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Old January 31, 2013, 03:02 PM   #1
deepforks
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Quality of pistol brass

so i just sorted and counted my order of 9mm once fired brass and was wondering what, if any, quality differences there are? traded the few nickel pieces, discarded the handful of .380 & 9mm mak and have about 30 oddballs. heres the list. would you set aside any particular brands for self defense rounds, or, am i just thinking too much?

wcc - 172
win - 219
s&b - 106
cci - 21
gfl - 12
speer - 33
hrtrs - 51
aguila - 13
cbc - 128
pmc - 115
blazer - 1,503
fc - 718
rp - 364
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Old January 31, 2013, 03:28 PM   #2
Brian Pfleuger
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A lot of folks don't reload RP pistol brass, at least in some calibers. It is known for thin mouths/walls and insufficient bullet hold. Some of the others too, someone with more experience with them will have to chime in.
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:11 PM   #3
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Really...^^^ never heard that... is that just with 9mm or with all Remington brass ???

I've found with alot of the cheaper loaded ammo ( mostly reads import brands ) that the brass seems to be more brittle...
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:22 PM   #4
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I've heard reports of R-P (Remington) brass having problems as Brian has stated. But I've only seen rifle cases have this problem. *Even then, it's been pretty rare for me*. I've been happy overall with Remington brass to use for plinking. For precision shooting, not so impressed. For pistol, I've had no problems with Remington other than not lasting quite as long as others.

I hate, H.A.T.E. S&B brass. Hate it as much as Amerc. Extreme difficulty in priming, gets brittle quickly, etc.

Older PMC rifle brass isn't my bag, either. The newer stuff isn't bad. All the other brands you've listed I've used with no problems. No need to separate if you're just reloading for target practice.

ETA (*): It's rare because most of my brass for rifle are other brands.
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:26 PM   #5
Brian Pfleuger
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It's funny, because every time I say that I get a bunch of people who are like "What?! I've never heard that ?!" and I'm thinking I'm wrong, so I shut up about it.

Next thread it comes up and I keep quiet and there's 5 guys going "Yeah, I don't use R-P pistol brass..."

Makes me think I'm crazy!

Which side is showing up this time!
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:33 PM   #6
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I guess I don't not buy Rem brass... & in fact prefer Rem 22 Hornet cases, as they don't come with the crimp groove like the Win cases come... & I'd never heard of problems with the 9mm cases... but I'll file this info in the grey matter in case it come up again...
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:44 PM   #7
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I'll take factory loads for self defense, not that I do not trust my reloads. But if I do have to use my ammo, I do not want any question about reloads coming into play.

As a matter of fact, I recommend that you load your self-defense magazine with the exact same ammo your local sheriff department uses.
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:47 PM   #8
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I like Remington brass alright in 9mm. I don't love S&B brass, primer pockets are tight and is kind of a pain during priming as already mentioned but I don't hate it as much as Shane does. CBC (Magtech) brass is about the same if I remember correctly. I dislike Magtech brass a lot in 45 Colt, the primer pocket is fine but the cannelure deforms on me a lot and it looks bad. Only cosmetic though.

Also, I believe, sometimes WCC (winchester?) has crimped primer pockets, which sucks.

Don't like the primer pockets at all with PMC 357 brass but I don't think 9mm gave me any trouble.

For 9mm, I prefer Win, uncrimped WCC, Federal, Blazer or Speer. But it will all work for standard range use.
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:48 PM   #9
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I'd like to hear someone's assessment of the WCC mil-spec brass he's listed???
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:55 PM   #10
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WCC surplus seems to be good stuff.
You may or may not have to ream or swage the primer crimp.
Some lots are crimped pretty hard, some not.

Of the OP's laundry list, I would use it all for my applications of IDPA and defense practice. You can't afford to cull much in these days of panic and shortages.

I don't load my own defense ammo, but would probably use the Federals for the purpose if I got caught short.

