Preferred Brass 9mm for CZ 75 SP-01

[the-cowboy]

 I just acquired a Dillion xl 650 and I am trying to get components together to do my first 9mm minor PF loads. My objectives are to have competition quality loads for my CZ 75 SP-01. I have done quite a bit of reading and have found several recipes. So this is the recipe I'm going to try. 

124gr  Berry's hbrn

5.3 gr Ramshot Silouette

CCI 500 sp primers

OAL = 1.065 

I'm wanting to purchase 1000 pcs of brass to start with. I have never reloaded before so I have questions about the Brass I know Makarov brass is 9x18 so I assume that will do me no good. Should I get Luger brass ? What would you veterans recommend if you were buying your baseline beginning brass. Starline seems to be available is there a better brand or option?

Thank you in advance.   

[Rnlinebacker]

For match ammo, get starline brass and use it just for matches. Practice, use whatever is cheapest.

[the-cowboy]

Luger?    This is what they offer 

• 9MM Largo Brass
• 9MM Luger Brass
• 9MM Makarov Brass
• 9MM Steyr Brass
• 9MM Win Mag Brass
• 9MM+P Brass

[AHI]

9mm brass, 9 Luger brass, 9mm Luger brass, 9mm Para brass, 9x19 brass, 9x19 Luger brass, 9mm Parabellum brass, 9mm Glisenti brass, 9mm pistol brass

Are you going to be able to retrieve your brass?

Edited November 4, 2021 by AHI

[HOGRIDER]

1 hour ago, the-cowboy said:

Luger?    This is what they offer 

• 9MM Largo Brass
• 9MM Luger Brass
• 9MM Makarov Brass
• 9MM Steyr Brass
• 9MM Win Mag Brass
• 9MM+P Brass

https://www.starlinebrass.com/9mm-luger-brass/

[Brooke]

9mm Luger (also known as 9x19) 

[Lightj75]

I shoot an SP01 for my main carry optics gun, and it's just personal preference but I've found that 147s gr projectiles feel alot better for me personally. I use hitek coated projectiles with most CZs though you have to be careful about the profile of the projectile or they will have to be loaded pretty short in most CZs. I've found that most Flat Point coated 147s work well Summit City Bullets, Brazos. Also the Blue bullets RN can be loaded longer than most RN so I use those pretty often also. Most mixed 9mm luger range brass will work for your application there's nothing wrong with buying starline brass if you plan on being able to retrieve most of it everytime which never works out well for me so I purchase brass from a few different places (east coast reloading,bison brass, millworks brass,) to name a few I think these places are around $50/k for 9mm luger. You will have to pay attention to which brass works for your gun and watch out for crimped military brass and stepped brass which you will inevitably get some of buying mixed brass. I end up culling around 5%/ per k of mixed brass because it is either stuff I don't see much of so I don't use it or it's military/stepped cases. 

As for silhouette I've never tried it I use N320 or N330 but there are alot of good powders for 9mm out there so find a load that works for you and roll on. 

[zzt]

I simply cannot see buying new brass for 9mm minor.  You can scrounge it at the range for free.  You can buy if from local indoor ranges for about 1 cent each.  The problem with range brass is you never know what you get.  It will include junk and split brass, Glock bulged brass and some .380 brass mixed in.

 

I buy once fired, same head stamp, fully processed, roll sized, primer pocket swaged brass from Ken Marx at Kenny's brass.  Kenny’s Brass (812) 457-2690  Kennethallanmarx@yahoo.com

 

100% satisfied.  No problems.  It sails through the press.  Last time I bought the price was 5 cents each.  All the good head stamps are available.  I order 3000 at a time for $150 shipped.  It is worth it to me not to have to scrounge brass and hope for the best.

 

BTW, I love Silhouette, but it is not the best choice for 9mm minor.  You want a faster powder in the e3, Sport Pistol, n320 range.

[HOGRIDER]

13 minutes ago, zzt said:

I simply cannot see buying new brass for 9mm minor.  You can scrounge it at the range for free.  You can buy if from local indoor ranges for about 1 cent each.  The problem with range brass is you never know what you get.  It will include junk and split brass, Glock bulged brass and some .380 brass mixed in.

