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Posted: 8/8/2020 4:24:52 PM EDT
Sitting here sorting brass watching hockey, what head stamps do people pull or have less success with?
This may be uncommon, but my M&Ps do NOT like CBC and Maxx Tech. They must be thicker than usual, my 147gr loads must expand the brass too much. So I'm sitting here sorting 12000+ pieces drinkin some whiskey and watching hockey  I have a ton of USA, FC, Win, PMC, RP, S&B headstamps that work for my guns, just wondering if there's other headstamps I should be watching for |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 4:34:42 PM EDT
[#1]
AMERC and anything with an internal step.
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Posted: 8/8/2020 4:39:54 PM EDT
[#2]
Yeah the step ones just get tossed, I haven't had one of those in a couple of years. I don't know that other head stamp, I'll be on the lookout
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Posted: 8/8/2020 4:54:15 PM EDT
[#3]
ZQI sucks and is nothing but a headache.
Max tech I thing has the thick side wall and get tossed into the brass recycling bucket. |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 5:10:53 PM EDT
[#4]
ZQI, got it. Yeah Maxx Tech freezes my slides up, it won't go fully into battery even with a Lee undersized sizing die.
This has been a massive learning and research process for me, the M&Ps get picky apparently. Short chamber or some shit. Swapped bullets a few times, bought the Lee size and crimp die, now it's down to a couple brands of brass are my main culprit at this point as far as I can tell. |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 5:15:56 PM EDT
[#5]
never sorted 9mm brass except for steel which i do with a magnet. loaded step with no issues. i have a few 9mm mp and never found the chambers tight.
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Posted: 8/8/2020 5:17:12 PM EDT
[#6]
I would say crimped Winchester, except that most of the time when some of those get mixed in with the random brass they take a primer without issue. When they don’t I just set them aside to deal with the crimps later. Your mileage might vary. If I was running a single stage I would set them all aside at that point, but with a progressive it throws me off, so I usually try to seat the primer and it usually works fine. If it isn’t you have to know when to stop trying...
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Posted: 8/8/2020 5:22:29 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: never sorted 9mm brass except for steel which i do with a magnet. loaded step with no issues. i have a few 9mm mp and never found the chambers tight. I've had plenty of issues, may be the 147gr bullet that makes it complicated. But all my M&Ps either shoot suppressed or with a compensator that's got the springs in for my 147s. Plus the suppressor CZ Scorpion and MP5, not worth loading anything but 147s for me. |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 5:23:17 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I would say crimped Winchester, except that most of the time when some of those get mixed in with the random brass they take a primer without issue. When they don’t I just set them aside to deal with the crimps later. Your mileage might vary. If I was running a single stage I would set them all aside at that point, but with a progressive it throws me off, so I usually try to seat the primer and it usually works fine. If it isn’t you have to know when to stop trying... Yeah I sort crimped brass once I clean them after the range if shooting factory. I've got an ammo can of just crimped I haven't done anything with yet, no big deal. |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 9:44:38 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: AMERC and anything with an internal step. |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 9:48:35 PM EDT
[#10]
Tula Brass cases get tossed. Seemed longer than other brass, and thicker. Bulged with my cast PC bullets
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Posted: 8/8/2020 10:17:23 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: AMERC and anything with an internal step. Same. |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 11:08:15 PM EDT
[#12]
GFI/Fiocchi can't keep a flash hole in the center of 9mm and .223 primer pockets.
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Posted: 8/8/2020 11:27:09 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: AMERC and anything with an internal step. Yessssss |
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Posted: 8/8/2020 11:37:25 PM EDT
[#14]
How to tell you loaded an AMERC.
Case feel funny sizing or cracked. Drop powder and it feels funny on final size and crimp. Check round on a final round checker, and it won’t plunk in. Unproductive it and throw it out, lol. |
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Posted: 8/9/2020 9:37:09 AM EDT
[#15]
Amerc in 9mm. Then I weed anything with a crimped primer pockets. Those would be ones with a NATO cross and S&B.
I set them aside and plan to deal with the crimp later but thinking of scrapping or selling them. If I deal with the crimp then they'll end up in the reloading stream again and I'll set them aside again and waste time decrimping them again |
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Posted: 8/9/2020 9:52:57 AM EDT
[#16]
I've recently run into trouble with some Norinco 9mm brass with the very faint L Y headstamp. I have since learned that it is known to be garbage. I have a few thousand rounds loaded with misc range pickup brass and I now have to weed out every round of ammo loaded in it because the fired primers fall out of it at a rate of 90-95%.
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Posted: 8/9/2020 3:00:46 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: AMERC and anything with an internal step. Truth. AMERC is trash. Anything with an internal step likes to break at the stress riser formed by the step. |
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Posted: 8/9/2020 3:49:53 PM EDT
[#18]
Agreed 1000% on the internal step brass and crimped primers. The cheap bastard in me hates to toss brass in the recycle bin, but then I remember all the wasted time getting primers out and potential case rupture issues with internal stepped brass. Easy decision - 86 it!!!
RE: Internal stepped brass - Any engineer or person who has worked with metals will avoid this kind of design because they know the 90 degree inside step creates a stress point in the material. Metals such as brass and aluminum, wood, plastic - all will have weak points in areas cut at a sharp angle. AmmoLoad, IMT, and MAXXTech usually have the internal step. Have seen it in WCC and Speer brass - but it was a long time ago - can’t remember if those were 9mm or 380. Have not seen this in recent years for WCC or Speer 9mm. I try to avoid buying new ammo from companies that use internal step brass cases. |
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Posted: 8/9/2020 4:13:13 PM EDT
[#19]
Here’s the deal with A-MERC. I have quite a collection of the stuff in a wide variety of calibers. Every single one has an off-center flash hole. EVERY one. Most are far enough off that they were noticeably harder to deprime with my Harvey deprimer. Every maker is going to wind up with flash hole centering problems eventually; that’s caused by tooling wear, and they only let it go for just so long. But if you can’t maintain your production equipment to get the flash hole right sometimes, what else are you not paying attention to?
