Loading Range Brass

[lightman]

I've always picked up brass and have loaded lots of range brass. I've always had enough name brand (FC, RP and WW) that I hardly ever loaded the lesser brands. I've been going through my 9mm brass getting ready for a marathon loading session and I have several cans of odd ball brands. I know 9mm brass is dirt cheap but I hate to scrap it. The back part of my brain says to save it for the next round of shortages. The front part of my brain says that I have enough FC, RP and WW to last my lifetime. So, I'm thinking about loading it and setting it aside for the times that I will shoot in places where you loose your brass.

Anyway, I have a few thousand mixed cases in brands like PPU, Perfecta, PMC, Blazer, CBC, S&B, Aguila, Midway, Hornady, Browning, GFL and probably a few others. Standing some of these up in a loading block the flash holes look to be centered and uniform. The rims are a little different. Some have a radius cut on the outside. Has anybody experienced any problems loading any of these that are worth mentioning? Thinking I'll run them through the Dillon with my favorite plinking load and use them for blasting ammo.

[Pawpaw757]

I've used all but the Perfecta, Midway, and Browning with no problems. But I'm like you, I tend to stick with the "usual suspects."

[Kestrel4k]

The only 9mm brass that I've heard of people avoiding is the 'interior stepped' brass that Freedom munitions made for a while (reducing case capacity). Here is a bit of recent info re: them discontinuing that style of case:

http://forums.brianenos.com/topic/224577-freedom-munitions-will-stop-making-stepped-brass/

[psweigle]

I don't even look at the headstamps for 9mm. If a magnet won't pick it up, it goes in the press. I shoot so much 9mm it isn't funny, and I can say for sure that at out to 25 yards, I can't tell the difference between any of the cases. I'm not shooting 9mm for super pinpoint accuracy but it sure is good enough at 25 yards to hold a nice tight group in a 5" pie plate if I do my part.

[tazman]

I don't even look at the headstamps for 9mm. If a magnet won't pick it up, it goes in the press. I shoot so much 9mm it isn't funny, and I can say for sure that at out to 25 yards, I can't tell the difference between any of the cases. I'm not shooting 9mm for super pinpoint accuracy but it sure is good enough at 25 yards to hold a nice tight group in a 5" pie plate if I do my part.

What he said. Although my groups are a bit(choke, cough) bigger than his.

[hawkenhunter50]

I recently loaded up a couple hundred using Perfecta brass for the 1st time and had no issues or complaints. I personally would use it. I have also used S&B brass, not for 9mm but 38 special. I hold my breath each time while priming because the primer pockets are so tight I am afraid I am going to set one off seating it. Not sure if they would have the same issue with 9mm but something to keep in mind.

[bedbugbilly]

All I load for 9mm is range brass. I don't load on a Dillon or a progressive. I'm pretty low tech. I hand prime and load 'em on a Lee 4 hole turret. I don't sort head stamps. I de-prime and throw 'em in a large tote and when I get ready to load them, scoop a bunch up in a plastic dish. I do visually inspect when I hand prime them and I do run across some that just don't want to talk a primer once in a while (no specific head stamp and it isn't military brass). If I can't easily prime it with a hand primer it gets tossed into the scrap box.

We've all gone through "shortages" but honestly, there is so much 9mm out there. I usually buy it in late quantities so the price per casing is dirt cheap. Yea, I still pick it up when shooting if I can - old habits are hard to break but if I loose some, I don't worry about it. I don't know how much "range brass" I have but I would imagine that I'm probably sitting on about 10K if I was to get it together in one place. And yet, I still pick it up or buy it if I can get a bargain price on a quantity of it. Go figure . . . bad habits are hard to break and I'll probably never live long enough to use it all up. BUT .. I have it . . . "just in case". LOL

[Tom W.]

I pick up whatever I can when I'm finished shooting. I mostly shoot at an indoor range, so just sweep up a pile of brass people leave on the floor. The 9mm gets deprimed and sized and tossed into the tumbler. I already have a military 50 cal ammo box full of ready to load brass, and I do this same for .45 acp brass, although I don't own a .45 just now. I am starting with .38 Special and .357 again. All of my loaded round boxes I bought from Midway are currently full. If I could just get enough to get a new .45 Colt /.45 acp Redhawk.....

