Why is 45 colt brass so darn expensive?

[Rockchucker]

I've been looking for some 45 LC brass for awhile now and finally found some once fired brass here locally from a dealer that got it from an indoor range. Dang if it wasn't almost the price on new brass, Mid South shows it around 31.00 per 100 cases and back ordered on the star brass. Most folks that have it hang onto and wouldn't ever consider selling any. I've got around 700 pieces now and should be fine for awhile but Dang.

[Bullet Caster]

Rockchucker, it looks like we're in the same boat without the paddle. I, too, have been searching out sources for .45 Colt brass to no avail. Most of my .45 Colt brass is Starline and I only have 184 rounds so far. My goal is 1000 rounds or more. Got a long way to go and we seem to be in the same market. Lol. Hope that's not a problem.

As to your question as to why the prices are so high, it's because of supply and demand. When the demand for an item goes up it drives up the price as well. When the supply meets the damand the prices seem to stablize. Basic economics, I recon. Can't really think of nothin' else. Seems to me that many people love that cartridge 'cause it can be loaded with smokeless or BP, whichever you choose. The velocity is right up there with a case full of BP. BC

[rexherring]

A local shop here has once fired for about $.10 each. Mostly RP and WW brands. For most loads it's o.k. but for heavier loads I like Federal or Starline. Can never find the Federal though. I've run about 400 through the tumbler and only had to throw out a half dozen or so.

[Longwood]

You guys must be really hard on your brass.:bigsmyl2:

[Rockchucker]

Walmart had some round nose lead Federal cowboy loads the other day for 23.95 for a box of 50, almost jumped on a couple boxes and talked myself out of it. Just hate buying factory boolits anymore.

[Skipper]

How's 21 bucks sound?


http://www.cowboyshootingstore.com/45_Long_Colt_Cartridge_Brass_p/star-45lc-100.htm

[theperfessor]

Why is .45 Colt brass expensive?

What big bore brass is cheap?

[Rockchucker]

How's 21 bucks sound?


http://www.cowboyshootingstore.com/45_Long_Colt_Cartridge_Brass_p/star-45lc-100.htm

Thanks for that link Skipper, fixen to place an order.

[Bullet Caster]

Yeah, thanks for the link, Skipper. That's a great price for 100. BC

[x101airborne]

It is because of that small, inferior rim in my opinion. No other shell has that small of a rim without being rimless and I am sure it is a pain to manufacture.

[kenyerian]

The price of all brass is probably going to continue to increase. I noticed that scrap dealers are paying around 75 cents for contaminated brass and up to $1.55 for clean yellow brass.

[dmize]

I quit looking for once fired and just buy Starline new, And IMHO "avoid" Remington and Winchester. Been shooting and reloading this round for 25 years and that brass aint worth puppy poo.

[joec]

My group does a group buy every year and when bought in bulk like that it is a lot cheaper. I got a 1000 Starline for about 12 cents a piece new. We also buy our bullets and powders in bulk so perhaps you should arrange a group buy of friends.

[Nobade]

Yep,I just order direct from Starline when I need anything they make. If they don't have it, they put you in line and you get it when they make some. It's the cheapest way I know of to get brass and it's the best quality you can get.

And now that my boss bought a Vertex annealing machine I don't mind annealing 1000 cases at a time. Sure does beat doing it one by one with a drill motor and a torch! And yes, you DO want to anneal your 45 Colt brass before you use it.

[TXGunNut]

Cabelas had Starline @ $22/100, forgot to pick up a bag in the excitement of scoring a new Uberti .45.

[tek4260]

Wow! Just looked at my dealers supplier and Winchester 45 Colt brass is $25.14/100, wholesale. Quite a leap in price since the last time I bought some.

[Ed K]

Why is 45 colt brass so darn expensive?

