hard h2o wrote:Seismic Sam wrote:Oh - seeing as you are used to reloading rifle brass and NOT pistol brass, I wanted to mention one point that you may not know: With stuff like 9mm, 38,and 45 brass, don't even bother to measure cases or think about trimming. I got some WCC 72 45 ACP headstamp brass I picked up in 1973, and I'm still shooting some of it today, and I think I wasted 10 minutes measuring cases 15 years ago and found it was still shorter than the trim length.
Thanks for confirming that. For the rifle I trim with Lee case length gauge and holder. I bought one for the .45. It was only something like $2.99 for the gauge and holder for the .45. In my reading I saw the same advice that you offered about not needing to trim. I will measure as I go and, I am sure, come to the same conclusion as you and most everyone else that it is not necessary.
I have acquired quite a bit of once fired brass already. I do not like the idea of range pickup brass. Never know how it has been treated prior to ending up discarded on the ground or floor of the range. Easy enough to buy brass or a box of ammo and know 100% where the brass came from.
Be careful of "buying a box of ammo"!! If it's Federal or Winchester or Remington then it's new brass. If you buy "Off Brands" like "800 pound reloading troll n00b sammich flavor 45 ACP ammo" which might be multiple headstamps, and that pretty much means it's range pickup brass just like what you're trying to avoid. Same for buying bulk brass in 100 or 250 pc bags where the headstamps are not all the same. The one saving grace of 45 ACP is that the SAAMI max pressure is around 20,000 PSI, which is very low, so unless you get cases from some idiot who tried to use 45 ACP brass fro 45 Super or 460 Rowland because he was cheap in addition to being named Cletus, you're probably alright.
The other rule to follow is that if it resizes harder than the rest of the cases, throw it away!! That rule is true for ALL calibers!!