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Old October 22, 2012, 09:08 PM   #1
BombthePeasants
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A word of warning about Herters .45ACP brass

Dearest fellow reloading travelers:

I have been loading some .45ACP range pick-up brass lately, and I've discovered that the Herters' brand brass will not prime readily like all the other brands. They either require excessive effort, or sometimes will not accept the primer at all. Please be aware, and it's probably a good idea to either use a primer pocket tool on them, or just toss them altogether. That is all.

Good luck and keep your powder dry everyone!
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Old October 22, 2012, 09:15 PM   #2
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Thanks for the PSA, Sir! I knew there had to be a catch to Herter's....
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Old October 22, 2012, 09:19 PM   #3
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Try a prime-pocket swager as if it were military brass? Just a thought.
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Old October 22, 2012, 09:34 PM   #4
BombthePeasants
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Well I know to do that now, thus the warning. I loaded 5 or 6, of those 4 were difficult.
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Old October 22, 2012, 10:22 PM   #5
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Most Herters is in the catalogs as steel cas
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Old October 23, 2012, 07:15 AM   #6
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Is it an actual brass case, or just brass plated steel?
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Old October 23, 2012, 08:08 AM   #7
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Herter's is Russian made ammo, polymer coated STEEL cases. I wouldn't use them for reloading.

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Old October 23, 2012, 09:16 AM   #8
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Ahh, Moxie & mrawesome22, in your zeal to try and out me as a fool, I suggest brushing up on your Interweb search skillz! For the Herters BRASS I refer to is indeed BRASS, and is part of their select grade of ammo.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Herte...h-All+Products
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Old October 23, 2012, 09:48 AM   #9
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Indeed BtP. I was trying to find a link but you beat me to it. I've shot brass cased Herter's so I knew it existed as something other than steel.
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Old October 23, 2012, 10:03 AM   #10
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Fifty years ago, when Herter's was really Herter's, their cases were European made and of excellant quality at low cost. Cablela's has bought the rights to the name but today's Herters is NOT Herters; our benevolent libruler politicians killed them off in the late 60s. Much to the detriment of shooters and other outdoor sportsmen.
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Old October 23, 2012, 11:54 AM   #11
BombthePeasants
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The BRASS Herters ammo is made by Sellier & Bellot. I have never shot the stuff, but I wouldn't shy away from any Sellier & Bellot ammo were someone to give it to me. I'm just saying that if anyone finds range pickup brass, just give it a quick once over with the calipers to check the primer pocket sizes.
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Old October 23, 2012, 12:08 PM   #12
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In the link for the "Premimum Brass" it states brass is S&B. All S&B brass I've encountered has no radius/break on the primer pockets (straight sides almost like a crimp) and need to be tapered before reloading.

FWIW Herter's steel cased 45 ACP http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shoot...3Bcat106633080
Herter's sells both steel and brass cased ammo...
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Old October 23, 2012, 03:00 PM   #13
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I have loaded some of Herters' original rifle brass, which was good brass except for the flash holes being too small for the decapping pin to pass through. A drill cured that. Herters put themselves out of business with mismanagement. Cabalas, Bass Pro Shops, and MidwayUSA got their start about that time and Gander Mountain survived.
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Old October 26, 2012, 09:15 AM   #14
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Herters brass is right near the top of my list [along with A-Merc] of brands that always go directly into the metal recycling box. Range brass is everywhere and free. These lesser brands may work as intended, but why take the risk? At a minimum, they're slightly out of spec and will degrade reliability and accuracy. At worst, who knows?

Stick to the good stuff. Recycling centers don't look at the headstamps and will give you cash for the trash.
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Old October 26, 2012, 09:28 AM   #15
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If you load long enough you run into this stuff in various brands. I once bought 1000 new, unprimed IMI .45 Auto Match cases and found the pockets too snug to let me seat primers reliably if at all, and had to swage them, too. If you look at primer pocket specs, they allow ±0.001" on diameter. If you get some on the tight side of that range or off a worn forming die, you'll feel the pinch. It's one reason the Dillon 1050 8-station commercial grade loading machine uses one station to swage every primer pocket whether it needs it or not.
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