The only use I’ve found for this stuff is to make dummy rounds...they size fine, and will hold a bullet fine. But that’s it: dummy rounds. MaxxTech 9mm cases often have a very pronounced internal step. Here’s a picture I stole from a post on Brian Enos’s Forums:  (Credit: Andy0689, posted August 15, 2016) That step is probably there to prevent bullet setback, the same way many other makers’ cases have a cannelure rolled into the case. But the step takes up a considerable volume inside the case. Yeah, that means that you’re going to get MUCH higher pressures if you load a “normal” powder charge in those cases. They may be useful for dummy rounds too - probably better than the trash brand because the bullet just cannot set back - but other than recycling ‘em, that’s all the use I can think of for those cases. |
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Posted: 8/11/2020 11:08:40 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Amerc in 9mm. Then I weed anything with a crimped primer pockets. Those would be ones with a NATO cross and S&B. I have loaded a fair amount of s&b. They do have tight primer pockets, but I have never seen a crimped s&b case. Ghporter is also correct. Maxxtech does have an internally stepped case. I haven't seen a regular case from them. If you pick one up individually or drop it, the weight and the sound it makes is different. |
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Posted: 8/11/2020 12:52:06 PM EDT
[#21]
Only ones I reload are win, fc, perfecta, and rp.
Fiocchi, SB, and they rest go in the trash. |
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Posted: 8/11/2020 4:51:16 PM EDT
[#22]
Life's too short to mess with odd-ball headstamps. I've never been that hard up for brass.
Federal, RP, Winchester, Starline and Speer. Same with the other cartridges, but adding Lapua, Lake City and Norma for rifles. Chris |
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Posted: 8/11/2020 6:52:10 PM EDT
[#23]
I have some older Chinese Norinco cases still in the mix and they are soft and when I do get a stuck round it inevitably is one of them.....
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Posted: 8/12/2020 5:31:59 PM EDT
[#24]
CBC, Fiocchi, Maxxtech, any European brass that’s shit
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Posted: 8/12/2020 5:52:27 PM EDT
[#25]
What everyone else said. Though the internal step ones do actually load and fire fine; but I light load and fire/forget them. Also, the step isnt for setback, it's a faster (cheaper) punch fabrication method for forming brass.
Crimped isnt worth the hassle, just toss any that are. Also, be aware S&B brass can actually be steel. They hide it well, but if you wet tumble, you'll notice which seeming brass "brass" are actually steel |
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Posted: 8/12/2020 8:24:59 PM EDT
[#26]
I have no problem with crimped 9mm - it’s just one extra step to prep, and I KNOW it’s once fired.
 CBC has never given me problems, nor GFL (Fiocchi), or GECO or RWS. SB’s brass-coated steel hasn’t shown up around here, but I will keep my eyes open for it. I also have to say that brass prep is usually kinda fun for me, so removing primer crimps, cleaning up flash holes, and so on are just a part of the process for me. |
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Posted: 8/13/2020 12:10:01 AM EDT
[#27]
this'll make short work of weeding out steel cases. Useful for finding dropped gun parts, or a socket when working on a car, etc etc
 Attached File |
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Posted: 8/13/2020 12:37:35 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: AMERC and anything with an internal step. FPNI |
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Posted: 8/13/2020 4:29:04 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have loaded a fair amount of s&b. They do have tight primer pockets, but I have never seen a crimped s&b case. rent. Agree! S&B’s “issue” is actually its quality: they actually machine the entire pocket and claw hole into the brass instead of just punching it the way we do here in the US. That precision machining leaves a machined edge - which can indeed catch a reloading primer if your press is just a smidgen off center. I actually really like S&B for its high quality and strength. But I acknowledge all you men who’ve tossed it |
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Posted: 8/13/2020 4:35:04 PM EDT
[#30]
S&B is one I've never personally had an issue with but seating the primer can take a little more effort than most. No big deal for me
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Posted: 8/13/2020 6:10:24 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted: AMERC and anything with an internal step. THIS, especially the internal step garbage. |
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Posted: 8/13/2020 11:42:04 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Agree! S&B's "issue" is actually its quality: they actually machine the entire pocket and claw hole into the brass instead of just punching it the way we do here in the US. That precision machining leaves a machined edge - which can indeed catch a reloading primer if your press is just a smidgen off center. I actually really like S&B for its high quality and strength. But I acknowledge all you men who've tossed it Just a tiny countersink and the built in stop makes sure you don't over ream. |
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Posted: 8/14/2020 4:01:27 AM EDT
[#33]
Good idea to run a magnet over range pickup brass,
even if it all looks like brass. Have found a bunch of XTreme 9mm cases that were actually brass 'washed' steel. As for S&B brass, I get giddy when I see folks at range shooting their 10mm and not picking up the empties. That tight pocket on a 10mm case is a big plus. For 9mm, I like Winchester, FC, and Blazer. Typically get a hundred pounds+ of 9mm cases a year from range, so I have luxury of being picky. |
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Posted: 8/14/2020 4:02:33 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: AMERC and anything with an internal step. FPNI. |
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