what is the issue with loading 9mm major brass multiple times

[MrPostman]

Those that are reloading the same brass in 9 major multiple times, what powder are you using?

I just started loading 9 major using 8.3 grains of hs6 and 125 grain JHP bullets and Federal Small Pistol primers. The brass and primers show no pressure signs at all. Hell, I've seen more pressure signs on 9 minor brass using Titegroup, Clays and WST.

Chris

I'm using hs6 and autocomp

Always shot 124/5 bullets, playing with 115's this year..

I load it till I lose it

115s and HS6 seem to exert less pressure on the cases and primers in my gun than when I was using 124s.

[T.McDevitt]

On May 30, 2016 at 9:34 AM, Foxbat said:

I stopped taking old brass to the matches since I had 2 or 3 cases of primers falling out, screwing up my stages.

Not worth it.

Im shooting 9mm major I've reloaded the cases so many times quite counting I have had a FEW cases split and caught that in case gauge, never had a primer

fall out in 10's of thousands of rounds. I must be missing something.

[my00wrx1]

Has anyone that only uses new or once fired brass ever had a problem with their brass?

[Sarge]

19 hours ago, T.McDevitt said:

Im shooting 9mm major I've reloaded the cases so many times quite counting I have had a FEW cases split and caught that in case gauge, never had a primer

fall out in 10's of thousands of rounds. I must be missing something.

If you are missing something then so am I. Never lost a primer in 9MAJOR either

[Tino2212]

I don't " miss" it but i have also never had a primer falling out of my brass in 9 major .

And i reload my brass a least 10 times in major .

i start with once  fired Geco brass.

[theWacoKid]

A little care and forethought goes a long way with 9 major.  While the brass is cheap and plentiful the downside to quality ammo is a little more time inspecting and preparing it.  If it's stepped brass, loose primer pocket, split neck, or bulged/creased at the base just junk it.  When that stuff doesn't make it through you will be good to go.  Also, case gauge everything.

In my experimentation anything that has passed my inspection has run and some stuff that didn't pass but I was curious about and was confident would still be safe has also run.  I've noted and learned that some of the more popular 9 major recipes do run at higher peak pressures and seem to promote more gun/case issues.  Your gun's barrel and chamber matter.  Pay attention to all this as you experiment and learn your loads and your gun.  

Shooting new brass at matches is too painful for me and an unnecessary expense.  I shoot new brass in practice and will turn it into major match ammo once it's been shot a bunch.  I have total confidence in my mixed brass method, but will shoot all same headstamp for bigger matches if possible.  

In summary, I shoot all brass until I leave it at matches or it doesn't pass my inspection process.

Edited September 19, 2016 by theWacoKid

[tyler2you]

7 hours ago, my00wrx1 said:

Has anyone that only uses new or once fired brass ever had a problem with their brass?

I've heard of a few folks shooting new brass that had failures due to the lack of a flash hole.

[Sarge]

1 hour ago, tyler2you said:

I've heard of a few folks shooting new brass that had failures due to the lack of a flash hole.

New brass still needs sized doesn't it? Even if it didn't I still think even a novice reloader would run it through all stations.

[tyler2you]

16 minutes ago, Sarge said:

New brass still needs sized doesn't it? Even if it didn't I still think even a novice reloader would run it through all stations.

This is from the Starline FAQ page:

Quote

Generally speaking, Starline cases require no resizing prior to loading. Due to variances in diameter of different bullet types, it is a good practice to size the case only as far down as the bullet seating depth. When full length sizing is required, it will be noted in the box with the brass. The only Starline cases requiring full length sizing prior to loading are the .454 Casull, .458 SOCOM, and sometimes the .45 Colt(Depending on the bullet diameter to be used).

I could see someone skipping resizing with a single stage or a turret, but it seems like it would be more trouble than it's worth on a progressive with a case feeder.

I wonder how much of the missing flash hole story is internet lore versus someone actually having a failure.

[echotango]

"Generally speaking, Starline cases require no resizing prior to loading...."

Generally is not good enough.  I would not load anything without resizing.  It only takes 1 mess up,  to mess up a match. 

Edited September 19, 2016 by echotango

[BeerBaron]

I buy and shoot new starline in 38 super and 38 supercomp. I do leave my sizing die and decapper pin on the toolhead but my feeling is you most definitely could load them without sizing them. the only exception would be one that was somehow damaged in transit in some way. you can feel the difference vs fired brass. they just glide in and out of the sizer with no resistance. 

however if nothing else running the decapper/sizer on new brass should alert you if you run across one without a flash hole. 

I also prefer to shoot the new stuff at least once in practice before it becomes match brass.

[jcc7x7]

Last friday I had my first in over forty years of relaoding, primer fall out.

I load with case lube and tumble the loaded rounds after I reload them.

went to dinner with the wife and left the 200 rounds tumbling (forgot about them) came home from dinner and remembered.

Started boxing them up and found the one with the missing primer and some powder still left in it.  It's a dummy round now.

Yea it was 9 major but I still scrounged from brass after the match and loaded some tonight without hesitation

Load shoot load it again until it's lost or cracks

Good fortune with the adventure

jcc7x7

[kcd19]

On 9/19/2016 at 3:36 AM, my00wrx1 said:

Has anyone that only uses new or once fired brass ever had a problem with their brass?

all the once-fired i've loaded has been good to go.

the advice and discussion surrounding being mindful of the condition of brass is sound.  the only brass i've had an issue with has been blown/lost primers on cases where the primers seated too easily, but not so easily that i would have otherwise discarded it.   i've adjusted my standards for tossing brass accordingly.

i pick up and load pretty much anything, to include 9mm brass from others' open guns.  i would offer this as $0.02 on reusing brass multiple times.

 - toss any of the stepped brass or brass with visible damage

 - toss any case where any reloading operation feels too easy.  resizing, seating a primer, or seating a bullet.  all are indicative of wear.  brass in good condition has a certain "feel" to it, trust your brain when it says "huh, that didn't feel right".  no point in wrecking a stage, match, or your gun over questionable brass.  what's bit me before is seating a primer that doesn't have a ton of resistance, but it wasn't no resistance either and i've said "ehh, that should be alright".