Interesting Find - Be Careful

AVirginian · November 13, 2016, 10:08 AM

I finished cleaning some 9mm brass and as always, I stand them up looking for the occasional 380 or 9mm Makarov. I noticed that one case looked different so I took a closer look to discover a shelf inside the case. The headstamp is MaxxTech.

I then sectioned it with my Dremel and as you can see in the second photo, the case volume seems to be significantly reduced. I tossed the 10 or so that I found.

Just thought I'd mention this as if they were loaded with a full charge the reduced case volume might cause a problem.

Bryant

JeepHammer · November 13, 2016, 10:18 AM

THANKS!
I just bought a bunch of range pistol brass locally, and this is something I should most certainly be looking for.

I can see that brass locking a progressive press up in a big way!

Good clean cross section by the way.

Rogerl830 · November 13, 2016, 10:18 AM

Wow! I have a few cases with that headstamp also,will throw in scrap bucket now. Thanks for the heads up

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

higgite · November 13, 2016, 10:19 AM

"Ammoload" headstamped 9mm brass is like that, too.

Mauser69 · November 13, 2016, 10:26 AM

While I do not play with any 9mm toys, this is a HUGE safety issue! I have not seen this before, but now I wonder if some dufus company might do something so stupid with .40 brass too? I will be watching . . .

Thank you again for being vigilant and sharing this critical information with us.

Tsquared · November 13, 2016, 10:33 AM

Eastern European origin also known as BlackMaxx or Tul MaxxTech. I first saw this crap with Ammoland headstamp. They have shown up with the headstamps of IMT and FM also.

Throw them away. They are junk for reloading as the case will separate at the ridge.

Another headstamp to avoid is TulAmmo. I am not sure what they make their brass out of but it is just as soft as aluminum cases.

lamarw · November 13, 2016, 11:05 AM

I would think it would be enough to overfill the brass with powder and warn any observant reloader.

**Unclenick** · November 13, 2016, 12:12 PM

Interesting case design. The step is a positive stop for bullet seating. The thickened brass at the body should tolerate higher pressure without blowing out. Note how thick the web is. Probably used a stiff charge of fairly fast powder. I don't know if they were wanting to prevent a target level load from having a lot of extra space in the case, or if they meant it to be fired in a fast full auto weapon without bulging and affecting extraction. Oddly expensive approach unless brass is cheap there. Obviously, standard load data would not apply to it.

You always have to inspect cases. I once got a freshly fired LC .30-06 case (this was from a DCM match back in the days when ammo was issued) that felt odd. I weighed it and it was 35 grains heavier than the average. Looking inside, there was a dark area around the flash hole. I applied a dental pick and retrieved a 35 grain slug of lead. It was apparently part of a bullet core that fell in at the factory. This was in government loaded ammo. QuickLOAD suggests it would have raised pressure about 10%. Nowhere near proof pressure, but not something I wanted in my handloads.

Sevens · November 13, 2016, 01:02 PM

First time I found one of these I also wondered if the idea was to prevent bullet setback, because if that is the idea -- the idea itself is sound. Not sure about the execution of the idea and for a handloader, this is a very obvious pressure raising situation.

I also cull all of these from my brass supply, but this is not at all difficult for me since I sort all handgun brass by headstamp anyway.

Fantastic pictures and sectioning, OP!

Chainsaw. · November 14, 2016, 09:04 AM

I have seen this "step" in cases marked 'Perfecta' as,well but not THAT substantial of a change. Thanks for the heads up!

F. Guffey · November 14, 2016, 09:59 AM

I am not scared, I sort cases and match them by head stamp and then by weight. BY WEIGHT

There is nothing entertaining about pulling the trigger without knowing what was about to happen. After I loaded a few hundred cases and then weighted them the thick cases would show up as cases with more powder than I had planned on. I can not think of a more embarrassing answer after my reloading rendered one of my guns scrap; "It must have been a double charge

".

F. Guffey

Clark · November 15, 2016, 11:02 PM

Quote:

JeepHammer
.....
Information found on the 'Internet' is worth EXACTLY what you paid for it...
Everyone on the internet is an 'Expert'.

My public education and books from the library were free.
The information varied from worthless to valuable, just like internet posts.

I asked my father in 1994 how he was making 20% and I was losing 20% on the stock market. He said that when Merrill Lynch calls, 95% of the time thier spiel is worthless. He said I have to realize when I hear something worthwhile.

Reading the internet is like looking for deals on the stock market, deals in a gun show, hunting, or fishing... a long time between opportunities, but you have to know one when you see it.

There ARE a few experts on the internet.

bryco32 · November 16, 2016, 02:20 PM

I found a bunch of these style cases while running my xl650 using range brass I picked up.. I set them all aside for later. I loaded them with the same upper end data hodgdon called for the cast 125 grbullet I was using and fired 10 of them through my Sa mac carbine. I had no issue's with them.

