throttlesnot
Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2021
- Messages
- 13
Hi everyone!
Brand new here. In the interest of keeping the "intro" brief, I've done maybe a few hundred rounds of once-fired .45 ACP on my buddy's single stage press, and that's about it. I've done a fair amount of reading beyond that, so I feel pretty comfortable with the basics (terminology, etc.), but I have some more specific questions.
A couple of notes:
1. My "setup" right now is the brute force method via a couple of (Classic) Lee Loader kits. I also decided to go the hand priming tool route vs. doing it with the Lee kit (more to follow).
2. I know it's not a great way to do it, but it's what I can afford at the moment. Looking to make this setup work, not upgrade, so please try to keep information to the Loader kit (or reloading/gun mechanics) specifically.
The main thing is, I'm sorting through some brass I bought (9mm & .45 ACP). I'm trying to determine a quicker way to sort through it. The main issue I'm having so far is that resizing a lot of the .45 ACP is near impossible, even with some lanolin sprayed on. The percentage of pieces I've been able to hammer flush has been really low. Most just don't quite get there, or are left sticking out 1/4" or something. Is this a reason to automatically chuck that brass (can't be hammered flush)? Some of them seem to measure just fine, even if they have not made it all the way flush. Is this due to a limitation in leverage without having a press? Has the brass been fired too much and started bulging near the bottom? I've seen videos of guys knocking .45 ACP brass into the resizing die in two swings, and then tapping it back out to reprime, but this just doesn't seem feasible (at least not consistently). I'm beating these things against a vinyl-covered concrete floor 10 times and not getting them flush. Obviously, getting them back out isn't any easier. I've successfully primed some brass, but it was really tricky and I've already blown a primer in the process. I'm sure people have success with it, but hitting a thing that is designed to explode when hit seems like a silly way to install it, so I ended up getting a hand priming tool. It seems like doing some measurement prior to resizing is helpful, at least as far as the ID of the brass goes. I've been able to easily slide bullets into a number of resized cases with my fingers (no flare, no chamfer). This seems like an old brass problem as well (thin metal at the case mouth), but I don't know that for sure.
Anyway, I think I got ahold of some pretty rough brass that's going to need some serious sorting, or heavy hammering, to work through. Are there things I should be on the look out for to use as automatic disqualifiers aside from the obvious things like cracks/splits? Some of them have pretty dented case mouths, but I've been able to hammer many of those out using a combination of flaring and resizing. They seem to come out pretty well. Some have half-circle dents in the side. Those smooth out fairly well, but make me nervous. And so forth. Trying to salvage enough to make the purchase semi-worthwhile.
If "buy a $40 reloading guide" is the answer to a lot of these questions, I'm certainly willing to consider that option (I need a good one anyway), but I do enjoy some Q&A with experienced individuals vs. pure informational reading. Helps cut to the core of issues faster sometimes. Googling has provided some answers, but it can be a lot of scrolling through unrelated posts to find one tiny nugget of good info.
Thanks if you've made it this far! Looking forward to some tips and tricks.
Regards.
Brand new here. In the interest of keeping the "intro" brief, I've done maybe a few hundred rounds of once-fired .45 ACP on my buddy's single stage press, and that's about it. I've done a fair amount of reading beyond that, so I feel pretty comfortable with the basics (terminology, etc.), but I have some more specific questions.
A couple of notes:
1. My "setup" right now is the brute force method via a couple of (Classic) Lee Loader kits. I also decided to go the hand priming tool route vs. doing it with the Lee kit (more to follow).
2. I know it's not a great way to do it, but it's what I can afford at the moment. Looking to make this setup work, not upgrade, so please try to keep information to the Loader kit (or reloading/gun mechanics) specifically.
The main thing is, I'm sorting through some brass I bought (9mm & .45 ACP). I'm trying to determine a quicker way to sort through it. The main issue I'm having so far is that resizing a lot of the .45 ACP is near impossible, even with some lanolin sprayed on. The percentage of pieces I've been able to hammer flush has been really low. Most just don't quite get there, or are left sticking out 1/4" or something. Is this a reason to automatically chuck that brass (can't be hammered flush)? Some of them seem to measure just fine, even if they have not made it all the way flush. Is this due to a limitation in leverage without having a press? Has the brass been fired too much and started bulging near the bottom? I've seen videos of guys knocking .45 ACP brass into the resizing die in two swings, and then tapping it back out to reprime, but this just doesn't seem feasible (at least not consistently). I'm beating these things against a vinyl-covered concrete floor 10 times and not getting them flush. Obviously, getting them back out isn't any easier. I've successfully primed some brass, but it was really tricky and I've already blown a primer in the process. I'm sure people have success with it, but hitting a thing that is designed to explode when hit seems like a silly way to install it, so I ended up getting a hand priming tool. It seems like doing some measurement prior to resizing is helpful, at least as far as the ID of the brass goes. I've been able to easily slide bullets into a number of resized cases with my fingers (no flare, no chamfer). This seems like an old brass problem as well (thin metal at the case mouth), but I don't know that for sure.
Anyway, I think I got ahold of some pretty rough brass that's going to need some serious sorting, or heavy hammering, to work through. Are there things I should be on the look out for to use as automatic disqualifiers aside from the obvious things like cracks/splits? Some of them have pretty dented case mouths, but I've been able to hammer many of those out using a combination of flaring and resizing. They seem to come out pretty well. Some have half-circle dents in the side. Those smooth out fairly well, but make me nervous. And so forth. Trying to salvage enough to make the purchase semi-worthwhile.
If "buy a $40 reloading guide" is the answer to a lot of these questions, I'm certainly willing to consider that option (I need a good one anyway), but I do enjoy some Q&A with experienced individuals vs. pure informational reading. Helps cut to the core of issues faster sometimes. Googling has provided some answers, but it can be a lot of scrolling through unrelated posts to find one tiny nugget of good info.
Thanks if you've made it this far! Looking forward to some tips and tricks.
Regards.