Federal .45 acp, small primers???

IIRC, they have been using small primers on their non-toxic loads for years. I don't think this is new.

It's not new but I find it very annoying.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/five-minutes-in-a-dark-alley.847417/

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.45-70TC said:

So when did Federal start using small pistol primers?

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Where have you been hiding? I've been sorting 5-10% SPP out of pickup 45 ACP brass for at least 5 years.

Old news, sort them out, recycle them or prime them up with small primers and load them up. I called Federal Customer Service about them several years ago.They said they were exactly the same as LP brass except for the primers. I loaded and shot hundreds without any issues. hdbiker

I sort my brass by head stamp and have kept the 45 acp small primer brass in case I run out of large pistol primers.
Before they went to the small primer they tried enlarging the flash hole for the NT primers, I think I scrapped those.

Watch for SP pockets in Blazer 45 Auto brass too.

Several brands have small primers. Blazer quit making large primer 45acp a few years ago, but I still keep finding them. Federal and Speer make both large and small primer 45. Any of the Winchester and Federal "NT" brass will be small primer as well as crimped. I've also got some "RWS" brass that are small primer.

FWIW, I load mostly small primer 45. I've started using small magnum primers in the 45 brass as they come closer to the performance of large primers.

forty_caliber said:

It's not new but I find it very annoying.

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Yep. I just segregate them and then load them separately when I happen to have my press set up for small primers. I shoot them where the likelihood of recovering my brass is low... no loss there.

Yep, small primed 45 ACP bras has (OOPS! meant brass) been around for several years. I did a test for my own info a couple years ago. I used my RIA 1911 with three of my "standard" loads, 230 gr FMJ w/Bullseye, 200 gr LSWC w/Universal and 225 gr LRN with Unique. About 25-30 rounds of each with 2 different headstamps with small primers and the same headstamps with large primers. It was fun, loading, shooting and recording/reviewing each load, but not enough difference to bother with. IIRC the small primed loads' velocity was mebbe 20-25 fps slower (but not a consistent result to make any determinations).

As noted above the only real problem is when a reloader doesn't inspect his brass and a small primed case is fed into a progressive press and gets stuck at the priming station...

I give away the SP 45 brass to people that want to load 45, but have no brass. We did a run for a friend of mine of 2000 rounds a couple of years ago, and I got rid of big chunk of it then. It works quite well with CCI 400 primers as his guns are up to the task of the thicker cups of the rifle primer. I also know a few guys that use nothing but SP 45 brass because it saves them a change over step on the press when reloading.

Myself, the bulk of my brass is LP and will stay that way.

.45-70TC said:

So when did Federal start using small pistol primers?

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When the sixth seal was opened

1KPerDay said:

When the sixth seal was opened

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You win the internet today!! SPP in .45acp is an anathema!

SPPs are a royal pain in .45ACP. First you have to sort them. When you try to prime them, the shell holders that were designed for LPPs allow just enough slop that the small primers turn on their side to jam up the operation, or turn over completely, and have to be removed. (Yet another inspection and sorting task.) SPPs in the .45 ACP is most certainly an unnecessary variation. DUMB!

Am I seeing members that don't inspect their brass? The first (second?) lesson I learned, about 1970, was to check each case before I processed it. Still do. First a quick look-see when I pick it up at the range, then a better inspection after cleaning. Surprising how many problems can be avoided by this simple, quick, easy task...

mdi said:

It was fun, loading, shooting and recording/reviewing each load, but not enough difference to bother with. IIRC the small primed loads' velocity was mebbe 20-25 fps slower (but not a consistent result to make any determinations).

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That is about what I saw with most powders I tried (30 fps roughly). There were a couple of powders, though, that showed a huge difference for some reason. One was PB (now discontinued) and the other was Trailboss. Trailboss in large primer 45acp makes a nice soft shooting load, and cycled fine in my Witness pistol. But, for some reason, with normal small primers, it dropped something like 175fps, and had a large extreme spread. I found that if I used small magnum primers, I recovered about 80% of the lost velocity, and extreme spread was much better. When I tried small magnum primers (and a few small rifle primers) in the other powders, I also got back very close to the velocity of large primers.

I don't understand why Trailboss works well in 38spl with normal primers, but not in small primer 45acp.

FWIW, Federal sells American Eagle 45 Auto ammo with LP and SP primers in 100 round boxes that are identical. Don't ask how I know. It's a long story and irrelevant, but I wasn't a happy camper to unzip a sealed box of 100 at the range and find SP primers. I contacted Federal to ask if there is a way to differentiate between the LP and SP ammo by looking at the box and the answer was "No there is no way to tell the difference."

mdi said:

Am I seeing members that don't inspect their brass? The first (second?) lesson I learned, about 1970, was to check each case before I processed it. Still do. First a quick look-see when I pick it up at the range, then a better inspection after cleaning. Surprising how many problems can be avoided by this simple, quick, easy task...

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Totally agree! My early lesson was that a 380 casing won't stay with the ram using a #19 shell holder.

2003-2004 was when I started picking them up Winchester was the first, lots now.

This was my first device that culled them while loading.



This is a stand alone device I threw together awhile back.

Am I the only one that wishes all handgun rounds used small primers?

I

Fine Figure of a Man said:

Am I the only one that wishes all handgun rounds used small primers?

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have no problem with that, as long as you go back in time and make sure all handgun rounds were originally made that way. Switching it up this late in the game is dirty pool.

All you "just inspect your brass" people would be unperturbed if 9mm brass makers suddenly started releasing LPP 9mm onto the market, right?

Riiiiiight....

1KPerDay said:

Switching it up this late in the game is dirty pool.

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Federal probably saves at least 3 cents per 100000 rounds by changing this. It was the accountants that did it.

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Fine Figure of a Man said:

Am I the only one that wishes all handgun rounds used small primers?

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If you live long enough you will hear people complaining about the old farts that spoil their range pickups with old LPP brass.

jmorris said:

If you live long enough you will hear people complaining about the old farts that spoil their range pickups with old LPP brass.

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You might even hear some of those old timers complain about that new-fangled here today gone tomorrow smokeless powder...