've been surprised myself be defying 'conventional wisdom'. My particular experience was with Armscor .223 brass. The masses will tell you it's junk, so of course I happened across several thousand rounds of it, and REALLY didn't want it to be junk. So I got to testing. I don't have the results handy, but it proved (by way of case capacity SD, # of loads before failure, and target testing) to be pretty darn comparable to some of the coveted brass we all seek. YMMV...but I learned something.

[Weaponologist]

This is some great info here. I recently bought a 550B so I'm sure I will have need of this knowledge once I stock pile more brass. As of now, I have always used a Lee Universal de-priming die, because it doesn't size any brass you can fly through all your decapping work and then I would hand prime my brass even if it was hundreds of rounds. I did this so I would never run into a damaged sizing die and have my reloading come to a stop while I ordered the broken parts. Which I had happen once and that was enough.. By doing my prep as I have it listed up top I have found very little brass I couldn't use over the last 30+years. However I wasn't reloading on a production scale. BUT After reading all the replies I'm thinking I'll just buy a K rounds of good brass and of course keep any range brass that falls under that head stamp once I get rolling on the Dillon...