Brass ID

[Steven57]

OK, been sorting 9mm and came up with some brands didn't know even existed.
It's a long list. Anyone favor or dislike reloading please let me know.

AmmoLoad
Aquila
BlazerCBC
CCI
CorBon
FC
Geco
GFL
Hrtrs
P-A
PMC
PPU
RP
RWS
S&B
S&W
Speer
Speer Nickle Plated
Starline
Tulammo
WCC
WIN

 

[jrdolall]

I have loaded some PPU in rifle cartridges but no pistols. Worked fine.
Loaded 9mm in CCI and Tula brass last week as my first trip into reloading 9mm and they all went bang when I pulled the trigger. It was cumbersome for me since it was the first time in the caliber but no real problems.

 

[RPRNY]

I have a couple of comments:

Another positive review for PPU rifle cases. I have reloaded them in 6.5x55 and 8x57.

I have also had favorable experiences reloading Sellier & Bellot in 8x57 but many people do not like S&B brass.

Star Line makes great brass. Use it extensively for 45 Colt and 454 Casull

Rem and Win use the x57 case head for their Swede 6.5x55 ammo, so I will not use them.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've loaded every case on the list except the Tulammo. I've never had a problem with any of them in many, many thousands of rounds.

If you want to know what most of them are, look here: http://cartridgecollectors.org/?page=headstampcodes

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[kerreckt]

PPU is good brass in both rifle and pistol calibers in my experience. I have had good experience with PMC in pistol calibers and in .223/5.56 but .308 brass has been difficult to work with for me. I have worked with all the brass on the list and some not on the list with the exception of the P-A brass.

 

[WestKentucky]

AmmoLoad- never heard of it
Aquila- decent factory loads brass ok
BlazerCBC- depends on metal used for case. They use a lot of steel and aluminum. If it's brass it's good, if not just throw it away.
CCI- great factory loads. Good brass.
CorBon great factory loads. Good brass
FC federal...some of the best brass I have reloaded, also some of the worst. I think they probably have multiple brass plants and some is better than others.
Geco not heard of it
GFL not heard of it
Hrtrs old school awesome, not sure about newer stuff
P-A never heard of it
PMC fair factory loads but great brass
PPU cheap Russian stuff? All of their brass I have seen is thin but I hear good things from others
RP Remington peters. Good factory loads good brass
RWS not sure what it is but I have a few of their brass I have loaded.
S&B sellier and Beloit they buy brass on contract I think so quality is all over
S&W smith&wesson bought an ammo plant years ago and it closed down. Interesting history. Decent brass but the brass is better served as decoration as it's easy to inlay into grips (my j frame with .357 s&w heads in grip screw location)
Speer decent all around brass
Speer Nickle Plated same as above just nickeled. Doesn't last as long but easy to clean
Starline not factory ammo, but reloaders love starline. It's good stuff that's reasonable.
Tulammo junk ammo but it's middle of the road on quality brass.
WCC Winchester cartridge company. Good stuff
WIN Winchester...see WCC

 

[kerreckt]

S&B is an old (1828) Czech company now owned by CBC which is a Brazilian company. Most people in the USA know of their Magtech brand. S&B manufactures brass for a number of other European companies. I am not sure but doubt that anyone manufactures brass for them as they are a huge manufacturing company. GFL is the Italian company Giulio Fiocchi. PPU is a Serbian company. PPU are the Roman letters for the Cyrillic letters that look like nny. You will sometimes see the nny looking headstamp. Geco is the German company Dynamit Nobel. RWS is another German company Rheinisch-Westfälische Sprengstoff. You will sometimes come across Remington brass with the RA headstamp. There a lots of other headstamps out there but this covers some of them mentioned in the list.

 

[hartcreek]

You will find other brands......I have some .38 Specials that are marked for specific police departments.

