AMERC brass for reloading?

[BigDog(RE)]

Amerc Brass

I always know when one has slipped into my brass stash. The press will be running smoothly, then suddenly, it sticks. The minute that happens, I know that I have a Amerc brass at the powder drop station. I used to be cheap and would just go ahead and load the cartridge, but now I just pull it and throw it out. I have found that the primers can fall out after they are loaded (happened TWICE to me), and that is just a mess.

To sum it up, amerc is worse then garbage.

 

[Russ5924]

WOW! glad to see you guys like the stuff I have about 100 cases kicking around but only in .38 but can't remember ever loading them Might want to think about getting rid of them

 

[sjstill]

A good buddy bought some A-MERC .223. He got a good deal on it - he thought.
As he was shooting, I looked on the bench by his rifle and there was a just fired case with its primer out of the pocket

I've lost count of the 45ACP I've seen shot and when the brass is swept up, some of the cases are without primers. :barf: Every time I see that stuff on the line, I go the other way....

 

[dogfood]

After resizing and loading .452 dia. lead bullets in their .45 ACP brass, they will not chamber in any of my .45 barrels. None. This is the only brass I have ever found with this problem. If I find this brass at the range, I immediately throw it away ... just so some other unllucky reloader doesn't try to use it.

Side Note: The company that produces AMERC brass/ammuntion is American Ammunition. On our fax machine at work (which is totally non-shooting sports related), we get these unsolicited "hot stock tip" sheets every so often. These appear to be reviews by real stock analysts, but if you read the really fine print at the bottom, you'll see that the company delivering these "reports" is paid big $ to do so. Want to guess whose stock they were pushing last week? You wouldn't believe all of the great things the "analysts" said about the company and their future prospects.

dogfood

 

[Mike Irwin]

"Might want to think about getting rid of them"

You MIGHT want to think about getting rid of them???

How about you stop thinking, and start doing.

You'll be much happier in the long run.

 

[Toney]

Boy them flash holes and primmer are all over the place. yep if you expand enough to start a lead bullet there not chambering

 

[gschwertley]

AMERC brass

As I said above, I think the biggest problem with AMERC brass is that it is so soft. This is why they must make it so thick, and probably also the cause of why the primers fall out as others have mentioned but I have not personally observed.

Yes, this brass is so thick that with bullets seated (after reloading) sometimes it won't chamber. I have loaded .32's in this caliber that wouldn't come close to locking into battery; of course with a smaller caliber this problem is magnified, but other posters above have mentioned this with .45's. Since I use bullets that do not present these problems with other brands of brass, I have to wonder why this problem doesn't occur on first firing? (Or does it for other people?) It makes me wonder if AMERC uses bullets that are slightly undersize in original loading? Surely this wouldn't be the case. The pistol bullets they use look like plated ones to me.

Overly thick brass in the case neck/mouth area is a recipe for disaster. If you shove a loaded round into a chamber and the neck (with bullet seated) is forced into battery, it tends to hold the bullet tighter than the normal bullet pull created by just the bullet being held in place by friction against the brass case. When you fire a round that has the case neck pinched against the bullet by the walls of the chamber, pressures can rise dangerously before the bullet is finally released.

I have found AMERC .223 fired cases at the range before that were only the rear two-thirds of the case was present. These were ruptures that occurred during firing. I'm not sure what happened to cause this, but it certainly doesn't inspire confidence. Soft brass again?

 

[redbeard55]

Amerc brass

Worst brass I ever reloaded. Constant jamming with my 45 ACP. Might be able to make do for revolver, although I kept breaking my decapper pins because the brass wasn't drilled dead center.

 

[cma g21]

Most of the time, when you read negative comments on a product you might figure it's not as bad as people say.

Not so with A-MERC. If anything, people are being kind.

IMHO, A-MERC is the worst brass made by any manufacturer!

 

[Husky]

Thank you to everyone who crushes this brass so no one can try to reload it! 45 auto was very difficult to put through the factory crimp die- tried it once and only once.

 

[Rabbi]

I found about twenty-five rounds at the range and because I had never seen or heard of it, I seperated them. In the sizing/decapping die, almost every round "felt" different than the others. I mic'd a few and the specs were all over the place. Baggy primer pockets, too.

It is pure garbage. Crush and recycle. I would hate for even ONE piece to somehow sneak back into the reloading brotherhood's pipeline.

Regards,

Rabbi

 

[tjhands]

Exactly how I feel. When I find an AMERC brass, I think, "this must have gotten past someone." No true lover of reloading would ever let this junk get into circulation. Those who DO should be tried and hanged, posthaste.

 

[RERICK]

Don't sugar coat it guys just say how you really feel about amerc brass

 

[45/70 GOVT.]

I just finished preping about 500 45acp cases and noticed one batch had a bunch of that junk in it. I can relate to alot of what has already been said.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Had A Merc kill a couple decapping dies with .40 casings that had the primer holes drilled out of center (I kept one for pics...)

In .45 the stuff will size and then bulge when you seat a bullet causing the dreaded A Merc death jam where the gun locks up just short of going into battery.

Man, I hate that stuff.

 

[Sevens]

I just did the unthinkable---!

I bumped a 1,329 day old thread. I know TFL doesn't like that, but I think the H&R forum runs differently from the rest of the site.

This thread is good info to be shared on any day (or every day.)

I've burnt thousands of calories over a couple years on my posts with the subject of A-Merc brass. You'd have to run a search to see some of my better efforts.

Bottom line is this-- this thread makes a great point for anyone who isn't aware of this stuff and chucking it up to the top of the discussion is a GOOD idea, IMO.

If the mods hate my idea, they'll tie a chain to it and drown it. If they do, I suppose we should wait a month and then START ANOTHER ONE, and pass the word!

There's nothing in the world of reloading that sucks to the level that A-Merc sucks.

 

[Mal H]

Sevens we don't mind at all when an ancient thread is resurrected for a good cause. There is no better cause than to warn the recent spate of new reloaders about A-Merc brass. If it saves just one decapping pin, or even an entire handgun, it's worth it.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Won't someone please think of the decapping pins!???!!!??!