Good vs Bad Brass List...

[alank2]

Hi Everyone,

This is a copy of my good and bad brass list so far from "that other forum".

Please post any corrections or votes to change any of the existing items!

Any brass not actually made of brass is of course junk. This includes Wolf steel cases and CCI blazer aluminum cases.

In the format company name (headstamp [other headstamps])

__________________________________________________ ___________________________________________

Good to go brass:
Starline (*--* Two Stars with line between them)
Winchester (Winchester, WIN, WCC?)
Norma (Norma)
Magtech (CBC)
Hornady (Hornady)
Independance (*I*)
Israeli Military Industries (TZZ)
Federal (Federal, FC that is not 40S&W)
Eldorado (ELD)
Remington (R-P, UMC)

Shootable, but not as good:
Speer (Speer)
Precision Made Cartridge (PMC)
Company? (HY)
Aguila (Aguila)
Fiocchi (Fiocchi)

Junk Brass:
American Ammunition (AMERC)
Armscorp (ACP)
Company? (NNY)
Federal (FC that is 40S&W)
Sellier & Beloit (S&B) - Mixed reviews, some ok, some bad, usually the problem is related to primer pocket size.

__________________________________________________ ___________________________________________

Thanks,

Alan

[alank2]

Hi,

In my own personal 9mm sorting earlier today, I also encountered these not on the list already:

PPU
IVI
MRP
PARA
GFL - is this fiocchi ?
C (primer pocket) J with a 92 underneath
CP99
AP04

Please let me know if you think any of these should be on any specific list above and also the company name...

Thanks,

Alan

[layusn1]

Amerc and Koski are synonyms.... :rofl:

Same number of letters...coincidence? Substitution cypher? Only the reloading gods know for sure....

[alank2]

Hi,

Junk Brass:
Koski (KOS,KSK,Amerc)

Thanks,

Alan

[Vulcanese]

Junk Brass:
Federal (FC that is 40S&W)


What is wrong with FC 40sw?

[918v]

It is thin and likely to KB a Glock.

BTW, R-P 9mm brass sux.

[Tbonekilla]

What about Hornady 500S&W brass?

[xtimberman]

I love to reload S&B brass in .45acp and 9mm Luger - some of my longest-lasting autopistol cases. S&B headstamp differences are very subtle and you need to separate them for most consistent "feel" when seating the primers.

The *I*, CCI, and newer Speer cases all look like they come from the same brass factory - all have the slightly "dished" head. They load the same, too - good stuff, IMO.

xtm

[alank2]

Hi,

918v - What don't you like about r-p 9mm ? I loaded about 20 today and while they do seem a bit different, they loaded just fine for me.

Thanks,

Alan

[BigSlick]

What about Hornady 500S&W brass?

It ain't bad, but it ain't anythang ta write home about.

LP pockets, not da thickest web an lighter by quite a bit than CBC, Corbon R (CB=LP Corbon) an Starline R.

It is uniform as hell though an load real smooth.

I've used a bunch a different 500 brass an like CBC (Magtech) over any of it, wit Starline R right there wit it

[918v]

Hi,

918v - What don't you like about r-p 9mm ? I loaded about 20 today and while they do seem a bit different, they loaded just fine for me.

Thanks,

Alan

Their case length varies from .739" to .750"

FC cases vary from .750" to .754"

With 9mm, loger is better.

[Hatman1793]

I have a large system of 9mm brass, with various headstamps. What I am experiencing is some problems with Winchester brass.
Seating the primers is just too easy. So when I get one like that it gets checked and most of the time the primer just pops out.
Looks like the primer pockets are expanding. Of course, those cases are trash....

[918v]

When loading 9mm Major, the cases are usually trash after just o ne firing, but those loads typically exceed 50000 PSI.

[MONTEGOD7SS]

With the problems that 9mm Mak gives me in sorting it from 9mm Luger I can't understand them creating another issue like this. At least where I go shooting there aren't many women that go there so I haven't come across much GAP brass. :)

[RenoF250]

Junk Brass:
American Ammunition (AMERC)
Armscorp (ACP)
Company? (NNY)
Federal (FC that is 40S&W)
Sellier & Beloit (S&B) - Mixed reviews, some ok, some bad, usually the problem is related to primer pocket size.


