[gwalchmai]

Truth be told, I have so much Winchester 9mm that it's the only one I reload. .45 Auto I load everything.

[JMS]

Ran across some more headstamps, good or bad?? Company?? Feel free to add to list.

C()J
L()Y
One looks like a circle with an i through it
Para at top, triangle shape at bottom
AP
GFL
LB-NTF
DNL
GECO
IMI
WRA
CCI N/R
CCI
LC
PMP
MM
S043
MFS

()=primer pocket

[Charly]

Originally Posted by Helms

I can't comment on primer pocket swaging on the S&B 9mm, but I do know that I cleaned the pocket, reamed it just a bit and even chamfered the pocket to try and ease seating and it just didnt work. I suspect you could swage them to size, but I dont really want to put that much effort into making 9mm brass shootable when there are tons of it out there that is far less labor intensive to mess with.

Originally Posted by VN350X10

Swaging S&B 9mm does work, buy WHY ?????
uncle albert

Exactly the same opinion.

For 9mm it is not worth all the work !
Eventhough I can not find so many different brands at our ranges here in Belgium and that the most commonly found brass IS S&B, I would not consider swaging, reaming and chamfering primers pockets in 9mm.

[zipper046]

Have 1500 pieces of .40S&W IMI brass (already loaded with Precision Moly coated bullets)...shot about 400 of them and reloaded the brass already. GOOD brass...cleans up nice, sizes real easy, and seems stouter than other brass (ie: R-P, Speer).

[gary newport]

So what's the bad news on Armscor .45 ACP brass? I just picked a baggie of a couple hundred of them off the prize table at our MNSL banquet. They appear to be virgins.

[gwalchmai]

Gary, if you mean the ones marked AP and a two digit year, I've loaded a few in .45ACP and they were fine. .45ACP is very forgiving, of course.

BTW, for anyone who doesn't have it already, HERE is a list of headstamp codes and their companies.

And HERE is a gallery.

And HERE.

[gary newport]

Originally Posted by gwalchmai

Gary, if you mean the ones marked AP and a two digit year, I've loaded a few in .45ACP and they were fine. .45ACP is very forgiving, of course.

BTW, for anyone who doesn't have it already, HERE is a list of headstamp codes and their companies.

And HERE is a gallery.

And HERE.

That's it! AP 03 I didn't recognize the head stamp, but I got to the prize table late and it was down to seeds and stems, so....

Thanks! I'll load 'em up with either my Mellow Major or Minor load.

[MustangGreg66]

I bought some ammo called "CCI Blazer Brass" in .40 S&W. It's blazer but with brass cases instead of their aluminum or whatever crappy cases. Anyone used these before? Just wondering what to expect out of the brass once the factory part goes boom

[Linear Thinker]

JMS - some IDs for you in red:

Originally Posted by JMS

Ran across some more headstamps, good or bad?? Company?? Feel free to add to list.

C()J - Norinco
L()Y - Norinco
One looks like a circle with an i through it
Para at top, triangle shape at bottom - Norinco
AP
GFL - Fiocchi
LB-NTF
DNL
GECO - Dynamit Nobel Germany
IMI - Israeli Military Industries
WRA - Winchester Repeating Arms
CCI N/R - CCI Blaser non-reloadable
CCI - CCI-Speer
LC - Lake City (USGI)
PMP - Pretoria Metals (South African)
MM - South African
S043
MFS - Hungarian

()=primer pocket

[gwalchmai]

Originally Posted by gary newport

I got to the prize table late and it was down to seeds and stems

Man, that's one I haven't heard in a long time.

[Helms]

I just got a bunch of MM brass (south african) in 9mm and it is crimped HARDCORE. Way worse than any NATO/ military stuff I have ever seen. Stay away from this in 9mm if they all have this ridiculous crimp on the primer.

[NOCM]

Originally Posted by Helms

OH- and before anyone asks, might want to list wolf and all aluminum "brass" as JUNK not to be reloaded.

I think it was Guns and Ammo Mag that just did an article on reloading aluminum and steel cases... They reported that it was ok to use it a couple times and they had no problems as long as it is primed correctly (berdan/boxer)

[Helms]

I'll have to look at that article if I get a chance. I do like my dies, though and it doesnt sound like they factored in possible die damage from reloading that stuff.

Id also like to know what they were shooting. Some stuff might be worth the risk, but high pressure cartridges would have me puckered pretty good.

[elsolo]

Originally Posted by JMS

Ran across some more headstamps, good or bad?? Company?? Feel free to add to list.

C()J
L()Y
One looks like a circle with an i through it
Para at top, triangle shape at bottom

That is just about the ONLY 9mm brass I will not reload, that and Amerc.
Very loose primer pockets, many of the range pickups allready had the spent primer fall out.

Compared to that crap, S&B is awesome!
Snug primer pocket, but very reloadable IMHO.

[Many9's]

All of the info below applies to 9 mm and .357/.38 sp which are all I have experience with.

Winchester is head stamped WIN. Winchester military brass (9mm) is head stamped WCC (Winchester Cartridge Company)

I've had very good results with Speer in both plain and Ni plated form in 9 mm.

FC is Federal Cartridge. It's been fine in 9 mm and .38 Sp.

AMERC, as noted, is indeed JUNK.

S&B is problematic. I don't bother with their stuff with red lacquer around the primers. I assume they are crimped.

NT means "nontoxic", i.e. uses lead-free primers. Apparently the flash holes are different diameter from standard brass and it's considered non-reloadable. Maybe by now someone has figured out how to use it.

