.45ACP brass... need advice...

CanuckShooter

CanuckShooter

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My 1911 in .45ACP will be coming soon. By the time it gets here I will have my .45ACP reloading kit all setup on my dad's Dillon XL650. I just need some help deciding what the best way to go about getting good brass for the best price. I have 3 options....


1. Buying range pickup brass - Seems to run about $10/100 before shipping. It seems that most of the range pickup brass out there is all of unknown origin, no one knows how many times it was reloaded, lots of the time there are small primered (WinClean?) brass mixed in, steel and nickel plated cases mixed in, etc... I don't know.. I'm not sure how I feel about paying that kind of money for a container of 'surprise' brass.

2. Buying new brass - Seems to run about $25/100 before shipping. I have been reading some reviews on Starline brass and everyone seems to be raving about it. I don't think I have read a single bad thing about it anywhere.

3. Buying some Federal American Eagle ammo - This is all I have access to in my area and it sells for $25/50 before taxes. I could just pickup a few boxes of this stuff, shoot it, then reuse the brass... that is, if AE is QUALITY brass.


Any advice or opinions? What would you recommend? How many pieces of brass should I start out with. I don't to end up short, but I also don't want to go overboard and end up with WAY more than I will ever need.

I know that .45ACP is a very low pressure cartridge, and that the brass lasts a very long time. To give you an idea of my needs, I do not compete (just a recreational shooter), I will only be shooting standard pressure loads or lower, and I plan to shoot about 100-150 rounds a week.

:redface:
 
Personally, I think it's best to buy some factory ammo first to mix with whatever your starting reloads are to gain an appreciation for how the gun feels as a frame of reference, best off - it's a sneaky way to pick up free range brass as well under the guise that you're picking up your own.

As for those Winclean / Win NT cases, I've reloaded those plenty and haven't had any problem. I personally wouldn't ever buy NEW brass for anything, what you basically showed with your price comparisons is that new brass is twice as much as range brass, so unless one in every 2 pieces of range brass you get is moot, it's not really justified (and if it is, your supplier is a crook)
 
How do you know what most of the range pick-up brass out there is like quality-wise?:confused:

Buy 1000 used. You will lose some at the range, some will crack. You will get the occasional mangle from a stove-pipe.

Say you buy 4 boxes of factory and you lose 2. What are you going to do with the 2 extra primers when you reload the brass?;) Won't you be embarrassed when you open your MTM box and it's not full?;):D

Seriously, the stuff don't go bad. Buy enough now so that you don't have to worry later if the supplies dry up.:)
 
A couple of options:

You could buy a large order from Combat Masters. Cheaper than buying factory, and then you'll have brass for hand loading.

Another option is to source once fired small primer brass - the Winclean stuff - the primers are crimped in so there is a bit of hassle prepping them, but you should be able to get it at reasonable cost, and you know it will be once fired if the crimp is intact.
 
I was in the same situation as you last fall.I bought 500 rounds of American eagle factory loads,and will be using that brass to reload.By purchasing lots of 500 at P&D I received a volume discount.
 
Canuckshooter, since you are in Ontario, i would ook at buying ammo from Wolf In Kingston and use that for your base brass.

Stubblejumper, since you are in Alberta, you should ook at Canadianbdx/combatmaster.
 
"...How do you know..." You don't. That's the whole point. Mind you, most once fired(not the same as 'range pick-up') has been sorted by whoever is selling it.
Starline is good brass. Federal brass tends to be softer than other manufacturer's brass. It's ok, but usually doesn't last as long.
Where in Southern Ontario? Shooter's Choice, in Waterloo, usually has new brass in plastic bags. So does Goble's in London and Tillsonburg.
"...WinClean?..." Yep. Uses a special non-toxic priming compound. The bullets are their version of a TMJ too.
 
You are right, 45 ACP brass lasts a very long time since it is a low pressure cartridge, you should be able to get 10 to 20 loadings out of it with moderate loads. So getting used brass isn't a biggie. 45 brass lasts much longer than 9mm and 40 S&W which run at more than double the pressure.
 
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I bought 1K brass from Marstar. Tumbled and sorted it and I had about 30 Win NT small primered casings and some tight and stiff S&B that had some evil primers, but other than that no issues.

I seem to find lots at the range and I always make people I take shooting pick up the brass.

With your Dillon it won't be an issue, but with my turret press having only 200 rounds of brass means I can only have 200 rounds loaded and ready and when I want/need more it will take me a hour for that.. For you, not so much.

I'd say bite the bullet and buy a case of Federal or Win FMJ stuff and keep the brass but @ 400 or so for a case of 1000, thats a solid 3500 230GR CMJ's that I could buy for that 1000.

I was happy with my marstar brass. What I loose from shooting one day I seem to make up another day finding stuff lying around the range.
 
I should have said that if I were to buy factory ammo, I would only be able to afford about 200 rounds lol Spending $400 on factory ammo would also almost defeat the purpose of spending $400 on the reloading kit for my dad's machine... which I bought in order to NOT have to buy factory lol :D

Maybe I should scrap that option and just go with the once fired brass. Money is tight right now, so the cheaper the better.
 
So buy 1K of once fired from Marstar for $130 and get 1000 CMJ's for $130 and a box of 1000 primers for $25 bucks and you have 1K for $285 and the next time around it will be less because you've already "paid off" your brass.

Brass is one upfront cost you have to just swallow.
 
scotty said:
So buy 1K of once fired from Marstar for $130 and get 1000 CMJ's for $130 and a box of 1000 primers for $25 bucks and you have 1K for $285 and the next time around it will be less because you've already "paid off" your brass.

Brass is one upfront cost you have to just swallow.
Click to expand...

Your missing something in your recipe that will up the price a bit......;)
 
Powder? lol

Ya that sound slike a good idea. I am going to be shooting lead bullets so it will be even cheaper than that.

What shape of lead bullets feed the best in 1911s?
 
I bought a thousand Fiochi 45 ACP rounds and used the brass for reloads. The factory rounds were really hot and lots of fun to shoot, the brass tolerated many many reloads. I still have most, although I do very little pistol these days. I used to buy 1000 Montana Gold 230 FMJ bullets at-a-time from John at Precision reloading and touched them off with tite-group
 
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