45 ACP head stamps

[Bert Gamble]

Hi all,
I have been reading the ABC's of Reloading and it says to separate brass by the manufacturers headstamp. I would like your opinion on this.

I currently have it separated by small and large primer (because I have a lot of small primer Blazer).

It is all 45 ACP, so does it matter who makes it?

Thanks
Bert

[Vicious_138]

most people dont separate by head stamps on pistol brass.

separation by head stamp is really for precision rifle reloading.

[SandDiegoDuner]

I separated my .40 S&W brass by manufacturer to do some load testing. I was mainly just looking for pressure signs and the results do change with manufacturer. I have some Winchester brass that seems to be a little thinner and will bulge more than the Federal headstamps I have.

[Fishslayer]

I sort .45ACP by headstamp for several reasons.

1. Small & large primer. AARGH! Like to find the braniac who came up with THIS idea.

2. Small & large flash hole. They say it doesn't make a difference, but...

3. Accuracy. All brass is not created equal. Accuracy = consistency. Just removing another variable. I load my batches with one headstamp.

4. R-P brass. The brass is so thin it won't reliably grip a .451 bullet. I use them for .452 cast boolits.

[Southpaw45]

Over the last 22 years, I have never separated handgun brass for my reloads except for my precision ammo for my scoped .44 Mag. The difference in volume wont make enough change in accuracy to even notice for handgun shooting. I have a lot of Blazer and Federal .45ACP brass that has the larger "flash hole" and its just a small issue and wont make any big difference ether. I must warn you though! If you ever find any brass marked "AMERC", crush them in a vice so nobody can reload that garbage brass again!!!! That crap is so out of spec that its not even funny.... P.S---- If you got any S&B or Fiocchi brass, the primer pockets are a little undersized so primer insertion is a little tight.

[MAC USMC]

My experiences are the same as that of Southpaw45. I only separate .45 brass to locate the small primer brass and set it aside. I seldom load anything close to maximum as I have found accuracy is LESS with hotter loads.

I like to maintain my accuracy level and will, for a match, load up brass from only one maufacturer to keep everything consistent. Otherwise, I use it all and it works fine.