I ran the other 10 through a ruger p89. Seemed fine to me. I picked them all up and threw them back Into the brass bag.

SARuger · November 19, 2016, 07:58 AM

I process at least a thousand rounds of 9mm a week from our local range and I haven't run into one of these yet. I will BOLO for these. Thanks for the heads up!

Deaf Smith · November 19, 2016, 10:14 AM

But... with such a thick case I bet it will take lots more pressure!

For people who shoot such as IPSC they might want to try a 'major' load out of a 9mm with such cases.

Deaf

PolarFBear · April 5, 2017, 07:55 AM

Thought I had found a good handful of nickle plated cases at the range yesterday. But what a disappointment. Nickle plated yes. But these are the "dreaded" bullet shelf 9's. Glad I had read about these or I "may" have been tempted to try a reload. Really appreciate the heads up. And, the photo of the dissected cases was terrific.

kmw1954 · April 5, 2017, 10:09 AM

Have one here sitting on my desk with the FM head stamp. Odd stuff.

Stats Shooter · April 5, 2017, 11:15 AM

I'd be willing to try loading it. But, I would start pretty low with a fast powder and see what happens. You could ball park the lost capacity by looking at how many grains of water a standard or average 9mm case holds, then look at how many grains of water this case holds. Then you could monkey around with the seating depth of a bullet in quickload calculating the difference in volume and see how that affects pressure. It would give you a starting point to work a load up.

Or you could just throw them in the trash

BigJimP · April 5, 2017, 12:41 PM

I see about 10 of them in every 2,000 case batch I clean and inspect....and I toss them out as well.

Glad to see you cross section one...I was going to get around to it ....but just haven't yet...

They jam big time in station 1 ..if you don't get them sorted out / the shelf does not let the resizing - depriming die drop into the case very deeply..!!

Jim Watson · April 5, 2017, 01:16 PM

I load them promiscuously with the rest of the range pickup.
Velocity difference due to reduced volume is slight and I have not had one to separate. Maybe because I take so many to lost brass matches. So they don't get many cycles from me.

PolarFBear · April 5, 2017, 03:42 PM

I just "thought" they were nickled brass because they were quite shiny. They didn't pass the magnet test. Ferrous.To the trash they were thrown.

November 13, 2016, 10:18 AM	#2
JeepHammer Junior member Join Date: February 27, 2015 Posts: 1,768	THANKS! I just bought a bunch of range pistol brass locally, and this is something I should most certainly be looking for. I can see that brass locking a progressive press up in a big way! Good clean cross section by the way. Last edited by JeepHammer; November 13, 2016 at 10:39 AM.

November 13, 2016, 10:26 AM	#5
Mauser69 Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2014 Location: New Mexico Posts: 204	OUTSTANDING Post - THANX!!! While I do not play with any 9mm toys, this is a HUGE safety issue! I have not seen this before, but now I wonder if some dufus company might do something so stupid with .40 brass too? I will be watching . . . Thank you again for being vigilant and sharing this critical information with us. __________________ NRA Family Life members, TSRA Life member, USAF vet and American Legion member.

November 13, 2016, 12:12 PM	#8
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Interesting case design. The step is a positive stop for bullet seating. The thickened brass at the body should tolerate higher pressure without blowing out. Note how thick the web is. Probably used a stiff charge of fairly fast powder. I don't know if they were wanting to prevent a target level load from having a lot of extra space in the case, or if they meant it to be fired in a fast full auto weapon without bulging and affecting extraction. Oddly expensive approach unless brass is cheap there. Obviously, standard load data would not apply to it. You always have to inspect cases. I once got a freshly fired LC .30-06 case (this was from a DCM match back in the days when ammo was issued) that felt odd. I weighed it and it was 35 grains heavier than the average. Looking inside, there was a dark area around the flash hole. I applied a dental pick and retrieved a 35 grain slug of lead. It was apparently part of a bullet core that fell in at the factory. This was in government loaded ammo. QuickLOAD suggests it would have raised pressure about 10%. Nowhere near proof pressure, but not something I wanted in my handloads. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

November 13, 2016, 01:02 PM	#9
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	First time I found one of these I also wondered if the idea was to prevent bullet setback, because if that is the idea -- the idea itself is sound. Not sure about the execution of the idea and for a handloader, this is a very obvious pressure raising situation. I also cull all of these from my brass supply, but this is not at all difficult for me since I sort all handgun brass by headstamp anyway. Fantastic pictures and sectioning, OP! __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

November 14, 2016, 09:59 AM	#11
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	I am not scared, I sort cases and match them by head stamp and then by weight. BY WEIGHT There is nothing entertaining about pulling the trigger without knowing what was about to happen. After I loaded a few hundred cases and then weighted them the thick cases would show up as cases with more powder than I had planned on. I can not think of a more embarrassing answer after my reloading rendered one of my guns scrap; "It must have been a double charge". F. Guffey Last edited by F. Guffey; November 14, 2016 at 02:56 PM. Reason: remove F.