Price out 454 brass and you'll feel better :)

[winchester85]

i am constantly amazed at what guys sell brass for on this forum. ocassionally someone has it cheap, but i see guys selling brass for almost 75% of new. my old theory was if it was used it should be about half of new. but obviously some people buy it at the higher prices. i sold off a about 500 45 colts about a year and a half ago. it was going for about 25 cents a piece on gunbroker so i figured i really didnt need the 1000 plus that i had. i still have plenty, but last i looked, on gunbroker it was going for about 12 to 15 cents plus shipping.
just saw where someone paid 24 cents for 44 mag! at that price i think i could part with a few hundred at least. i have sold quite a bit of it about a year ago for between 7 and 12 cents.

[44man]

Price of metal! China is getting all the scrap and newly mined so our brass is new metal.
Scrap prices are very high. I took all my aluminum cans and felt rich.
Copper is getting close to gold, look at the price of GC's.
Even steel and iron is at a premium.
China has few natural metals so they pay more for scrap and new metals. If you owned a company and was paid more from China, where would you sell?
China is feeling the pinch of the liberal, socialist, progressive governments. Obama is leading us to ruin. China is not safe either.
The danger is all those on the government dole will revolt causing civil wars. Obama is getting ready to suppress the American people. First he will join with the UN to take our guns and destroy the constitution.
And we worry about brass prices!

[bubbapug1]

Price of metal! China is getting all the scrap and newly mined so our brass is new metal.
Scrap prices are very high. I took all my aluminum cans and felt rich.
Copper is getting close to gold, look at the price of GC's.
Even steel and iron is at a premium.
China has few natural metals so they pay more for scrap and new metals. If you owned a company and was paid more from China, where would you sell?
China is feeling the pinch of the liberal, socialist, progressive governments. Obama is leading us to ruin. China is not safe either.
The danger is all those on the government dole will revolt causing civil wars. Obama is getting ready to suppress the American people. First he will join with the UN to take our guns and destroy the constitution.
And we worry about brass prices!

So now its Obama's fault 44 LC is so expensive....amazing leap of logic there.:killingpc

[dmize]

Lets not go there.

[Sensai]

The price of everything seems to be going up, but it's NOT inflation!

[44man]

So now its Obama's fault 44 LC is so expensive....amazing leap of logic there.:killingpc
Yes. Energy costs and all other cost increases plus the loss of everyone's wealth is a direct result of his policies.
Under Bush's second term who controlled congress? What party caused the housing bust?
What you pay for brass and everything else is a direct result of government regulations and taxes.
Not one single thing imposed by the government is absorbed by the company. It is passed to the buyer. Paper work alone by companies costs billions a year.
Let us say you own 1000 acres of land with a lode of copper under it. You want to mine it. You have the EPA, the government, the greeny weenies, etc. Pay millions and many years later you finally get to dig. You make a few cents per pound profit but the IRS says PAY, PAY, PAY.
If you think it is Fed, WW, Starline, Hornady or Rem that charges too much, you are a liberal democrat that wants stuff free.
It is ALWAYS the government that increases costs or makes you lose your treasures.
I own my home, paid off. but taxes go up as my value goes down.
Obama wants more federal workers. But who pays wages? Yeah, stupid, YOU DO!
Every single government project has used taxpayer money that decreases the wealth of working people. You make a huge amount on a government project but Joe, the plumber is paying you.
Bubbapug1, Who are you? Do you understand economics?
I am very old and simple. But when gas goes up and the price of cardboard goes up, the price of trucks goes up, wages goes up, it will cost more to get what you order.
If you love Obama, please go away, you do not belong with true Americans.

[ddixie884]

Starline is $96.00 per 500 and less by the thousand. Shipping is free...........

[Mal Paso]

Starlineis $96.00 per 500 and less by the thousand. Shipping is free...........

Yea but it will be a couple months for 45 LC. If you place an order now you won't be charged until it ships.

