.45 ACP reloads

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2005 by Jeff John

Q: I've been reloading .45 ACP for a while using Oregon Trails cast bullets. When I seat the bullet into the case some of the lube gets shaved off and builds up around the case mouth. This usually prevents the round from fully chambering. Is there a way to prevent this? I have resorted to a rag soaked in alcohol to remove it. This is very time consuming and messy. Another problem that occurs occasionally is the seated bullet expands the case too much and the round won't chamber.

Jeremy Perry

U.S. Army Specialist

A: There are a couple of things you can try. First, clean the dies. Many times the lube also builds up inside the die and leaves deposits on the case. This should become a routine chore every few hundred rounds or when you begin experiencing lube mess on the amino. If you use alcohol on the dies, be sure and oil them before storage. Alcohol also removes all trace of preservative and leaves the dies susceptible to rust. Try, flaring the case mouth a hair more. Don't overdo it, but do it enough to eliminate the lube shaving. Third, and this is the only thing that'll cost you money, buy a Lee Factory Crimp Die for the .45 ACP. It resizes the case body with a carbide sizer as well as putting a taper crimp on the bullet. This will iron out any case bulging problems. Back out your seating die and readjust it to just seat the bullet and apply the crimp as a separate step. The Lee die is available for 12 bucks or so at Midway (573) 445-6363, www.midwayusa.com.

Q: I have a question for you on the Non-Toxic cases by Federal & Winchester in .45 ACP. I get a lot of brass off of Police Ranges and I am getting a lot more of these NT cases in .45 ACP which only take a small pistol primer. Is it safe to reload with the small pistol primers and is there some correct loadings to use with these cases? I have e-mailed Federal & Winchester and they have said it is not safe to reload them. Can this be brought out in your magazine to warn other reloaders?

Greg Hull

via e-mail

A: This is one of those "I wish it never happened stories." No good will come of this. You can reload the NT cases with the small pistol primers, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you can reliably sort the brass between the two primer sizes. This'll drive commercial loaders crazy too, I suspect. Three big problems: Detonation of a large pistol primer upon the attempt to seat it in a case with the small pocket. If you reload without safety glasses, stop that and put 'em on. Second, small primers falling out of large pistol pockets somewhere along the way. You really don't want live primers rattling around in anything, anywhere--especially in the bowels of self-loading pistol. Lastly, the small primer most likely won't stay in the large pocket after discharge. That should create some fun scenarios, too.

All of these problems can occur on a random basis depending on how well sorted your brass is. Just remember this rule during a reloading session: If something feels wrong, it probably is. Stop, look everything over and double-check it twice before continuing. Regarding data, if you work the load up from the starting charge using the small primer instead of the large primer, you should have no trouble. Remember, you can't change any component when reloading top-end loads without backing off and working back up.

I sent my answer to Charlie Petty to see if he had anything to add. He adds, "I don't think it is 'unsafe' to load the cases and I have done so successfully, but it is way more trouble than it is worth. Another major problem is that the Federal primers are severely crimped-in and the primer pockets must be swaged before they can be loaded. I also found velocities were about 50 fps slower with the small pistol primer."