S&B Brass

[Rolex]

Made a purchase of 6k once fired brass. On the bottom

it's stamped S&B 9x19 08 and the primers have the red

waterproof on them. Question- I have found

that after reloading them 90% of the primers appear to

be seated lower into the primer pocket than on any of

my other reloads RE: ww,rp, starline ect. I am using

winchester sp as a primer. Any info from the forum?

At this time I have not fired any of this ammo-so I am

not sure if the FP will hit the primer.

[DougCarden]

Try them, if they go bang dont worry about them

Most of the time the primer pockets are a little tight, but if they loaded the primers ok and they are below flush like they should be, then just shoot them and be happy!

Good luck,

DougC

[Thomas Moore]

S&B brass is the only brass I won't shoot in my 9mm open gun because every now and then i'll get the one that won't eject. I think the rim is a tad samller than winchester or federal.

[Albert]

I separate the S&B 9mm cases as I've had trouble with small pistol Federal primers fitting in their tight primer pockets.

[ChrisStock]

S&B and Amerc brass hits the recycler bucket along with spent primers on my bench. Too many crushed primers with them on my 550, and it was only a matter of time I think before one went BOOM.

[lcs]

I hate to add to the list, but I toss S&B also. They are a PITA. In 40 (If I don't crush the primers) they require x-force to seat and yes they are low, but they go bang on the ones that slipped through. I use an extended FP also.

[notasccrmom]

I also toss out the S&B brass. Sometimes they slip through and go bang anyways. More often than not, they are a hassle to reload.

[G+16]

the only reload I do is 45 and just starting on 40, the S&B seem to work on the 45 and haven't come across any in the 40 yet, I toss all amerc and military brass, the amerc in just totall crap and the military is too much of a hassel

[Squishy]

Throw out all S&B and Amerc. What a pain in the s#$.

[HighVelocity]

Throw out all S&B and Amerc. What a pain in the s#$.

I agree with all the above. From crushed primers to failure to ignite due to inadequate seating. S&B and Amerc are nothing but trouble.

[ALF]

I only use once fired 9X19 cases loaded to major for "IPSC" practice. Their primer pockets are are wee bit smaller than other brands and I have found that using S&B primers is the best way to go. I load about five thousand, each year on my 1050, with little or no problems so far.

One must remember though that S&B is a "budget brand" and as they say"you get what you pay for"!

Edited August 13, 2008 by ALF

[J-Ho]

I'll take all that S&B brass you guys toss out.

It may not be the easiest to reload, but I've never had any problems with it. Primer pockets are a little tight, and I do think the rim is a little different than most, but no problems in my gun. If it works use it, if not, don't.

[SLM]

I'll get in line for the S&B also! It's great brass, IMO. Machined primer pockets instead of stamped/punched, nice and tight, seems to be super uniform. The fact that the primer pockets are machined is why getting primers in can be a bit tougher. They have very little chamfer on them and you WILL notice if you press isn't set up perfectly because getting a primer in can be tough. Two ways to fix it... Use a crimp cutter and cut a little chamfer on the case or get your press set up right so the primers are lined up directly with the pocket. If I catch them I usually cut them a bit but I've got my primer slide tuned so it's not an issue.

[Aristotle]

+1 I also toss my S&B brass.

[D. Manley]

FWIW, I sort S&B out too...I don't toss 'em but I don't use regularly either. Like most everyone said, primer pockets are tight. I knew their reputation and ran a group of 100 through my SDB to see for myself. Most primers seated a bit more snugly than other brands but a few were really hard to seat...(thought the Federal 100's were goint to pop). I had 1 out of the 100 that would not go, period. All loaded rounds shot just fine. Being a "brass rat", I'll hang onto them for whatever reason but as long as there's something better around, I'm not messing with them again.

[boz1911]

Enough negatives about S&B brass here to warrant me not reloading it for my 9mjr, although with a 1050 the primer pockets are swaged anyway.

[DougCarden]

If you have a 1050 with the swager set up properly the SB brass will go through like butter, and you wont even know it was SB.....

I would be happy to trade people non SB brass for their once fired sb brass, just pm me.....

DougC

[mlmiller1]

I like the S&B brass. You do have to slow down just a touch as you seat the primer but other than that, I like it a lot! I've been known to sort it out just so I can have all S&B in one batch. This was loading 9mm & it was old brass so maybe things have changed with the newer stuff. I would still load it, though. YMMV.

MLM

[AustinMike]

I separate the S&B 9mm cases as I've had trouble with small pistol Federal primers fitting in their tight primer pockets.

I've crushed enough primers on my 550B that I'm having to sort out the S&B stuff. I use Federal, but I may try another brand. Either that or see if a buddy with a 1050 will let me run the S&B's through. Or maybe I can just use this to build a case for my wife of why I "need" a 1050!

[LPatterson]

I am a brass hog 1st class and pick up every thing but after cleaning I sort out several brands and S&B is one of them. I don't toss them I take them back to the club and give them away. I tell people these are brands that I don't want to screw with, some one will always take them.

[open17]

Toss it in a box and ship it to me! I don't have any problem with S&B brass. I agree it

has tight pockets and the rim looks smaller (haven't measured it) but it runs fine through

my Open G17's.

Just don't get any Amerc mixed in-----That stuff is B-A-D.

Bill

[inkedshooter]

I've had the same problems as the other guys. Loading using Fed primers on my RCBS and the primer will not seat for sh*t.

Forgot to mention... everytime one of my depriming pins break.... it's always a S&B case.

Edited August 14, 2008 by inkedshooter

[raz-0]

S&B brass is the only brass I won't shoot in my 9mm open gun because every now and then i'll get the one that won't eject. I think the rim is a tad samller than winchester or federal.

There seems to be some QC issues with the size of the extractor groove on S&B. It also translated to winchester when they started farming out some whitebox production to them. It may just have had to do with the service life of their tooling and the high volume of demand currently fro 9mm. In something CZ based with their skinny extractor, it isn't much of an issue. Something liek a glock or M&P, it is a bit more of a PITA.

I separate the S&B 9mm cases as I've had trouble with small pistol Federal primers fitting in their tight primer pockets.

Their primer pockets are tight. I've started tossing them in 9mm as some of them are as bad as military crimped primers. Plus S&B brass isn't as common anymore. Oddly enough, the S&B contracted for WWB ammo doesn't seem to be as bad.

Personally, I'll take all the S&B 40 and 45 I can get. The 9mm i'll pass on as it is a bit too much work. The primers seat a bit lower, but there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I susupect it is more correct than the really shallow seating of winchester brass.

[Rolex]

One of the forum members is going to trade me some other

brass for 25.5lbs of the once fired S&B. Had to hand check some 6k

cases or approx. 60lbs. Thanks to all in the forum!

[fred fague]

I liked S & B until found one made of steel. The head stamp shows S & B 9mm Luger, it has a brass coating and red coated primer. My magnet really likes it, just check the cases with a magnet! I hate A Merc it will jam in your chamber.