[GLL]

My last Starline order was just over $150.00/1000 with free shipping. I think it is up to about $165.00 now.

Jerry

[44man]

I did not mean to sound harsh so forgive me.
I am so sick of this administration it hurts.
I just got a list of his executive orders, bypassing congress and it turns my hair white.

[Rockchucker]

I did not mean to sound harsh so forgive me.
I am so sick of this administration it hurts.
I just got a list of his executive orders, bypassing congress and it turns my hair white.

I'm with you 100% 44 Man, This administration needs change and the only thing you and I can do about it is VOTE!

[44man]

That creep and every single law enforcement officer and soldier has sworn to uphold the constitution of our country. I did it when joining the army and will be proud until I die.
I will stand in my yard shooting as many jack boots as I can until they take me down. Over my dead body!
If that SOB gets voted in again, there will be a civil war--Liberty or death.

[dmize]

Price some 45-120's!!!!!!!
I was going to have my Bodine Rolling Block cut for it UNTILL I saw the price of brass.
Please guys,with all due respect,Im sick of it too. BUT anymore I cant log onto Yahoo,MSN,pick up a newspaper,or dare try to watch local news without being bombarded with the same ****.
I enjoy being able to lget lost in places where I can forget about it just for a while.
Thats why I stay out of the Political forum.

[Ed K]

The actual price increase of the metal used to make 1000 pieces of brass or GCs has not gone up enough to justify the price increases of the components. Sadly the price of energy and the general cost of business has contributed also. Not being in the business I cannot speak to profit margins...

If a 10' length of copper pipe has a couple of pounds of metal into it then what was $3 (@$1.50/lb) material cost is now $8 (@ $4/lb). So why does a $5 jump in material cost result in a $25 stick of tubing going to $50?

[Four-Sixty]

The market price of the metal is probably only one of the many input costs that are affecting the price of brass. Lucrative military contracts are part of our problem to. Nearly 50% of a small arms buy is just for bullets. So, imagine filling a 2 billion dollars arms buy. That can be a billion dollars worth of bullets!

There is so much turmoil in the world today. Many of the arms makers are also chasing these contracts which are like money in the bank. All these government contracts are competing with the the producer supply. Our demand could fall and prices would still go up for brass because the government is buying so many bullets increasing demand.

Get used to higher prices for a while. Do you feel things in this world are going to get better? Your gut is saying no I bet. Stock up!

I do work for the Dept of Defense. I have attende a meeting where the topic was "alternatives to chrome". We were told the chrome will be banned in 3-5 years.

Is lead far behind?

Washington is full of doe eyed young people with ambitious ideas, not middle aged men who hunt and reload. Which group goes to work 40+ hours a week to advance their cause, and which group votes once every 4 years for one lying politician or another?

Given time, which side will win that "tug of war"?

[Catshooter]

I do work for the Dept of Defense. I have attende a meeting where the topic was "alternatives to chrome". We were told the chrome will be banned in 3-5 years.



Now that is a valuable bit of info Mr. Squirrell killer! Thank you very much for that.

I should've seen that one coming but didn't. Now to take some steps.


Cat

[OBIII]

That creep and every single law enforcement officer and soldier has sworn to uphold the constitution of our country. I did it when joining the army and will be proud until I die.
I will stand in my yard shooting as many jack boots as I can until they take me down. Over my dead body!
If that SOB gets voted in again, there will be a civil war--Liberty or death.

Yeah, I'm with you, but you would probably be better off with a bunch of friends and family behind some substantial barricades, as opposed to standing in your front yard. Just sayin. [smilie=s:

[Mohillbilly]

45 Colt brass is not a military case any more , nor is it in police use . Except for leveractions most all the brass never gets lost .Most of what little brass we got gets wornout by case mouth splits from being crimped hard .

