First time with 9mm Major!

[kbrview]

This happen to me Saturday at a match. Suppose to be once fired brass - don't reload after I shoot them once. Let them lay. Gun is ok - no damage to it. First one ever - First one of 1100 all loaded with same bullet, powder, primer, & OAL. Guess I can blame it on the brass.

 

[kz45]

Do you mark your brass? that way people know not to use it

 

[leeshall]

What pistol was this fired in? Something without a fully supported chamber. Glock or what??

 

[kbrview]

No on marking.
Fully supported Trubor.

 

[Sin-ster]

What pistol was this fired in? Something without a fully supported chamber. Glock or what??

9mm Major would have been a lot uglier than that in an unsupported chamber.

What's the headstamp on that brass? WWB, S&B, Prvi?

 

[kcinnick]

Looks like "WIN"

 

[leeshall]

Did you use a good strong taper crimp? The 9mm gets "angry" when a bullet telescopes into the case. Pressures skyrocket. Is the rest of the 1100 the same brass as this or is it mixed brass? 9mm brass casewalls vary quite a bit and this case might not have been crimped quite tight enough to prevent bullet movement.
What's the complete recipe for this load?

 

[Sin-ster]

Looks like "WIN"

Yep, can sorta see it now that I'm at a computer on not on my phone.

As leeshall pointed out, case thickness (and all of the factors it can effect) varies more than you'd imagine between different manufacturers. So too does the actual "strength" of the brass. Winchester is soft by all accounts; if you shoot a lot of white box, you've almost certainly gotten a cartridge where the bullet was seated at an odd angle and peeled the brass almost all the way back to the rim. If you recover a lot of it from the range, you'll notice how easily it can be deformed as well.

I've been doing a lot of reading on 9mm Major lately (out of curiosity), and there's several headstamps that experienced loaders tend to avoid for one reason or another. WWB is "borderline" in many folks opinions, based on experiences similar to your own.

If you are using mixed brass, you might want to think about separating it and developing a load specific to each headstamp-- or just picking one brand and sticking with it. When you're working with the pressures 9mm Major produces, PSI variations that would be safe in standard 9mm could be a BIG problem as the effect would be exponentially increased.

I'd be interested to know what your specific load data is as well, for the sake of reference.

 

[deltaphisig]

It could be the photo, but the primer does not appear to be excessively flattened. I would chalk it up to bad brass.

 

[kbrview]

Yes on the tight taper crimp
All mixed headstamp brass.
Going to start sorting through the brass and seperate brands.
All loads have come in around the 170PF mark.

 

[nickatnite]

Case and point as to why if you are gonna load for a major caliber, just bite the bullet and load 38 super instead of tying to make a major caliber out of 9mm...

 

[BayouSlide]

Case and point as to why if you are gonna load for a major caliber, just bite the bullet and load 38 super instead of tying to make a major caliber out of 9mm...

Brass cost, for one. I wouldn't be afraid of 9mm major but I'd be real careful about where I got once-fired brass and what cases I used.

Looks like a classic head separation, i.e. weak brass at the case head web.

 

[BayouSlide]

I'd feel comfortable in concluding that more 9mm major is being used successfully today in Open division competition than every before. That said, the realization that one is always right on the edge of the envelope in 9mm major makes it more suited to anal-retentive than close-enough-for-government work type-personalities...a 100 percent A+ reloading game and attention to details is the minimum price of admission.

If I decided to go Open, I would probably go 9mm major because of brass cost.

 

[kbrview]

Thanks for the all the input.
9major was choosen for brass cost and a deal came up for a good gun at a great price that could not pass up.
For sure I will keep on eye on my brass, seperate and try to shoot all one brand.

 

[troy_mclure]

also look for the glock "smile" or bulge on the brass before you resize. if it has it, just toss it. it will weaken the area that blew out in your case..

 

[noylj]

Looks like an over-charge of powder to me. Classic error.

 

[dmh]

If you haven't yet avoid case rolling 9major. Case rolling work hardens the brass and can cause exactly what you see. It's not a double charge, the powder won't fit in the case and most 9 major powders fill the case anyway. Get a Lee undersize sizing die, and avoid range brass. Get it from a good source like a commercial place like Black Hills. Too many people use it successfully for it to not work well, but 38 super is definitely more forgiving. Leaving 9 brass lie there or snagging super and reusing it is a financially even equation. I've gone 9 because I don't pick up brass now, it's not the cost difference, just the time and aggravation of picking it up.

 

[dmh]

BTW, the primer does look fine. It's not a pressure issue but learn to look for that in load developent. It can save you and your gun big time. What powder are you using and what is your OAL for discussion purposes?

 

[uscbigdawg]

- So...take a look at loading long (if you're not doing this already) and consider dropping the pf down to say 168. Don't want to lose your cushion, but also would rather you be at 170 than 172 if you happy to throw heavy on the powder. You can make up for the gas volume "loss" for the compensator by dropping the bullet weight down if you feel you're not getting enough gas in the compensator.

- Look at having the brass processed prior to reloading. For instance, I roll size all my brass on a Case Pro and it's extended brass life in all the rounds I use it for (9mm, 38 Super and 40).

- Lastly, part of the whole reason of shooting 9 Major is to shoot and leave it for brass cost. So...either you can do that or rechamber the gun (not hard to do).

38 Super brass is not that expensive and certainly cheaper than 38 SuperComp. All my open guns are chambered in 38 Super for simplicity and better feeding. On my Rusty Kidd Viper, I run it at 174 PF because it's just happier there and guarantee I'm not losing anything on time. On the new Freedom Gunworks "experimental" I'm running it right now at 168 PF and it's scary flat and fast cycling. Besides...38 Super is good enough for that Max guy.

Back on topic. This was a brass issue and not a gun or reloading issue. I think you've already got the solution. Shoot it and leave it. I shoot with Jojo Vidanes a lot and no one shoots more and builds more 9 Major guns likely than him since he was one of the big proponents to USPSA for 9 Major and he'll be the first to say. Load it, shoot it and leave it.

Rich

 

[kbrview]

Have since changed down to 115 bullets. Added more powder, at 1.165.
Sort all the brass ahead of time. My last batch I know is once fired. For sure paying more attention to the brass before I use it.
Shooting at 170 PF. Hits hard in the hand, but seems to shoot flatter than my 124 bullet loads.
Going on 800 with new load.
Will put some more through it Saturday, will see.

Thanks for the input and advice.