Questions about brass that is carrying headstamps alien to me.

[lrrifleman]

Greetings!

I'm in the process of sorting my 9mm brass for an upcoming casting and reloading marathon. I'm sorting my brass as to: known/common, military (requiring some case work), less common for lost brass matches, and undesirable.

I have come across across some headstamps that I don't have firsthand knowledge of, and I would welcome your opinion. These headstamps include:
Aquila, CBC, Perfecta, Belom, Hotshot, USA, A USA, Herters

What looks like clandestine headstamp and foreign military will probably be in the undesirable pile.

As always, I appreciate your help!

 

[Model19man]

CBC I see a lot of in 38 Special. Never heard of the rest of those. I would just toss them if you don't have 50 the same.

 

[OKFC05]

Aguila is Mexican, Herters is a US company (brass made in Sweden), CBC is Brazil.

Suggest you check this listing: cartridgecollectors.org/headstamp-codes/

 

[AlHunt]

I seem to recall all but the Belom head stamp. For some reason the CBC conjures up memories of tight primer pockets.

 

[DWalt]

What is your concern? So long as they all use boxer primers, all should be OK. Perfecta used to be WalMart's house brand. I think Herter's was Bass Pro Shop's house brand.

 

[Alk8944]

There are several sources for some of these:
Aquila; Made in Mexico. The plant was originally built by Remington

CBC; Made n Brazil

Perfecta; This is a brand name of Fiocchi, generally seen from Walmart

Belom; Serbian, questionable quality

Hotshot; No idea, have never seen this
USA; Could be Amerc, generally considered as junk

A USA,?
Herters; An old American company name. This could be either quite old or it could be recent as the name is now used by Cabelas/Bass Pro Shops

If you intend to reload then just toss any odds and ends and buy new brass from Starline or others, or "once fired" brass from a single source such as Winchester, Federal, CCI, etc. Unless you know what you are finding don't use "range pick-up" brass, it is false economy.

In the future just do a "Google" search for headstamps. Enter the headstamp description followed by "headstamp" and you will find nearly any headstamp information you need. Example, I found some brass with a headstamp of simply ***** (5 five pointed stars). Discovered this is a headstamp used by Aquila for ammunition used strictly in-house by them! It was found at a California crime scene.

 

[mtgianni]

I would sort and use WW, RP and Federal with Hornaday as a maybe for my usable brass. Keep the misc stuff all in one spot and shoot it where you are not really concerned about picking it back up or finding it.

 

[hogblue]

The current Herters is Bass Pro/Cabelas and is manufactured by Winchester

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Since I have morphed into a 9 shooter, been shooting a fair amount of Herters 9mm.
A while back Winchester had a recall which included some Herters 9mm.
The Herters shoots fine in several Guns, no complaints here.

 

[nksmfamjp]

My experience…..

Aquila - not enough to be sure
CBC - gtg
Perfecta - gtg
Belom - no idea
Hotshot - no idea
USA - no idea
A USA - ridiculously bad
Herters - not enough to be sure

 

[lrrifleman]

I would sort and use WW, RP and Federal with Hornaday as a maybe for my usable brass. Keep the misc stuff all in one spot and shoot it where you are not really concerned about picking it back up or finding it.

This is exactly what I plan to do. I have noticed a particular headstamp case that has a shelf in the case, which is definitely headed for the trash bucket. I'm currently segregating by commercial headstamp and military so I can attack primer pocket crimps.

 

[DWalt]

For those interested, this is perhaps the most comprehensive listing of 9mm headstamps on the planet Earth. https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.../a6850e667a032fbe8fdec58918279c61c08a46fc.pdf

 

[Engineer1911]

QUOTE:

Aquila, CBC, Perfecta, Belom, A USA, Herters, In my experience reloading at a shooting range, this brass has tight primer pockets that need to be swaged for easier loading. These cases are easier to reload than Hornady 9 MM brass.

Hotshot, unknown

USA, acceptable brass with loadable primer pockets


a particular headstamp case that has a shelf in the case, This brass cannot be loaded on a Dillon progressive press, press locks up at powder station.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Any recent production Herters handgun ammo is the exact same as WWB and run on the same machines with a different head stamp die. Older pre-merger Herters was S&B.

CBC is Magtech, and they also now own S&B, so there may be some cross pollination.

 

[Sevens]

A USA is Armscor, it is perfectly serviceable middle of the road brass.

 

[Mark Pilcher]

Just another free service I provide: Headstamp Codes – International Ammunition Association

 

[mtgianni]

A USA is Armscor, it is perfectly serviceable middle of the road brass.

Don't confuse it with A merc, which is terrible stuff.

 

[AlHunt]

This is exactly what I plan to do. I have noticed a particular headstamp case that has a shelf in the case, which is definitely headed for the trash bucket. I'm currently segregating by commercial headstamp and military so I can attack primer pocket crimps.

That stoopid stuff. Here's a Cast Boolits thread from 8 years ago that has a little info an a lot of speculation:
SAFETY ALERT!! ........Maxxtech 9mm Brass

I found one, once. It lives on a shelf above my bench to remind me how important it is to inspect my brass.

 

[BB57]

I’ve been reloading for 46 years now and 9mm is pretty straight forward. With the very rare Eastern European exception, 9x19mm brass is all pretty standard (unlike .32 ACP/7.65 Browning, .22 Hornet and a few others).

If it is brass, boxer primed, isn’t crimped, and does not have an internal sleeve just throw it in a pile and load it, unless you want match accuracy or self defense loads.

Military brass is frequently crimped and you will want to swage the primer pocket to remove the crimp. Once that one time process is done it’s good to go as well.

I generally don’t reload steel case or aluminum brass.

——

For match loads I will sort by head stamp or buy sorted certified once fired brass.

For self defense loads I will load into new brass or processed once fired brass.

 

[Rule3]

Just another free service I provide: Headstamp Codes – International Ammunition Association

The best headstamp guide is the AFTE (not the ATF)

click here
AFTE


AFTE