[Texantothecore]

I've been looking for some 45 LC brass for awhile now and finally found some once fired brass here locally from a dealer that got it from an indoor range. Dang if it wasn't almost the price on new brass, Mid South shows it around 31.00 per 100 cases and back ordered on the star brass. Most folks that have it hang onto and wouldn't ever consider selling any. I've got around 700 pieces now and should be fine for awhile but Dang.

There are several components to the price of brass:

1. China has been buying up copper at a huge rate and has massive stocks for various reasons (mostly construction). Not sure if they will slack off now that the bloom is off their economic rose.
2. The dollar's purchasing power is off, way off, due to minting of credit and dollars (same thing) in D.C. (District of Criminals) and copper is an accurate gauge of the fall in the dollar especially if you eliminate statistically the effects of supply and demand.
3. The EPA has made it much more difficult and costly to mine copper in the US. They are a big part of the problem.

Bright spots:
1. Peru is playing with a bacteria that concentrates copper and will make it possible to mine vast quantities of diffuse copper in the Atacama desert. It will be useful elsewhere and the technology will be sold.
2. There should be a fall in demand as China goes through some economic slowdown. They have many, many cities and buildings that are empty and it should slow down construction and copper use.
3. Bullets only make up a small part of world demand for copper, by the way. IIRC 7% or less. The US has 85% of the world's civilian guns, so they are quite a bit more rare in most other parts of the world.

[Four-Sixty]

An anecdote I heard during the "chrome" meeting is that you can tell how long someone has been working in the chrome industry by how much of their finger they can push through the septum of their nose.

[MtGun44]

Made out of copper and zinc. Both have gone through the roof, partly due to shortages
caused by evironazis closing mines and smelters, partly due to China buying up huge quantities
to wire their country for electricity, partly because they are intentionally inflating the dollar,
partly because the price of electricity is "necessarily skyrocketing" as Zero promised it would.

Sorry - it will get worse before it gets better. Fasten your economic seatbelts, boys, it's
going to be a bump ride and the driver is incompetent.

Bill

[emptythemag]

Based on what I read tonight, it looks like ordering directly through Starline is the best way to go for 45 colt brass...just as long as you don't mind waiting about 3 weeks while its on back order.

Cabelas also has Starline on sale right now for $21.99 per 100 un-primed 45 colt brass –(that's .22 cents each) before tax. Cabelas for me is only about a 25 minute drive, so it not too bad of a bad deal, plus I can also pick up some primers without having to pay a hazmat shipping fee.

[Kestrel4k]

Jeez, I opened this thread to read about .45 Colt brass. Wrong thread, I guess.

[Cowboy T]

.45 Colt brass is expensive for a couple of reasons:

1.) it's not as popular as, say, .38 Special, thus there isn't a super-plethora of brass around.
2.) the Cowboy Action Shooters typically reload to save money, so you don't see it on the ground that often like you do, say, .38 Spl, 9mm Para, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP.

Someone else pointed out, "what big-bore brass isn't expensive?" They're right. If you look at the price for .44 Magnum brass, it's right up there with .45 Colt. Same for .44 Special. The only reason .45 ACP isn't right up there with 'em is that there's so dang much of it. Again, supply & demand. The Taurus Judge is popular and is helping somewhat with this, but people don't tend to shoot their Judges all that much because of the cost of .45 Colt ammo (like .44 Spl/Magnum).

If I needed new .45 Colt brass, I'd put my order in to Starline and just be patient. It'll get there to you, even if you have to wait a little. Starline brass is among the best and will last a good, long while, even with Ruger-only loads.

Also, it's Bush's fault. :mrgreen:

[CGT80]

Why is 45 colt brass so darn expensive?

Price out 454 brass and you'll feel better :)

Look up 460 brass:veryconfu

It costs me about 65 cents each for starline brass shipped from midway. I have lost about 4 pieces so far, to sizing issues. One or two cracked. I am glad I hung on to the 45lc brass and bullets I had. They are worth a bit. Besides, I needed an excuse to buy a hand cannon. I couldn't let that brass and those bullets go to waste.:mrgreen:

[Rockchucker]

I just had a order come in this week from http://www.cowboyshootingstore.com/Cowboy_Cartridge_Brass_s/4.htm
20.95 for Starline 100 count. It sure is pretty brass when it's new!

[edler7]

I think it's because it sits on the shelf right between 44 magnum and 454.

Just kind of a high priced neighborhood.

[Longwood]

If it had not been for the Cowboy shooting sport starting up, they would probably be way more expensive than they are.
I remember when the 45 LONG COLT, as it was so often referred to, was considered to be "Old Hat" that no-one wanted.
I think it came about because of so many magazine articles that were being written for selling new magnum guns.

[Cowboy T]

Yeah, I know, "the most powerful handgun in the world!" Heh...they haven't seen my ".45 Colt Magnum" load. :-)

The .44 Magnum is cool, don't get me wrong. I like the round. But whatever the .44 Magnum can do, the .45 Colt can safely do even more of in the proper firearm. It's just physics; it's a larger round.

Interviewer: Why do you carry that .45?
Cowboy: Because, Sir, Mr. Colt doesn't make a .46!

[paul h]

You're paying for both the material cost of the brass, and the cost to manufacture it and ship it. Longer cases require more steps through the drawing dies to form. There is more brass in a 45 colt case than a 38 sp case, and hence it costs more to produce, package and ship. Be thankful you don't shoot a bigger bore, my 480 brass is over $50/100.

With that said, brass is by far the least expensive component for the handloader. For the 45 colt figure 20+ firings per case and you've got a penny per case over it's life, primers are 4 cents a pop, with lead at $1/lb you're bullets are 3-4 cents each and powder is 3+ cents a round. Just don't put a dollar value on your labor as it's down right depressing.

[TXGunNut]

Expensive? Nope, worth every penny! As pointed out above it can be used 8-10 or even more times and there's not another round I enjoy shooting more. Think I'll pick up another bag this weekend. [smilie=w:

[Ziptar]

Expensive?

Even if I buy 1,000 new Starline .45 Colt cases it costs me $0.09 a loaded round if I get 5 uses out of the cases. Probably get more like an average of 8 which makes it $0.07 a round.


I'll shoot $0.07 a round all day long with a big grin on my face.

Powder, Primers, and Brass is cheap, buying bullets is where it gets expensive.

[Rockchucker]

I found that trying to locate used 45 colt brass is very time consuming, and folks seem to think it's worth more than I can buy new Starline brass for so I have totally given up on that idea.

Since Skipper recommended this site http://www.cowboyshootingstore.com/4...r-45lc-100.htm to me in post # 6 I've ordered brass from these folks and the shipping was in a flat rate box and fast. Thanks again for the link. /Rockchucker

[TheNakedGunFighter]

How's 21 bucks sound?


http://www.cowboyshootingstore.com/45_Long_Colt_Cartridge_Brass_p/star-45lc-100.htm

Sounds great, until you get to shipping cost. $12.37 to ship 100 cases Fedex ground! The USPS flat rate charge is $5.35, but is not offered. :confused:

[M-Tecs]

https://www.starlinebrass.com/products/index.cfm/CID/37/45-Colt-Brass/

$166.00 per 1000 with free shipping.

[bigboredad]

starline is well worth the wait if it is back ordered. They ship fast and you get when they say and the price isn't bad either

[Potsy]

Last I checked I think I had about 250 Starline Cases and 100 CBC's. Also have a couple hundred Magtech Schofields laying around for plinkin'.
I've thought hard about a 1911 in 10mm, till I get to thinking about digging brass out of the grass till I find every piece. Then I realize how content I am with a .45 shooting range brass.
I was pretty involved with what the steel market was doing back in '04 (and still am). Steel, and just about anything made from it, doubled in about 8 months in '04. So did every other metal.
It has doubled again since then, albeit at a slower rate, not only due to worldwide demand, but also because our dollar is more and more comparable to the peso every day.
If you don't think the dollar is weaker, why is a Volquartsen trigger kit for a Ruger Mk III $110.00 instead of $65.00 like it was a year ago.
Even better, I was looking (dreaming) at a pair of Swarovski 10 x 42 EL's the other day. 3 years ago they were $1800.00. Now they're $2400.00
I should have bough a pair for an investment.

