45 Brass Headstamps

[D.Hayden]

Is there a FAQ or something aboput brass to avoid for the 45 ACP?

Given, there's a seperate Amerc brass thread - I know some people like it, I threw all mine out

I've also found that:

S&B - primers fit very tight

CBC - primers fir loose

I've had good luck with Winchester, PMC, Federal, R-P, and some stuff (military?) I don't recognize.

Just wondering if there's others I should just toss when I buy my next bucket, before wasting primers and bullets with them.

Thanks, Dave

[SiG Lady]

I discarded (or at least separated out) my AMERC brass on reputation alone. I trade off any S&B to others who what to take the time to swage out the primer pockets so they'll prime easily. I also found headstamp FC-96 (-97 and -98) wouldn't prime well either because the primer pockets were too tight OR too loose. All other mixed headstamp (and I mean really mixed) that I've used seem to prime, load and fire consistently well.

[rhino]

I've been shooting a lot of Armscor Precision .45ACP lately and yesterday my brother told me the brass is troublesome. Apparently it bulges too much (I don't know where) when he reloads it. The headstamp is "AP."

[Guest Larry Cazes]

I'll take all of the S&B brass that you guys don't want. Yes, it primes a little harder but in the long run this will translate into longer case life. I find it to be some of the most consistent brass out there.

[TBF]

Watch for Federal NT brass, easy to pick out because of the small primers.

Since I changed my dies most everything else loads fine ( Amerc excluded ).

S&B is fine with me, a little thin at the mouth, Remington is also a little thin.

PMC seems to vary alot thick/thin ( in the stuff I have loaded )

But Iv'e not had any problems with any of these since I started loading 45 on SDB.

Used to have bullet setback problems with thin brass.

Travis F.

[D.Hayden]

I found a few of those (NT) brass in Winchester, looks like a Microsoft advertisement, since they say 'WIN NT'. What are those for?

Which dies did you switch from and to?

My problem with the AMERC was primers popped out during firing, and they were shorter, so they didn't bell well (in a 550).

S&B, slows me down, to make sure the primers get seated all the way to even, or less below the head

The next batch/bucket will be Headstamp specific. ANyone have problems with 'normal' Winchester or Federal? It's been working fine, but it may be my sample size is too small to run into problems yet.

[m.e.t.]

I've been shooting a lot of Armscor Precision .45ACP lately and yesterday my brother told me the brass is troublesome.  Apparently it bulges too much (I don't know where) when he reloads it.  The headstamp is "AP."

Hey Joey, Is this Armscor brass new. I have seen the ads and have considered trying it out. My collection of range brass is starting to recyle itself back to mother earth. So I need to break down and purchase some 45 ACP brass. Any suggestions?

Thanks m.e.t.

[kevin c]

NT is for "non-toxic" ammo - in other words, rounds using priming compounds that do not contain the most commonly used active agent lead styphnate. These apparently have more "brissance", or explosive force than the lead styphnate priming compounds, and most are also moisture sensitive. Because of these characteristics, NT primers are usually crimped into the primer pockets, and, as pointed out above and as I have just discovered myself, some traditionally large pistol primed cases such as 45 ACP use the small pistol NT primer. This is a major pain, and a potential hazard if you don't sort them out prior to loading a batch of standard 45 ACP cases. If you are lucky, you will just crush your large primers agains the small pocket, or, in other calibers, mangle your small primers against the swaging. If you aren't lucky, something might go bang.

I don't think NT primers are available for reloaders. In another thread, the question was asked, but not answered.

[TBF]

BarKim,

I switched from an EXTREMELY worn set of Lee's to SDB ( Dillon ).

No knock on the Lee dies they gave me excellent service for a long time, and I am very picky about bullet grip, if I can push it against the bench with my thumb and make it shorter, IMHO I have a problem.

The Lee dies are mounted on a turret style press, which let me feel the effort required to seat a bullet, if it fell in too easily I would do the push test.