 

I buy once fired, same head stamp, fully processed, roll sized, primer pocket swaged brass from Ken Marx at Kenny's brass.  Kenny’s Brass (812) 457-2690  Kennethallanmarx@yahoo.com

 

100% satisfied.  No problems.  It sails through the press.  Last time I bought the price was 5 cents each.  All the good head stamps are available.  I order 3000 at a time for $150 shipped.  It is worth it to me not to have to scrounge brass and hope for the best.

 

BTW, I love Silhouette, but it is not the best choice for 9mm minor.  You want a faster powder in the e3, Sport Pistol, n320 range.

I too purchase same headstamp, fully processed brass from Kenneth Marx.  Have purchased over 12k rounds, and so far have not had the first issue with any of his brass.  Price has went up a few bucks as I paid $170 for the last 3k I purchased.  But that's shipped to my door; and in this day and age, I feel it's still a good buy for same headstamp, fully process, roll sized brass!

 

Highly recommend doing business with Kenny!

[the-cowboy]

Thank you everyone for the input, a lot of info for me to absorb. Being new I appreciate everyone taking the time to interact with me and getting me started down the right path. Once again I appreciate the help.  

Edited November 4, 2021 by the-cowboy

[OnePivot]

I buy whatever brass is cheap or free from the range. I've never had a problem with mixed range brass. I've ran into extremely few stepped cases for that matter, and culling junk cases isn't much hassle.

 

I would not buy starline for 9mm... Just seems to defeat the purpose. You can get 3000-4000 cases for the price of 1000 starline cases, and you're not likely going to notice any difference.

[Farmer]

On 11/4/2021 at 12:02 PM, zzt said:

I simply cannot see buying new brass for 9mm minor.  You can scrounge it at the range for free.  You can buy if from local indoor ranges for about 1 cent each.  The problem with range brass is you never know what you get.  It will include junk and split brass, Glock bulged brass and some .380 brass mixed in.

 

I buy once fired, same head stamp, fully processed, roll sized, primer pocket swaged brass from Ken Marx at Kenny's brass.  Kenny’s Brass (812) 457-2690  Kennethallanmarx@yahoo.com

 

100% satisfied.  No problems.  It sails through the press.  Last time I bought the price was 5 cents each.  All the good head stamps are available.  I order 3000 at a time for $150 shipped.  It is worth it to me not to have to scrounge brass and hope for the best.

 

BTW, I love Silhouette, but it is not the best choice for 9mm minor.  You want a faster powder in the e3, Sport Pistol, n320 range.

Same here with the Silhouette. Very accurate powder in many calibers but a bit slow for what your looking for. It will work but might be dirty and less efficient. I use it more for personal protection/hunting  loads as it gives good vel with accuracy. If you know someone or have access to a trap shooting club you may be able to purchase some E3 from someone there beings powders hard to find. There are other powders that some of them may have laying around too or if someone is quitting. Some are Clays, IMR 7625, Ramshot Competition ect. 
It’s an extra step but sorting brass by headstamp helps things go a bit smoother through the press. I keep my odds and ends for testing and practice and when loading them I’m a bit more attentive looking out for screw-ups. Starline brass is very good but for this hobby it’s not really needed and too nice to lose.  Although I did end up with about 2k in some once fired stuff I bought. 

[Polaris13]

I shoot 145 Bayous in mixed brass in my CZ SP01.  it eats all of them without issue.  It does have a Cajun Gunworks upgrade to it.

[IHAVEGAS]

On 11/4/2021 at 11:36 PM, OnePivot said:

I buy whatever brass is cheap or free from the range. I've never had a problem with mixed range brass.

 

+1 , have played with getting fancy (same headstamp) but with the CZ 75 variants I have not been able to find any reliability or accuracy improvement so I use whatever is cheapest. Have found several cases split over the years, likely from 9mm range brass that had been loaded major, those rounds shot fine. 

