The Firearms Forum banner

Info on various .45ACP brass...

3K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  TheGunClinger 
#1 ·
I bought some once-fired brass and there are several manufacturers I'd like to know something about. Please let me know all you can about each one: foreign, quality, etc. Anything you got would be appreciated.

S&B
CBC
Speer
RP
PMC
Blazer
TZZ
WCC

Thanks, guys.
Alex
 
#2 ·
Watch out for Federal, Speer, and Winchester, these mfg are producing .45acp primed with small rather than large pistol primers. Maybe others out there that I haven't yet experienced, but a general FYI for you if you have large amounts of mixed brass.
 
#3 ·
Watch out for Federal, Speer, and Winchester, these mfg are producing some .45acp primed with small rather than large pistol primers. Maybe others out there that I haven't yet experienced, but a general FYI for you if you have large amounts of mixed brass.
 
#4 ·
Wait, why would they be using small primers? .45 is large. Say what?

Again, calling on all .45 reloaders - please provide ranking, origin, etc. on the manufacturers mentioned above. Again, thanks.
 
#5 ·
Here's my opinions:

S&B - Sellier and Bellot. Czech made. Very good, both the ammo and the brass. Only problem with the brass is it has crimped primers, like military brass. Remove the crimp the first time you load it, and go on with life. I'd say, probalby half of my 45 brass is S&B.

CBC - Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos. MagTech. Made in Brazil. Excellent ammo. 45 brass has always worked fine for me. Little bit of trouble with their 44/40 brass, but none with the 45 ACP.

Speer - Made by CCI/Speer. They make loaded ammo. I do not believe they sell unloaded brass. They produce RCBS loading equipment and CCI primers. Everything, with one exception (see below), that I've ever used of theirs has been excellent.

RP - Remington Peters. They have been in the guns-and-ammo game a long time. Very good pistol brass. I don't like their rifle as much as some others, and really despise their 22 ammo, but their 45 brass is very good.

PMC - Used to be Pansung Metallic Cartridges (don't know what the hell they say the PMC stands for, now). Korean made. I've never had any problem with the brass, although I did have some extremely hot 7.62 loaded ammo, once.

Blazer - This is the one CCI product I don't like. Originally, they were attempting to save folks money, so they started making ammo in non-reloadable aluminum cases. With revolvers, that's not a problem, but I don't like the way aluminum cases work in autoloaders. Within the last several years, though, they have been making brass cased ammo, and calling it Blazer, also. So you have Blazer Brass and Blazer Aluminum. Blazer brass is fine, in my limited experience with it (200 rounds, reloaded once).

TZZ - Don't know what it stands for, but it's Israeli. Same brass as IMI (Israeli Military Industries), just a different headstamp. All I have seen has been military brass - TZZ and a year on the stamp. All of it is crimped primer. Very good brass.

WCC - Western Cartridge Company. Great brass. All I've seen has been military - ain't seen no civilian with a WCC headstamp, although I have seen Western headstamps. Also all crimped, and I don't think there has been any of this stuff come along since the 80s, and maybe earlier.
 
#6 ·
Oh, and the small primer thing? They are making "Non-Toxic" ammo. Primers use lead in the manufacture. When you fire a gun, vaporized lead is released into the air. Outside - no big deal. Indoor range - can be a big deal. So several of the big ammo companies have come up with a different priming mixture, that does not put lead vapor in the air. For whatever reason, they are all SP size. So, Winchester NT 45 ACP ammo has small primers. So does Federal NT 45 ACP ammo. I didn't know Speer was making it, but it don't surprise me.

That's all he was warning you about. Be careful, and check your brass. Don't assume that, just because it is 45 ACP, it has a LP hole in it. Verify.
 
#8 ·
indeed... Alpo, i need a pygmy clone of you that I can keep on my shelf...
 
#10 ·
Alpo, much appreciated. That is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Great summary.

I was looking for the "NT" on each brass and didn't see one. You said to verify which primer my brass had in them - uh, how? I just deprimed/resized 250+ casings tonight so I need to know what I'm looking for. Again, thank you.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Wait, why would they be using small primers? .45 is large. Say what?

Again, calling on all .45 reloaders - please provide ranking, origin, etc. on the manufacturers mentioned above. Again, thanks.
Check out this thread about 45acp and small pistol primers for more details and some pics of brass I found in my pile, note the headstamps they DO NOT necessarily say "NT" on them....................http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=74160
 
#12 ·
Alpo, much appreciated. That is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Great summary.

I was looking for the "NT" on each brass and didn't see one. You said to verify which primer my brass had in them - uh, how? I just deprimed/resized 250+ casings tonight so I need to know what I'm looking for. Again, thank you.
Maybe it's just experience. I can just look at 'em, and can see the difference between a large primer pocket and a small primer pocket. But, I been doin' this a while.

If you want a easy way to tell, until you get where you trust your eyes, just take the "pusher" piece of your primer seater and stick it in all your pockets. A Large Primer seater will not fit in a Small Primer pocket.
 
#14 ·
Alpo:

Good explanation.

I would add the caution with aluminum CCI cases that it is NOT reloadable.

And that I have found Remington rifle brass a bit more durable (may be able to reload it more times before retiring it) than Winchester rifle brass.

As for re-using military rifle brass I found something interesting. I bought 1000 308 military case, most all of the same dated head stamp. But the distance from the bottom of the rim to the base of the internal cavity varied so much that my Dillon primer pocket former would not work uniformly. That is, the case head thickness varied a lot even for the same dated head stamped brass. Dillon warns of this in their instructions for their tool. I could not use the expensive Dillon tool and had to resort to a primer pocket reamer from RCBS.

LDBennett
 
#15 ·
Not on your list, but if you see any 45 brass (or ANY brass) with
a AMERC headstamp, run. The stuff is absolute junk.
AGREED!!! chuck it in the scrap heap amerc is utter crap for reloading...
 
#16 ·
I don't like S&B brass for one reason. I have had two cases head separations in my reloads for my Lee Enfield in .303 Brit. Both times it was S&B brass. No other brand of brass has done it. Now whether this could be a problem in their .45, who knows? But they have given me a reason not trust their brass. A-Merc is definitely crap. Had splits after the first reload. Must use a bad brass alloy mixture. Love Winchester brass, but you do have to make sure that no WIN NT brass that uses small primers sneaks into your piles. Can ruin your day if they get tossed in a progressive press.
 
#17 ·
+1 to Alpos post. That would have taken me all night to type even if I did have the knowledge which I dont. What I do when re-loading is to just keep cranking until I feel a sudden clunk when my press is in the primer putter inner stage. Then I take out the offending casing and it usually will be an NT or Speer, CCI, or whatever others I cant remember. Then I finger flip the primer that is ready to go and then crank again, often muttering to myself about those ****** NT's*** . Thats what happens when you pick up range brass, you never know.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top