9MM Brass

[Art in Colorado]

I have noticed when belling 9MM brass that the Federal brand does not bell as much. I can feel it when I do this. Seems that the Federal is a bit shorter then Remington or PMC. It feeds just as well as my other reloaded brass. Makes one wonder if the round is seating on the front or the cartridge of if it is being supported by the extractor. I am using these rounds in both of my Sigs. Kind of curious or maybe I don't know what I am doing.

[tazman]

You have noticed something that is quite common. 9mm brass is all over the place on case length measurements. Unless I am loading match loads for competition, I gave up worrying about it. I have never had a cartridge misfire because of the length of the case. Of course My Beretta 92FS will eat almost anything that fits in the magazine.
I suspect you are correct with your thoughts about the case being held by the extractor. I have seen 40S&W fired in 10mm chambers using that method.

[robertbank]

I would measure the brass with calipers. If their is no significant difference in length the cause maybe a different alloy either softer or harder than the others. I shoot mostly lead in 9MM and apply a healthy bell to ensure I don't shave the bullets. As a result of applying a generous bell I just have not noticed any difference.

I find more 9MM cases than I ever lose so I am not concerned about case life.

Take Care

Bob

[rintinglen]

Of all the cartridges I have used, I think only the 308 has more variation in weight (by percentage) than the 9mm. Over the last 112 odd years, scores or even hundreds of different manufacturers have made 9mm brass, and few if any seem to have had the nominal specs of the cartridge case in mind when they started drawing brass. Some are nearly 20% heavier than their lightest compadres in the brass bin.
Because of this variation, there is a lot of disparity in feel while sizing and loading mixed brass. Happily, though, this usually does not prevent use-able ammunition from being crafted. It is rarely the case that the brass is so widely divergent that it won't "play nice" with the others.

But it does sometimes happen. I had some brass that was so thin that it needed .359 boolits to keep from having the boolits jam back in the case. IIRC, it was head stamped J&B or something similar.
If you do reload mixed brass, be sure to push test each round to prevent an unpleasant explosion. It only takes a moment and is cheap insurance to push the cartridge nose firmly against the edge of your work bench while holding your case between thum and for finger. If the bullet doesn't move back, you are golden.

[str8wal]

I can feel it when I do this.

Are you sure you feel it due to length, or perhaps it is due to thickness/hardness of the brass. When loading mixed headstamp brass I can also "feel" differences when I size and expand various cases but it hasn't been due to case length. It has been due to other factors such as hardness and thickness of the cases.

[robertbank]

Of all the cartridges I have used, I think only the 308 has more variation in weight (by percentage) than the 9mm. Over the last 112 odd years, scores or even hundreds of different manufacturers have made 9mm brass, and few if any seem to have had the nominal specs of the cartridge case in mind when they started drawing brass. Some are nearly 20% heavier than their lightest compadres in the brass bin.
Because of this variation, there is a lot of disparity in feel while sizing and loading mixed brass. Happily, though, this usually does not prevent use-able ammunition from being crafted. It is rarely the case that the brass is so widely divergent that it won't "play nice" with the others.

But it does sometimes happen. I had some brass that was so thin that it needed .359 boolits to keep from having the boolits jam back in the case. IIRC, it was head stamped J&B or something similar.
If you do reload mixed brass, be sure to push test each round to prevent an unpleasant explosion. It only takes a moment and is cheap insurance to push the cartridge nose firmly against the edge of your work bench while holding your case between thum and for finger. If the bullet doesn't move back, you are golden.

While I would agree with this I would also add 45acp to the mix. I have yet to ever measure 45qcp brass .898" in length including never fired Winchester brass.

Take Care

Bob

[farmersamm]

Of all the cartridges I have used, I think only the 308 has more variation in weight (by percentage) than the 9mm. Over the last 112 odd years, scores or even hundreds of different manufacturers have made 9mm brass, and few if any seem to have had the nominal specs of the cartridge case in mind when they started drawing brass. Some are nearly 20% heavier than their lightest compadres in the brass bin.
Because of this variation, there is a lot of disparity in feel while sizing and loading mixed brass. Happily, though, this usually does not prevent use-able ammunition from being crafted. It is rarely the case that the brass is so widely divergent that it won't "play nice" with the others.

But it does sometimes happen. I had some brass that was so thin that it needed .359 boolits to keep from having the boolits jam back in the case. IIRC, it was head stamped J&B or something similar.
If you do reload mixed brass, be sure to push test each round to prevent an unpleasant explosion. It only takes a moment and is cheap insurance to push the cartridge nose firmly against the edge of your work bench while holding your case between thum and for finger. If the bullet doesn't move back, you are golden.

Wouldn't be surprised if the "J&B" cases you've had trouble with were S&B headstamps......Sellier & Bellot. I've had similar woes with their cases. Usually you know you have one when the primer is hard to remove, or the new primer is too large for the pocket. Pure junk. I toss them.

I will use their small pistol primers ONLY IN SOMETHING WITH A HARD PRIMER STRIKE. They're hard as CCI. They're a cheap alternative for my 38's, and fire well. But my 9MM 1911 doesn't generate enough energy in the firing pin to adequately crush the anvil.

[robertbank]

Wouldn't be surprised if the "J&B" cases you've had trouble with were S&B headstamps......Sellier & Bellot. I've had similar woes with their cases. Usually you know you have one when the primer is hard to remove, or the new primer is too large for the pocket. Pure junk. I toss them.

I will use their small pistol primers ONLY IN SOMETHING WITH A HARD PRIMER STRIKE. They're hard as CCI. They're a cheap alternative for my 38's, and fire well. But my 9MM 1911 doesn't generate enough energy in the firing pin to adequately crush the anvil.

I am just ending my experience with S&B brass in 38spl. The primer pockets all had to have the primer pockets swagged. The brass has a crimp of sorts. I did it once and swore I will never load another S&B case...period. The S&B brass I do pick up goes directly to my brass bucket for salvage, along with split cases and primers.

Take Care

Bob

[beagle]

In testing loads for the article on Castpics, Cast in the .357/9mm Convertible, I quickly learned that both Federal and Speer 9mm cases were not as thick as Win and RP. The difference was enough to allow a little higher charge before pressure signs showed their ugly head. I had loaded a bunch of loads using a pretty stiff charge of Red Dot and proceeded to stretch primer pockets on a box of Win and R-P cases. The FC and Speer cases showed no expansion. I'm not normally a hot rodder on my loading and that was a "book" charge that slipped up on me due to seating depth. Lesson learned./beagle

[GONRA]

GONRA may have missed something here -
but its best to sort out brass by headstamp BEFORE reloading.

[Art in Colorado]

Never considered case wall thickness. Just might be it. Federal shure resizes with less dowmstroke pressure for me. I think I will measure cases and that will solve it. As usual there is a lot of knowledge on this forum.