9mm mixed brass, is it an accuracy issue?

jmccracken1214

jmccracken1214

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Looking into a press to start loading 9mm on with current prices what they are.

I know there are issues with mixing brass in the rifle world, when loading for accuracy. Does it matter with 9mm?

looking to load a decently accurate 124gr load
 
Not so much an accuracy issue, but you may want to make a quick pass through to eliminate problem brass. I do this when looking for typical brass problems like split necks, dump a few headstamps including those that are “stepped” on the inside.
 
If your bullseye shooting at 50 yards, maybe. Typical rapid fire 10 yards and in not a chance. As JimB already said sort for known issue brass , the ones with that stupid step inside.
 
E1A8939D-4756-4CF0-B10E-5B6FB307CBC7.jpeg

this is the “big” step. There are ones with a smaller step lower in the case.
 
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Stepped brass includes "FM" and "Ammoland" headstamps.

57314-a092c35ac4437f7827522250b1a1cd44.jpg


Personally, I sort by headstamp. I can notice a difference on the press, at least. WIN is a pleasure to load, R•P• it's a pain.
 
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I have no issues with the step. Whats it do dor you?
 
I load with unsorted mixed brass. There might be some precision to be found there but its not significant compared to bullet selection.

Even with a Glock in my shaky hands i can see a difference in precision with different bullets.
 
The best bullet for accuracy and decent price combined is the Precision Delta 124gr JHP. They are 8.9 cents delivered if you order at least 2k. I have found them to be extremely accurate. Normally fast shipping too.
 
To save some coin, plated or coated bullets tend to be a little cheaper, Extreme, Berry, and the Blue Bullets all work well.
 
I use 9mm mixed brass and 124 Blue Bullets, for USPSA style matches and practice, shooting them through a Glock 34 and CZ-75, they are more than accurate out the 25 yard. Off a rest I can keep 10 rounds inside 4 inches. As a test, I picked out 50 Winchester case and and my 10 shot groups really only dropped to 3 inches.
 
Some guns can be picky regarding the bullet profile, some can feed anything. I have a 9mm carbine that only likes round nose bullets. The RMR 115 FMJ RN are the only thing I load for it, as they feed well and are very accurate. I generally stick to RN for 9mm and 45.
 
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I’ve had good results with the above mentioned companies with Coated Bullets. Lately I’ve been using Brazos Bullets. Tried their 148gr WC for .38 spl and was very pleased. I think they were .06 per round. Just got some 9mm. 147gr FP that feed and shoot great. Also picked up around 3 k of the 115gr. Will do one big run that will last a while.
 
AH64 said:
Are the JHP usually more accurate than a flat nose?
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Yes, if you really take the time to find the optimal load for the gun with each projectile. The base of the bullets will be as close to identical as possible and less affected by the heat and pressure of firing. The differences on the target are very small.

ETA: RMR is usually where I get bulk jacketed pistol bullets, seems as good as anyone's.
 
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zuerjoha said:
Stepped brass includes "FM" and "Ammoland" headstamps.

57314-a092c35ac4437f7827522250b1a1cd44.jpg


Personally, I sort by headstamp. I can notice a difference on the press, at least. WIN is a pleasure to load, R•P• it's a pain.
Click to expand...
zuerjoha said:
Stepped brass includes "FM" and "Ammoland" headstamps.

57314-a092c35ac4437f7827522250b1a1cd44.jpg


Personally, I sort by headstamp. I can notice a difference on the press, at least. WIN is a pleasure to load, R•P• it's a pain.
Click to expand...
The "stepped" brass must be pretty rare. I've never seen one in 40 years of loading, but of course never looked for one. Just finished tumbling about 1500 cases tonight and I did go through all of them pretty good with a strong light and never found one. It wouldn't bother me if I did, since I load 9mm light anyway. Just a soft shooting target load.
 
Etruett said:
The "stepped" brass must be pretty rare. I've never seen one in 40 years of loading, but of course never looked for one. Just finished tumbling about 1500 cases tonight and I did go through all of them pretty good with a strong light and never found one. It wouldn't bother me if I did, since I load 9mm light anyway. Just a soft shooting target load.
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I've got around 300ish sorted cases sitting on my basement coffee table and 12 of them are stepped. This is after filtering out all of the WIN, FC, RP, etc. cases, so they're not 4% of all cases, but I bet they're at least 0.1% (which is a lot when you're talking thousands of rounds).
 
Etruett said:
The "stepped" brass must be pretty rare. I've never seen one in 40 years of loading, but of course never looked for one. Just finished tumbling about 1500 cases tonight and I did go through all of them pretty good with a strong light and never found one. It wouldn't bother me if I did, since I load 9mm light anyway. Just a soft shooting target load.
Click to expand...

I have a lot of Perfecta?? Brass like that. It came from freedom munitions.
 
I've seen quite a few stepped cases, most recently were Maxtech headstamps. (I pick up a lot of range brass). I've even seen some boxer primed zinc plated steel cases, with internal step, headstamp "Pobjeda". The only reason I picked those up is because they looked like nickel at first.

One problem with the internal step is sizing them. True 9mm case profile is tapered, but carbide sizing dies only have the carbide ring which doesn't put a true tapered profile on the case, it ends up squeezing down the diameter smaller at the base than needed, and a thicker brass profile in that area makes it much harder to size. I had a problem with my Dillon sizing die actually shaving a small amount of brass off of the stepped cases (which is how I first learned about stepped cases). The only true tapered sizing dies that I am aware of are steel and not carbide, so lube is needed. I suppose there are dies for commercial use that are full length carbide instead of just carbide rings.
 
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