Mixed .45acp Range Brass

[Skgreen]

I’m with you
I don’t get people saying they’ll toss SPP brass
.

If I had to pay for them, perhaps I'd modify my behavior,,,,

Unless I find a spot at the range where someone brought a box or 2 of Blazer SPP to shoot, LPP is pretty much all the 45acp I ever find,,,

Come to think of it,,,,,,,,, I haven't found any 'concentration' of SPP 45 since the last time I shot some Blazer I had bought on sale,,,

Did have just over 100 SPP at one time. (Counting the Blazer I bought) Loaded 'em up and gave 'em to my Dad to shoot out at his farm.

Since then, the 'few couple oddball' SPP's that I do run across are easy to ~leave behind~. Got more than enough LPP to meet my needs.

 

[uncle.45]

Thanks 243wxb!
Unfortunately that is what I needed to know.
I do insist on consistent accuracy, so sorting by headstamp will continue to be part of my reloading procedure.
I'm glad I bought 1,000 new CBC brass when I got the SDB. I still have 500 of them stashed for when the primer pockets get loose or the neck tension gets low on the 500 I am using now.
Thanks again. That's valuable info.

 

[Load Master]

Yep, I don't like when this happens. I was lucky. No bang!

 

[uncle.45]

Skgreen,
Around here a lot of people shoot the Federal SP ammo from Wally World.
I get a steady supply of them, and load/shoot them a lot.
It's good consistent brass.
Too bad it causes the need for another sorting step though.

 

[uncle.45]

Load Master,
I am glad there was no bang!
My sorting procedure is pretty thorough, but every now and then I do have to stop to remove an SP case while I'm loading LPs.
Fortunately there is never a boom.

 

[lightman]

I've pretty much always loaded mixed brass in handguns. Both in 45's and several others. The only times that I don't are for max or near max loads used for hunting ammo. If I was good enough to compete at the National level I would sort them, but I'm not! The mixed primer sizes are a PITA, but I can't tell any difference in the way they shoot. So far, I'm not finding a large amount of the small primer brass.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I never leave the range without thoroughly searching for useable brass -- everything I load is mixed brass.

 

[Skgreen]

Skgreen,
Around here a lot of people shoot the Federal SP ammo from Wally World.
I get a steady supply of them, and load/shoot them a lot.
It's good consistent brass.
Too bad it causes the need for another sorting step though.

I'd certainly do the exact same thing if that was the case at my range, but, for whatever reason, it just doesn't seem to be.

Location/availability does make a difference. (Apparently, a big one!) I often take for granted that Houston has boatloads of each.

Lots of 'Sporting Goods' stores here that sell ammo/firearms as well. Our Wally's are 'more often than not' void of all firearms, and the few that do have a very limited supply of long guns.

Ammo at Wally's is `generally available' but the big Sporting Goods chain stores have a far better selection, more inventory, and in many cases, as good a price, with certain sale items priced even lower.

All on shelves / grab and go. No need to wait for someone with a key to 'unlock' anything if you want centerfire or 22

I certainly don't believe 45 SPP brass is 'worthless'. I just don't have access to enough of it to make it worthwhile.

 

[Skgreen]

I am sure if I was good enough that all the same headstamp brass would shoot a wee bit better, but I cannot shoot the difference .

I feel this is probably applicable to a very large majority. (Myself included!!!!!)

I'm certain it makes a difference after you reach a certain level, but folks with that type of skill set are, in the overall scheme of things, few and far between.

 

[1KPerDay]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but as long as we are talking about different primer sizes in 45 acp, I want o ask, are there any other cartridges where manufacturers don't use a consistent primer size?

I just branched out into 10mm, and 38/357 mag will be coming soon. I didn't care for the surprise with 45 acp.

6.5 Creedmoor was originally designed with LRP but by request, Starline is now making SRP 6.5 cases and Lapua also makes them. Apparently 10mm Federal Non Toxic cases use SPP but they are rare (whereas standard 10mm Auto uses LPP). .308 Lapua/Palma cases use SRP rather than LRP, and Hornady also made some SRP .308. Some Buffalo Bore .45-70 and "marlin safety" BP .45-70 cases use SRP. There may be others but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

6.5 Creedmoor was originally designed with LRP but by request, Starline is now making SRP 6.5 cases and Lapua also makes them. Apparently 10mm Federal Non Toxic cases use SPP but they are rare (whereas standard 10mm Auto uses LPP). .308 Lapua/Palma cases use SRP rather than LRP, and Hornady also made some SRP .308. Some Buffalo Bore .45-70 and "marlin safety" BP .45-70 cases use SRP. There may be others but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Thanks. since I've only been shooting 10mm for about a year, and have stuck to Sig brand ammo, since they're loaded warm, I shouldn't have any issue. However, I may get into 6.5C at some point, and will keep an eye open. Appreciate the response 1K.

 

[jmorris]

I'm certain it makes a difference after you reach a certain level,..

Like everything, it depends.

I made it to 5 gun Master in IDPA and even placed 1st MA at Nationals one year and never shot the most accurate loads I had ever developed, in the game.