[Almo]

I like Starline; it's quality brass and cheaper than most.  That would be a good place to start.  However, I mostly use mixed headstamp range pickup brass.  There are many shooters that just shoot factory ammo and offer up their brass to me.  Plus, I have my own reloaded brass.  I still have 2,000 rounds of Starline brass that are unopened.  I'll save it for important matches.  The important thing is to case gauge all your reloaded rounds.  Reloaded cases could be slightly bulged after twenty firings or just one firing.  There is no sure thing.  Someone gave me this advice after I had a major jam during a match.

[IHAVEGAS]

1 hour ago, Almo said:

The important thing is to case gauge all your reloaded rounds. 

 

Love this thing https://benstoegerproshop.com/100-round-9mm-luger-hundo-chamber-checker-cartridge-case-gauge/ , not cheap but well worth it to me. 

 

That said, 99% of the rounds that won't pass the gauge shoot just fine in my CZ's. 

[HOGRIDER]

3 hours ago, Almo said:

The important thing is to case gauge all your reloaded rounds. 

 

1 hour ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

Love this thing https://benstoegerproshop.com/100-round-9mm-luger-hundo-chamber-checker-cartridge-case-gauge/ , not cheap but well worth it to me. 

 

That said, 99% of the rounds that won't pass the gauge shoot just fine in my CZ's. 

I totally agree with case gauging all my reloaded rounds! 

 

And while I also have the Hundo Chamber Checker, which is an excellent piece of equipment, I primarily use the Armanov case gauge.  This bundle gives me the option to check/spot any significant differences in OAL.

 

https://usa-shop.armanov.com/products/case-gauge-bundle-3-in-1

 

[Almo]

I also use the Hundo.  It's a very conservative case gauge.  Any rounds that fail the Hundo, I check in my Dillon case gauge, which is looser.  If they pass the Dillon, I put them in a practice ammo jar (so far, none of the practice ammo has failed to feed or eject properly).  If they fail the Dillon, I unload them and throw away the brass.

[lll Otto lll]

Off the top of my head, here's a partial list of the crap brass I throw in the dumpster....Plus anything that's steel, aluminum, stepped or bulged. 
Maxxtech
MXT
FM
Aguila
Ammoland
ZQI
WMA
Xtream
A USA
Troy
GFL
NORMA
DoubleTap
Shell Shock
TECH
OMPC
Perfecta

[SGT_Schultz]

1 hour ago, lll Otto lll said:

Maxxtech
FM
Aguila
ZQI
WMA
Xtream
GFL
NORMA
Perfecta

 

Every one of these works just fine for me

 

Any kind of load development, past making PF, is a waste of time in this sport.

[IHAVEGAS]

1 hour ago, SGT_Schultz said:

Any kind of load development, past making PF, is a waste of time in this sport.

 

Exactly the opposite of my experience. Beyond the occasional 35+ yard target with a no shoot (for example) and some of the long distance classifiers knowing that your equipment is very accurate is a nice confidence boost. 

 

[balmo]

3 hours ago, lll Otto lll said:

Off the top of my head, here's a partial list of the crap brass I throw in the dumpster....Plus anything that's steel, aluminum, stepped or bulged. 
Maxxtech
MXT
FM
Aguila
Ammoland
ZQI
WMA
Xtream
A USA
Troy
GFL
NORMA
DoubleTap
Shell Shock
TECH
OMPC
Perfecta

 

That's almost my list too! I highlighted those I don't like. Stepped brass (FM, Ammoland) are automatically thrown away. The rest I will use, but I just don't like how it feels when priming.  

[Farmer]

2 hours ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

Exactly the opposite of my experience. Beyond the occasional 35+ yard target with a no shoot (for example) and some of the long distance classifiers knowing that your equipment is very accurate is a nice confidence boost. 

 

[Farmer]

Unless it’s severely defective I’ll use most any brass for one job or another. Either practice or development. If I lose it no biggie. 

[SGT_Schultz]

9 hours ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

Exactly the opposite of my experience. Beyond the occasional 35+ yard target with a no shoot (for example) and some of the long distance classifiers knowing that your equipment is very accurate is a nice confidence boost. 

 

The pistol/ammo accuracy demanded by this sport is not that great.

 

Some people go overboard wasting time and money chasing it to excess.  Time and money better spent on skills that actually move you forward.