Is this the NNY headstamp you are talking about?
http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=8504

I just bought some of their .308 and it shot very well. The brass looks good but I have not reloaded it yet.

[funkstafunkie]

At least where I go shooting there aren't many women that go there so I haven't come across much GAP brass. :)Hahahaha! Wait, there's a smiley for this: :rofl:

[Blaster]

What is wrong with FC 40sw?

Factory Federal HydraShok 180 grain

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/Blaster3094/DSCF0052.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/Blaster3094/DSCF0050.jpg

There you go. That should cover it.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/Blaster3094/DSCF0028.jpg

[jtrade]

I have some 9mm brass with these headstamps.
3-D over 9mm
(Looks similar to Starline Brass)
FC over 9MM LUGER



Also got some with
+ in a circle over DAG 85
Berdan Primed so no good to me.

[Tbonekilla]

It ain't bad, but it ain't anythang ta write home about.

LP pockets, not da thickest web an lighter by quite a bit than CBC, Corbon R (CB=LP Corbon) an Starline R.

It is uniform as hell though an load real smooth.

I've used a bunch a different 500 brass an like CBC (Magtech) over any of it, wit Starline R right there wit it

I think I have some newer Hornady brass. They have R's on the headstamp. Pocket depth measures the same as the Magtech brass. I'll use it for plinkers though. 500 pieces of Magtech are on the way at the moment. :blast:

[ISUSteve]

I'm not a fan of nickel plated. Its harder to run through the dies and, at least in my 357, splits sooner than brass.

[Frostback]

IVI = Industrie Valcartier Inc. They Supply ammo to the Canadian military. Generally the brass is good. Quite thick, but the primer pockets are SEVERELY crimped. Once the crimp is removed it's not too bad. The pockets were still very tight after being run through an SS600 (5.56 and 9).

Frosty

[Crazy4nitro]

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w24/Crazy4nitro/DSCN4935.jpg

Anything Aluminum....Even when New.....
see my GP100 Cylinder Damage Thread.....

'Nitro

[Oreo]

Bump.

Can this be stickied? Also, any more info about the other headstamps mentioned in the thread?

Good brass:


*--* ------- (Starline)
CBC -------- (Magtech)
ELD -------- (Eldorado)
FC --------- (Federal) **No good in .40s&w**
Federal ---- (Federal)
Hornady --- (Hornady)
*I* -------- (Independance)
Norma ----- (Norma)
R-P -------- (Remington)
TZZ ------- (Israeli Military Industries)
UMC ------- (Remington)
Winchester - (Winchester)
WIN ------- (Winchester)


Shootable, but not as good:


Aguila -- (Aguila)
Fiocchi - (Fiocchi)
G.F.L. ----(Fiocchi)
HY ----- (?)
IVI -----(Industrie Valcartier Inc.) **Crimped primer pockets
PMC --- (Precision Made Cartridge)
Speer -- (Speer)


Junk Brass:


ACP --- (Armscorp)
AMERC - (American Ammunition)
FC ----- (Federal) in .40s&w
NNY --- (?)
S&B --- (Sellier & Beloit) Mixed reviews, usually the problem is related to primer pocket size.

?????????????????????????????????????????????
Win NT
Frontier
Federal NT
CCI
LC
cor-bon
PPU
MRP
PARA
C (primer pocket) J with a 92 underneath
CP99
AP04
Blazer
zero

[Jammer Six]

Except for the Amerc, ship all that junk brass to me, please.

[Charly]

Hi,

GFL - is this fiocchi ?



Yes GFL is Fiocchi

For me

S&B is very good for 223 rem and 45 ACP but medium for 9mm and bad for 38 spcl, and unusable for 222rem (several split cases after first FTY shot)
GFL is good for 9 and 38, medium for 45
FC is good for 222
IMI is good for 308win, 45 and 38, medium for 223
Privi Partizan (head stamp is Cyrilic) good for 308
Rem is good for 38

[Crazy4nitro]

I "Debur" the Primer Pockets Slightly on my S&B Brass and Enjoy it all day long.