November 13, 2016, 10:18 AM	#3
Rogerl830 Junior Member Join Date: July 12, 2013 Posts: 8	Wow! I have a few cases with that headstamp also,will throw in scrap bucket now. Thanks for the heads up Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

November 13, 2016, 10:19 AM	#4
higgite Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 2010 Posts: 1,025	"Ammoload" headstamped 9mm brass is like that, too.

November 13, 2016, 10:33 AM	#6
Tsquared Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2016 Location: NE Atlanta Posts: 337	Eastern European origin also known as BlackMaxx or Tul MaxxTech. I first saw this crap with Ammoland headstamp. They have shown up with the headstamps of IMT and FM also. Throw them away. They are junk for reloading as the case will separate at the ridge. Another headstamp to avoid is TulAmmo. I am not sure what they make their brass out of but it is just as soft as aluminum cases.

November 13, 2016, 11:05 AM	#7
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	I would think it would be enough to overfill the brass with powder and warn any observant reloader.

November 14, 2016, 09:04 AM	#10
Chainsaw. Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2015 Location: Issaquah WA. Its a dry rain. Posts: 1,774	I have seen this "step" in cases marked 'Perfecta' as,well but not THAT substantial of a change. Thanks for the heads up!

November 16, 2016, 02:20 PM	#13
bryco32 Member Join Date: December 15, 2012 Posts: 48	I found a bunch of these style cases while running my xl650 using range brass I picked up.. I set them all aside for later. I loaded them with the same upper end data hodgdon called for the cast 125 grbullet I was using and fired 10 of them through my Sa mac carbine. I had no issue's with them. I ran the other 10 through a ruger p89. Seemed fine to me. I picked them all up and threw them back Into the brass bag.

November 19, 2016, 07:58 AM	#14
SARuger Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 2014 Location: Blue Ridge Mountains of VA Posts: 954	I process at least a thousand rounds of 9mm a week from our local range and I haven't run into one of these yet. I will BOLO for these. Thanks for the heads up!

November 19, 2016, 10:14 AM	#15
Deaf Smith Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2000 Location: Texican! Posts: 4,453	But... with such a thick case I bet it will take lots more pressure! For people who shoot such as IPSC they might want to try a 'major' load out of a 9mm with such cases. Deaf __________________ “To you who call yourselves ‘men of peace,’ I say, you are not safe without men of action by your side” Thucydides

April 5, 2017, 07:55 AM	#16
PolarFBear Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2015 Location: NE Tennessee, a "Free State" Posts: 478	MaxxTech 9mm Thought I had found a good handful of nickle plated cases at the range yesterday. But what a disappointment. Nickle plated yes. But these are the "dreaded" bullet shelf 9's. Glad I had read about these or I "may" have been tempted to try a reload. Really appreciate the heads up. And, the photo of the dissected cases was terrific.

April 5, 2017, 10:09 AM	#17
kmw1954 Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2016 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 1,524	Have one here sitting on my desk with the FM head stamp. Odd stuff.

April 5, 2017, 11:15 AM	#18
Stats Shooter Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2016 Location: North Dakota Posts: 1,636	I'd be willing to try loading it. But, I would start pretty low with a fast powder and see what happens. You could ball park the lost capacity by looking at how many grains of water a standard or average 9mm case holds, then look at how many grains of water this case holds. Then you could monkey around with the seating depth of a bullet in quickload calculating the difference in volume and see how that affects pressure. It would give you a starting point to work a load up. Or you could just throw them in the trash

April 5, 2017, 12:41 PM	#19
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I see about 10 of them in every 2,000 case batch I clean and inspect....and I toss them out as well. Glad to see you cross section one...I was going to get around to it ....but just haven't yet... They jam big time in station 1 ..if you don't get them sorted out / the shelf does not let the resizing - depriming die drop into the case very deeply..!!

April 5, 2017, 01:16 PM	#20
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,545	I load them promiscuously with the rest of the range pickup. Velocity difference due to reduced volume is slight and I have not had one to separate. Maybe because I take so many to lost brass matches. So they don't get many cycles from me.

April 5, 2017, 03:42 PM	#21
PolarFBear Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2015 Location: NE Tennessee, a "Free State" Posts: 478	MaxxTech 9mm I just "thought" they were nickled brass because they were quite shiny. They didn't pass the magnet test. Ferrous.To the trash they were thrown.