Small Primer for .45 ACP

kbm6893

SWCA Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
6,773
Reaction score
7,199
Location
Pennsylvania
I expect a CMP 1911 within the next month or so so it will be time to reload for .45. I know the brass comes in large primer and small. I’d prefer to stay with small primer since I use those for the auto calibers I load, but if there’s an advantage to large primer I can use those too. What’s a good source for once fired .45 brass and should I stick with large or small?

I went to Xtreme bullets and see the small primer brass is much cheaper. But they’re out of stock.
 
Register to hide this ad
Blazer brass is small primer if you have access to it. I have also RWS brass, I believe made in Germany which I use. I have a Redding turret press and hand prime so it makes sense to stay with small and not change out when I reload 38 spl. Just be sure you pick up your brass at the range. It drives people nuts when small primed brass is mixed with their large primed brass in progressive reloaders.
 
Regarding Blazer .45 brass, I don't know if the cases alone are available, but of course you can always buy Blazer ammo and use the fired cases. I don't know if Starline makes small primer pocket .45 brass, but you can check on their website. From a reloader's perspective, the main problem is getting small primer cases mixed in with large primer cases, so you must segregate cases.
 
Why is the small primer brass so much cheaper at Xtreme? They sell them as primed and unprimed. How can they ship primed brass?

Other than buying factory ammo and saving brass, where is a good source for small primer brass? I’d prefer to stick with small just to make things easier. I’ve never looked at .45 brass before. Is there an obvious difference between small and large primed brass?
 
I have loaded many hundreds of SP .45 cases with no trouble. They work just fine. Obviously you have to sort them from the large primer brass at some point, but that is hardly overbearing. In addition if you have to buy brass the used SP is significantly cheaper than the used LP brass.
 
I have loaded many hundreds of SP .45 cases with no trouble. They work just fine. Obviously you have to sort them from the large primer brass at some point, but that is hardly overbearing. In addition if you have to buy brass the used SP is significantly cheaper than the used LP brass.

Thank. Where do you get them? Starline only carries LP and its over 100 bucks for 500 pieces. Xtreme has them for half that.
 
In my "Golden years"..........
Primed cases ready to load is a very nice thing to receive in the mail.

When younger, I just wanted brass in any shape or form.

Since I do 9mm, I would like the small primer cases, if possible
but it depends on what is available but changing dies is part of loading.
 
If you prefer SP .45 ACP brass, then shoot Blazer and reload the brass. I believe Winchester also makes SP .45 ACP ammunition. Many reloaders are using LP with .45 ACP simply because that was the original design. The .45 ACP cartridge will work just fine with either primer in the appropriate case. Problems occur when the correct primer isn't used with the appropriate case especially in progressive reloaders where cases are auto fed.
 
I did a "just for my info" test on large vs. small primed 45 ACP brass reloads. I reloaded 50 with small primed cases using 230 gr, FMJ over Bullseye. Same with 50 large primed cases. Also tried 50 loads each with 200 LSWC. In my testing in 2 pistols, shot over a chrony, there was an indication (not enough to be definitive) of a slight difference in velocity with small primed loads being very slightly slower (maybe 25 fps max.). Accuracy was the same. Not enough differences to be of any concern...

Just my test of my reloads in my guns...

once fired brass small primed 45 acp - Google Search Used small primed 45 ACP brass.
 
ask on some of the other gun forums...you might be deluged with people wanting to give you all that they have.
Randy
 
As I recover and reload el-foundo-groundos, mixed primer pockets are a nuisance but I would welcome a wholesale changeover to small primer .45 ACP, to avoid switching the primer feed systems between the two sizes.
 
brass

Yep. ALL the small primed acp cases I come across goes in the scrap bin.

Why not give it to someone that is looking for some small primer .45 brass and brighten their day instead of scrapping it?

Randy
 
ask on some of the other gun forums...you might be deluged with people wanting to give you all that they have.
Randy
Heck, go to the WANTED section of the classifieds here
http://smith-wessonforum.com/wanted-buy/
and start a thread with an offer to pay postage for anyone who wants to ship you some, and you'll probably get plenty of folks who'll send you their SP 45 brass rather than throw it away.
 
The only problem with small primed 45 ACP brass is for those that do not inspect their brass...
 
Back
Top