Buying processed brass.

I would like to buy fully processed pistol brass for reloading my 9 mm bull’s-eye pistol. I will be using this primarily for 25 yard practice but would be nice to have good enough quality to use in matches out to 50 yards also. I see that there are many vendors available. Can anybody recommend a vendor/vendors that are better than others?

Looks like most of the vendors I have read about offer range brass that is a mixed head stamp. I am new to Bullseye shooting so I am not sure how important it is to have or not have mixed had stamps etc.It seems that using brass from a military contract would be safer than using brass sourced from ranges. Your thoughts?
-TH

STAR

Mixed brass = mixed results.....when you take me out of the picture.

I don't know how much you are expecting to pay for range brass, but at the ranges I use 9mm is by far the most abundant and the majority of casual shooters buy cheap factory ammo and just blast away, so most of it is once fired. OK, you would have to process it, but it is free!

Several other options:- 
Buy new Starline brass, most serious folks reckon it it the best and will last for many reloads.
Buy a top quality target load and recycle their brass - Atlanta Arms is good.
Buy Winchester White Box and use it for practise then re-cycle, certainly good enough for several reloads.

Note that having a brass catcher (net) is a big plus if trying to save and reload your own brass -  although not all guns co-operate by ejecting brass consistently! 

I've read mixed opinions about selecting same headstamp brass for reloading, but I feel that if you are serious about reloading to produce target quality ammo (not just producing massive volume for run & gun or whatever) then it is one of those variables that is easily within control, so why not select? I like to vibro clean then decap and prime manually, usually in front of the TV, so it is easy to have several containers at my side and select by headstamp as I decap.

Just my humble opinion.

If you go the range brass route, be sure to recognize the distinctive striker mark of Glock and keep it separate.
There are many conversations about whether or not that brass has been over stressed.

Range brass will not give you good groups at 50 yds. 9mm requires new brass for 50 yds. I know many high level shooters both PPC and BE who all verify this.
Jon

https://www.loadermonkey.com/

Jack is a rifle shooter who loads custom rifle ammo but does load pistol ammo as well.  He also will sell you brass that he gets from his processor to his specs.   But you could also get some 9mm (2000 to start) that you could use for training (you’ll need it) then save the brass for your reloading.  I really don’t think there’s a big difference between makes with a few exceptions so mixed is Ok, certainly for 25 yards and training.  The exceptions are MaxxTech and a few offbrand Euro makers that really need to learn to make ammo correctly.  Good Euro makers are S&B, GECO, Magtech, Norma, and PPU. Avoid ALL military brass.

For the price differential, buying Atlantic Arms (500) for 50 yards and mixed brass reloads for 25 might also be an option.

Call Jim at Us reloading and tell him you are a member of this forum and he will give you 10% off
941-204-7492

I am just getting started in reloading. I don’t have a case trimmer suitable for pistol cases yet nor do I understand when I am supposed to trim them since I am told the cases shorten as they are reloaded rather than lengthen like rifle brass.

I am considering PROCESSED brass so I can eliminate that trimming step & time investment for now. Kids, work, & school does not leave much time for reloading. If I buy new brass, is the idea to trim prior to first use and never trim it again?
-TH

Hengehold,

I'm also a relative newbie and I asked the Forum about trimming brass quite recently - the over-whelming response was that there is no need or benefit from trimming pistol brass. 

The only processing that you need to do is to clean. There are many threads here on this subject, mostly specific to 45ACP, but no doubt it applies to 9mm too. Some advocate depriming, wet tumbling with SS pins, followed by careful drying, probably the ultimate in fastidiousness. I personally just clean the as-found brass in a cheap Hartford vibro
https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Quick-N-EZ-Vibratory-Polishing/dp/B001MYGLJC/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?dchild=1&keywords=Hartford+Arsenal+vibratory+cleaner&qid=1584729370&sr=8-1-fkmr0

I'm currently using crushed walnut shells with a dab of car polish for a few hours. The brass comes out really shiny and clean.

DONT BUY MIXED BRASS!

The prevalence of crimped primers in 9MM brass (NATO rounds and others) is a disaster. Get starline or Winchester virgin or whitebox brass and keep any other range brass out of your brass when you pick up empties if you don't use a net.

