Anybody see 9mm brass like this?

N

Nathan

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I'm wondering what this ridge is for? I wonder why they would put this stress concentration in there?

Seems to be only FM brass. I have no idea where I got FM?
 
a few of them

The step or as you call it ridge is a positive bullet stop. The base of the bullet rests on it to prevent the bullet from being seated deeper during feeding. Notice the Aquilla brand ammo has an external cannelure to do the same thing.
 
Yep, and when those cases separate they do it at the top of the ridge and they are a PIA to get out of a chamber. It will ruin a range day.

The FM/Aqilla and Tulammo are the two brass types that I try to weed out. When I do my case prep those go in the trash.
 
I picked up some of those at the range that were only once fired and they have a bright line around the case right at the step.
They are going in my scrap bucket.

The ones I picked up were Ammo-Land brand.
 
I think FM = Freedom Munitions. They used to (and may still) use Ammoland headstamped brass with the same inside step/ridge/belt/liner/whatever.

I got a few Ammoland cases in some mixed headstamp once-fired brass that I bought a couple of years ago. I was concerned with the reduced internal volume for reloading. I wasn't going to work up a new load just for that particular brass, so I chunked 'em.
 
Picked some of those at the range the other day, once fired. I didn't notice until I got home with them and was de-capping for cleaning. They went into the scrap bucket. I think I had 20 or so out of 1,000
 
Since I'm a brass whore at the ranges, I've managed to pick up quite a few of these. When I first saw them I was concerned that they had less case capacity and would lead to over pressure rounds. I did a test and they hold the same amount of powder and I also did a water test and they hold the same CC.

I've not had any issues loading them and can't tell any difference when they are being shot.
 
I have reloaded those before, I can't remember the brand, but I ran into it on some import 147 grain ammo before, It didn't cause me any issues.
 
I would not hesitate to reload those for a second. An individual case can seperate any time.....you just have pop it out with a range rod.......just aint that difficult.
 
Well, I've already loaded a bunch. I Maputo them in their own box. If crap, I'll just shoot them up and leave them in the ground!
 
Interesting! Thanks for bringing this up.

I too think they will shoot just fine and you'll be able to reload them again and again.

What load are you using?

And thanks for doing some research for everybody.
 
I'm using titegroup with xtreme 124 gr PRN and CCI 500 primers. 3.6 gr of powder. It is my goto 9mm plinking load.
 
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A light load is much less likely to cause a separation. I expect the rim not only is a bullet stop but may help cut down on case bulging in unsupported chambers. The stress riser at the step won't be an issue when the brass is new, but for reloading at full power or reloading for a particularly loose chamber, it could easily start a separation.
 
I'm running either 4.6 grs of 231/HP-38 or 4.3 grs of Bullseye with various 115 gr plated bullets and CCI #500 primes with a 1.130" COL. I would say that I have loaded some of these cases around a half dozen times without any issues.

I picked up a pound of Tite Group to test with the above.
 
Worc said:
Since I'm a brass whore at the ranges, I've managed to pick up quite a few of these. When I first saw them I was concerned that they had less case capacity and would lead to over pressure rounds. I did a test and they hold the same amount of powder and I also did a water test and they hold the same CC.

I've not had any issues loading them and can't tell any difference when they are being shot.
Click to expand...

My experience was different than yours. I have a large batch of FC 9mm brass that I normally load. It's average internal volume is 13.9 gr of water. The Ammoload brass that I got in a batch of mixed headstamps averaged 12.8 gr. That's why I was concerned about the internal volume and chose to junk the relatively few cases I had rather than working up a new load for them.

Edit: All were resized before measuring.

Edit #2: Corrected unit of measure from cc to grains.
 
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My experience was different than yours. I have a large batch of FC 9mm brass that I normally load. It's average internal volume is 13.9 cc of water. The Ammoload brass that I got in a batch of mixed headstamps averaged 12.8 cc. That's why I was concerned about the internal volume and chose to junk the relatively few cases I had rather than working up a new load for them.

Edit: All were resized before measuring.
Click to expand...

I don't have any around as it's all loaded up currently. The next time I get some I'll double check it. I did a CC test after being resized and they came out the same. I also don't notice any difference shot to shot when they are mixed up in the magazine. I could not even tell you how many pieces of brass I have of these even though I've never bought any.
 
These start up companies, Freedom Munition (FM), AmmoLoad and IMT all have the same stepped case. They are complete junk. Why does anyone think no other ammo company makes their brass like that? They will separate during firing, after reloading, and leave you with a dead gun because of the sleeve stuck in the chamber. It is a PITA to get that sleeve out. A cleaning rod won't do it, one of the shooters at the last USPSA match ended up using a dental pick, because he didn't have a spare gun. It's not like pushing a squib out.
 
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