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Posted: 4/10/2011 8:17:44 PM EDT
Was at the range yesterday testing some new to me pistols and some ammo. Story behind the 45 ACP loads that this post is about. Several fun shows ago, I picked up 400 odd 45 ACP cases. They were grungy dirty with a sticky (lube I think) on the outside. I soaked them overnight in Lemishine, the sticky stuff was still there. I ended up going outside and washing the cases in lacquer thinner, that cleaned off the sticky stuff. It was then I noticed there were 70 or so primed cases mixed in with the fired cases. So I decided to do a test on the primers. I decapped the primed brass with a decapping die on my press. After depriming some of the primers were partly dissolved, but 50 or so "looked" ok. I placed them in the top of a primer flipper tray top, anvil side up. Let them dry for a couple of months. Then loaded them with a 185 gr cast SWC and 3.6 grs of Clays. An accurate load in my Kimber, and the lightest charge that will cycle reliably. So I tested those loads yesterday. 
Target was at 15 yds, shot offhand. (I can usually do a little better than this target shows, so of course I blame the ammo.) First 15 rounds were normal, then started getting squibs. Hole would appear in target, but the slide didn't move. Had to cycle slide to eject fired case and load the next round. One round sounded like a cap gun going off. I was checking the barrel for stuck bullets often. Conclusion: All 50 rounds fired, about half normally. The rest, had to clear a stove pipe, cycle slide, or check for a stuck bullet. So I won't be using any Lemishine soaked, lacquer thinner washed primers in the future. 
Another load I tested was a 357 wadcutter load in my 4" Security Six. Hornady 148 gr swaged WC, 357 Fed nickel cases, 3.0 grs Bullseye, bullet seated flush with case mouth, no crimp. Half were loaded with a WSP primer, the other half with a WSPM primer. The loads with the standard primer shot the best for me. See you here, or at the range. |
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