View Full Version : .45 ACP small primers
platoonDaddy
01-11-18, 13:14
Wanted to share my experience loading .45 ACP. I am sure the majority of you know this, but certainly was new to me.
Started loading .45 ACP on my Dillon, following the setup, a few went as advertised and then hit a snag. Was unable to seat the primer, thinking something was wrong with my setup, when through re-verification. Set that brass aside and resumed the process, next four went without any issue and then another seating issue.
Removed the brass, noticed it was another Blazer. Following closer examination, realized they were small primer pockets vs large primer pockets. Performed a google and lead-free primers are all small primers e.g. CCI/Blazer, Speer, and other Federal.
So now, I have to sort through my brass to remove all small primer brass. Yes, you can load them with small primers, but I am going to toss them.
A few blogs talk about forcing large primers into small primer pockets have resulted in the primer going boom. For sure I would have shit my pants..
Never too old to learn.
I've picked up a few small primer .45 ACP cases by accident when policing up my own brass at the local gun club. I haven't seen any advantage to them for target loads or otherwise, so I toss them in the scrap pile.
If you press a primer hard enough, it will go off. I had a Large Rifle Magnum primer detonate while I was seating it on my Dillon RL550B. It makes a heck of a noise and I felt debris blowing out of the mouth of a 30-06 case. I wear safety glasses while reloading, so it could have been worse.
platoonDaddy
01-11-18, 18:55
I've picked up a few small primer .45 ACP cases by accident when policing up my own brass at the local gun club. I haven't seen any advantage to them for target loads or otherwise, so I toss them in the scrap pile.
If you press a primer hard enough, it will go off. I had a Large Rifle Magnum primer detonate while I was seating it on my Dillon RL550B. It makes a heck of a noise and I felt debris blowing out of the mouth of a 30-06 case. I wear safety glasses while reloading, so it could have been worse.
I also have a 550B and thanks for the tip about wearing safety glasses.
Please educate me:
I read on the Dillon blog, that the small primers used in .45 ACP are lead free. What properties are used in primers?
I ran into that a couple years ago. I kept getting primers that would not seat in an otherwise very smooth system I had set up. I had been picking up a lot of brass people were leaving behind. Sure enough it was Blazer. If you have .45 on a Dillon 5550B and the primers don;t seat very smoothly, something is wrong, and it's probably Blazer brass.
I actually prefer the small primer 45. Thanks to this, I never have to switch to the large primer set up on the 550.
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I actually prefer the small primer 45. Thanks to this, I never have to switch to the large primer set up on the 550.
Same here. I toss the large primer brass into recycle.
On a side note... as a Dillon 550b owner, I've mashed hundreds of primers into oblivion, and have yet to ignite one. I don't see how someone could get this to happen, but I've read the account of it.
I no longer use that dog shit primer system on my 550b, and just hand prime or prime on the single stage when I size pistol brass.
I also have a 550B and thanks for the tip about wearing safety glasses.
Please educate me:
I read on the Dillon blog, that the small primers used in .45 ACP are lead free. What properties are used in primers?
I thought all primers marketed in the U.S. contained Lead Styphnate. I could be wrong.
I thought all primers marketed in the U.S. contained Lead Styphnate. I could be wrong.
I think some of the small primer 45 brass I have is market "NT" (non toxic). I'm not sure what that means exactly...
m1a_scoutguy
01-12-18, 12:39
LOL, I just acquired a 550 and have been loading so much 9mm I don't even think of my 45 ! In the big picture I guess it would be easy to just leave the small pistol primer system in the Dillon. Anyways I always kept the pain in the ass SPP separate and just used them for matches that were lost brass matches. Some places they don't let you pick up your fired brass so leave the spp stuff on the ground and no worries ! I have so much LPP 45 brass its would be hard to convert but having the 550 now makes me think about the SPP stuff ! ;)
A lot of the small pistol primer 45 ACP brass comes from winclean ammo. I have a lifetime supply of the old-fashioned large primered 45 ACP brass. I toss the other stuff in the trash
I think some of the small primer 45 brass I have is market "NT" (non toxic). I'm not sure what that means exactly...
Mainly what that means is the original ammunition the shell was part of was intended for use in an indoor range.
There has been a big push by environmentalists to get lead out of our life. Some of this has permeated into firearms, ranges etc.
Most cartridges you pick up today are primed with lead styphnate. When that compound fires, there is some airborne lead-bearing residue.
Indoor ranges with the need to reduce lead exposure have requested ammunition makers to produce ammunition with a minimal amount of lead residue.
The resultant products do not use the lead based explosive in the primers and the back end of the bullet does not have any lead exposed to the powder.
There are technical challenges with the non-lead primer compound though. The stuff doesn't quite behave the same as the styphnate; its more powerful. The solution is to make only small primers - and in many cartridges they are crimped into the shells. To make 45s, they switched to small primer. Since there are fewer large primer pistol cartridges, there may be a benefit to manufacturers to have everything small primer by simplifying the supply chain.
One cool thing is that the brass from the NT ammunition is surprisingly clean after its been fired.
For those of us who now have to start sorting 45s before loading them, it kinda sucks.
For those of us who now have to start sorting 45s before loading them, it kinda sucks.
I sort everything anyway. I'm used to the suction.
One cool thing is that the brass from the NT ammunition is surprisingly clean after its been fired.
Yes, it's very clean. I bought a ton of Federal American Eagle 9mm NT several years ago. I'm still using it. The cases are so clean you could get away without cleaning them.
Not a common one, but Frankford Arsenal used a proprietary primer in .45 ACP that was smaller than large.
Same here. I toss the large primer brass into recycle.
On a side note... as a Dillon 550b owner, I've mashed hundreds of primers into oblivion, and have yet to ignite one. I don't see how someone could get this to happen, but I've read the account of it.
I no longer use that dog shit primer system on my 550b, and just hand prime or prime on the single stage when I size pistol brass.
I've mashed a lot of primers on my 650 but no detonations. The only detonation I have had was on a lee press with priming ram and remington 6.5 primers.
It anyone wants my .45 small primer brass, they can have it for shipping.
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