Applications and differences of primers, bullets, and cases.

[Georgezilla]

Also powders but it would not fit in the title
Most of these questions are geared towards reloading .45ACP.

Now that I am collecting reloading materials I am seeing 4 major primer brands: Federal, CCI, Winchester and Remington. What are the differences between the brands? When should I use one brand over another? are any of these brands just plain superior over the another? Do any of the brands seem to have a dedicated application among the reloading community, i.e. if you are reloading a certain caliber you MUST use a certain primer? Among actual shooters Federal brand primers seem to be the most popular for .45ACP loads so I have only been collecting Federal -- However the reloading manual I have has every load using CCI primers, should I start getting the CCI brand as well or stick to Federal?

How do I tell a well cast .45ACP bullet apart from a poorly cast one? What makes an accurate .45ACP lead SWC? What makes and accurate jacketed hardball bullet?

Do different .45ACP case brands perform differently? Do they have dedicated applications? Will some case brands perform better than others in a certain firearm? Do some cases perform best with a certain primer and powder combination? Why are some cases nickle plated (can you reload the nickle ones?)?

From what I understand the main differences between powders is the burn rate. When should you use a fast burning powder and when should you use a slower burning powder?

Thanks!

[Downeaster]

Wowsers, this promises to be an interesting thread! You'll get about as many answers and opinions as there are posters. Here's mine:

Primers: A large pistol primer is a large pistol primer is a large pistol primer. The only difference I've ever been able to indentify is that some are made of slightly harder material and require a firmer strike to detonate. You'll get folks that'll swear by one brand or another, but with the possible exception of extreme benchrest accuracy situation, I seriously doubt there's a measurable difference. Use what's available in your area. DO NOT subsitute a Large Pistol Magnum for a Large Pistol without dropping your powder charge and working back up.

Bullets: Most commercially available big name cast bullets are fine. Things to look for are consistency of weight, size and lube type. 45 caliber bullets come in a couple of different sizes, .451 and .452 are common, with some larger available for special applications. Unless your gun is worn or came with sloppy tolerances from the factory (which happens) .451 diameter should be fine for most applicatons. Hardness varies and harder bullets will usually cause less leading. Softer will conform the the rifling better. If you're having accuracy problems you may want to try a harder or softer bullet. (EDIT: Hardness can affect pressures too. If you're loading toward the upper limits, make sure the bullet you're using conforms to the load data you're using. It's neither wise nor safe to assume that load data for a 230 grain soft cast is applicable to a 230 FMJ)

Cases: In the .45ACP, as long as the length is within spec, I feel the same way about cases as I do primers. A case is a case...etc. Some folks are very particular about only using one headstamp or brand. At the level of shooting I'm doing, I don't even sort headstamps. I grab a couple of big handfuls out of my 5 gallon bucket, toss 'em in the tumbler and get to work. Only caveat to this is that SOME military brass may have staked primer pockets that will need to be reamed before seating new primers.

Powders: Here, I'm out of my depth. I stay with what the book says. In straightwall pistol cases, I've used 700X, Unique, Bullseye and 2400 in .38, .357, .44 spl, .44mag, .45, and .45LC with good results across the board. Only things I've noticed is that 2400 seems to work best for the hot mag loads, and Bullseye tends to be dirtier than the others.

[SKnight]

Taking notes........

[stork]

Primers: Ditto on Downeaster's comments. It really doesn't make any difference as long as it's a standard large pistol primer.

Bullets: The most important aspect is the base of the bullet. For 50 yd shooting they MUST BE PERFECT. 25 yards and under just about anything will shoot well. The H&G 68 style or 230 RN will generally feed the best. The H&G 130 (185 gr) has a much shorter nose and is trickier to get to feed 100%.
I need to make one addition to Downeaster's hardness comments. IF PROPERLY SIZED a hard bullet will lead less at high velocities. If that hard bullet is not at least .0005-.001 OVER bore size they will lead like nothing you've ever seen.
For hardball bullets see my post about Neil's loads.
http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/vie ... 8&start=45

Cases: Same answer. Other than to pander to some of my anal tendencies when I make my match ammo, I mix all my brands together.

Powder: Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Bullseye, WST, Clays, 231, HP38, Hodgdon Tite Group, 700x, Unique as well as others are well proven powders. No need to spend time & components trying when so many have already done the preliminary work.

[Downeaster]

Good point on the sizing, Stork. Thought about that, but apparently it never made it out the end of my fingers... :lol: