WesCummings Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 First, I have been a precision reloader for high power rifle competitions ( 600-1K yds) for over twenty years. I say that to let you know I have some experience with brass cases from a reloading and annealing position. I recently got back into reloading for handgun primarily 9mm. I purchased some new Starline brass and some previously fired brass with a wide variety of head stamps. I was very pleased with the quality of the Starline brass from initial loading to repeated loadings. I cannot say I am as impressed with the re-cycled range brass. My question to all the 9mm reloader's is what is your favorite brass for both major and minor loads and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Free range pickup and because it is free. Shooting USPSA does not require one hole accuracy from you ammo. For a bigger match I only use nicer brass but for local stuff and practice free is good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Anything not split and cheaper the better. I will, however, dump Ammoload or other "stepped" cases.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Winchester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Winchester. This ^ Win...Also R-P, FC, Blazer....And then everything else... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustybayonet Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Winchester. This ^ Win...Also R-P, FC, Blazer....And then everything else... Yea, what he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echotango Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Same as above. Range brass. Chuck all stepped brass. Shoot it til it splits or lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Speer first, Blazer, Win, FC, PMC, RP, and down the line. Anything except AmmoLoad, Freedom Munitions (FM), and IMT, all have stepped cases and are junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I am (not) as impressed with the re-cycled range brass. Why not? What don't you like about range brass? I use range brass for 9mm minor and major - have no problem with it. Attached a 52 yard group with mixed range brass in my 9mm major TruBor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 why and why not... new brass is smooth and buttery. If you are from ... rile reloading... your brass is an important factor in accuracy. so you pay attention to it over the lifetime of the brass. with 9mm pistols... brass is a means to carry a lot of bullets.. it does not make up a big piece in accuracy the problem with pistol reloading is that a small powder variation is more of a problem than in a rifle. rifles use more powder and the same + or - variations of a tenth of a grain have far more effect on the pistol side than the cases. off hand I think pistol shooters have thousands of cases if not, then 10 thousands. I am not sure about the precision rifle guys numbers of cases but rifle brass is about 10 times as expensive. the quality... I like how the speer cases feel in my hand I wish that meant more... the blazer cases feel much the same, as do *i* I sort them out and when I have a few hundred of a kind I reload them. I have not yet noticed any one headstamp that is clearly the 'best' last and likely the real reason for reloading most any 9mm brass, no matter how hard I try... I always lose some of the brass I take to the range... I don't reload pistol brass I love... it'd break my heart to lose it... miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJART Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I just gave away 600 pieces of FM brass. AKA, ammoland, etc. I'll never reload stepped brass. As long as I sort by head stamp, I can keep the OAL the same. So any brass, i.e. blazer, fc, speer, etc. it's all good. Here's what I gave away today, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJART Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) Boost mobile, double post. Edited March 24, 2016 by TJART Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesCummings Posted March 24, 2016 Author Share Posted March 24, 2016 I am (not) as impressed with the re-cycled range brass. Why not? What don't you like about range brass? I use range brass for 9mm minor and major - have no problem with it. Attached a 52 yard group with mixed range brass in my 9mm major TruBor. Didn't say I did not like it; said I wasn't as impressed with range brass. I should have been more specific about the head stamps I experienced issues with in my op. Like a lot of you have stated the stepped brass I had was crap. I was hoping for and received from a few the cases to stay away from and the ones to seek out. Hey free is free. I just don't want to waste my time loading something that won't function or eject. Thanks for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdinga Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Starline brass is equivalent to Lapua rifle brass. Excellent product. I prefer sorted Winchester brass when I can it find affordably online. Mixed range brass is great for lost brass matches and practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I stopped using range pickup brass for matches after I had a couple of primers fall out during the stages. I now only use once or twice fired brass at matches, but still use random range brass in practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ming the Merciless Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I am always amused at the responses about major9 and free range brass. The guys who are most vocal about using whatever range brass they can pick up also tend to be the same guys who argue most emphatically about the best, most expensive, flavor of the month gun oil to use in their $4K open blaster. I tend to equate free range brass for major9 to buying a high end supercar like a Ferrari and putting on the cheapest tires you can get from the used tire shop. At major matches the difference in cost between new brass and free range brass is about the same as dinner at a good restaurant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesCummings Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 Starline brass is equivalent to Lapua rifle brass. Excellent product. I prefer sorted Winchester brass when I can it find affordably online. Mixed range brass is great for lost brass matches and practice. Appreciate the comparison on Starline. That I can relate to as Lapua is used often in the long range rifle game as others have pointed out. Years ago I would compete in IPSIC but did not do the reloading for the matches. The department contracted with a trainer to provide our ammo for us to shoot in the competition. I have to admit I rarely leave a practice without "all" the Starline I came with. I realize some has to be sacrificed to the brass gods but prefer it to be other than the Starline. Having said that my shooting these days is for self defense practice and general enjoyment so I can take the time to look for wayward brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trini Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 For 9mm minor loads I use what brass I pick up when working large matches. I good thru brass and pitch dented one's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Also WCC mil crimp brass is excellent, always once fired, but you have to swage the primer pockets after de-priming, unless you have a 1050. Wes, just curious, where did you shoot IPSC in Florida? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I keep reading here about folks having bad experience with internally stepped brass. I guess I have been lucky so far. I sort all my brass, so setting the IMT/FM/Ammoload cases out is not an issue. I had a bunch that looked once fired. I have loaded and shot some of it without issue, other small batches three or four times also without problem. I think I will keep the lot segregated for practice ammo, and keep reloading it in batches once shot up. I'll report back on how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesCummings Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Also WCC mil crimp brass is excellent, always once fired, but you have to swage the primer pockets after de-priming, unless you have a 1050. Wes, just curious, where did you shoot IPSC in Florida? Back in the day......mid 90's we trained at Hurlburt AFB near Ft Walton Beach at a monthly IPSIC match. I think after I retired the match moved over to Pensacola for a few years. I know there are IDPA matches at the Escambia River Muzzle Loaders ( ERML) range each month near Pensacola but unsure if IPSIC is still being shot in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcazes Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 My favorite cheap to reload is blazer brass. I can get 7-9 reloads before the primer pockets get loose whereas win gets loose in the 5-6 range. The only brass I despise are cbc brass. I have never been able to load them successfully. That's the only brass that gives me issues. Other than that, for practice or local club matches I use anything the police officers leave behind at the indoor range (guaranteed once fired). But try to get starlike for major matches where everything really counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRM83 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Don't use: IMT, ammoload, FM, D, Aguila, CBC Tight primers pockets: RWS, S&B Everything else I load. I also chuck crimped brass because I load on a 650 and its not worth the headache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesCummings Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 My favorite cheap to reload is blazer brass. I can get 7-9 reloads before the primer pockets get loose whereas win gets loose in the 5-6 range. The only brass I despise are cbc brass. I have never been able to load them successfully. That's the only brass that gives me issues. Other than that, for practice or local club matches I use anything the police officers leave behind at the indoor range (guaranteed once fired). But try to get starlike for major matches where everything really counts. ^^^^^^ what you said about cbc! I couldn't get it to load right either. Had to pitch quite a few out of the "processed" brass I purchased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Wes, no I meant was it an IPSC match or a USPSA match? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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