I tend to pick up brass at the range, especially if it is a caliber I shoot....I mean, hey, if folks wanna leave it behind, why should I let it get tossed?
So I go to load some .45 ACP for a new shooter that I am taking to the range on Friday.
I tumbled some range pickup brass, load 2 tubes with primers, pull out a box of plated 230 grain, check the powder levels, lube the 550 and commence to loading.
about 10 cases in, I get one where the primer just will not go back in. ...Odd, but hey, this is brass of no certain pedigree, so I pull the case out and toss it into the trash.
About 10 cases later, I get another. Then another.
Damn, this is affecting my rhythm.
When I got the 4th one, I looked at the primer pockets to see if they were staked, or had burrs, or what was causing them to not load primers. They were all the same headstamp.
I began checking the base of each cartridge I picked up out of the bin before loading it into the press (I usually just get into the rhythm....pick up a case, load the case with my right hand, put a bullet in the primed and loaded case on the other side of the press with y left hand, pull lever, rinse, repeat.....
Having to look at each piece of brass slows me down, but I soldier on. I mean, I can usually load about 250 .45 in an hour, this is slowing me down to about half that.
It wasn't until I was done that I noticed what was different about the uncooperative brass....
Not obvious, izzit?
How about if I show you a case that WILL take primers?
Yeah, Who ever heard of a .45 ACP case that takes SMALL Pistol primers?
Now I got about 3000 cases to sort through.
*********
So I go to load some .45 ACP for a new shooter that I am taking to the range on Friday.
I tumbled some range pickup brass, load 2 tubes with primers, pull out a box of plated 230 grain, check the powder levels, lube the 550 and commence to loading.
about 10 cases in, I get one where the primer just will not go back in. ...Odd, but hey, this is brass of no certain pedigree, so I pull the case out and toss it into the trash.
About 10 cases later, I get another. Then another.
Damn, this is affecting my rhythm.
When I got the 4th one, I looked at the primer pockets to see if they were staked, or had burrs, or what was causing them to not load primers. They were all the same headstamp.
I began checking the base of each cartridge I picked up out of the bin before loading it into the press (I usually just get into the rhythm....pick up a case, load the case with my right hand, put a bullet in the primed and loaded case on the other side of the press with y left hand, pull lever, rinse, repeat.....
Having to look at each piece of brass slows me down, but I soldier on. I mean, I can usually load about 250 .45 in an hour, this is slowing me down to about half that.
It wasn't until I was done that I noticed what was different about the uncooperative brass....
Not obvious, izzit?
How about if I show you a case that WILL take primers?
Yeah, Who ever heard of a .45 ACP case that takes SMALL Pistol primers?
Now I got about 3000 cases to sort through.
5 comments:
Be aware that some Federal .45acp brass also takes the small primers.
HTH, sv
I did not know that. I will watch out for that when I buy it from now on.
I ran into some years ago that was manufactured in Egypt with small very hard primers. Later found out it was loaded for submachine guns.
That IS odd...
I have been swapping over to small primer. I have enough for almost a 2 month supply of my normal range use, but it is growing. I sort out the LP and give them to a range buddy who does the same but sorts out the SP to give to me. It does a few things:
1) it updates the 40 year brass supply that had 90% of it with the headstamps wore off
2) it allows me to drop large pistol primer from my inventory
3) no more changing the 550 over to large primer
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