.45 steel cases

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outlander0129

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A friend of mine called me last night and wanted to know if i could reload some .45 ACP for him. I told him I would have to research the loads first. This morning he brought them over and I noticed a lot of them are steel cases. Could these be reloaded or should they go to the scrap pile? I have never owned a .45 ACP, so I don't really know anything about them, except for the obvious. You put them in your gun, they go bang and stuff gets holes in them,,,,,lol. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you.
 
Not worth the effort.

Many steel cases will be Russian crap that has Berdan primers.
You for sure can't reload those.

Boxer primed steel can be reloaded, but will crack or split after one or two reloadings.

Some feel steel adds to wear & tear on the sizing die also, but that is unlikely with a carbide die.

Was it me, I'd toss them and tell my friend you only reload brass cases.

BTW: I don't reload for others, even for friends.
I don't have enough liability insurance to cover losing my house and retirement money in the event something bad happens and my "friend" has another friend who is a lawyer.

rc
 
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When I got into reloading a year or two ago, I wanted to reload steel .223 cases. They are a pain and definately not worth the effort. Scrap them and only reload brass. Most steel casings are berdan primed anyways.
 
You can load steel cases that are boxer primed but it is a royal PIA to do so plus they could end up scratching your dies. There's plenty of GI and commercial brass around, so do yourself a favor and trash them.
 
Thanks. I callerd him and told him I would be scrapping the steel cases. Sounds like I have an easy job ahead of me now. Again Thank You.
 
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