A "Headsup" Small Pistol Primers in 45 ACP Brass

[paul105]

I had heard that there was some off brand 45 ACP brass that had small pistol primer pockets -- I didn't know that Speer Blazer Brass was so primed.

What in the world possessed a company like Speer (who also caters to the reloading market) to do this?

I don't normally buy loaded ammo, but have a
problem child that I wanted to check with fatory fodder before contacting the manufacturer. I noticed the primers when I was loading some magazines.

I had one other box of empty Blazer Brass that I had just thrown in the tumbler with about 300 other cases of mixed mfg. I'm sure I'll never catch all the small primed Speer brass before one ties up my Dillon Square Deal B.

I load a lot of 45 ACP which is used in 1911s, Kahr CW45, S&W 625, and an FA97 w/Aux Cyl and this just complicates the process.


Anyway, I hope this headsup helps someone else.

Paul

 

[wizofwas]

I had heard about this before I found any with the small primers Now I just seperate them for reloading at a different time. Thankfully I only have a one stage press so it's not really a big deal.

 

[mikld]

Old news. The NT (non toxic) ammo used a different priming compound and the mfg. thought a larger flash hole was necessary and for the added back pressure from a larger flash hole a small primer was needed to eliminate a possibility of primer "set back". I believe some have gone back to original flash hole diameter. For reloading the only difference is the primer size, load data the same. All the small primer 45 ACP cases I've got were found during initial inspection, no big deal, as I look at every case before anything is done to it...

 

[Hammerdown77]

Yep, there has also been a lot of Federal brass around here with small pistol primers. The stuff that comes in the black and red box at Wal-Mart. And American Eagle, too.

Used to just pour all my .45 Auto cases into one bucket. Now I gots to sort those out too.....

 

[Rainman]

Everything I have run across marked NT by all major manufacturers have had the small primer pocket.

Like the others mentioned above, I too check each case before reloading and simply seperate these. I bought some once fired range brass and probably ended up with a couple of boxes of them,

Dan

 

[Donaldjr1969]

I have CCI Blazer Brass ammo in 45auto. It is NOT a NT load but it still comes with small primer pockets.

To me, it is a non-factor. After I separate them, I reload them the same as if they had large primer pockets. And in the absence of a ransom rest, I cannot notice any major difference in accuracy.

 

[Revolver-Time]

I have CCI Blazer Brass ammo in 45auto. It is NOT a NT load but it still comes with small primer pockets.

To me, it is a non-factor. After I separate them, I reload them the same as if they had large primer pockets. And in the absence of a ransom rest, I cannot notice any major difference in accuracy.

I agree. It is no big deal. Inspect the empties, separate them out, load as normal using small primers. I have never had a problem.

 

[Rclark]

I prefer a cartridge to have 'one' standard pocket size per caliber. Period. In the case of the .45ACP, that is the large pistol primer. I haven't ran into small primer pockets yet so far, but if I do I'll toss 'em. Not worth the hassle. I just bought 500 Starline .45ACP cases, so I can get same size flash holes too. I like cases to be consistent .

 

[talldrink]

Speer/Federal/CCI is manufactured under ATK
http://www.luckygunner.com/ammo-manufacturer/atk-ammo-review

 

[lipofsky]

Greetings all,
I am a reloading newbie and have successfully loaded .38's so far, I plan on starting to load for my .45ACP and this primer pocket discussion has my interest. Currently my empty brass is once fired Winchester white box and will also include Sellier & Bello brass once I shoot it. So my question is what are the dimensions of the flash hole and / or is there a quick way to tell with out measuring.
Thank You in Advance

 

[paul105]

lipofsky,

The .38s that you are currently loading use small pistol primers. Compare them to the .45 ACP primers in your once fired brass. The .45 ACP primers should be visibly larger in diameter. If they aren't (i.e., they are the same size as the 38s), then you have cases with small pistol primer pockets.

Folks above make the point that you can sort the cases and prime accordingly (and this is true) -- personally, I've found that visual sorting isn't 100% effective. Mixing primer pocket sizes when using a progressive press will cause unwanted problems. In additon, for me anyway, it's an unnecessary added step. I'll only (intentionally) use cases withe same primer size in a given caliber.

FWIW, the older Blazer Brass cases that I threw in the tumbler (after inspecting) ended up having Large Pistol Primer Pockets -- the recently purchase box (same packaging) had small pistol primers.

YMMV.

Paul

 

[lipofsky]

To Paul105;

Thank You for the quick response, I have a lighted magnifier on my bench so I guess I will get busy checking.
Thank you Again

 

[7p's]

There's Federal bulk packs out there that have the LP primer but the flash hole looks to be 50% larger than their premium brass flash holes. Very noticeable when you compare the two.

 

[Rclark]

but the flash hole looks to be 50% larger than their premium brass flash holes. Very noticeable ....

Yep, that is why I bought 500 Starline cases and will toss the large flash hole cases that I have.... For consistency. People say they shoot fine, but I have had a couple blown primers (CCI-300) in these cases (mine are nickel plated), so they will be gone as soon as I shoot the remainder! Here is a picture....

 

[federali]

This topic has been discussed on other forums. Having to sort shells by primer size is indeed a burden. However, having to change the primer feed system on a progressive press is also burdensome. As I also load 9mm on my Dillon, I really wouldn't mind merely changing over between 9mm and .45 ACP. Being able to use the same primer size would simplify things.

I'm setting aside small-primed .45 ACP brass until I have enough to justify changing over the Dillon primer feed, at which time I'll reload my 9mm at the same time.

 

[Sam Summey]

It's bigger than you think. All ATK 45 Auto is primed with SP primers now. Remember a year ago when you couldn't get SP primers? Next time it will be bigger/worse than before. Now we have 9mm, 40 SW, which have mega volume production, 380 ACP, 357 Sig, 357 Mag, 38 spec, 25 ACP, 32 ACP 32 SW long and short, 32 Mag, and 327 mag using SP primers. That only leaves 44 Sp, 44 mag, 45 Colt that uses LP primers. Now we have added 45 ACP mega volume production to the already strained small primer capacities of the major manufacturers.