Loadable Brands

[Yoder]

Same here, I probably have a couple hundred, they are there if I want to bother with them. I bought some Blazer Brass years ago in bulk and didn't realize it was all small primer 45.

I loaded a couple hundred of them. I used the same powder charge and they worked fine.

[JenniferG]

Never seen a cannelure on a .45 round, actually looked it up to make sure it was what I thought it was. I have a boat load of Federal American Eagle brass in the red boxes that I've been reloading for years, but I'd also just pickup a couple or six if they happened to have it out on the floor in front of the counters when it was $15 bucks or so. I've also got Winchester, UMC, Fiocci, I generally keep the brands together.

I'm not sure if Federal is still using a cannelure on their brass but here's what it looks like. I also found a couple of WCC cases marked 1976 with a cannelure around the case. I do know that cannelure is a weak spot and will rip through after reloading. People are free to do whatever they please but for me if the case has a cannelure it's "into the mud scum queen".

I don't have the three ruptured cases or they were lost to time. The first two that ruptured were unnoticeable while firing but the third one opened up and was excessively loud so I stopped shooting, checked the brass and low an behold case rupture along the cannelure. The cases in the pictures have been in my junk brass bucket for years and have been rendered inert if they were loaded or never reloaded after said incident of case rupturing. None were over loaded and were among thousands of reloaded cartridges that used the same components, powder amounts and primers. I did look through other calibres of empty pistol brass that I have, 9mm, 40 S&W and none of them with Federal head stamps have a cannelure nor do the other brands so but check your cases before you go through the pain in the ass and potential harm that I went through.

[Gunowner99]

Picture helps a lot thank you I will make sure to trash them to be safe.

[fistv]

Because of the way I reload, between resizing/decapping, cleaning the primer pockets with a brush and manual priming my brass gets handled and eyeballed a lot. If I had a progressive they would get eyeballed a lot less. I wonder if the cannalure is a foreign thing.

[JenniferG]

Because of the way I reload, between resizing/decapping, cleaning the primer pockets with a brush and manual priming my brass gets handled and eyeballed a lot. If I had a progressive they would get eyeballed a lot less. I wonder if the cannalure is a foreign thing.

I haven't seen the cannelure on anything produced recently. As far as I can tell it was used as bullet seating depth indicator during the manufacturing process. I also found some of that small pistol primer Blazer Brass I didn't know I had. I have a couple of buckets I toss brass into when I come home from the range and I forget what factory ammo I bought sometimes. I stopped reloading for a while but kept throwing my empties into the buckets. I found a whole bunch of 30/06 brass I knew I had from shooting a Savage 110 I used to own. I also have some 308 brass which I picked up after we shot a friend's M1A. There was some oddball range pick ups in there too like a few 270's and a 8x57. Back in the bucket those go.

[27hand]

Also, If the brass looks like this, maybe pass on reloading it.

2021-01-31_09-51-14 by poofy27, on Flickr

[Gunplummer]

All brass cases are reloadable. Some are better than others. The differences are more important in rifle cases, where variations in case volume between brands can significantly affect pressure, accuracy, etc. Check Accurate Shooter website for some great articles on reloading by caliber, including recommended brass.

Pistol brass is not so finicky. Some stuff is total crap. Watch out for cases with a step or serration where the bullet was seated. They will separate quickly when reloaded. I*ve forgotten the website, maybe The High Road, but there was an analysis of the number of times different brands of 9mm brass could be reloaded before splitting. Most were good for at least ten, some in the twenties. I*ve reloaded Blazer brass numerous times. It*s just fine.

I toss old boxes and use plastic boxes for batches of precision loads, and Talenti Gelato containers for bulk.

I*m not familiar with your press, though, or how it should sound.

All brass cases are NOT reloadable. Some have berdan primers. I shoot 7.62x25 pistol ammo and a lot of it is berdan primed. I have run across rifle cases too.

[buckengr]

As mentioned previously, the stepped 9mm cases are my biggest pet peeve. I despise it. I've encountered a few brands that have it, but it's been a while since I've processed brass from unknown sources so I can't recall which off the top of my head.

For clarification, the hazard isn't usually that the brass will fail during loading (though I have seen that happen), but that it may separate in the chamber leaving a ring of brass stuck where you won't easily see it. It will probably prevent your gun from going into battery and will require a tool to get it out, but if you are unlucky enough to experience this on a gun without an OOB safety (like an AK-V, for example) or worse, an open-bolt subgun... well, bad things can happen. Not a good time.

I sometimes use range pickup pistol brass that I collect after matches. Most people I shoot with reload as well, so we are all usually all pretty careful about bringing bad brass to a match, but sometimes that crap makes its way in or it's already on the ground before we start.

I find checking for the step is usually faster than analyzing the headstamp, so it is now part of my regular procedure anytime I am working with a new-to-me batch of pickup brass.

[frankski]

All brass cases are NOT reloadable. Some have berdan primers. I shoot 7.62x25 pistol ammo and a lot of it is berdan primed. I have run across rifle cases too.

Of course it’s reloadable. It’s a different process with different tools required.

But you’re right that it can’t be reloaded with equipment designed for boxer primers, and should be avoided.

[wanneroo]

All brass cases are NOT reloadable. Some have berdan primers. I shoot 7.62x25 pistol ammo and a lot of it is berdan primed. I have run across rifle cases too.

Yes Berdan cases are very reloadable. I reload berdan cases with berdan primers all the time. It's not hard at all.