Beware if you scrounge 25 ACP brass

[quack1]

I just got a surprise while de-priming a bunch of 25 ACP brass I picked up at the range this summer. All the ones with a Hornady headstamp were Berdan primed.
It's a shame, bet there was close to a hundred of them. At least I didn't break the de-priming pin.

[zuke]

Now that's a first I've heard from them!
I have some Norma 30-06 that also berdan primed.

[RED333]

Yep, I have found more than a few myself.

[bedbugbilly]

A ploy to discourage re-loading and increase the sale of their loaded ammo? Just asking . . . .

[Shiloh]

Hmmm. I wonder why. Any other caliber brass that you know of that one would just assume is boxer primed??

Shiloh

[303Guy]

I used to find a lot of 9mm Berdan primed brass. I'm pretty sure there was 32 ACP Berdan primed as well. Those were all expected to be Berdan though. Perhaps Berdan primed brass is cheaper.

[GRUMPA]

I wouldn't throw those away, it isn't hard at all to convert them over to boxer.

[dakotashooter2]

Might have been the only brass they could get their hands on. I can't imagine any brass manufacturer shutting down their line which is making a higher demand brass to run some 25 cal stuff.

[Bigslug]

Might have been the only brass they could get their hands on. I can't imagine any brass manufacturer shutting down their line which is making a higher demand brass to run some 25 cal stuff.

Probably a brief risk/reward assessment was made and they went with what was cheaper. The overall percentage of customers that shoot .25 is pretty small to begin with. The percentage of those that reload it is REALLY small.

Heck, ammo manufacturers are risking the outcry that results from injecting small-primer .45ACP brass on their lead-free primer rounds into the marketplace, and there actually IS a reloading market for that round.

Yes, it probably is worth sending them an e-mail saying "HEY! Knock off that Berdan foolishness". It might stick, but realize your place in the market is rather an eccentric one.

[Colohunter]

Was it brass or does Hornady make the 25 in their steel line of inexpensive competition ammo?

[HangFireW8]

For a low demand item like 25 ACP I wouldn't be surprised if they bought custom headstamped brass from another mfg like Fiocchi, instead of invest in the tooling.

[azrednek]

For a low demand item like 25 ACP I wouldn't be surprised if they bought custom headstamped brass from another mfg like Fiocchi, instead of invest in the tooling.

Possibly but all the 9MM Fiocchi brass I have is boxer primed. We can only speculate without hearing it from the horse's mouth. My guess is Hornady struck up a deal with an over seas supplier.

I was unaware of the demand for 25ACP brass until I listed some here for sale several years ago. 25 and 32ACP brass is sometimes used for caps for muzzle loaders or in the case of my buyer. A muzzle loading, black powder cannon.

[Chev. William]

I have heard of Black Powder Muzzle Loaders using a Breech Plug arrangement set up for .25ACP primed cases as an easier priming method than either "209" Shotgun primers or 'Caps' and Definitely easier and more 'weatherproof' than pan and flintlock.
Best Regards,
Chev. William

[quack1]

Was it brass or does Hornady make the 25 in their steel line of inexpensive competition ammo?

It was brass, not steel or aluminum.

[texassako]

Fiocchi is boxer primed, but S&B is the only Berdan primed I have seen. I have not seen Hornady headstamped .25 ACP, and I was crazy(bored?) enough to sort 8k by headstamp last year. I would say they probably source it from S&B and thanks for the heads up.

[avogunner]

I thought I had scored big time when I found a bunch of LC headstamped .30 carbine brass at the range. It all turned out to be berdan primed and have since read about this being Chinese mfgr and a known forgery.

[Poygan]

LC52 perhaps? That was the headstamp on my Chinese brass.

[avogunner]

Yep Poygan...same.

[10 ga]

realize your place in the market is rather an eccentric one.

One of the nicer things said about some of us!

[Chev. William]

if you think ".25ACP" is an 'eccentric market' then what do you think of those of us who reload .25 Stevens or .32 long Colt sizes? And the .25ACP does fit the .25 Stevens chamber like a .25 Stevens Short, just CF instead of RF.

[Bigslug]

if you think ".25ACP" is an 'eccentric market' then what do you think of those of us who reload .25 Stevens or .32 long Colt sizes? And the .25ACP does fit the .25 Stevens chamber like a .25 Stevens Short, just CF instead of RF.

No. . . loading for guns that fire the ancient fossil cartridges I can wholly embrace. Shooting a Beretta Jetfire or its ilk enough justify a reloading setup for it is . . .eccentric. Hmmmm. . .would M have let James Bond keep his .25 Auto if there was a Keith bullet for it?:mrgreen:

[Chev. William]

RE: James Bond and the .25ACP; your Idea for a 'Keith bullet' sounds interesting, say a 'Hard Cast' one of about 67 grains cast weight? Yes it would give up some Velocity but I think it would make it up in Energy at the probable under 10 yard range J.B. would have used it at. and even a 50 grain one would improve its effects on the Target over the "Geneva Convention" full metal Jacket bullet.

There is a Flatted Round Nose bullet, the 'Ranch Dog' one sold by "Carolina Cast Bullets" that seems to run around 51 grains and punches a more sharp edged hole in paper targets than the Round nose FMJ Factory offerings. It also has more retained energy than the 35 grain HP offerings.

Best Regards,
Chev. William