Careful: 9mmBr.C. brass by S&B

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  • jdhaines

    Master
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    4   0   0
    Feb 24, 2009
    1,550
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    Toledo, OH
    I was just watching some netflix and reloading and ran into a strange problem. The 9mm case I was trying to load kept locking up in my RCBS lockout die. I checked the powder and it was right on 3.4gr which is where it should be. I re-dropped the powder and it did the same thing. I rechecked my lockout die with a different normal case, empty case, and double charge and it was working perfectly. I rechecked the case and it had a fresh primer and was marked 9mm. Upon holding it up next to another case, I realized it was too short which was throwing off my lockout die.

    Upon further inspection I realized it is actually marked 9mmBr.C. After some googling apparently Br.C. stands for Browning Corto or Court in Italian or French. It's apparently 380 although normally if I get a stray .380 round in my 9mm brass it usually jumps through my shellplate (Hornady Lock-N-Load) when I go to prime. It was all very strange. Now the bastard ate one of my primers and I don't shoot .380. Just wanted to post this in case anyone hadn't heard of this. It was a first for me.

    2011-11-06_00-11-40_828.jpg
     

    Leo

    Grandmaster
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    30   0   0
    Mar 3, 2011
    9,733
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    Lafayette, IN
    I have had the same thing, a .380 slipped into the batch. Easy to have happen. I can usually catch it before I prime because the .380 has no friction on the sizer die, so the handle feels like there is no case. Sometimes a cracked case will feel really light also. I know it is a bummer, but at least you did not have too big of problem.

    BTW, I have recovered primers by very gently depriming the case. Since it can pop, be sure it is on a press that does not have any other primers or powder anywhere around. (like 10 feet away) If it does not slip right back out, you may as well stop, as any force will likely pop the primer anyway. Good Luck
     

    poisonspyder

    Marksman
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    9   0   0
    Jan 22, 2011
    277
    18
    Durango
    it is most likely a 9x18 case not a 9x19 case. it is a very popular russian caliber and looks very similar to a 380 but it is not.
     

    45fan

    Master
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    1   0   0
    Apr 20, 2011
    2,388
    48
    East central IN
    I didn't realize that it was .380....hmmm.

    Time to go combine the bags!!

    Happy day for you!!

    When I first stepped into the 380 world, S&B was about the only inexpensive ammo I could find (if I could find any at all). Just about all of my 380 brass is stamped 9mm BrC, but my 12 year old is very effective at sorting the headstamps for me before running through the tumbler, and checking his work after they are clean.
     

    ljk

    Master
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    30   0   0
    May 21, 2013
    2,690
    149
    Bring back this old thread.

    Almost made a squib round today. All my brass are processed on a Lee Breechlock single stage for resizing and de-capping. Then wet tumbled. I check the head stamp after that to pick out the 380 brass.

    Till today, I've never even heard of 9mm B.R. at all.

    I was loading on my Dillon 550B, I kinda sorta felt the case is a bit small when I picked it up to feed the press, flipped over I did see 9mm.

    I went ahead charged the powder then moved to 3 station for seating the bullet. My instinct kicked in and I stopped, pull the case out and dumped the powder out on my digital scale.

    I was loading 3.9gr of Hogdon CFE Pistol for 147gr Berry's 9mm subsonic.

    It showed on 1.7gr of powder was in the case, because the shorter case length.

    I went back checked all the rounded I loaded, 500+ of them, no other 9mm B.R. was found.

    "When in doubt, throw it out", never hesitant to stop and double check.

    Stay Safe.
     

    bobjones223

    Master
    Rating - 98.2%
    55   1   0
    Mar 3, 2011
    1,780
    47
    Noblesville, IN
    I was just watching some netflix and reloading and ran into a strange problem. The 9mm case I was trying to load kept locking up in my RCBS lockout die. I checked the powder and it was right on 3.4gr which is where it should be. I re-dropped the powder and it did the same thing. I rechecked my lockout die with a different normal case, empty case, and double charge and it was working perfectly. I rechecked the case and it had a fresh primer and was marked 9mm. Upon holding it up next to another case, I realized it was too short which was throwing off my lockout die.

