9mm Remington Brass

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RDA 226sig

RDA 226sig

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Typically I have used either Winchester or Federal brass for my 9mm luger loads but since I have collected quite a lot of Remington 9mm brass I decided to give it a whirl. Big dissapointment, the reloads look like a snake swallowing a rat. The wall thickness of the Remington cases are over a thousandth greater than the Winchester brass and it is very ductile. the cases loos like they are stretched over the bullets. The loads functioned fine but they just looked awful.

Tried inserting the expander a deeper but that created too much belling and caused a ripple below the crimp. Currently I am using RCBS dies and they work beautifully with Winchester brass and Federal brass. I could back the sizer die out a bit but then the bases won't get fully sized and that could lead to feed problems. Is there another die manufacturer the doesn't size the case quite a much near the mouth?
 
I have noticed the same with R-P brass, but I don't mind that "Coke bottle" look really. It will show that you have good neck tension. I never thought to compare the wall thickness. I'll compare them to my other cases and see what results I get. What thickness were you averaging on the Rem cases?
 
Using a dial caliper, the outside diameter is consistently around 0.374 but the inner diameters vary. On average they measure as follows Winchester .351, Federal .350, and remington at about .348. The case walls of the Remington brass may taper a bit quicker also but it is hard to measure with a dial caliper.

They laod and they shoot so I am probably just being a little too picky.
 
I too have seen it.

FWIW; I shoot my match loads in 9mm through one of three Perf. Ctr. S&W semi-autos. (4,5,and 6in. bbls.)- a PC5906, and two PPC-9 Ltd's.

Any one of these guns will shoot sub 1in. at 25yds with accurate ammo. The two longer barreled ones, under 2" at 50yds.

With the Remington cases, I saw the buldging and checked for run-out. It was/is excessive and causes a significant reduction in accuracy. This was originally with a quantity of new UnPrimed brass I bought a number of years ago for use in loading up some match grade ammo. I then checked some factory new Remington UMC 115gr JHP and it exhibited even worse run-out than what I'd loaded. *(I have a set of custom dies that I use specifically for loading match ammo, which has larger outside dimensions to minimize the "coke-bottle" effect, based on the fired cases from my firearms.)

This is relevant, as I really, really like the Remington 115gr JHP's. When loaded in Starline, or Federal brass (from Hydroshok ammo), I get match winning accuracy with very low run-outs.

For a number of years, Precision Delta loaded the Remington 115gr JHP's in their match ammo, and many National Records were shot with them in NRA-PPC competition.

Hence, I don't even look twice at a pile of R-P brass in 9mm.

I've seen it written more than once that it's regrettable that Remington manufactures some of the best componenets in the Industry, but, somehow the sum of the whole dosen't equal the potential of the parts..............

The 9mm brass is just one example..............
OTOH; I've had really outstanding results from the .40S&W brass and 155gr JHP's !

Go figure !
 
Wouldn't the thinner brass of the other brands represent less quality rather than greater quality? I just started buying a bunch of Winchester factory ammo to shoot off to make reloading brass because I heard it was heavier and that the Remington was lesser quality because it was thinner. Now I am really confused.
 
The only problem I've ever had with Remington brass is with .38 special brass being too thin for my .38/.357 die. I have ran into some "old" .45acp brass that was thin also. I haven't seen any RP 45acp brass that had thinner case walls lately. No problems with 9mm RP brass that I've seen in the past year or so and it does appear thicker than some other brands.
I've only been loading 9mm for approx. one year and Winchester 9mm brass is my favorite 9mm case though. I use and prefer RP brass for all other pistols (except .38 spec.) and all rifle loads.
 
I started reloading for my my rifles many years ago, and I'm rather anal about my techniques and procedures. I started reloading for my 9mms and 45s about 8 months ago and applied the same principled approach there.

I still separate and reload the brass by brand. I have a lot of Remington and Winchester brass. I don't reload it interchangably. But, I have not found that using one or the other brass with my formula matters significantly. The loads are tuned to the pistols and will outshoot me most of the time. In any event, they are significantly better than factory fodder.

Now, I do not shoot bullseyes, just defensive stuff. I have good accurate rounds for that no matter what brand of brass I use. I also do not worry about the "look" of the finished round as long as it feeds and performs reliably.

Good luck and have fun.
 
In the, FWIW category...

I've seen the posts about thin R/P brass being problematic in .38/.357 by failing to have sufficient case tension on the bullets but I've had no problems of any kind with 9mm or .45 ACP Remington brass. I find it loads very well in those calibers.
 
Overall I have not found the RP brass to be defficient but the 9mm brass has a "coke-bottle" shape after it is loaded. (On my equipment the way I am loading it) I have loaded 40, 380, 30-06, and 243 RP brass and overall I have had good results with RP stuff.

However, I would prefer to not have the "coke-bottle" effect.
 
So is it definitely the wall thickness that causes this? I have a bunch of PMC brass, which is noticeably thicker than most. I will try loading some with that and see if it produces the same Coke bottle effect.

I never really thought about it much until reading this thread. I always thought it was due to thinner brass that showed the heel of the bullet in relief. Now, I can see how thicker brass is to blame.

Out of curiosity what bullet type is everyone who notices this Coke bottle effect using? I'm loading 124 grain Montana Gold CMJ bullets.
 
I suspect the RP brass I have is also a more ductile than other brass I have used. It has a different "feel" when I run it through the sizing die on my single stage press.

I am capping my 9mm rounds with 115gr Hornady encapsulated bullets.
 
What problems have you guys noticed in RP 38 spl brass? I have a ton of the stuff, and haven't had any problems... Although I don't shoot a LOT of 38, so most has only 1 or 2 reloads on them so far.

As to brass "feel"... I've been reloading a lot of 45acp lately and I can call out the headstamp as it passes through my sizing die with great accuracy. It's funny what you can become attuned to.
 
re: Rem. 9mm brass, it's not the thickness, it's the smaller diameter at or near the base/case head. Too, the brass is rather soft.

re: .38spl brass. Yes, it's thinner and softer. I use the .38 match brass from wadcutter match ammo. I use a Lee 148gr DEWC-TL unsized and it shoots wonderful. Ditto the 158SWC-TL.

Many other makes, especially some Winchester brass will not chamber without the bullets sized to .358", so this is an asset of the R-P .38 brass, IMO.
 
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