.40 SW vs. .45 ACP

[Maximumbob54]

No, not as in a caliber war...

As in a price war. I love and I mean LOVE to reload, cast, and shoot .45 ACP. There has been in the last few years the additional headache over the small pistol primer .45 ACP brass and so far it's just yet another step to watch for when sorting.

But the reason I got into reloading .40 SW in the first place is the brass has become so ubiquitous that every other gun on the pistol range is now a .40 SW. The brass is everywhere. I would be willing to bet that 9 out of 10 law enforcement departments are now using it. Most places that sell once fired brass sell .40 SW for the same price as 9mm and sometimes it's cheaper.

Which brings me to this morning. I'm almost out of .45 ACP and haven't been able to really scrounge any at the range recently. I went to my first webstore of choice to start price checking and it's almost a slap in the face.

.45 ACP x 1000:

.45 ACP : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

.40 SW x 1000:

.40 S&W : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Yes, that's $75 for .45's and only $30 for .40's and it's giving me chest pains. Now factor in that .40 SW brass grows out of the ground at the range meaning I may never have to actually buy the stuff ever again.

 

[TSQUARED]

The silliest "excuse" I ever had for purchasing my first 40 S&W pistol was the abundant supply of 40 S&W brass from LEO's at our local range.

 

[Chaosrob]

I have rid myself of all but one .40 pistol at this point. It is one caliber I do not care to shoot for whatever reason. I much prefer to shoot my 10mm's, 9mm's, or 45's in those platforms. I have never personally been intrigued with the cartridge for whatever reason.

I guess I just never understood the hype behind it. I can however see the cost advantage from your perspective.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Silly or not I can't argue with the most expensive part of the reloading components constantly being free.

And my scrap lead cast bullets work just fine:

So all these loads really cost me is primers and powder.

Average cost for 1,000 primers: $30-$35

4# jug of Win WSF from Powder Valley: $63.55

Round that up to $100 for 1,000 rounds of .40SW and still having powder left over comes to $.10 per cartridge.

Bulk Blazer aluminum case is still usually at least $250 and higher for 1,000 ordered at a time.

Silly or not I can still shoot three times as much and still reload my brass over and over again.

 

[rodsvet]

Go right now to cast boolits and see tommyboy. He will ship 1,000 45 acp to your door for $65.00. Look in swap and sell. Rod

 

[GMC man]

I have a cougar .40 and even got the reloading dies for her but I havent started reloading them yet so far I am just reloading 5.56. Is pistol ammo as easy to reload?

 

[Skip Sackett]

I think I feel a deal in the works. Gotta go check my supply of brass......BRB!

 

[Skip Sackett]

See those nice shiny 40 caliber bullets you have there in your picture?

Well, how many would it take to be worth this much 45ACP brass?

Now, there is a bit of steel in there, as well as some that might have been fired more than once, but, figure out the trade value, make sure it comes out better for you, each can pay shipping to the other and it will be a done deal. 50 to 1000, whatever, your call.

If you want other brass that is guaranteed as once fired, I understand. This is "gently used", all target type of loads no matter how many times it has been reloaded. It is mixed headstamps too.

If you aren't interested, Bob, that is fine as well. No hurt feelings.

 

[venomballistics]

overall the 40 is going to win the economy battle of the caliber war.
cases aside, the bullets alone pose a significant savings.
even if you are running cast from scrap ... its a commodity.
I find I oscillate between the 45 and 400 corbon for this reason.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Go right now to cast boolits and see tommyboy. He will ship 1,000 45 acp to your door for $65.00. Look in swap and sell. Rod

That's not a bad deal. I didn't keep looking for deals at that point though as I may just stick with what brass I have and stop hoarding up .45 ACP ammo in favor of hoarding .40 SW instead.

I have a cougar .40 and even got the reloading dies for her but I havent started reloading them yet so far I am just reloading 5.56. Is pistol ammo as easy to reload?

When you start loading pistol ammo it's going to blow your mind how much easier it is.

See those nice shiny 40 caliber bullets you have there in your picture?

