9mm case. What are the best cases for cast?

[nelsonted1]

This 9mm case wall thickness, capacity and taper question has been worked to death but I can't seem to find posts explicitly saying which cases to look for when sorting range brass.
Inside taper is bad news with cast bullets and some brands of cases have severe taper.

If I was going through a pile of brass what cases to look for and while we're at it what length?I

Thank you
Ted

(Taper can cause a bullet to be resized.smaller)

[Dusty Bannister]

Not sure why you are concerned about case length, most are under trim length anyway. Sorting by HS is preferred so you have a consistent setting when seating and crimping. Foreign and military cases often times are set aside for worst case use when the cases will not be recovered. crimped primers are generally avoided due to the extra labor involved. Inside taper is not usually an issue unless you are shooting 147 gr bullets which are longer than the 115-125 grain bullets. The best brass is the one you have the most of to work with.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I sort all my 9mm cases. I have had the best reloading success with Winchester and R+P.
S+P and Amerc are the worst.
When I was using 9mm cases as 40 cal jackets for swaging jacketed bullets, I would weigh-sort them, and I noticed that Blazer has the lowest weight spread than others, so they are probably one of the best in regards to having consistent case capacity...maybe?

[tazman]

Unless you are using heavyweight boolits in your 9mm, the taper never really gets involved. The shorter 115 grain and 125 grain boolits don't usually seat deeply enough into the case to run into the taper.
With the heavier boolits, such as the 147 or heavier, I can see a possible problem there. When I am using heavier boolits, I use a design that keeps the majority of the boolit outside the case and doesn't seat much deeper, if any, than the 125 grain boolits. The Lyman 356637 is famous for needing to be seated deeply in order to function. There are designs from NOE and others that remove this issue.
There are a few brands of brass that have a ledge built into the case inside that prevents deep seating and decreases case capacity. I don't know the head stamps as they tend to be rare but they do appear from time to time.

[Outpost75]

With 147-grain cast bullets I use either Starline or Lapua brass.

[Martin Luber]

Federal are straightwall and give me the least trouble. Even if your boolit isn't long enough to run into taper, your expander plug may cause a bulge.

[Petrol & Powder]

I find the empty ones work best :kidding:

Unless I'm really seeking the best accuracy or operating near max levels, I don't even bother to sort them beyond what is needed for safety and function. No aluminum cases, no steel cases, no Berdan primers, none of those funky ones with the step inside the case. Other than that, Winchester, Federal, R-P and others go in the same container.
When I'm pushing the envelope (which I rarely do when shooting 9mm), I will sort by manufacture. Those are 124 gr FMJ running right at the upper limit of standard pressure (not +P).

[trapper9260]

I use what ever box primer case I get , they all do what I want.As long they are brass. when in use you will have a lost of some.

[higgins]

I asked the same question about a year ago on one of the forums here. People have different experiences with various cases, which can vary in thickness from even one manufacturer. I have a 9mm with a .358 groove diameter, so I load .358-.359 bullets. I set aside Blazer and Federal cases for use with fatter than normal 9mm lead bullets, and the results with 125 gr. bullets have been good.

[beagle]

In tinkering around with a Blackhawk convertible in 9mm and some higher end loads, I found that FC and Speer gave me less pressure signs. The R-P and WWs tended to give up the ghost after about 3 loadings. May have been my loads. Just my own experience. Seems as if the capacity is a little more in these two and a little means a lot in the 9mm./beagle

[crackers]

Tula brass is the thickest and with oversized cast bullets can become unworkable.

[JimB..]

I tend to keep win, WW, federal, R-P, Speer, Sig, Hornady, lapua and starline. I haven’t noticed a taper problem with any of these. When in doubt pull and measure a loaded bullet.

[poppy42]

Federal are straightwall and give me the least trouble. Even if your boolit isn't long enough to run into taper, your expander plug may cause a bulge.
All 9 mm Luger rounds are tapered. Once if’s fired the wall is straight. That’s why when you make 9 mm Makarov (9x18) from 9 mm Luger(9x19) the brass has to be fireformed. 9 mm Luger is tapered 9 mm Makarov is straight Walled. So once it’s fired 9 mm Luger brass is now straight walled. Honestly I’ve never Mic factory ammunition so I can’t say if one brand has more of a taper. If you don’t believe me take a brand new factory loaded 9 mm Luger round pull the bullet, And try running it through a Makarov sizing for, you’ll know the difference right away. regardless of the fact that 9 mm Luger is 1 mm longer than 9 mm Makarov.

