Trimming 45 ACP brass

[HOGGHEAD]

Normally for years I just bought cheap 45 ACP ammo to shoot for fun. However that ammo has gotten ridiculously priced. So I decided to start casting and reloading my own 45 ACP.

I have heard a lot of different things about trimming 45 ACP. So I am just interested in any comments anyone might have about trimmming or crimping 45 ACP brass. Thanks, Tom.

 

[dvdt]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

Tom -

I'm a fairly new reloader. I do not trim any of my pistol brass. I load 9mm and .45 Auto and haven't had a case grow out of spec yet. I did load some 9mm brass 8x and it still met spec. I haven't tried this with .45 but my Bullseye buddies tell me not to worry about it. I'm more concerned about a cracked case than one that needs trimming.

This could be very stupid on my part so I'm interested in the comments but I haven't had any problems. I usually goto 'lost brass' events and cycle out my old brass.

My loads aren't hot by any means if that matters.

I apply a taper crimp as per book specs. .45 is running right at .468 if memory serves me correctly.

 

[showlow50]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

You don't have trim 45acp brass. I shoot it till the case splits. I have shot my brass till you can hardy read the head stamp. But I do not load hot.

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

How do you get a consistent crimp if your brass is not all the same length?? Tom.

 

[JSTARSZ]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

I have never trimmed pistol brass. I have not found it to be an issue and I don't normally shoot that hot as to put that much pressure on the brass to expnad it.

 

[M855]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

taper crimp if your friend

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

I understand that you need to do a taper crimp. I bought a Redding Taper crimp die.

I measured some brass that I sized and cleaned. Most of it measures .890. Almost 75% of it has that measurement. But the rest measures basically two other lengths. The one length is .893, and the other length is .885. So there is .08" difference between the two. I doubt if the actual crimp will be .008 long?? So the shorter cases would not receive any crimp what so ever if I set it up for the .893's?? And if I set the crimp die up for the .890 then I am assuming(have not done it yet) if it was set for .890 that it would crush the .893's?? But I do not know that for sure. I will have to try it first.

I am sure a taper crimp will not be as critical as a roll crimp. But there is a big difference between .893 and .885??

I believe actual recommended trim lentgth is .889 ?????? And max length is .899 ??????

Probably best if I just get into the reloading dungeon and crimp a few different cases and find out for myself. However I have to get down to the garage first and get some 230 grain round nosed pills poured!! Tom.

 

[jwoolf]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

Yep, you only have to trip bottle neck cartridges.

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

I've been re-stuffing 45 ACP since about '66. Have not (yet) trimmed a case so I guess I still don't have enough experiece to answer your question!

Enjoy.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

I also have never trimmed a pistol case. I don't keep track of how many times I've loaded .45 cases. I have a clean tub, and a dirty tub. You guessed it: When I think of it and feel like it, I dump brass from the dirty tub into the tumbler...then it goes into the clean tub. Clean brass comes out of the clean tub into the casefeeder. I police my brass when I shoot, and scrounge up brass at the range. I do a cursory inspection to avoid small primer 45.

I grab a handful of brass, find the shortest one, and set my flaring die (Dillon die/conversion set) to flare the case **just** enough for a bullet to start leading in. Then I seat a the bullet in this case, then set my crimp die (again, dillon), so there is NO measureable flare left on the brass, then I set the crimp die just a little lower.

I certainly notice some cases get flared more than others - because those cases are longer. Thats ok though, because the crimp die is set to undo what the powder drop die does. Therefore, it doesn't matter if there is variance in case length.

The real "concern" is a case that is so long that it doesn't allow the slide to fully go into battery. For most tilting barrel semi-locked Browning design auto-pistols, a case would have to be about .025" too long before it stopped the slide short of full battery. And even then, most pistols won't disengage the sear (to drop the firing pin/hammer) if the slide is .025" from home.

Short answer: Don't worry about trimming .45 brass.

 

[mdmp5]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

trim to length for 45 is .893. A taper crimp will hit anything above or below that within reason. Straight walled pistol cases are not as critical as bottle necked cases as far as reloading goes. Unless the brass is really long to the point that you will totally run out of headspace, don't waste your time trimming it.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

Pistol brass requires prep?

Hmmm, I think not!

 

[rdinak]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

Loading .45 for over 25 years...never even thought of trimming a pistol case..LOL

Ymmv

Tumble, inspect..feed through Dillon as quickly as possible.They get lost before they ever wear out...

 

[Carnivore]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

LOL, Shoot, Reload, Repeat! You will split them before needing to trim them. 155gr SWC are my favorites and almost no recoil.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Simo Hayha</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Loading .45 for over 25 years...never even thought of trimming a pistol case..LOL

Ymmv

Tumble, inspect..feed through Dillon as quickly as possible.They get lost before they ever wear out... </div></div>

This! I have about 5,000 pcs of 45 in inventory. I've probably fired 25,000 rounds. I never keep fresh range pickup brass seperate - just goes in the dirty bin. Some have probably made it through rotation 10 times, others probably only once or twice. As far as I know, I've split one case, which I found while
resizing because it took zero effort.

A pistol chambered in 45acp is meant to be fired fast and at close range - no need for precision! (Well, except maybe for bullseye shooting - even then I have to wonder....my sig 1911 will shoot 1" groups at 25 yards with mixed headstamp crap I made with my Dillon just as quick as I could)

 

[XTR]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

I'm in the pack that has loaded them for decades and never trimmed one. Get a progressive with enough holes in the tool head for a taper crimp die and just pull the handle.

Oh yea, and they are worn out when they split.

 

[normbal]

Re: Trimming 45 ACP brass

I've got .45 acp brass I've loaded maybe 10 more more times. 9mm too. Straight-walled cases you (almost) never have to trim. This was part of the genius of John Moses Browning (and Paul Luger). the brass head-spaces in the chamber and doesn't have much room to stretch out.

Only cases I've replaced are ones that split (and they make a very distinct sound when they're split, you can usually pick them out of the box you dump your polished brass into first by sound, then by sight), and when primers don't stick in the pockets they gotta go too. I've had this happen a LOT with PMC brass, which loses its markings on the headstamp after about 5 firings or so. You just feel it when you prime it and pluck that one out of the press.

I used to own subguns in 9mm, .45 acp, .223 and .308 (FN-FAL) and I've handloaded probably upwards of 80,000 rounds in the past 15 years on two dillon presses (plus a couple thou more on a Lee challenger in some odd calibers like .375 H&H, .458 Win Mag and others). Keeps me off the streets nights.

Enjoy.