Well, how many would it take to be worth this much 45ACP brass?
(snip)

Now, there is a bit of steel in there, as well as some that might have been fired more than once, but, figure out the trade value, make sure it comes out better for you, each can pay shipping to the other and it will be a done deal. 50 to 1000, whatever, your call.

If you want other brass that is guaranteed as once fired, I understand. This is "gently used", all target type of loads no matter how many times it has been reloaded. It is mixed headstamps too.

If you aren't interested, Bob, that is fine as well. No hurt feelings.

Skip, you are making me think I'm going to be spending some time in front of the furnace. I have a new lead thermometer on the way and that is the only reason I'm not casting today. They only come out looking that good when the lead is running a little hot and I don't want to over do it. Don't let me forget about this though as Graf has my Lyman thermometer on back order right now.

overall the 40 is going to win the economy battle of the caliber war.
cases aside, the bullets alone pose a significant savings.
even if you are running cast from scrap ... its a commodity.
I find I oscillate between the 45 and 400 corbon for this reason.

I have yet to look into .400 Corbon but it sure looks interesting.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Bob, just to make sure you understand, I would need them lubed and sized too! No 40 caliber stuff yet in the way of casting stuff! I need to get on the BALL!

Offer stands and I do have more...............45ACP brass that is.

 

[Rule3]

Once fired 45 brass is everywhere?? Are you saying you need brass???

I have a local guy that has the contract for the indoor ranges, I can call him and see how much 45 brass is these days. I have not looked for a loooong time.

How much you want?

 

[Maximumbob54]

Bob, just to make sure you understand, I would need them lubed and sized too! No 40 caliber stuff yet in the way of casting stuff! I need to get on the BALL!

Offer stands and I do have more...............45ACP brass that is.

That would be pretty lame to send a guy unsized unlubed bullets unless he asked for them that way... I was sizing mine at .401" but am thinking of trying .402" just to see if it changed anything for the better. Oh, and WSF has been amazing for these.

Once fired 45 brass is everywhere?? Are you saying you need brass???

I have a local guy that has the contract for the indoor ranges, I can call him and see how much 45 brass is these days. I have not looked for a loooong time.

How much you want?

Don't tempt a guy whose gun poor / reloading gear poor / fresh from November poor...

 

[Rule3]

Don't tempt a guy whose gun poor / reloading gear poor / fresh from November poor...

Well Grasshopper there in lies the problem, Stop buying gadgets and maybe you could have some brass to reload.

How can you run out of brass, do you not pick it up? I have brass from who knows when.

If you really need some I am sure I can pass around the plate and send you some.

Just let me know, really.

 

[cjw3]

I have a cougar .40 and even got the reloading dies for her but I havent started reloading them yet so far I am just reloading 5.56. Is pistol ammo as easy to reload?

Easier in that case lubing is not needed (assuming you have carbide dies) and there is little, if any, trimming usually required. Also no primer crimps to be removed (at least in .40's) as found in a lot of .223 brass........ ugh.

Seating depth does need to be monitored closely; too deep will run pressure up very quickly and the margin of safety in a typical semiauto pistol is narrow compared to almost any rifle.

If you load the same type of bullets in .223 as I do (those with a cannelure, or crimp groove) you may be familiar with a slight roll crimp. This is fine for bottleneck rifle cartridges since the cartridge headspaces on the shoulder. Pistol cartridges (9mm, .40, .45, etc.) headspace on the case mouth so a taper crimp die is usually preferred for these. Instead of a ledge in the die curling the case mouth into a groove, the die uniformly squeezes the case around the bullet. This allows the case to evenly contact the chamber mouth and also holds the bullet in place to prevent setback.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Well Grasshopper there in lies the problem, Stop buying gadgets and maybe you could have some brass to reload.

How can you run out of brass, do you not pick it up? I have brass from who knows when.

If you really need some I am sure I can pass around the plate and send you some.

Just let me know, really.

I have to only shoot half what you reload. So I'm getting a good stash of loaded ammo but finally running low on brass to reload.

Ans stop buying reloading stuff? What, you want me to stop breathing so much air next???? You sure are demanding...