.40 brass to watch out for

[Rotorwrench]

I am about to start reloading .40 major in the near future and am going to begin shagging range brass. What head stamps are known to be junk and not to be messed with? I've been loading .45 for years and have my likes and dislikes, But haven't been able to find anything here about junk .40 brass.

Mike

[boz1911]

Unless it's steel or aluminum, I load it. 40 is a lot more forgiving than my 9 major stuff. I will say though I see more cracked cases in 40 than I do 9.

[yoshidaex]

Depending on the powder I use, FC stamped brass gets sorted out and used for minor loads.

[fltbed]

I’ve Had problems with AMERC headstamps, (all calibers) so those always get pitched.

R-P brass has rather thin sidewall’s and won’t always grip a jacketed bullet tight enough. Using a Lee sizing die or EGW U-die normally solves this problem.

Years ago, I installed new Bar-Sto match barrel with a rather tight chamber. When using jacketed bullets, there were no issues at all. When I started shooting the Poly/Moly coated bullets, ammo loaded in CBC brass would not chamber. The combination of CBC’s thick sidewall and .0015” larger bullet diameter caused the resulting round to be just slightly to thick to fit in the chamber. I ended up culling CBC brass till I reamed the chamber.

Those are the only issues I can recall.

Jeff

[Sean Gaines]

FC, AMERC, Possibly PMC (if it looks rough)

other than that I shoot eveything else..

[RePete]

I load everything EXCEPT AMERC, aluminum or steel.

[JakeMartens]

I am about to start reloading .40 major in the near future and am going to begin shagging range brass. What head stamps are known to be junk and not to be messed with? I've been loading .45 for years and have my likes and dislikes, But haven't been able to find anything here about junk .40 brass.

Mike

you should not load federal, or winchester, or speer or s&b.......you should send that stuff to me and I will make sure that it gets disposed of

[wide45]

I don't reload FC, PMC, AMERC, or anything that has been roll sized.

[gng4life]

Here is a good post on this topic. A few years old but still relevant.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90355&st=

[kcd19]

i load lots of once fired & range brass, and have found most to be satisfactory for my purposes.

i pick up anything i find & then carefully evaluate it at each step of my loading process.

decap & tumble prunes out split/damaged necks and anything suspect around the web.

anything that doesn't feel/act/look right during resizing gets pitched & anything that doesn't feel right (loose) when seating a primer gets discarded, too.

lastly, when seating the bullet, any that seat too easily or seem to be lacking proper neck tension get dropped.

of all the pickup brass i load, this is where the bulk of it winds up being discarded - the majority of them that get pitched at this stage seem to be primarily PMC & Speer.

[RePete]

I don't reload FC, PMC, AMERC, or anything that has been roll sized.

Why FC, PMC or roll sized?

[gng4life]

I don't reload FC, PMC, AMERC, or anything that has been roll sized.

Why FC, PMC or roll sized?

Go to the link I posted (post #9) and it will explain it...

[RePete]

I have yet to see any of the problems cited in the above link.

I roll size all of my brass using a CasePro100.

The separation shown in the pictures, in the above link, could be from way over pressure. I would like the see the gun that fired that brass last.

[anilson]

I have been reloading Win NT brass with a 1050 and had lots of problems

1) Primes get punched through with decaping pin and don't fall

2) Lots of case splits after one or two reloads

I would stay away from all NT brass with military crimp. (just not worth the lost time and headache)

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: The Blazer brass is very thin walled stuff so I don't use it for major loads. Thanks, Eric

[GrumpyOne]

Hello: The Blazer brass is very thin walled stuff so I don't use it for major loads. Thanks, Eric

Hence why it's so cheap new....No FC, NT, PMC brass....reload all the rest....

[Shadowrider]

I pretty much load RP, FC, FED, Win, CBC, Speer, CCI, Blazer (brass) and most any the US made name brands. I chunk the lesser known and foreign brands, all AMERC goes straight to the trash can and nowdays S&B too.

[RePete]

I have been reloading Win NT brass with a 1050 and had lots of problems

1) Primes get punched through with decaping pin and don't fall

2) Lots of case splits after one or two reloads

I would stay away from all NT brass with military crimp. (just not worth the lost time and headache)

Never had a problem with any crimped primer brass. Mind you I'm not using Dillon Decap pins but am using Lyman ones. The Lyman pins are smaller in diameter than Dillons.

[kamikaze1a]

I sort my brass and run one headstamp at a time. I usually like Win and noticed when a

Speer or Fed brass sneaks into the mix, I can tell during the sizing that it's not Win because it takes noticeable less effort to size CCI and Fed. I measured the OD and doesn't seem to be smaller OD so I guess they must be thinner? Or maybe Win expands more?

Edited September 12, 2011 by kamikaze1a

[kevin c]

There's also this, though it's a variable experience for reloaders, depending, it seems to me, on the press used and the particular shellplate one has.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13866&st=0&p=374553&hl="extractor%20groove"&fromsearch=1entry374553

[Shooting Coach]

My favored brass for big loads is R-P or Winchester. I use the Speer, Blazer, new FC (with the dots on the headstamp), and PMC for 180 gr 800 fps plate rack loads in my G35 and G24. I do not use anything else. There is not enough Starline around to have a batch, so I throw it in with practice brass. I do volunteer work at a big range, and am rewarded monthly with several buckets of brass.

Everything goes through a Magma Case Master.

[Rotorwrench]

I appreciate all of the feedback from ya'll. Pretty much sums up the question that I asked.

Thanks,

Mike

[ss+P]

what everyone else said and watch out for glock brass. if you are shooting a 2011 platform dillon dies seem to get enough of the buldge out for my gun, some guys get the push through sizer or another brand (i believe egw) die that sizes i bit smaller. adds a step but if that what you have to do then hey.

[TonyT]

I shoot 40 minor and use any brass except AMERC.

[Poppa Bear]

I don't reload FC, PMC, AMERC, or anything that has been roll sized.

Why FC, PMC or roll sized?

Go to the link I posted (post #9) and it will explain it...

The key to using roll sized brass or not is dependent on who did the roll sizing. I do not have a roll sizer but would not have a problem if someone wanted to donate theirs to me. :roflol: If someone else does the roll sizing you do not know how well they checked the brass over before they sold it or gave it to you. It might be once fired it might be 20 times fired. Being roll sized you do not know. If you are the one doing the roll sizing then you are able to chuck the defective stuff during the inspection process. It is much like getting reloads from a stranger vs. a friend vs. doing it yourself. I trust myself, I trust some of my friends, I will not trust a stranger.