WTH! Berdan primed 9mm snuck into my last batch!

[Helocat]

9mm Roll forming at 5-6k per hr and case prep press running at 2500 CPH and "wham'O"press stops with the read out "Case obstruction or Yellow Sensor". Well yellow sensor means the de-primer sensor has been tripped, or pressed upward. Sure enough the decapping pin is bent from hitting something solid in the case. Check the current case, no obstructions but the primer is still there. Ok last case. Check that one and find this little gem.

WTH!!!! 9mm Berdan primer from 1975. Great. I bought a bunch of range pick ups from a old timer that used to be a range officer at Tri County and said he has been picking up brass for years, then sticking it in his storage unit. Well he cleaned out his storage unit and sold me a metric crap ton of brass. (I may have gone overboard, talking buckets measured by a bathroom scale) He had bags of military, ok fine with that all sorted and I can auto swage the primer pockets. But a freeken 9mm Berdan case from 1975!! Sheesh. Did not see that coming. Been….well never seen in person a Berdan 9mm. Plenty of .308 and a few 5.56. So far two have showed up. Looking into the 2nd one, you can see the small middle dent where the decapping pin hit then pushed up and trigged the press to auto stop. No so lucky on the fist one I had the pin set much tighter. Great now I have to run the rest of these with the pin set light (thus any tight primers will also trigger it to stop)

Finding POF as Pakistan Ordnance Factories. Thanks Pakistan.

You guys run into these little 9mm sweetharts?

9mm Berdan Primers

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[DizzyJ]

Whoah! Wound not have expected that from the looks of the case and primer!

 

[po18guy]

Maybe not that exact headstamp, but Berdan was formerly about the only primer in many European and some Asian manufacturers' ammo. The case may be slightly more expensive to produce, but the primers are far simpler (cheaper) to make. Oddly, the Berdan primer was an American development while the Boxer primer was from Europe (UK).

But how to sort? Sometimes, the cost of cheap brass comes back to bite.

 

[nammac]

Wow, been reloading since the mid 1980's, lots of mixed range brass over the years, never seen a Berden primed 9mm…. Always worth a quick inspection before beginning processing.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Local Loader]

All I can says is, neat.

 

[edzz]

What po18guy said. With over 40 years of reloading 9mm and being a brass scrounge I've defiantly seen my share of berdan 9mm. Very surprised this came as a surprise.

 

[Helocat]

But how to sort? Sometimes, the cost of cheap brass comes back to bite.

As for how to start, 100% why I process brass of line from reloading. (Also to catch the devils caliber .380 that sneaks into 9mm and the occasional .38 Supper, see that stuff all the time) With the de capping pin set light the cost is just a little more time as the press cycles though the batch. I have flagged that "bucket" and will just keep an eye on it. The press is fully automated so it will pause when it hits another so I can sort it and put it in my "WTH" hall of fame bucket of weird stuff that shows up like .45 GAP. (Buckets of .45 ACP always yields a few doz. GAP) I see enough 9mm Berdan it will go in the scrap bucket.

But ya if I was rocking brass prep manually sorting would be a bugger. As for the cost, still very low. Just nice having deep stock of 9mm so I can run brass prep less and always have prepped brass ready to go year round.

I am just surprised to see this. Should not be I guess considering the source of the brass. Almost all of my brass is my own and late range pickups so never ran into this. PITA but also kind of cool seeing some old school stuff. Sheesh stuff was made when I was 4. Meh I have .270 reloads from my grandfather was I was -12 yrs old so why note.

 

[Helocat]

Wow, been reloading since the mid 1980's, lots of mixed range brass over the years, never seen a Berden primed 9mm…. Always worth a quick inspection before beginning processing.

Thanks for sharing

Well inspected as in looked at a few, but when your scooping brass with a horse feed scoop to load into the brass processing press, looking at each one is not really something I can do reasonably!

What po18guy said. With over 40 years of reloading 9mm and being a brass scrounge I've defiantly seen my share of berdan 9mm. Very surprised this came as a surprise.

I have been reloading for just over 30yrs. My first ones. But then again most of my brass has always been my own and late model/days range pick ups. As in CVSC on the days after LEO does training there. (Thanks LEO!)

 

[Certaindeaf]

I've been popping off some corrosive berdan primed Egyptian 9mm lately just to get rid if it. Probably 30% no fire first strike. I just leave em lie. Cruddy little things.

 

[Mikej]

There's another advantage to doing single stage, I guess. After a few K of 9mm you get to know what different brasses feel like. I'd certainly know to stop pulling the handle at Berdan.

 

[jjfitch]

Yes, Berdan means a stoppage when running a progressive press. But I once was sizing a bunch of 308's on a Lyman using Lyman dies. The punch pierced the case and punched the primer out. I didn't discover this until I began priming the cases, the primers fell out!

Nothing makes for a long ride home after a multi gun match like a 9X18 reload mixed in with your 9X19's! 9mm head spaces on the rim and some pistols will hold the 9MM "shorts" be the extractor allowing firing. Except in the PCC 9mm (AR carbine). When going into battery the bolt has to slam forward so the extractor cams over the 9mm rim. A 9X18 comes up short and allows the round to enter the chamber but will not fire due to the primer being too far forward for a firing pin strike.

Case preparation/inspection is definitely a separate operation to the actual reloading process.

Smiles,

 

[Catfishmoon]

As others have mentioned when decapping 9mm, I can feel the difference in the pull of the handle on my Redding turret press if a .380 acp case (pull is easier) or a Berdan primer got mixed in.

 

[po18guy]

What po18guy said. With over 40 years of reloading 9mm and being a brass scrounge I've defiantly seen my share of berdan 9mm. Very surprised this came as a surprise.

There seems to be a western (non-Russian/Chinese) move toward boxer primed cases. It is a selling feature, since the US reloads so much. After Blazer aluminum, notice that you can now buy "Blazer Brass"? There are other reasons, but I figure these play into it.

 

[ma96782]

If it will make you feel any better.


Though.....Hillary going to prison would make me absolutely ecstatic.

Aloha, Mark

 

[41mag]

...yer lucky that 9mm didn't blow the lungs clear outta that machine....

 

[Helocat]

...yer lucky that 9mm didn't blow the lungs clear outta that machine....

SO true. I escaped that one

 

[P7M13]

Vision system....

 

[CLT65]

We just got done sorting a bunch of 9mm brass, found a few berdan pieces mixed in: several Egyptian, a couple Finnish, one from Argentina, one from Yugoslavia , and a WWI German.

 

[Helocat]

We just got done sorting a bunch of 9mm brass, found a few berdan pieces mixed in: several Egyptian, a couple Finnish, one from Argentina, one from Yugoslavia , and a WWI German.

View attachment 1223838

That box of 9mm I bought from your son over a year ago fortunately did not have any of that in there back when I processed them!

No idea where your picking up brass for that "assortment" but yikes.

 

[CLT65]

No idea where your picking up brass for that "assortment" but yikes.

We're processing this for someone else; no idea where it originally came form. You never know what you'll find. Sometimes it's all pretty good, sometimes it looks like floor sweepings with lots of scrap to sort out.

Technically it's my son's little side business but I'm helping him with the sorting especially, trying to teach him some attention to detail.