There are a number of considerations as to ammunition choice though, not just accuracy.

That said, if you are measuring your groups at 7-15 yards in how many inches in diameter they are, sorting by head stamp would only help mentally. Your not going to see the difference on target, that close.

 

[Walkalong]

I haven't found enough SP .45 ACP brass to worry with.

 

[243winxb]

Precision pistol- 50 yards .
The longest brass (trim length) will produce the tighter groups. http://www.bullseyeforum.net
Note that brass gets shorter, the more its fired. Target loads.

I noticed this years ago. Picked up once fired , 50 IMI range brass, that i watched the guy shoot. Reloaded it with my target load. Scores were a few points higner and groups better at 50 yards. Back in the day when eyes were better.

Taking measurement of the IMI brass showed it was longer then all my other brass. Closer to the chamber length. Making it more accurate.

For timed and rapid fire at 25 yards, it doesnt make much difference. The scoring rings are bigger.

 

[lightman]

I have processed a couple of coffee cans of 45 brass, about 2K, since I posted on this thread. I just found about a dozen cases with the flash hole drilled out, close to 1/16th inch. Was this a primer powered load, maybe with a wax or plastic bullet? All of them were WW headstamp, but I don't thing that matters here. Just curious?

 

[hdwhit]

uncle.45 wrote:
CBC is my favorite because of the way it `feels` when sizing, priming, and bullet seating.

I was very happy to hear you say that. I load on a single stage press (always have, probably always will) and I sort my brass because different headstamps "feel" different to me. I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one who gets that sensation.

 

[Charlie98]

I'm too OCD to mix brass... I have to sort my brass, then load all of one headstamp, then another, etc. I do have a bin of mixed headstamp that I load and shoot if the chances of recovering my brass are low (like at an indoor range.)

 

[crackshot258]

I have loaded 15,000 rounds of .45acp on my SDB now.
There are three brands of brass I settled on as my go-to brass.
They are Federal (LP+SP), Magtech(CBC), and Winchester.
CBC is my favorite because of the way it `feels` when sizing, priming, and bullet seating. After 21 reload cycles they resize well, the primer pockets are still tight, and the neck tension is still really good.
I also have a few thousand range pickups that I hate to waste.
It`s a mix of Aguila, Blazer, Hornady, RP, and several others.
I am pretty sure they are once-fired. I have cleaned and push-thru sized them.
Is there any negative to loading mixed bras other than the flare varying some with the different lengths?
What else should I watch for?
Thanks!

The length should not vary much. My theory is that firing and resizing several times eventually makes the case longer. Someone will disagree, but oh well. If you fire a round and then resize it you are squeezing the brass back to it's original diameter but the brass has to go somewhere so will get thinner over time thus must get longer. I don't watch for any of this because with 45ACP it's not that critical. I reload them until they crack then toss them in the scrap brass bucket for recycling. So I think that will explain why some are longer than others. ---- Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[uncle.45]

Crackshot,
Actually, if you research the changes .45acp cartridges undergo when fired/resized you will see that they shorten an average of 0.002" each cycle.
I never measure the length of a case, but watch the flare. When the flare is reduced noticably, the cases have shrunk several thousandths, and the die needs to be turned down a little to compensate.
Or you can recycle that brass, and start using a batch of newer brass.
Either way, it's all good!

 

[SamT1]

I load every 45 acp brass I find. From the 40’s milsurp I have to the steel case ones and even those blazer aluminum ones. Most of them die from too many extractor marks they get to where they don’t go into a shell holder. Though I haven’t had that issue since switching to the loadmaster.

 

[FROGO207]

To the poster that asked about crimped 45 ACP brass I got 500 or so TZZ head stamped brass after the coast guard qualified at the local shooting range. I shoot mixed head stamp brass with no concern about accuracy as most of mine get lost in the weeds before anything else happens to them. I too am saving my SPP brass for the possibility of future primer shortages and having more flexibility to reload.

 

[Charlie98]

to the steel case ones and even those blazer aluminum ones.

The Berdan primed ones?

 

[SamT1]

The Berdan primed ones?

I think these were all boxer. If they were berdan I didnt notice. But I load on a progressive so I wouldn’t notice unless the primers fell out. I just dry lube them before putting them in the tube.
I’ve reloaded some 7.62x39 berdan and if you run the die carefully it will punch a flash hole through the anvil and knock the primer out. The boxer primers fit too loose though so you have to loc tight them in. I wanted to use them for hunting rounds that I would loose, but I got scared that they would not be reliable.

 

[Hanshi]

Being a celebrated, world class brass scrounger, I spend too much of my day at the range collecting brass; most of it factory once fired. I have so much .45acp brass I'm having to sell, trade or even give away much of it; same with most other calibers. I reload any/every decent case I find and reload a small hoard of the fore-mentioned WWII steel cases. When I carry I load with factory ammo. Most of my shooting is plinking and informal target shooting. For that, I get great accuracy with lead bullets regardless of what cases.

 

[joneb]

I have less headaches when I sort brass by headstamp.