Best Quality Handgun Brass?

[orfeo]

Currently, I only reload Winchester brass for my 45 ACP and 9mm Luger H&K handguns. I was going to buy Starline cases, but was put off by the fact that they cost almost as much as loaded ammunition. . .

I have also saved up quite a bit of Remington brass for those calibers since I had bought many hundreds of rounds of both 45 ACP and 9mm Luger on sale at Dick's a while back, but I've never reloaded any of the Remington brass yet. I've noticed that the case-walls of the Remington 9mm cases are visually and measureably thicker than on the Winchester 9mm Cases (presumably also altering case volume), which I like since my HK USP Compact 9mm has a stepped chamber, and I think the thicker case-walls of the Remington 9mm may be a bit safer. The 45 ACP Remington and 45 ACP Winchester cases visually and measurably appear to have the same case-wall thickness.

Are there any data available to say which brands of brass are the strongest/safest/best quality?

 

[The Bushmaster]

This question has been discussed in length and is being discussed as we speak. All (or most) brass is usually good to excellent except AMERC. Load-em and shoot-em.

Winchester, Remington, Federal, S & B, PMC, etc, etc...You name it. Reload it. (EXCEPT amerc)

 

[DogBonz]

hey orfeo

I asked a very similar question a few days ago.
This may be helpful to you:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=238833

 

[trickyasafox]

i found a lot of 45acp starline, and it is smooth, but im not sure if it's worth the additional cost.

i like speer for 45acp, just make sure its large primer. i don't really have a favorite, just some seem to pop up and work better than others.

i've had problems with:
amerc (obviously, and yes i did try to make them work)
some surplus 45 brass

other than that, it all just kinda loads.

 

[The Bushmaster]

trickyasafox...How many decapping pins did you go through?

 

[Walkalong]

Anybody who will load steel will load anything! -Just messin' with you tricky.

 

[The-Fly]

just my 2 cents regarding handgun brass.

I've reloaded every piece of major brand brass i've run into (excluding amerc of course). Winchester and PMC in 9mm have worked the best for me. In 38spl, Winchester and Federal have worked great.

Even the other stuff like S&B, Remington, etc, have worked good too.

223 brass on the other hand (yes i know, not a handgun caliber) seems much more picky. I won't touch Federal 223 brass at all, had nothing but problems with it. I stick with Winchester and Remington for my 223.

 

[trickyasafox]

knocks on wood**

i haven't broken a pin yet. i use lee dies, so usually the pin will just push up in the collet before it busts.

i've marred some collet and pin heads though.

walkalong-

darn right i'll at least try. im big into the 'testing' of the stuff i hear on the net.
don't get me wrong, i've learned more here than i ever would have scrambled together on my own, but sometimes the only way to know is to try it.

next up i think i'll be trying .308 bullets in some yugos, and if i can find some of the primers, reloading some berdan steel wolf 7.62x39. but until i find a deal on those primers, im in no rush. I still have about a k stored up of 7.62x39, and i prefer to shoot my AR most days so that stock will last me a while yet.

now i just wish there was a supply of pull down/surplus 7mm bullets! im going to pick up my 7mm-08 barrel for my encore and paying 11 bucks for 100 bullets in component form before shipping hurts the wallet! i might have to try that casting deal with some gas checks next. . . .

 

[Walkalong]

Well trickyasafox....... If it can be done, I bet you can do it.

 

[Walkalong]

Hey trickyasafox
I took .444 marlin brass and made ratshot cartridges for a .44 Spl. Real nice BANG and good shot coverage. Only problem was the bottlenecked case (I made it cylinder length for added room for powder & shot) would back out and freeze up the gun....Hm...... If I reamed the cylinder.... Never did it. I've done some unusual things myself.

 

[orfeo]

Thanks guys. . . glad you all seem to think Remington is as worthy as the Winchester.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

Most of my brass is once fired from factory ammo but if I buy new handgun brass it's starline or nothing.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

I've always wondered what the deal was with some once fired 9mm Luger brass I found.

The two brands were FC and WIN and were bulged toward the rear on one side.

The WIN brass was bulged farther toward the rear and showed itself as being thinner farther back toward the base than did the FC. All the FC stuff resized no sweat but most of the WIN brass kept at least some of the bulge that the sizing die couldn't reach.

So in that odd situation the FC brass beat the WIN brass.

What do you think was going on there?
Gun opening a little to quickly or what?

Alvin in AZ

 

[noresttill]

Unsupported 9mm case? Maybe from a Glock?

Jesse