9mm brass not worth saving....?
- Thread starter Savage30L
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nettlle
Contributing Member
I reload anything there is out there in 9mm and 45acp except steel and aluminum. All of it is mixed range brass. If the loaded round passes my case gauge it's good to go. Did have some issues with some 9mm range brass not plunking and/or failing the case gauge but solved this with a Lee Factory Crimp die. Never saw the need to throw away brass that wasn't split and still reloadable.
Hey I resemble that remark
Seriously though, I'm not too proud to bend over and pick up a case or two when I see them. Other times there are so many I get tired of picking them up. IMO that is one of the attractions of 9mm, you never have to worry about having enough brass or fretting about losing some. And I can still load some quality jacketed ammo (thanks to RMR) cheaper than I can buy them, At least until my stash of pre-Covid primers run out.
Lo-Profile
Member
I give my 9mm away.
I do reload for higher value cartridges.
I do reload for higher value cartridges.
Otto
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2007
- Messages
- 2,355
“One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure”…with that said, here’s the brands that I send to the dumpster.
Maxxtech
MXT
FM
Aguila
Ammoland
ZQI
WMA
Xtream
A USA
Troy
GFL
NORMA
DoubleTap
Shell Shock
TECH
OMPC
Perfecta
Winchester
….including aluminum, steel, bulged, crimped or stepped brass.
powwowell
Member
I have had good luck with Winchester brass. I no longer have any "once fired" brass. I now shoot at home and pick up my own.
Shivahasagun
Member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2021
- Messages
- 916
If it's only your cases, maybe.
Mixed with other peoples casings? Hell no.
Steel, brass colored steel, alluminum, Berdan primers, staked primers, internal "steps", cheap brass with poor flash-holes, etc. Life is too short to pick those up & sort them out.
Mixed with other peoples casings? Hell no.
Steel, brass colored steel, alluminum, Berdan primers, staked primers, internal "steps", cheap brass with poor flash-holes, etc. Life is too short to pick those up & sort them out.
rfwobbly
Member
Several suggestions...
► Obviously, steel and/or aluminum cases are no-go.
► There was a factory offering ammo several years ago and their brass had an internal step. Apparently the idea was to prevent bullet "set back". However, when the brass is reloaded it will crack right at the step. These are not worth your time.
► For awhile S&B and one other were coming with brass-plated steel. The only way to spot them is to place insert a search-with-magnet time into your reloading process. If you use a case feeder, you can automate the process by placing the magnet there.
► And then there's this absolutely worthless brand...
Hope this helps.
I have buckets of it I have picked up over the years, but I still pick my sorted batch of cases up.
I enjoy reloading as a hobby unto itself. So, I reload 9x19.
I reload mostly practice/plinking ammunition. I set up the progressive press and load 500 to a 1000 rounds in an afternoon.
I buy some factory ammunition from time to time, particularly for carry use.
FYI, I have the equipment to reload something north of 30 different cartridges.
I reload mostly practice/plinking ammunition. I set up the progressive press and load 500 to a 1000 rounds in an afternoon.
I buy some factory ammunition from time to time, particularly for carry use.
FYI, I have the equipment to reload something north of 30 different cartridges.
I can only speak personally, but I save every viable case and add it to the reloading stream.
I should mention that each case is assigned to a box based on the number of times it has been loaded by me (who knows where it's been before me) and loaded accordingly.
I stop reloading 9mm after the fifth loading out of what the attorneys would call "an abundance of caution". I have all the 9mm brass I will ever need (short of a civil war), so I stop rather than taking a chance on a case failure.
I should mention that each case is assigned to a box based on the number of times it has been loaded by me (who knows where it's been before me) and loaded accordingly.
I stop reloading 9mm after the fifth loading out of what the attorneys would call "an abundance of caution". I have all the 9mm brass I will ever need (short of a civil war), so I stop rather than taking a chance on a case failure.
KYregular
Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2018
- Messages
- 760
I still remember $60 for a box of 50 Blazer rounds during covid. Why not reload 9mm and save if you can, and taylor rounds that are more accurate than even premium ammo off the shelf. I like to load cast or my own coated bullets because I shoot a lot of steel, and those bullets don't throw jacket flack back at my ugly face.
My 9mm stays at the range for them or others to pick up. I reloaded 9mm long ago but gave it up. 9mm is cheap enough to buy at times and that's when I stock up. I spend my time at the bench loading for my revolvers and rifles. I bought a bunch of .45acp ammo awhile back and still running through that stash. I have a large stash of .45 brass and components for use later since prices on it have gone through the roof...
AJC1
Member
I have loaded 9 in the past but don't currently. If you have a 9, collect a 5 gallon bucket to put back and have the dies. Other than scrounging up primers you can start when the need appears.
I've reloaded thousands of rounds of mixed 9mm range brass. The only consistent problems I found were off center flash holes in Browning 9mm. Just because you had problems with extraction with one brand of brass doesn't mean you will have any problems with that when you reload it. Several reasons why it might have failed to extract and I would say the extractor groove is the least likely of reasons.
I think I would try a different 9mm Luger resizing die to see if I could get the job done in one pass.
lightman
Member
I'm another that saves it or picks it up.
Remington1911
Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2022
- Messages
- 1,512
Personally my view is it does not cost you one thin dime to have in the corner in a bucket. If thing get hard to find, not like that has ever happened it might come in handy.
Don't forget the other side of the coin....or end I guess. Bullets. That is really the only thing you MIGHT need to spend money on, you likely already have primers and powder.
Don't forget the other side of the coin....or end I guess. Bullets. That is really the only thing you MIGHT need to spend money on, you likely already have primers and powder.
I am cheap and easy. this 380 acp die thing works all the time so I will let you run your experiment and buy all those dies. good luck and let us know how it turns out.
murf
RetiredUSNChief
Member
I've yet to actually do any reloading myself, and I have scads of brass. Darned if I know where it all is right off the top of my head.
Here's my opinion:
Saving brass is cheap. It literally involves just the effort to police after yourself to do it. Which you should be doing anyway.
You then have all the brass you could need on hand should reloading become an important factor for you at some point.
In the firearms commujnity, it's also something you can sell, trade, or give away.
Here's my opinion:
Saving brass is cheap. It literally involves just the effort to police after yourself to do it. Which you should be doing anyway.
You then have all the brass you could need on hand should reloading become an important factor for you at some point.
In the firearms commujnity, it's also something you can sell, trade, or give away.
Blue68f100
Member
I was worth it for me. The cost saving was only around $0.03/round when I started loading them around 2000. If I recall it took 10k rounds to break even. I did it a while on a SS press and it caused me a lot of elbow pain, so I upgraded to a AP. I use to shoot on a average 5k 9mm and 45acp a year. I have a 5 gal bucket full of 9mm brass and maybe 2000-1500 loaded. I use to make a run in the winter times for all the rounds I shot during the year. Since I've now retired I just keep enough loaded for my current needs.
bfalcon00
Member
I know people swap around on here for once fired brass if that helps. I got about half a 5 gal bucket of 40 that needs to go.
Reeferman
Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2013
- Messages
- 1,259
Lee U die works for me. I had several thousand once fired American Eagle brass from several cases of new ammo I bought that no matter what I tried with Hornady or RCBS dies I had setback. The U die solved that issue for me. Those cases have been loaded several times and haven’t had any splits yet.