I had some WW commercial .45 that I set aside for chronograph and Ransom Rest loads, and another batch of it dedicated for moon clipping without automatic extractor and ejector burrs; but I have seen enough thin and uneven WW 9mm to use something else for top quality.
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Old January 31, 2013, 04:56 PM   #11
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Quote:
I'd like to hear someone's assessment of the WCC mil-spec brass he's listed???
When it isn't crimped, it's just fine.
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Old January 31, 2013, 06:06 PM   #12
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Note that the S&B brass may have crimped primer pockets. I ran into some a while back. A few twist with my Lyman tool, and they worked just fine. Try seating a primer first. If it feels like you are trying to shove a bowling ball into the tail pipe of your car then the pocket is crimped.
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Old January 31, 2013, 06:12 PM   #13
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Not to highjack. But.
I have all aquilla 9mm brass. Any known issues or feedback?
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Old January 31, 2013, 06:50 PM   #14
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I have used every head stamp but AMERC which I scrap those due to the fact that for reloading it is total garbage. Everything else seems to work just fine.
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Old January 31, 2013, 07:40 PM   #15
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all of the wcc brass and some of the s&b have the nato mark. so are these the ones that would have been originally crimped (primers)? thanks for all the input so far!! good points made on the self defense ammo. might be worth buying that, if only for peace of mind.
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Old February 1, 2013, 11:09 AM   #16
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I've had no problems with several brands of 9mm brass but from my experience the Winchester 9mm brass is what I load my premium bullet loads with. Seems to have the perfect wall thickness for good bullet tension, primer pocket fit for CCI primers is good, and I've had no issues loading or shooting Win 9mm brass. Most of the others I use for FMJ plinking and target loads. I just prefer one brand for premium bullets.
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Old February 1, 2013, 12:46 PM   #17
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If it's marked NATO, the pockets are likely crimped (unless someone has removed the crimp; ie, range brass instead of once fired).
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Old February 1, 2013, 05:48 PM   #18
William T. Watts
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R-P pistol cases have thin walls and arn't worth the trouble, I have well over a 100 factory primed cases I will not use!! I do not use any R-P pistol cases at all, however I have several thousand rifle cases in a number of calibers that are evenly split between new and once fired. I do agree with Brians position about the quality of Remingtons pistol cases, they go straight into my recycle bucket.. William

Last edited by William T. Watts; February 1, 2013 at 11:28 PM. Reason: I made a number of changes for clarity! William
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Old February 1, 2013, 06:24 PM   #19
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Quote:
discarded the handful of .380 & 9mm mak
Hang on to all your brass, it's good to sell or trade later even if you don't end up needing it.
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Old February 1, 2013, 07:03 PM   #20
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Quote:
R-P pistol cases have thin walls and arn't worth the trouble, I have well over a 100 factory primed cases I will not use!! Brian is correct!! There's is nothing wrong with R-P rifle cases, been using them for years, I like them, again, Brian is correct!! William
Really! Am I reading this right?

I have found problems with every mfg of brass that I have loaded for. I have a 3lb coffee can that I throw my bad brass in and every mfg is represented there in 9mm to some degree.

Some brands are on average worse than others. Someone gave me 100 R-P brass in 9mm and it is still in my scrap can of 9mm brass. There may come a day when I have to use this brass but it isn't here yet, so it just sits there, and I use the time proven mix of all mfgs that I know won't give me a problem.

If I pull one out of my LNL-AP that don't feel normal, I don't care who made it, it goes in the Folgers can.
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Old February 1, 2013, 07:23 PM   #21
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Federal feels like Jello, really soft. S&B is more like steel. Ugh.
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Old February 1, 2013, 08:00 PM   #22
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William T Watts,

I apoligize, I misread and didn't understand your post.

I'm sorry, it's been a long day and I have two grandchildren jumping on me but that no excuss on my part.

Will read more carefully next time.
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Old February 1, 2013, 09:19 PM   #23
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I do wonder if there's been an assigned lot that has the said issues with R-P brass. Have I run into said issues with R-P? Sure. But it's been few and far between and chalked it up to wear. It's the same for any brand, really. If it is a lot or a number of lots, I wonder if they ship out to a specific region or if it just gets spread out to distributors.

Federal does appear to be predominantly soft, chris. I like it, though. Doesn't seem to get brittle easily and sizes without any issues. It reminds me of Independence/Speer brass.
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Old February 2, 2013, 01:07 AM   #24
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I have a box of just over 500 once fired RP .45 ACP cases that is about 4 years old. I have been loading out of it over the past year. I have loaded most of them at least once. Two sets of 50 (less a few replacements due to loss) have been loaded three times by me at this point. No complaints so far.
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Old February 2, 2013, 04:29 AM   #25
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R-P brass only bothers me because at least on my Dillon, I cant feel it when I seat the primer. So I always have to pull it off to make sure a primer went in. I'd rather feel a little resistance and know it went in. I typically use federal brass for 9mm because its so easy for me to get, but I"ve used about them all. They all work for me. WCC brass though I usually dont even mess with. I've honestly got enough 9mm brass thats only once fired and could just load it and let it lay and still not run out in my lifetime. I got gallons and gallons of the stuff. My advice is load it and shoot it. If it splits throw it out.
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