[poppy42]

I use what ever box primer case I get , they all do what I want.As long they are brass. when in use you will have a lost of some.

+ one trapper

[Lloyd Smale]

kind you find laying on the ground at the range for free!

[6bg6ga]

I don't sort any 9mm. I simply clean them and load them. Some I load with 160gr lead round nose and they feed and shoot accurately and reliably. Never had one malfunction on any 9mm that I loaded. I don't bother with length I just shoot and reload them till they die.

[lotech]

I've had very good results with older Winchester brass, much of it at least thirty years old. I have no idea how many times it has been reloaded, almost exclusively with cast bullets. It seems thinner than other brass and case bulging is not a concern even when using .358" bullets. I tried other brass, sometimes it's fine, other times there is a bulge. Whether or not the newer Winchester brass will accommodate cast bullet as well as the old stuff, I don't know.

[winelover]

Every headstamp that is Boxer primed. The only Lapua, I've run across were Berdan. My records show that I have gotten 15 reloadings out of S&P brass. The brass with the step/shelf go in the scrap.

Never sorted 9 mm brass, till I purchased a carbine. Now, I sort for consistancy/accuracy. Half dozen of my 9 mm pistols don't care. I prefer either CCI Blazer or Federal brass, whenever I have a choice.

Winelover

[onelight]

I find the empty ones work best :kidding:

Unless I'm really seeking the best accuracy or operating near max levels, I don't even bother to sort them beyond what is needed for safety and function. No aluminum cases, no steel cases, no Berdan primers, none of those funky ones with the step inside the case. Other than that, Winchester, Federal, R-P and others go in the same container.
When I'm pushing the envelope (which I rarely do when shooting 9mm), I will sort by manufacture. Those are 124 gr FMJ running right at the upper limit of standard pressure (not +P).

Same for mine , but I don't load any max 9mm.
I used to sort by head stamp and some of the guys I shoot with would out shoot me most days they both loaded in mixed brass . I started shooting mixed brass and was able to out shoot the same guys I always outshot the two that outshot me before still did most of the time made 0 difference that I could see for what we were doing .
Mainly CC guns with 3 to 4" barrels bullets 124gr to 135gr
I am sure a more complex sorting and load work up would make a difference for bulls eye or hunting but my nines don't do those things.

[jsizemore]

Barrel chambers are all over the place even from the same manufacturer. My brass tends to run shy of the barrel hood by a couple thousandths when empty. If they are excessive, they get tossed. I sort by headstamp. If I get a bunch from the same training session that used all the same lot, I'll set those aside for match shooting. I've yet to find a piece of 9x19 brass that didn't have a taper where the web started. Case walls from there to the mouth are different lot to lot in the same manufacturer. Dies do wear out.

[bedbugbilly]

I load a 122ish grain boolit - like several have said - I don't worry about it. I buy range brass and if all the head stamps match, it's a miracle - I just load 'em and shoot 'em.

[kevin c]

I load 147's sized to 0.357 and seated to 1.130" to 1.135". Some thicker brands of brass won't let me do that without shaving the coating, oversizing the boolit in the case, or getting, not a wasp waist/Coke bottle effect (chamber checks OK and acceptable), but an actual donut bulge where the boolit heel hits the thickening web of the case (sometimes doesn't gauge and not acceptable).

For me, OK are Winchester, RP, Federal, Speer and Blazer. Not OK are the thicker on my measurement S&B, GFL, CBC and PPU headstamps. These latter might be OK with a shorter boolit.

Other brands I don't use for other reasons. Any crimped brass has been a no-no, though my new Lee APP may change that. Plain Aguila brass is fine, but their cannelured brass bulges alarmingly when the boolit heel hits it. Othe cannelured brass is fine. Internally stepped cases and weird headstamps I don't know are delegated to the practice brass pile, where loading, chambering or shooting issues won't cause problems on match days. A-merc brass has looked so sketchy and has had such a bad reputation on the shooting forums I haunt I just never load it.

[fredj338]

I find all the US brands work fine with 147gr LRN. I toss all foreign headstamps but PMC, they seem to give me issues, especially CBC & Aguila.

[hermans]

I find the FC head stamped brass are the best for my heavy cast boolits, sized 0.3575, and get 100% reliability in terms of the rounds passing the case gauge test.
Speer, Blazer and Win are almost as good, they give maybe 1% failures.
The worst are Aquila and CBC's.....I just toss them!