Bulk 9mm Ammo Purchase - For future brass

[sroe3]

NJL...my point exactly. I think maybe I was unclear. Thanks.

[njl]

I think Federal would be my favorite 9mm brass, but Win is so much more plentiful (at least around here) that it's my default brass. I agree, Federal does seem to resize more easily, prime more easily, and is probably just a little thinner than Win...so it works better with BBI coated lead bullets I've experimented with (when I needed a non-jacketed load). For now, I reserve it for that use.

[carbon9]

I single out Federal brass from the "unmarked" pile, and have decided that it is by far my favorite.

Or I should say-- my press's favorite.

WIN has been a fairly consistent PITA from day one, as I had tons of WWB brass on hand. It seems to size harder (using Hornady One Shot), it does not clean up as well as the Federal (in my walnut media with Frankford Arsenal polish) -- and most importantly, I catch primers going into the pocket all of the time and end up with them mangled, sometimes to the point of pulling the case. That has never happened with the Federal stuff-- to the point where when I do run into a hiccup, I know without question that a piece of WIN has snuck into my separated brass.

I also find that it loads longer than Federal, Speer, PMC and R-P in my press-- which BTW, is giving me an ES on COAL of no more than .003, and an SD less than .001.

I have heard that the tougher resizing is due to thicker brass, and surmise that its refusal to clean up very well is a matter of the brass composition-- which probably effects resizing as well. The rough seating of primers has been attributed to a sharper shoulder on the primer pocket, the fact that some primer pockets aren't centered in the WIN brass (which makes sense, as not every case will crush one), and even to some outlandish conspiracy theory that the non-crimped brass shares something in common with the crimped in terms of construction.

All I know is that reloading 1k per Thursday (that's right-- starting up in about 20 minutes), the Federal goes through my machine like butter, with the only consistent hiccups coming from the WIN that has snuck in there. YMMV.

+1

My press and I also really like the Fiocchi brass.

[strongbow67]

+1 to sin-ster's comment if I have a crushed or high primer it is in winchester brass.Fed and r-p feed the best on my square deal

[diversmith]

Well, to each His own. I've never had any problems and If I have to throw some away, no great loss. I would buy loaded bullets and save the brass before I would pay the prices I see for new brass. What ever works for you.

I'm with you on just buying factory ammo by the case just to have a stockpile on hand, just because. Whatever range pick-ups I get over time I just use to load for lost brass matches. I toss anything that is even remotely questionable in the recycle bucket and I case gauge all my reloads so i know it "passes" and I should not have any issues on the range. All my brass I keep from the factory ammo is kept seperate so I know what is truly once fired and I keep that to reload for my practice ammo.

[hkguy]

Guess I don't understand why a reloader would buy factory ammo just for the brass. There are any number of vendors where you can buy good quality once fired brass. Why not start there and pay half as much for a finished round?

I want fresh brass shot from my gun, not something swept up off the floor, and/or from someone I don't know. I've been bitten too often in the past with brass that didn't load more than 3 times before it was shot, or too "Glocked" to use.

The Lee factory crip die took care of any "glocked" brass i found.

The indoor ranges around my part only allow factory ammo so any thing i pick up is mostly going to be once fired, though occasionally in the winter months ill bring in my reloads for testing