Reloading steel cased .45 ACP

[joem]

Has anyone tried to reload Tula .45 steel cased ammo or is it not worth the trouble? It is boxer primed with large primers.

[psteinmayer]

I wouldn't waste my time trying! There is plenty of brass out there... and if you ask, I bet your local range will let you collect some of the .45 brass left behind by others who don't care to save any. Steel is not considered reloadable (nor is aluminum, for that matter), and I doubt you would be able to properly size it anyway!

[p246]

I agree sizing will be the issue.

[joem]

I have decaped and sized a few I picked up at the range. This is the first I've seen that are boxer primed. Besides I have pleant of brass for now.

[Tuna]

Joe, Yes it can be done but in doing so it does wear the sizing die down some. I have tried the old USGI steel case and some of the Wolf but have not found it to be worth the time and trouble to use it on a steady basis. Brass just seems to be so much better all the way around.

[mikld]

Yep, it can, and has been done. Steel cases usually won't last many, mebbe two or three reloadings before they split. 45 brass is readily available so most don't bother...

[Hefights]

Yes I do it too. As stated they will lose ability to grip or split after a certain number of loads as steel is less resiliant. But it makes up for lost brass. Just dont try too many loads.

[BlitzKrieg]

No I don't do it. Not a great idea. Yes you can but why.

These 3 come to mind but like so many things , if you got to try, then
the reason is you just wanna do it.

You can do a lot of things in life that don't make sense, this is one of them and
so is peeing into the wind.

[Hefights]

http://www.shootingtimes.com/2011/01/04/ammunition_st_steelcasedrelaods_200805/

There are a fair number of folks who reload steel, including rifle cases. You can reload steel .45 ACP and do fine for a few reloads. I do it and the ammo is quite accurate and safe. The key is don't expect to go more than 1-3 load cycles. I recommend just toss them after 2.

If that is considered by some as unsafe or uneconomical, then thats fine - YMMV. It is certainly more conservative not to reload steel cases.

This is a little bit analogous to reloading .223 range brass. Like most who do that, I get some split necks on the range brass after 2-3 cycles. So you inspect the brass carefully as you always should.

[phil evans]

been reloading steel tula .223 since the panic.
an experiment in anticipation of brass scarcity.
no problems, ~4+ reloads before discarding.
case is mild steel and does not impact dies.
steel does not stretch as much as brass, i.e. fewer trimmings.
have ran ~450 steel through a adams arms upper, polymer lower.
handloaded steel accuracy better than factory steel.
handloads are not hot(24gr varget, 69smk).

[Johnny in Texas]

I had about 5K of USGI .45 brass years ago and I never sorted it just loaded it as it came out of the 5 gallon bucket. Never had any problems and tossed any that had rust or oxidation. I sorted as I shot it. I would use the steel case ammo for (no returning brass) shooting and hunting trips.

[Hefights]

been reloading steel tula .223 since the panic.
an experiment in anticipation of brass scarcity.
no problems, ~4+ reloads before discarding.
case is mild steel and does not impact dies.
steel does not stretch as much as brass, i.e. fewer trimmings.
have ran ~450 steel through a adams arms upper, polymer lower.
handloaded steel accuracy better than factory steel.
handloads are not hot(24gr varget, 69smk).

I am about to start reloading once fired .223 steel boxer primed cases. Anything special I need to be aware of? Thanks

[Tuna]

The one thing to remember with using steel cased ammo is that the steel does not expand as well as brass and you will get more fouling using the steel case. It is not hard to get better accuracy with reloading even steel case over anything the Russians sell here. The bullets and powder are junk compared to what we consider to be normal.

[PhillipM]

I reloaded some USGI steel .45's years ago. They screeched going in the sizing die, so I recommend lube.