[GhostHawk]

I am sitting on a 25 lb box of 9mm range brass. Paid essentially scrap price for it. I have loaded maybe 300 rounds out of that box. Can hardly tell I have been in it.

I have seen no issues. But I do go over them pretty carefully by eye in the process.

I deprime with a Frankford Arsenal hand deprimer, citric acid & Dawn wash, couple of good rinses. Then I sit in my comfortable chair and put a brush in each primer pocket. Look at the flash hole. Then run the case on a towel down my leg. Look inside.

It takes time, but I have time to spare.

Anything that looks hinky in any way gets pitched.

The rest get sized, primers, a moderate charge of Red Dot and a .358 125 gr cast boolit.

Pretty good stash right now, have not been shooting much since my last run of 9mm.

Still I sleep good knowing the brass is there, the lead stash is there, the primers are there in the ammo can, and the big pile of Red Dot is there.

I would not even want to think about how many I could load if I felt the need.
Mostly because right now I am just not feeling the need.

My 9mm Hipoint Carbine has a 100 round box in the case with it. My 9mm C9 Hipoint pistol has a 100 round box under its case. My 9mm handi barrel has a 100 round box it its case. And there are 3 full 100 round boxes on the ammo table.

My shooting buddy does not shoot anymore, sold his Beretta 92fs. So that is one less concern.

Yeah I sleep good.

[runfiverun]

I'd run them as separate from the others the first time.
you'll figure out right quick if any are gonna give you any grief, then you can pick those out and re-cycle bin them.

[lightman]

Thanks for the replys everyone. I have what I call my "working stock" for my pistol ammo. Large batches of 2000+ that I load with a proven load. Then I always have ammo available. In between loading these and shooting them, I try to cast enough bullets to load the next round. I think I'm going to make all of this odd ball stuff another working batch and use it in places where I may loose some.

This ammo shoots pretty well but I use matching head stamps for my hunting/defense loads or for hotter HP loads. I used this method with 223 and 308 when I was shooting AR's and M1-A's a lot more.

[captbligh]

I've ended up with W-W, F-C, and Blazer brass sorted to provide enough brass for serious stuff, and a mixed box of the others that you mention, except I pitch S&B and Aguila (may be crazy, but they just feel/look enough different that I'm suspicious off their metallurgy.) Mixed stuff ends up as blasting ammo.

[Dusty Bannister]

I agree that it might be a good idea to load up about 20 rounds each with each type of head stamp and shoot them in groups. If there is a stutter or failure of any type, that brass will be a headache in the future so dispose of it. You will feel better having given it a chance to work or not. As to the "sleeved" cases, I am still seeing them as pick up brass from a LEO range, so they are still out there.

[kmw1954]

Last fall I bought 3000 pcs. to get started with 9mm. When it arrived I spent the time and sorted by headstamp. WIN, *F C*, R-P, Blazer, Perfecta and a few others that there were at least 100/150 of them. The rest got thrown into a mixed bag. All the stuff that was 100pcs or more I loaded up 1st to use up and develop loads. Then recently we were going with a group to an outdoor range and the question of brass recovery was questionable so I loaded up all that mixed stuff I had. While loading it there were times I could feel tight or loose primer pockets but didn't take notice of what it was as I didn't think it was coming back. Most of it did!

My observation from this is that the brass doesn't effect my shot grouping but the brass does effect my loading it.

[lightman]

I'm probably going to prime this stuff by hand and then load it on the Dillon. I think seating the primer is going to be the headache here and priming problems aren't much fun on a progressive! Anything hard to prime will get scraped and I will be extra strict on the QC. Anything that is suspect will get scrapped.

[ioon44]

The only brass I am avoiding is the 'interior stepped' brass that Freedom munitions sells, one guy I know had some of these separate at the step in a 9 mm carbine.

I always plunk test my loads in the barrel before taking them to a match. Any brass that has a crimped primer I run through my RCBS primer pocket swagger and load on my 550.