[G10mm]

Originally Posted by SILVERBACK32

Was the headstamp * SPEER* OR SPEER ?

To be totally onest I don't remember !!!

[Orlando Eric]

About five years ago I was loading S&B 45's by the bucket loads! I remember there was a hard pull the first time you knocked out the sealed primers but after that it weas smooth sailing.

The local shop was the cheapest around selling the S&B so it was once fired brass.

I have loaded a few thousand S&B 40's and have not had a major problem yet.

[MisterLady27]

Hello All,

1. I've seen many comments regarding the "junkness" of Amerc brass over the course of the last year, but didn't think much about it. Until last Tuesday at the cold and windy range.

2. The girls and friends were shooting some 9mm Tuesday and several of my reloads didn't go into battery. So we took the opportunity and had a lesson in stoppage reduction. And when I looked at the several rounds that didn't chamber they were all Amerc. Huh! Stock G17 barrel BTW, and all run through Beautiful Blue.

3. Comments anyone???

ML27

[MustangGreg66]

Originally Posted by MisterLady27

Hello All,

1. I've seen many comments regarding the "junkness" of Amerc brass over the course of the last year, but didn't think much about it. Until last Tuesday at the cold and windy range.

2. The girls and friends were shooting some 9mm Tuesday and several of my reloads didn't go into battery. So we took the opportunity and had a lesson in stoppage reduction. And when I looked at the several rounds that didn't chamber they were all Amerc. Huh! Stock G17 barrel BTW, and all run through Beautiful Blue.

3. Comments anyone???

ML27

Hmm, reading this I was just thinking about what dies you're using. Dillion dies size the case all the way down to get out any bulging in the case, or the Lee factory crimp die that comes in their 4 die sets also sizes the full case all the way down to eliminate any bulging and assure that rounds will chamber.

I was going to test this out myself. I don't have any of this Amerc brass (I don't think), but I'd noticed some bulged cases from some CCI brass I'd shot in my G35. Loading on the dillion I just kinda feed it any case that I come accross, but I was going to try to find some of the CCI brass in my pile and inspect the bulge as it goes through the stages...

[VonFatman]

I agree---S&B gets pitched...the primer pockets drive me crazy.

I used to buy PMP cheap...bought several thousand rounds before I started reloading and have reloaded the brass for years...some of the best .45 ACP brass I've ever used.

I like IMI

I HATE military surplus .45 ACP and .38 Special...it gets pitched into the recycle box....primer pockets too tight like S&B.

Good thread.

Bob

[Bert.40]

It doesn't matter how far down you can resize AMERC you will still get bad ones, maybe not on the first reload. But I'm betting you don't get a second. At least in .40 cal. I was told to anneal the AMERC before reloading; but figured it's just a waste of time for a dozen or so brass. Picking up range brass and buying once fired brass is the only place I get AMERC. Funny thing I've never seen AMERC on any store shelves. Where do they come from, other then China?

I don't have a problem with Federal in my .40; but friends complain about them in 9mm.

Another bad one I came across was with a headstamp PA RH, or it might have been PA RCH. I started pitching them also.

When picking up range brass or coming across unknown brass; use a caliper and check the OAL. One of the mistakes beginner reloaders make is never checking the OAL. Most of the time I lose my brass or it gets a defect before it reaches max OAL. Still, check it.

[G10mm]

[QUOTE=Bert.40;10319177]It doesn't matter how far down you can resize AMERC you will still get bad ones, maybe not on the first reload. But I'm betting you don't get a second. At least in .40 cal. I was told to anneal the AMERC before reloading; but figured it's just a waste of time for a dozen or so brass. Picking up range brass and buying once fired brass is the only place I get AMERC. Funny thing I've never seen AMERC on any store shelves. Where do they come from, other then China?

I don't have a problem with Federal in my .40; but friends complain about them in 9mm.

Your right I havent seen it on store shelves ether .The million dollor question is where is this junk comming from?????

[Bert.40]

I don't have any problem with Speer. But I have to reset my dies, basically the crimp die.

[VN350X10]

Guys, the answer to "Where is the A-Merc coming from?"

Answer......

It is sold by "Cheaper Than Dirt" & a couple of other mail-order houses, I think that Gary Olen up in Minn. sells it on occasion.
But the majority of it comes from CTD.
I've never seen it in any retail store or gunshop.
Too bad that they sell so much of it & the real problem is that it is advertised as being boxer primed & RELOADABLE !

uncle albert

[MustangGreg66]

Well I had my first official encounter with AMERC brass today. I've been picking a bunch of left over brass from the range and today went to reload some of it in my Dillion 550, in 45 ACP. I was using Rainier 200gr RN and I guess the case was short and didn't hit the powder die/case bell thing enough so when I went to seat the bullet, it didn't get inside the case all the way and the case basically peeled the jacket off the bullet.

To be fair, I didn't have the powder die down enough and this happened a few other times with some other brass types before I adjusted the die. BUT it just happened to be AMERC that it did that on first. I had 4 other AMERC rounds that went through just fine, but I weeded them out anyway. So far I've got 5 AMERC cases in 45 acp out of maybe 5-600 I've pulled off the range floor. Not bad, I'm glad its not as popular here

Also, with the S&B brass, is it mainly loading it from factory ammo that's the issue. I grabbed almost 100 cases from the range that looked like they'd been reloaded already, they'd marked the primer in red marker. some other S&B got mixed into my mixed brass and went through the dillion fine, primer pockets were a bit tight, but it seemed to all run smoothly. Is 45 diffrent than other calibers for this manufacturer, or do you think these pockets have already been swaged?