On that press I could FEEL any tight or loose brass really easily.

I have not run into this problem at all on the SBD, the size die really squeezes the brass, and most rounds show the bullet base profile on the outside of the brass if you look hard enough.

Travis F.

[JFD]

I've always avoided R-P brass with jacketed bullets. Too thin and the case tension is poor because of it. No problem with cast bullets.

Same thing with CBC.

AMERC just sucks.

PMC has off-center flash holes in every caliber I've used. At this point in time I can't see that it causes a problem. Case life in .308, .223, .38 Super, and .45 auto has been very good, so I put it in the "good" category. Case tension is very good with PMC.

The best brass in ANY caliber IMHO is Winchester and Starline. If I actually buy brass, it's either of these 2 brands. Starline also has an excellent "feel" when seating primers. They definitely "pop" right in there. No doubt that the primer has been seated.

I now consider Speer to be crapola. Went to unload and show clear at a recent match. Bullet stayed in, but the case came out. Powder everywhere.

I used to ream, but now swage S&B primer pockets. Once this is done, I consider S&B to be excellent stuff. I've been shooting roughly 1000 rounds a week with the same S&B brass for around 20 weeks now. Never a problem.

[Archer]

FWIW... my experiences, all with a 550B... all comments related to use with plated 200 gr West Coast and jacketed 230 gr Hornady JTC bullets.

Federal once-fired American Eagle cases, works fine. No problems yet. WLPs can be a bit tight, Fed150 no problem.

Federal XM1911 once-fired cases, (marked FC-XX (xx=year) MATCH) Impossible. Primer pockets must be resized, and even then are a serious PITA, especially with WLPs. I tend to toss them.

Federal nickle plated (from 230 Hydrashok rounds) Good stuff. Good with WLPs or Fed150s. 2K of these.

Remington (RP)- Poor neck tension, setback is all too common, even with a .469 crimp. Poor primer seating feel too.

Remington nickle plated (from Golden Sabre, once fired) No problems.

Winchester new brass- requires ID deburr and lube, or it will grab your powder funnel like you would not believe.

Winchester once fired (USA white box)- OK, but some primer pockets are tighter than others. Best with Fed150s.

Winchester nickle plated- got a bunch of these, once-fired from a friend in the FBI. Good stuff.

S&B once fired- this stuff can be a PITA the first time you reload it due to the sealant in the primer pocket. A deburr job (not a reswage) in the pocket helps a great deal. After that its great. The highly radiused rim seems to ding up less than others. Seems to run and run.

Fiocchi (GFL headstamp) OK. Odd, the flash holes are inconsistent on this stuff- some are round, others triangular.

Fiocchi (Fiocchi USA headstamp) OK, but a very much larger flash hole.

Pro Load- They have been good with WLP and Fed150s. Runs and runs.

Speer- Whats up with the concave base ??? Had a primer drop out of one. Odd.

Hornady- The few cases I have had were good stuff.

PMC- Not bad. Picked up about 600 of these in a Gunsite class and they have all been fine.

[D.Hayden]

Thanks to all.

I never thought about Primers, I've been using Winchester LP. Can those be causing some problems with the S&B?

Any differences I should be aware of?

[DogmaDog]

I've reloaded a bunch of S&B. I kinda like the distinct feel of the primer going in. After being used to that, I'd wonder if maybe no primer went in when I loaded some PMC brass recently. I have found that some of the PMC stuff wouldn't de-prime easily, as though the flash holes were small and/or off center.

DD

[Nolan]

I don't think NT primers are available for reloaders. In another thread, the question was asked, but not answered.

Kevin,

PMC has been advertising their Lead Free primers, but haven't personally seen any on the store shelves (not that I've actively searched.)

By their advertising it reloads exactly like standard lead styphnate based primers. Does not require oversized flash holes, crimping, etc... and a 10 year shelf life.

Let's hope it lives up to the advertising!