45 ACP small primers ???

spike1 · #1 12-28-2007, 01:13 AM

So here I am reloading my stock of 45's for the years. I keep having these primers that will not go in ??? So I just toss the case in the junk box and the damage primer. I looked in the junk box when I was through and noticed all the cases were marked "45 AUTO WIN NT" . I verified these cases take a small primer ???? Small primer in a 45 ???

Whats with this ??? Never had this problem before

PJgunner · #2 12-29-2007, 04:25 PM

The NT stands for Non-Toxic. it's ammo meant to be used at indoor ranges to keep the lead toxicity down. I'll be damned if i can figure out why they didn't just use a clean large pistol primer, but they didn't.
Now Winchester says you should not reload them, not because the brass is unsafe, but because the of the small primer pockets. As you found out, large pistol primers don't squeeze down too well. However, if you use a small pistol primer, they work just fine. I've done using my normal loads and they are OK. No pressure probems or anything like that. The big caveat is to NOT MIX THEM UP with regular brass that has large primer pockets. i realize that if you only have a few, keeping them separate can be a PITA, so whether you save them and load them is worth the trouble is something only you can decide.
In my case, no pun intended, I have so darn much regular .45 ACP brass that I just now throw them , the NTs, into the scrap brass bucket. When the bucket gets full, I head to the recyclers. Either way, they're not a total loss.

Paul B.

spike1 · #3 12-30-2007, 12:04 AM

Thanks for the info. I also just toss them out,,,, but it's hard to see them ! I usually stand them all up on a cookie sheet for the last inspection and usually weed out a few 40's that slipped through. Standing up next to each other I can also pick out the 45 GAP's (What were they thinking?). A big part of this inspection is to look inside each cartridge quickly for foreign material like stuck rocks. Now I have to flip them all over and see if I can even see the difference between a large and small primer ,,, CRUD !

They should have dyed them rainbow colors or something