    Upon further inspection I realized it is actually marked 9mmBr.C. After some googling apparently Br.C. stands for Browning Corto or Court in Italian or French. It's apparently 380 although normally if I get a stray .380 round in my 9mm brass it usually jumps through my shellplate (Hornady Lock-N-Load) when I go to prime. It was all very strange. Now the bastard ate one of my primers and I don't shoot .380. Just wanted to post this in case anyone hadn't heard of this. It was a first for me.

    2011-11-06_00-11-40_828.jpg

    Yah....I was policing my range and found some that looked like 9mm. I picked it up and my 6th sense started to tingle....

    Held it next to a 9mm that looked right and it was just a tad short...didn't look as short at a .380 though....I just threw them in the tall weeds never to be seen again.
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
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    Btown Rural
    Reinforces my time sucking case gaging of every 9mm round loaded. Always done this as a routine to catch "Glock bulge," but it also caught the only .380 that made it through the Dillon 650 loading process.
     

    SmileDocHill

    Grandmaster
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    61   0   0
    Mar 26, 2009
    6,159
    113
    Westfield
    I just found a "9 mm Br. C." in a bag full of loose 9 mm given to me by my brother-in-law. what would happen if I accidentally tried to run this through my 9 mm handgun? Fortunately I caught it but what kind of disaster did I just prevent ?
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
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    Btown Rural
    :dunno: I just loaded a 9mm load into a stray .380 case what snuck through the 650xl. I caught it at the case gage check, but if it was missed there would have caught it on the shorter length when doing the primer/OAL MTM box check.
     

    chezuki

    Human
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    48   0   0
    Mar 18, 2009
    34,151
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    Behind Bars
    My 650 usually pops .380 brass out of the shell plate when attempting to prime. On the rare occasions on makes it through, it's pretty obvious when I place the bullet.

    Had a 38 super sneak in once and I got to take my decapping/sizing die apart to remove it.
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    Feb 11, 2008
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    Wouldn't it be the same OAL since the bullet would have been seated with the same die and setting?

    You may be right. I can't find it to verify in the "to pull" bucket. I case gage everything though for the glock bulge. .380 falls deep into the gage.

    My 650 usually pops .380 brass out of the shell plate when attempting to prime. On the rare occasions on makes it through, it's pretty obvious when I place the bullet.

    Had a 38 super sneak in once and I got to take my decapping/sizing die apart to remove it.

    .38 Supers go right through my lee dies, a little tougher to push the handle, if I notice. I catch them at the bullet seating die with their huge bell.:xmad: I try to catch them before I kill them at the powder drop. They have a lot of value to the open division guys that shoot them.
     

    LarryC

    Master
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    1   0   0
    Jun 18, 2012
    2,418
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    Frankfort
    Son and I have an Astra 400 semi-auto, it has the barrel marked 9mm Largo and 38. I have read that 38 super is too hot for the gun, but that was after I had fired a few hundred round through it! History was that I purchased a couple boxes of Military surplus 9mm Largo when I bought the gun. I then chrono'd the Largo, weighed the bullets, and compared them to the 38 super velocity and bullet weight. The only difference was .010 in case length. As Super brass is far more available we purchased a few hundred cases and bullets and reloaded. Actually think the SAMI spec on pressure 36500 for the super found Info (no Saami spec. for the Largo but found estimate of 33000 was close (we do not load to near the max). I did find out (later) that some of the Largo was loaded hotter than the original Italian cartridges. May be that is what I purchased. Anyhow the gun functions perfectly with the Super loads so with the history of the rounds I have shot I will continue to use them instead of trying to find 9 largo.
     
    Last edited:

    spencer rifle

    Grandmaster
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    66   0   0
    Apr 15, 2011
    6,544
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    Scrounging brass
    My problem (in addition to .380 and sticky S&B primers) was 9mm Bergmann (that's how it was marked, but it is after all 9mm Largo). Didn't quite get through the process, since the handle didn't pull down as far as usual, but it had me puzzled for a bit. Saw a very few early on in my reloading career, and haven't seen any since.
     
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