[Steve H]

Does anyone know what the tolarance is in .45 acp wall thickness? I was just checking some Speer nickel plated brass (the stuff that I have had cracking problems with) and found that one case goes from .003" one one side to .010" on the other side................

[JDGray]

I'd go for .010 as standard. .003:eek:

[Walkalong]

.010 is in line .003 is BAD news. If it in in the nieghborhood of .010 to .012 + or - all around you will be fine.

.003 thick on one side is bad brass. I would contact Speer if this is new brass. They would probably appreciate a call if it is loaded ammo.

[Steve H]

.003 is BAD news

That's what I thought. Just an FYI................if anyone comes across Speer Nickel plated brass that was from ammo batch M17M32 (on the Gold Dot box) watch your brass if you are going to reload it. I have had several thin cases from that batch.

[Steve H]

I would contact Speer if this is new brass. They would probably appreciate a call if it is loaded ammo.


I did once about the crack and I also mentioned the thin walls to them, they say the problem was in their platting process. I call back today and also emailed them after I miked the latest bad stuff I found. I haven't heard back from them yet.

[Walkalong]

I did once about the crack and I also mentioned the thin walls to them, they say the problem was in their platting process.

Interesting. The plating will not "thin" the case walls. It starts out as bad brass. I am sure they will fix the problem, but admitting the real problem would be nice of them.:)

[Steve H]

Interesting. The plating will not "thin" the case walls. It starts out as bad brass.

My thoughts are the exact same. They seem to be more concerned about how brittle the brass is than how thin it is.

[g56]

Plating won't make it thinner, but it does make it more brittle, nickel brass is a pain in the arse, it cracks easily, too easily, it's a poor choice for reloading.