Perfecting components for 45ACP Reloading

I have large stashes of Winchester White Box and Federal GMM brass. All of it was (as far as I know) once fired factory ammo when I acquired it. I normally decap manually, clean in my vibro with crushed walnut & corn cob mix (and a blob of car polish). Then prime manually, which also gives me an opportunity to inspect each shell as I process. I try to only use the WWB for my 160 Brazos short line/practise ammo and GMM for 185 Nosler JHP long line. I still have some factory GMM to shoot to replenish my stash. I often find fresh WWB in the bin at my local range.

I have/will discard all of any other headstamp.

Is it worth buying a stash of new Starline 45ACP brass just for the long line?

I have read several comments recommending new (or used) brass needing to be trimmed to a perfect consistent length in order to produce the best ammo for the long line. Gather a stash of single headstamp, trim it once, should not need doing again.

Which is the best trimmer on the market. I will only use it for handgun Calibre's.

Very good questions! I kinda do the same thing and only use Winchester brass because I am a poor boy! I want to get some Starline  but really don’t know if it’s worth it. Hope someone else chimes in and gives some advice

The best trimmer is the Wilson. Their setup for pistol brass is a bit odd, and probably a fair bit slower than a collet type, but at least the case mouths will be square and the inside won't be scored up from a pilot.

For rifle (yeah irrelevant here) where you're tapping tapered cases in and out of the bushing, they're faster than any other trimmer except the motorized ones.

Ok. Did a deeper forum search and found a lot of info on work done in the past. The article on 45ACP brass longevity is illuminating as is the work done by Mike Curtis and others.

Wes G., Thanks for pointing me to Wilson trimmers, but now I see how tedious that work is I'll pass!

Had a chance to discuss this with my mentor in Oregon yesterday and conclusion is to buy some fresh Starline, use it for up to 5 times, only for match long line, then relegate to practise. My consumption will likely be less than 1,000 rounds per year, so I'll get my stash, get my press tuned, then load a year's worth. Repeat each year for as long as I'm serious. OK. Good plan

I'm sure someone will join in with all sorts of advise on trimming and measuring groups, etc. etc.  Here's my take on "perfecting components".  The most limited component you have is time.  

Clean your brass (what you have is just fine). You can use same headstamp / X's fired on the long line, but mixed is ok on short line.  
Trimming is unnecessary with .45 unless you are doing something really special. 

Components are consumable, get the best you can but don't spend more ($ or time) than you need.  Someone really pursuing Master or HM may be in the range of +/- 5,000 rounds of .45 and even more .22 per year.   (A 6 with a JHP Nosler 185 is way more expensive than and 6 with a LSWC and you can learn from both equally. And the best reload in the world can't make an 8 into a X.)  

If you really get into Precision Pistol, then a progressive press is the way to go.  And I've never trimmed or cleaned a primer pocket at all for pistol.  (Rifle and Pistol are two different reloading processes and for pistol, some people just do more than they need because they think that is path to the center.) 

As for time, here is a guide. 

Load more than you clean,
Shoot more than you load,
Train more than you shoot, 
Think more than you train. 

Others can now refute as they wish.  I know what helped me get my classification.

CR

Dear CR. Your advice is well taken.

I want to get my reloading well organised so that it requires a minimum of my time. But I also want excellent ammo. I've gathered very good equipment and components now and am dedicating separate presses to my two long line loads (45ACP and 32ACP). Load a year's worth each spring and "go shoot!".

Time is the most valuable commodity. No doubt.

Sounds like your components are OK to me.  Now just get organized to produce quality reloads within a reasonable amount of time.  (And don't do it all at once, you never know when components change or something may change (like getting new gun or barrel).  Space it out, allocate time over the season, but do plan a month or 3 ahead.  And have enough ahead to shoot that extra match or day when they are available.

CR

AND the 45 is the gun you have to master. The .32 TAKES you nowhere! You might use it after you have a coupla Hi Master cards tucked away and shooting it will gain a few points CF. Not only must you master shooting TWO guns but you must master reloading for 2.
And HB hasn't been mentioned yet.

Why shoot a good .32 CF and a mediocre .45?

Ron Habegger

Ron & Cecil,

I'm listening, and my mentor in Oregon preaches much the same advice. There is no doubt that mastering the 45 is the biggest challenge. I hope to shoot more than 5000 45's in practise this year (most of those at 50 feet at my hometown range), but probably less than 2000 in competition - there are not so many events on the West Coast. I've ordered a stash of Starline 45ACP for those match loads.

I've got the guns and the gear for 32ACP, so I intend to try to perfect the loads and equipment, but will focus on shooting the 45 as a priority.

But right now it is coming to the end of indoor season. I've been away for past 3 months and missed a few matches, so focus is on the 22 right now. Only got a couple of events to try to raise my rating. Will also shoot my first ever Sectionals next week. Fingers crossed!

Thanks everyone for great advice. Much appreciated.

As for time, here is a guide. 

Load more than you clean,
Shoot more than you load,
Train more than you shoot, 
Think more than you train.

WOW, SIMPLY PUT, CRYSTAL CLEAR. THANK YOU JP

I don't know why but I'll put my 2 cents in here. Personally I have no preference as to what brass I use or anything else about it. I shoot, clean and shoot it until I see cracks or some other indication it's going bad. I had a round blow out the back, crack my grips and blacken my palm. No I'm not a master or high master and maybe what I do is why I haven't made it. I know high masters that generally feel the way I do about components. Again I don't worry about the brass or primers but I do have favorite bullets. Maybe I should do more to try to improve my class but I just shoot and have fun. If I never make a higher class I still had fun without much worry about some things!

[quote="radjag"]Ron & Cecil,

Will also shoot my first ever Sectionals next week. Fingers crossed!
/quote]

Uncross the fingers on your shooting hand, bad for the trigger finger!

Ron H

I'll add a couple more thoughts.
I use Starline brass because the rim diameters are +/-.001 (equal extractor tension).
I de-prime and then clean, otherwise you are allowing primer residue to lap your nice press.
Think about how to get better often and put a grip strengthener in your car to use when sitting in bad traffic.

Wes Lorenz wrote:Think about how to get better often and put a grip strengthener in your car to use when sitting in bad traffic.

I did that as well for a while and then went to just gripping the steering wheel as tightly as I could using only the middle two fingers and palm of my hand while keeping my index finger relaxed and constantly wiggling in a motion similar to trigger movement.

I do that for a couple of reps holding as tight as I can for as ling as i can during my morning commute which is twenty minutes on a two lane highway with no traffic.

YMMV

Do you guys really trim pistol cases? I clean primer pockets but not all the time. I tend to exchange cases at the range when I see new ones.

John

44 mag, guessing 35 to 40 years ago, cuz I thought it might matter.

I've got a bunch of 38 brass that varies from 1.032 to 1.058. Gonna knock those down so I dont have to sort it and swap spacers under the dies.