[DerekP Houston]

I run em all, S&B may have slightly tighter primer pockets but it doesn't bug me. Aguila was actually my factory ammo of choice before I started reloading myself. ~10 bucks a box and was the most accurate in my 2 guns even over winchester and the locally available stuff in walmart. I stocked in deep and still use it up when I take someone new to the range.

[Beef15]

I load it all.
I've heard stories of the stepped stuff separating, haven't experienced it yet, have loaded lots of it.

S&B brass washed steel, load it right up too.

SDs might be a little on the large side, teens, but groups still stay around or under 4" at 25yds.

I do hear there's a stepped brand now that has a double thick step, haven't seen it yet, probably won't load that one, understand "normal" charges overflow and even with really fast powders it's way up in the case.

[DerekP Houston]

I suppose one of the advantages of not running a case feeder on my AP means I get to look at each case as I load them in. I haven't seen any of the stepped cases but I do occasionally catch a SPP 45 case that snuck past my sorting stage. I would toss a stepped case in my recycle bucket if I find one.

[kmw1954]

As of now I have about a plastic lunch baggie full of those cases. If I recall there are also about 3 different headstamps on them.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I can see separating your cases into different headstamps. I have done this with .40 S&W because there is definitely some specific headstamps you don't want to reload.

I end up with mostly Winchester cases and I try to save them as much as possible for my nicer loads.

I will reload any and all of them to shoot at places where I can't get the brass back.

Obviously the same holds true for 9MM cases, but in my case I see no point in reloading them and all I ever do is convert them to 9x18 for my Mak and CZ82's..

I reload every single .45 ACP I pick up as long as they pass inspection or are not too deformed. I don't segregate them by headstamp. They all get reloaded and shot and if I can find them after shooting them I will load them again. .45 ACP being the most forgiving Auto Pistol Round there is so they get less scrutiny than .40's.

If you find .40 &W cases that have a Headstamp of "FC" or "FC-10" DON'T RELOAD THEM. These were made early on and have a problem. The case head on these cases doesn't go high enough up the sidewalls of the case to support the area of the feed ramp on Glocks or similar pistols.

They are dangerous!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Scrap Em"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any newer ones are fine.

Randy

[Smk SHoe]

I take all the nickel plated 9mm I don't want and reload it for a friend in GA that doesn't shoot much. I tell him I'll charge him more for ammo if he brings it back.

[David2011]

One caution on 9mm brass and please don't take this lightly. Range brass from public ranges is most likely safe to reload. OTOH, if the range is used for USPSA/IPSC competition you probably don't want the brass. Due to the cost of .38 Super Comp brass more and more open gun shooters are shooting "9mm Major" which means pushing a 147 grain bullet in the 1500-1550 fps range to get the compensator enough pressure to do its job. The guys I know that do this use once fired brass, load it to major and don't want it back. I've picked up plenty from public pistol bays but never from the competition areas.

[ioon44]

Interesting 147 gr bullet X 1550 fps = 227,850 power factor I don't think this is even possible. USPSA major power factor is 165,000.

[JasonYbarbo]

That's good reading. Did not even think about sorting the cases. i pick up mostly range brass on shoot more 9mm since it is so abundant.

[lightman]

Thanks for the replys everyone. And thanks for the warnings on any problem brass. It sounds like we are all mostly on the same page with range brass.

[jarhead0321usmc]

My wife calls me a brass-a-holic. I have more brass than i need according to her. I personaly disagree. But in our family we shoot alot. So the more i load in each session the less i have to worry im gonna run low or out. As long as its not crushed or showing any over pressure issues, I'll generally try to load it, for rainy day cheap range fun. The only ones I've had any issues with priming are the perfecta and s&b. Their primer pockets seem tighter than other brands.

[David2011]

Interesting 147 gr bullet X 1550 fps = 227,850 power factor I don't think this is even possible. USPSA major power factor is 165,000.

The minimum for Major is 165,000. A correctly balanced open gun is loaded so the compensator works and ideally the red dot doesn't move when the gun goes off. That takes lots of pressure. Believe it or not, that's the velocity range required to get the comp to work right. It varies from gun to gun and especially with different compensators.

I've seen open gun bullets leave marks in AR500 steel targets. They hit pretty hard.