"Starline 9mm brass..."

[exile]

I have purchased and used many types of Starline revolver brass in the past, (.32, .38, .41, .44 Special, .44 magnum) but never semi-auto pistol brass. I would buy Starline 9mm brass without hesitation, but I have heard and believe that Starline brass is thicker than other types of brass.

My problem is that I have a Jarvis 9mm barrel for my Glock 17 and it has a pretty tight chamber. Does anyone have any experience with Starline 9mm brass and has it caused any problems in pistols with tight chambers? Thanks.

exile

[MakeMineA10mm]

I've not used Star-Line brass in 9mm, so can't directly answer your question, but I use almost exclusively 9mm brass from the military, and it is allegedly heavier-walled. Of course, your question isn't the right question. The thickness of the brass won't cause an issue in a tight chamber. If your sizing die squeezes down thin brass well enough to fit the chamber, it will squeeze down thick brass.

I think the real question you're asking is whether thick brass being sized "tight" to fit your tight-chambered barrel will cause issues with reduced powder capacity or possibly squeezing the base/bottom drive-band of the boolit you're loading.

Well, if my "thick" military brass is any indication, you'll be fine, unless you go to the super-heavy bullets, like 147grs or heavier. Even then, it may not be a problem. It depends on the exact interaction between the bullet's base, your sizing diameter, and the thickness of the brass. If you're loading 135s or lighter, I'd think you should be fine; no worries.

But then again, I've never had the star-line stuff. If it's super uber-thick, I guess all bets are off...

[exile]

You're right, I have a few pieces of military brass (WCC headstamp, I think) and they work fine so the Starline should as well. I've always wanted to ask where people get military 9mm brass anyway? (I've no idea where the three or four cases I've got came from.). Thanks.

exile

(My current load is a 124 grain round nose boolit over 4.4 grains of Unique, CCI primers and Winchester brass I got from shooting the Winchester USA brand ammo before I got into reloading, from the Speer manual.)

[noylj]

Starline are great folks. Call them up and ask if they can send you maybe 5 cases to try out. They sent me 5 9x23 cases when the 9x21s I ordered seemed too short and I thought maybe the extra 2mms would actually give me near perfect headspacing (thought the custom chamber may have been a little too deep. No problem. Found that the 9x23 extended beyond the barrel hood to the same degree that the 9x21 brass was short. Anyone have 9x22 brass?
Why are pistol cases always too short?

[exile]

Thanks, I may do that. 9 x 21, 9 x 23, aren't those competition cartridges used in 1911 platforms? Thought I had heard of the 9 x 21, not so sure of the 9 x 23. You guys always have more fun than I do. Closest I get is the .357 Sig, but I can't ever find my cases, so I don't shoot it much.

exile

[ReloaderFred]

With 9x19 brass so plentiful, I've never had to buy any. In fact, I've sold off quite a bit of it, and still have it stored all over the place. I prefer military brass in this caliber, since it's heavier in construction and lasts longer.

As for 9x21 and 9x23, they're completely different animals. The 9x21 was invented in Italy to get around the law forbidding civilians from owning military caliber firearms. The 9x19 was the standard caliber for Italian handguns and submachine guns, and probably still is.

The 9x23, or more properly, the 9x23 Winchester, is a very high pressure round designed around a rifle caliber style case, with a thick base and thick walls. The 9x23 case can withstand 50,000 psi. It was first made by swaging up 5.56 brass and reaming it to accept a 9mm bullet. Several small companies made it, CP being one of them, but the only large ammunition company that ever produced it was Winchester, at the behest of Ed Nowak, one of their Vice Presidents. I've talked to him at length about this caliber at the SHOT Show almost three years ago.

The 9x21 is loaded to the same overall length as the 9x19, so it will fit in 9x19 magazines. The 9x19 chamber is lengthened by 2mm to accept the longer brass. It was loaded hot for IPSC shooting, since there weren't any SAAMI specs for it, and quite a few guns were damaged in the process. The caliber was originally designed to shoot the same loads, or very similar loads, as the 9x19, and wasn't intended to be hot rodded like it was.

Both my 9x21 pistol and my 9x23 pistol are very accurate. The 9x23 Winchester delivers some outstanding velocities for a handgun, but if you want even more, try the 9x25 Winchester, which is the 10mm case necked down to 9mm. I've been able to drive a 115 grain JHP to 1,583 fps with this round, and I'm still working on "the load" for it.

Hope this helps.

Fred