Having just one or two crimped primers out of a batch of 500 rounds is a PITA, it breaks up your rhythm when you are in the decapping/sizing  stage of a progressive press. I reloaded 38 special and 45 ACP for 20 years, started with some brass from UMC Brass and 1X fired brass from the local range. Never had a problem.

BUT...


Then three years ago, my neighbor gave me a stash of his mixed 9MM brass so I could teach him to reload on my press it was a disaster!
That was the last time I ever thought about using range brass!
As a policy now, I buy new brass now and mark it and use a net. Any brass that is not mine does not get in my range bag! Life is too short to mess with mixed brass!


The comment about Glock fired brass is something to consider too!
It much better when you know that you controlled the loading process (think pressure) from the first time fired, range brass has too many unknowns!

I have always heard about the problems with loading Glock fired brass also, so I have always recycled (sold as yellow brass) range brass and use only new to start with.  By doing this I know for sure what I have.  I really got into a pissing contest with a reloading forum over this very subject.  They put me into a 30 day time-out!

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Many of the processed brass vendors list "swaging" as one of their processing steps which is presumably swaging the primer pocket and removing the crimp. under this assumption, I believe the military mixed brass would be no more difficult to use/seat primers.

I have also used military brass for rifle reloading and it was a pain to get rid of the primer crimps. However, once the primer crimps were gone it was a non-issue. I still have the Dillon primer pocket swager machine that is pretty fast.

Keep the input coming.

Wobbley wrote:I really don’t think there’s a big difference between makes with a few exceptions so mixed is Ok, certainly for 25 yards and training.  The exceptions are MaxxTech and a few offbrand Euro makers that really need to learn to make ammo correctly.  Good Euro makers are S&B, GECO, Magtech, Norma, and PPU. Avoid ALL military brass.

Magtech and S&B are controlled by the holding company Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos (CBC)

I believe Magtech is made in Brazil, other CBC ammo is made in various countries, including Europe.

For 50 yds you will be looking at new brass, for factory ammo Atlanta Arms Elite is good stuff.

Hengehold, forget the case trimmer.  Straight wall pistol cases get shorter with use.  You will never have to trim them.

+1 on don't waist time trimming.  
There are several brass sellers that sell both mixed AND same head stamp brass.  Add BrassMan Brass to the others mentioned.

Does anyone use nickel plated cartridges for BE reloading?

I compete in 1,000yd rifle matches and nobody uses nickel plated. Although, I have not heard of any perceived disadvantages/advantages related to nickel.

Any input or experiences with it?

Nickel is out there.  One advantage of nickel is that it is always commercial and never crimped primers.  In 9mm and 45 it seems to be limited to self-defense ammo.

There are disadvantages in being a bit thicker and a tad harder to size. Crimping is a bit harder.  And the brass underneath tends to crack faster, like 5-7 firings rather than 10 or so.  

It’s useable but not ideal.

I've used range pick up and bought from a brass reseller 9mm brass for 25 yard work. shoots right where I point it. Glock brass just takes a little more effort on the handle after that it shoots where I point it.

50 yard=new starline or A.A. new ammo.

hengehold wrote:Does anyone use nickel plated cartridges for BE reloading?

I compete in 1,000yd rifle matches and nobody uses nickel plated. Although, I have not heard of any perceived disadvantages/advantages related to nickel.

Any input or experiences with it?

I ended up with a lot of nickel plated brass so I started using it for my short line loads. I don't use different loads for long/short lines, I just use Starline for the long line and take a little more care loading it. I thought nickel might be easier to find in grass (not really) and I wouldn't need to mark my brass (mostly true) when I don't use a brass catcher.

I haven't seen a difference between nickel brass and Starline on the occasions when I've used the nickel brass at the long line, but I've never rest-tested it at 50 yards.

50 yard pistol is nothing like 1000 yard rifle. It's closer to 200 yard offhand. The shooter's skill is much more important than fine-tuning the load or reading the wind.

I have heard (no first-hand knowledge) that the thickness of the plating can vary from lot to lot or mfgr to mfgr and even on a particular piece of brass the thickness can vary around the circumference so it might not seat in the chamber consistently. I don't think a few mils offset of the case is significant in our guns but can't offer any proof.