[dt3ft]

I don't agree with Winchester beeing good brass. Especially with the WSM or WSSM cartridge series I had the case mouth split. I experienced far better results with Norma brass.

good brass is:
Dynamit Nobel AG (DAG)
SAKO Ltd. (SAKO)
Lapua (LAPUA)
Rheinisch Westfalischen Sprengstoff (RWS)
Gustav Genschow & Co./Dynamit Nobel/RWS (Geco)


btw. afaik Eldorado Cartridge Corporation also has the headstamp PMC

[robert91922]

Originally Posted by MarcusT

I have not swaged any of the S&B and have had no problems with CCI primers.

If you can find Fiocchi SP primers try them. They seat into S&B primer pockets much easier than CCI. I'm buying Fiocchi primers in Italy and probably they are available in USA as well. Beside better compatibility with S&B brass they cost less.

[flipside101]

I reloaded about 1,000 rounds of Sellier & Beloit (S&B) and have yet to have a issue. 9mm loads

[firefighter4215]

I ran across some 38 special brass with a S&W headstamp. They obviously have some age, but I doubt the age matters. Assuming they pass a visual inspection are they worth reloading? They're nickel plated also. I read online that Fiocchi made the ammo under contract. Anybody familiar with this stuff?

[VN350X10]

Could be Fiochhi, could be Federal. It would depend upon what bullet was in the brass OEM.
The S&W Nyclad was made by Federal.
Load it till it splits or you lose it. Being plated, splits will probably happen first.

uncle albert

[firefighter4215]

Ok. I figured it would be ok, but wanted to find someone who had more experience. I'm using a 125 grain Berry's plated with 4.3 grains of Bullseye so it's not a high pressure load anyway. Thanks.

[RRTX11]

second Lake City, best brass out there in my opinion.

[ARSMITH]

Hmm. Interesting opinions of people. I personally don't care what kind of brass I am using, but I am partial to Federal in my 45 loads.

[integraracer157]

Ive read all of this topic, and i hate to say it, But i think allot of brass gets a bad rap from impatient, and step skipping reloading. Ive been reloading 15 years. Just about every popular cal. With proper extra steps like flash hole deburring and primer pocket uniforming. you will see if a primer pocket is loose or tight. And all brass i have reloaded always needed the primer pocket cut uniform.
I do agree AMERC is CRAP.

If you just clean brass and load it. stick to RP.

[pyro1017]

anybody had experience reloading bitterroot valley ammo? i found a bunch of it for really cheap and want to know if it reloads well. thx

[SCmasterblaster]

Originally Posted by alank2

Hi everyone,

I recall a thread not long ago where people were talking about how hard they inspect calibers, for example 9mm was inspected very hard because it is quite a strong case for the typical 9mm loads put on it, and 40sw was inspected more carefully because it is much closer to the "edge" than 9mm for example.

Also was a list of good brass and bad brass.

Could we create a sticky that would list calibers and everyone could chime in about headstamps considered good or bad. We could just have people post their experiences and update a top level message. Obviously there could be disagreements where one person says this headstamp is decent while another says it is trash, in which case we could go with 3 categories for headstamp: Good to go, Mixed Review, Junk Brass.

Maybe a 1-5 rating on inspection necessity. 1=super strong brass, just a basic inspection down to 5=inspect it extremely well or its going to KB!.

What do you guys think?

I love to dig up all the free brass at the range, it sure would be nice to have a list of what to throw in the scrap bin right off the bat...

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

Your list looks pretty good, and I have been reloading 6 different hangun calibers since 1979. I'd give Speer a promotion, though.

[scccdoc]

goforbroke,is your Federal marked "Federal" ? DOC

[albinlee]

I have reloaded alot of S&B in 9mm, and I would put it in the good category! I notice that the primer pocket is a bit deeper and smaller diameter, but we are talking microscopic. I have never had issues seating primers including Fed, Win, and CCI. Also, never had a FTF in my Glock 34 through hundreds of rounds fired with S&B brass. The key I think is to tumble clean your brass properly first.

[janice6]

Rather then piecemeal, here is Head Stamp information

http://cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm

[cabrego]

What do you guys think about blazer brass? I have some cleaned up and they are the cleanest brass in my mix of brass (blazer, federal, remington). (Sorry if it was mentioned I didn't see it in first page.

[gwalchmai]

Originally Posted by cabrego

What do you guys think about blazer brass? I have some cleaned up and they are the cleanest brass in my mix of brass (blazer, federal, remington). (Sorry if it was mentioned I didn't see it in first page.

I've only used a few Blazer brass, but they worked fine in .45ACP.

[alitke15]

I thought I would throw my $0.02 in. I have reloaded a lot of S&B .40 S&W with no issues. I tumble it and use CCI 500 primers with no issues so far.

[Outer Rondacker]

Oh god dont kill me here but I have found that with the Fiocchi SP primers I have to push so much harder on my press to get them to seat its not even funny. I have even taken a few rounds and had to seat the primers after the rounds have been made. CCI's seam to just fall in for me. After using Fiocchi primers I often wonder when using cci's if my primer feed is empty. But I will continue to buy and use Fiocchi primers as long as I can get them for 30 bucks total for 1500 count. For the guys counting that is .02 cents each. If I want to buy 12,000 at once I can get them for 199.99 that is .016666666667 each. Not a bad buy. So price wins out over some hard to seat primers. Hope this helps.

[Rinconjoe]

what about : in 40 S&W
R-P Remington Arms Company, Inc., Bridgeport CT , and later: Lonoke, AR (also used by CDM of Mexico)

[Rinconjoe]

any one heard of ALAMA brass in 40 S&W

[scccdoc]

Originally Posted by gwalchmai

I've only used a few Blazer brass, but they worked fine in .45ACP.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I bought a thousand rds of ammo when I began shooting 6 months ago and saved the brass.I reload it often,no problems with Win or Fed primers..............DOC

[Jager1]

I've loaded tens of thousands of rounds of Sellier and Bellot Brass and rate it right up there with Winchester.

[MCVet]

Is Winchester good brass then? I've read in a lot of places that it is not, especially that out of the 9mm whitebox. If it is, I've wasted a lot of brass...

[PCJim]

I reload a LOT of Winchester brass, both pistol and rifle. I haven't had any problems with it.

[scccdoc]

Originally Posted by PCJim

I reload a LOT of Winchester brass, both pistol and rifle. I haven't had any problems with it.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What pistol primers do you use with Winchester brass ?