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Old October 4, 2012, 06:20 PM   #1
John1 S
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Question on 45 ACP

Does a 45 ACP take a small or large primer???
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Old October 4, 2012, 06:31 PM   #2
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Yes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old October 4, 2012, 06:33 PM   #3
fishbones182
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Depends on the brass some is small and some is large primer. You just have to look at what you have and sort it out. I still prefer the large primer over the small in 45acp.
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Old October 4, 2012, 08:04 PM   #4
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The 45 ACP was always a LPP case up until a few years ago. Now it comes in both LPP and SPP. No big deal as far as load data, just make sure you separate before running through any Progressive press.
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Old October 4, 2012, 08:12 PM   #5
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80% of my range pickup brass is large pistol.
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Old October 5, 2012, 09:24 AM   #6
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Yep all stated true. At some point there will no longer be any large primer 45 acp manufactured.
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Old October 5, 2012, 09:33 AM   #7
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Sad to hear of the future demise of large primer 45 ACP brass.

Still, for the time being it is important to keep the brass separated. A couple of buds at the range were on an email change of a Dillion 650 or 1050 that totally frag’d when a small primer case showed up on the large primer priming station. They told me, even though the primer tube is separate from the priming station, the whole tube went up and did major damage to the press.
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Old October 5, 2012, 11:21 AM   #8
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Well went to my range down the street and picked up a 2 gal. of the 45's and about 50 were the small primer and the others were the large primers.( looks to be about 400 to 500 large primers). Well next got to go get some large primers.
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Old October 5, 2012, 11:38 AM   #9
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Well, since small pistols primers are getting harder to find now-a-days, I'm glad I have a bunch of large primed 45 ACP brass and primers. If things get real bad, I'll still have my 45s to shoot...
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Old October 7, 2012, 10:21 AM   #10
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Quote:
Yep all stated true. At some point there will no longer be any large primer 45 acp manufactured.
And we know this for a fact? Or is this just your assumption?
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Old October 7, 2012, 10:59 AM   #11
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I also toss the small primer cases in the trash (or give them to someone I don't like) Really dumb idea to use a small primer in a .45 ACP considering all of the 1911s out there with off center pin hits from the factory and even more so when the barrel fit is tightened up.
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Old October 7, 2012, 12:11 PM   #12
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Really like those cases with small primer pockets as I have cases and cases of small rifle primers that I load them with. I do not mean 1,000 round boxes either.
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Old October 7, 2012, 02:56 PM   #13
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The cases that are using small pistol primers ...are typically the NT cases...and the headstamps reflect the NT mark ...and it means they're NonToxic (no lead) primers in those cases. I segragate them / as I find them and dump them / I don't fuss with loading them.

I still see a few NT cases in .45 acp ...and a few in other calibers like 9mm ...but they don't seem to be dominating sales in ammo because they're more expensive ( Win Clean, etc ).

I think there are some ranges out there...that were trying to go to Non Toxic ammo / or at least cut down on lead dust ..on their ranges / vs putting in better ventilation systems...but more and more ranges in my area / are selling the cheapest ammo they can find for range ammo now ...Federal white box, S&B, etc...

I load on a Dillon 650 as well ...and a small pistol primer will jam in station 1 for resizing and depriming / the depriming tip on my Dillon dies in a .45 acp case is too big to deprime a small pistol primer case. There is no doubt that it might get by some dies ..and into station 2 ( for repriming ) ....but if you mash a primer and detonate it in station 2 ...its means you're using way too much pressure seating those primers in station 2 in my view....not that it can't happen / and I always wear safety glasses.../ but in my view its an operator error ( and you should clean and inspect and sort your cases before you drop them into a case feeder ) ..so the operator screwed up twice ..( in his sort / and using way too much pressure to seat a primer in station 2 )...
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Old October 7, 2012, 06:22 PM   #14
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Should one use small pistol, or small pistol magnum primers for these?
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Old October 7, 2012, 06:32 PM   #15
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good question ...???

... there aren't any published recipes for .45 acp NT cases with small pistol primers ( so I don't guess or try to be an amateur chemist )....so I don't have any interest in reloading them...
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Old October 7, 2012, 06:40 PM   #16
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Quote:
Should one use small pistol, or small pistol magnum primers for these?
Being as they use a smaller primer instead of the large pistol primers I fail to see where there would be a problem. As I stated in my earlier post I use small rifle primers reloading pistol calibers, CCI brand to be exact, I encounter no problems with ignition or other problems. I do not load near max, and the paper targets are just as dead as those shot with higher powder charges. Also much easier on my wrists too.
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Old October 7, 2012, 07:12 PM   #17
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Small pistol primers work just fine and you can use the same load data thats out there for the LPP's. No difference in accuracy and less then a 20fps difference depending on powder used.
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Old October 7, 2012, 07:29 PM   #18
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I agree with the above comment. I currently throw them away but if I did reload the small primer .45's I would use the data for the large ones. I use small rifle primers in all of my small pistol loads anyway.
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Old October 7, 2012, 07:43 PM   #19
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I'm saving them, personally. When I come to a small primer .45 case, I drop it into a gallon zip-lock bag. I figure that one of these days I'll load a bunch and shoot them where I'm not worried about picking up the brass.
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Old October 7, 2012, 08:56 PM   #20
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small and large

I am finding more and more of my range 45acp free brass is small primer. I find I have fewer high primers with smalls and less effort to prime. Just sort them and load in batches. What is the problem again?
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Old October 7, 2012, 09:02 PM   #21
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The problem is that if your pin hit is slightly off center (most guns are off a little) your chances of not getting positive ignition are higher than with a large primer. The other problem is I cannot think of one good reason to switch to a small primer in a .45 ACP that has used large primers for over a hundred years and now I am expected to spend even more time sorting brass.
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Old October 7, 2012, 10:42 PM   #22
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I toss the small primer ones in the trash if I get 'em. I know guys at the club collect them and toss in brass bucket to go to recycling. No one I know likes the 'change' .... Over 100 years of large primer .45 ACP ... and now this .

Standard primers (large or small) will work fine in .45 ACP. You don't load slow burning powders in .45 ACP like H-110 or 4227 ....
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Old October 7, 2012, 10:56 PM   #23
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Quote:
The other problem is I cannot think of one good reason to switch to a small primer in a .45 ACP that has used large primers for over a hundred years and now I am expected to spend even more time sorting brass.
Obviously the manufactures felt differently.
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Old October 7, 2012, 11:02 PM   #24
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I have been loading both on my Dillon 550b. I have not had any problems. I use the same load for both large and small primers. I have had no problems with the Dillon dies for either type of case. I do find it a pain to have to separate them after cleaning. I can't see any good reason to toss brass I can easily load. I have found the small primer Federal cases are not lasting for as many reloads as the large primer Winchester cases. I still get several loadings out of those Federals.
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Old October 7, 2012, 11:40 PM   #25
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Quote:
I toss the small primer brass in the trash
You could at least sell it for scrap.

Last edited by jimbob86; October 11, 2012 at 03:29 PM.
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