'Nitro

[Oreo]

Are the Win NT & Federal NT as good as the Winchester & Federal respectively?

[ronterry]

NNY(PRVI) is fine in 7.5x55 and 6.5x52...

[Shovel66]

Am I understanding correctly that the Federal cases in .40 with the headstamp "Federal" are good brass, but the Federal cases stamped "FC" are bad and may cause problems.

I just got a bunch of .40 brass and quite a few have "Federal" on the head. So far I've only found one that had "FC" I'm putting them all off to the side until I figure this out.
Thanks,
Shovel

[Oreo]

I have loaded a couple hundred of the Federal cases & they all worked just fine. I haven't tried any of the FC cases yet but at least they aren't as common.

[gjk5]

I'm in the middle of sorting about 6 gallons of mixed .223, came up with a few different ones, any input appreciated:

IK 03
AD 99
G 07


I'm forgetting some of the others, I'll look again when I get home.

[N109R]

As far as 9mm, 40, and 45 brass goes I run it through my Case Master then into the Dillion 1050 and it all gets loaded and shot. I have Barsto barrels in all my glocks. I have shot 20k rounds so far this year and many many thousand in years past and have not had a kaboom.

[Shovel66]

I think I read in the Blue Press or somewhere that the 1050 is so good that it can turn an AMERC case into a Starline case at it's first station.:slick:

I also load all my pistol brass unless it gets damaged or is unloadable.

Shovel

[gjk5]

Some others:

RORG
Frontier
P-A RH

also found a few that just say "02 5.56 MM"
and some with only "07" and the little cross on a circle like Lake City has.

Any input on these or the others I mentioned?

[BigSlick]

RORG= Royal Ordinance Radway Green - excellent ammo, mostly excellent brass. I read a couple a three years back about a couple years ('89 I think) that was funky. Maybe brittle, it's been a while. There was a big wad of 62gr steel core brought in back in 99-00 or so. Went fast, shot good too. I still got some of da brass holed away somewhere.

NNY in pistol brass is sold under the Monarch brand name. I keep hearing the rifle brass is great, but in my first hand experience the pistol brass ain't worth a crap. I recycle whatever I see.

Frontier is some kinda Hornaday derivative if I ain't got my wires crossed

[Steve Koski]

Am I understanding correctly that the Federal cases in .40 with the headstamp "Federal" are good brass, but the Federal cases stamped "FC" are bad and may cause problems.
Thanks,
Shovel
Shovel,

My memory says they changed from FC to FEDERAL in 40 a decade plus ago when they upgraded thier .40 brass. I toss all the .40 FC's into the recycle bucket. Not many FC's around nowadays.

[Shovel66]

Shovel,

My memory says they changed from FC to FEDERAL in 40 a decade plus ago when they upgraded thier .40 brass. I toss all the .40 FC's into the recycle bucket. Not many FC's around nowadays.

Thanks Koski,
I aquired about 2600 .40 cases about a month ago. I went through every case (took me a while) and only found about 10 FC cases. I did end up with hundreds of FEDERAL cases and I could actually feel the difference in my hand and on the scale. I would say that almost half of all the brass was Winchester. Thanks again. I put all the FC in the recycle bin already and keeping the FEDERAL.
Shovel

[chewy]

I'm still tryin' to figure out who make this stuff?
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k298/chewybaca67/Fire%20Arms/P1110001.jpg

[gjk5]

My dealer had a couple cases of it, starts with a P. One of the guys there bought some and said it stuck or broke off in the chamber in his RRA.

[Bullseye10x]

Am I the only one who actually likes PPU/NNY headstamped brass?

The .38's I've loaded so far (not anywhere near nuclear meltdown levels, mind you) have been run at least a few times, and are still like new. I actually mic'd the walls of a few and they were a thousandth or two thicker than most of the other stuff I had around (R-P, Winchester, Federal).

Dunno about the rifle stuff yet, but I just bought a box of Monarch 30-06 so I'll eventually be trying that too.