 

[mstreddy]

I'll add to this:

AmmoLoad is made with some older type equipment and usually has a shelf on the inside due to the manufacturing process
Aguila - from Mexico factory loads -- pretty good brass IMO
Blazer - If its brass, it's brass, if it's Aluminum then it's aluminum. They make both. I haven't seen steel from them.
CBC - Brazilian, maker of MagTech ammo
CCI -nothing to add
CorBon -nothing to add
FC -nothing to add
Geco -nothing to add
GFL -nothing to add
Hrtrs -current made for Cabelas by European co. I can't remember if it's Fiocchi or S&B
P-A - unknown to me
PMC - I believe South Korean, good brass IMO
PPU - as noted above, good brass
RP -nothing to add
RWS -nothing to add
S&B -nothing to add
S&W -nothing to add, just not common to see, I think that in all the many thousands of 9mm I've only seen 2
Speer -nothing to add
Speer Nickel Plated -nothing to add
Starline - world's worst brass - send me all that you have to avoid problems. Made for reloaders and used by some small, custom ammo manufacturers as well
Tulammo - brass is good
WCC - some might be from military contracts and "may" be crimped
WIN -nothing to add

 

[P5 Guy]

Sellier & Bellot (S&B) you may find some brass plated steel cases in 9mm. I bought a couple of case lots of S&B knowing the cartridge case was not brass, a few years ago. Check with a magnet.
http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/sellier-bellot-9mm-ammo-115gr-50rds.html
Sellier & Bellot 115GR, Full Metal Jacket, 9 mm Luger ammuntion. This is S&B's new, affordable 9mm offering featuring a traditional non-magnetic 9mm FMJ bullet with a copper-washed steel casing to give an appearance of brass and similar performance to brass-cased ammunition. A very unique alternative to Wolf and CCI Blazer (aluminum cased, non-brass loads) This stuff fooled Dave--it looks just like S&B's regular 9mm 115-gr FMJ ammo!

 

[d'Artagnan]

AmmoLoad - Turkish, I've never used it. Has internal belt prob to prevent case failure sometimes encountered when shot in Glock barrels.
Aguila - Mexican, means Eagle in Spanish, second letter is a g, works fine
Blazer - made by Speer, like CCI, but sometimes also made by Federal
CBC - Brazilian, Imported by American firm Magtech
CorBon - cases used to be made by Remington, now I not sure
FC - Federal Cartridge Company but can also be made by Speer
Geco - Gustav Genschow and Co. AG - at different times made in Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary
GFL - Giulio Fiocchi, Lecco, Italian.
HRTRS - made by S&B
P-A - Precision Ammo, not sure where from, I rarely encounter it
PPU - Prvi Partizan, Serbian
RWS - Rheinische-Westfalische Sprengstofffabrik. Like Geco was made in Germany and Switzerland
S&W - just a brand, not a manufacturer. cases made by all kinds of companies early 1970's thru mid 1980's
Starline - U.S., alot of people swear by it, I do not. Like S&B, case weights can vary alot
Tulammo - Fiocchi if brass and small lower case a is square, Bosnian if a like this font
WCC - Winchester, if two-digit date made for military or police, four-digit date commercial
WIN - Winchester, OK but R - P is more uniform

 

[Drail]

R-P is more uniformly "pretty thin"

 

[d'Artagnan]

AMMOLOAD turns out to be either made by or for Ammo Load Worldwide -- a manufacturer of automatic ammo loading machines -- of Lewiston, Idaho, same city as Speer and Freedom Munitions. Both AMMOLOAD- and, recently, IMT-headstamped brass 9mm Luger cases (both with the reenforcing internal ring) are found in Freedom Munitions boxes and appear to be manufactured using the FORMAX extrusion method, which Speer uses. The internal ring reduces the powder capacity, which would increase the pressure of whatever load you use, so I, frankly, would consign them to my recycle bucket.

 

[horseman1]

R-P is more uniformly "pretty thin"

This has been my experience as well. I use them exclusively for cast bullets now in 40 SW and 45 ACP I load for.