small pistol primers in a 45 ACP???

[dovehunter]

I was scrounging up clean, once fired brass at the club range yesterday and picked up a bunch of 45 ACP brass. Fortunately, when I have the chance, I always carefully inspect all my brass - my own and what I pick up. While looking through my scrounged-up cases I happened to notice four casings that looked weird: 3 with an "ICC" headstamp and one with SPEER. It then dawned me that all four of the cases were made for and did contain small pistol primers.

I threw them away immediately. What's with this and why would some ammo makers start doing it?

I would think this could lead to a potentially dangerous problem for reloaders, particularly those with progressive machines. They will decap fine but I would think there would be big bang when one of those cases gets to the priming station. All my reloading manuals say the 45 ACP takes large pistol primers. I guess I am going to have start paying particular attention to brass I pick up at the range.

[twomoons]

That was target ammo and it was made that way as it was thought that sp primers gave a more uniform ignition. You will also find some 308 ammo with sr proimers for the same reason. In addition when it came out 40 s and W was supplied with sp and then after some time they switched to LP.

[dovehunter]

Jan 19, 2010 17:18:27 GMT -5 twomoons said:

...In addition when it came out 40 s and W was supplied with sp and then after some time they switched to LP.

The 40 S&W cases that I mistakenly picked up as being 45 ACP - probably about 10 of them - all had small pistol primers. That was another way I had of distinguishing them from the 45s. I can't always read the headstamp without my reading glasses (getting old is hell, but it beats the alternative).

[twomoons]

I usually have the grand kids over and we have a GAME to see who can get the most cases in the right buckets. Otherwise I go blind trying to sort range brass that includes 380, 9x18, 9x19, 38 super, 38 special, 357, 40 SanW, 45 ACP, 45 S and W, and 45 Colt.

[dovehunter]

Jan 20, 2010 11:40:59 GMT -5 twomoons said:

I usually have the grand kids over and we have a GAME to see who can get the most cases in the right buckets. Otherwise I go blind trying to sort range brass that includes 380, 9x18, 9x19, 38 super, 38 special, 357, 40 SanW, 45 ACP, 45 S and W, and 45 Colt.

I hear you! It's amazing though what you pick up at the range. To make a long story short we picked up several bottlenecked pistol cases that looked strange. I thought they were .357 Sig. but, using various sources, we later identified them as being .30 Mauser. I was surprised such ammo was still being manufactured. It must be though because the cases looked relatively new and shiny and insides were almost clean.