This is what I get for being a range hound

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?

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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 thoughts on “This is what I get for being a range hound

  1. Be aware that some Federal .45acp brass also takes the small primers.

    HTH, sv

  2. I did not know that. I will watch out for that when I buy it from now on.

  3. 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.

  4. 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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