[Balkandom]

I think it's more an issue of rarity. Everyone knows that anything chambered in a military or LE cartridge is going to be cheap and plentiful. The second tier is commercial popular rounds, then those that are neither commercial nor popular. Not slamming on the .45, but the folks that shoot them are a relatively rare breed. ALL brass is getting more expensive, but the less frequent the cartridge, the more expensive it's going to be.
I have a 7x64 Brenneke and a .308 Norma Magnum. I'll happily trade you costs per hundred on brass!

And Kudos for Starline Brass. I have theirs in .44 Mag and I love it.

Mike

[762 shooter]

Cabelas has it on sale for $21.99 and free shipping if you are Cabelas club member.

Just ordered 200 with my rewards points.

762

[wrench man]

Cabelas has it on sale for $21.99 and free shipping if you are Cabelas club member.

That's the every day price, no sale there, and I have yet to see that spot on the shelf empty any time I've looked?

[Rockchucker]

That's the every day price, no sale there, and I have yet to see that spot on the shelf empty any time I've looked?


If you shop else where that's really not a bad price, Cheaper than several places I've looked. Right now I have a pretty good inventory of 45 colt brass, probably around 650 pieces and that should hold me over for a while. However I will pick up a bargain when I see one, but I'm not fast enough here on this site, It's gone in a matter of minutes.

[mannyCA]

Bigger cases = more brass(material) = higher cost.

[olafhardt]

I often read that people think the 45 superior to the 44 mag. I can't agree based on the avialablity of components, loaded ammo and expense.

[Gunslinger1911]

Olafhardt, Ha Ha - that's great ...... my Chrony kill was at about 4 feet.

As for 45 Colt - better now, 30 yrs ago when I discovered the 45 Blackhawk, brass was very hard to find. I agree, cowboy shooting craze has helped supply.

My favorite caliber - 8 guns, SA, 2 DA, derringer(!), 2 leveractions, Contender - always looking for more !!

[762 shooter]

That's the every day price, no sale there, and I have yet to see that spot on the shelf empty any time I've looked?


The Remington is $32.99 + tax here at Bass Pro. No Starline.

Sportsman Warehouse is $31.99 + tax and they don't have any Starline.

You have to order 500 from Starline to get them for $0.19/round, and they are back ordered.

I think it's a good deal, but I needed some. My 200 new cases should last me and mine for quite a while.


762

[tomme boy]

Heck, I have all I need. I have picked up over 1500 of them at the local range this year already.

[Hammerhead]

I bought a bag of 100 Starline cases from a gun show for a nice price of $27. When I sized and primed them I had 5 primers left over from the sleeve. Sure enough, they sold me 95. I should have suspected something because they were in freezer bags, not Starline bags.

[Hammerhead]

Heck, I have all I need. I have picked up over 1500 of them at the local range this year already.
I have never seen .45 Colt brass on the ground of either of my clubs, at least not in many years.

[tomme boy]

This is a public range. Just about everyone came from people shooting these new Judge pistols. I picked up 20 more nickle Starlines this after noon. I guess I should sell some. I need the $ right now.

[Hammerhead]

I guess those Judges are good for something.

[tomme boy]

Thats the only reason I like them!

[higgins]

The Judge and other such revolvers have also helped considerably the supply of good .410 hull lying about. I can't believe people shoot AA and RP target loads in those guns!

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Cowboy Quick Draw isn't helping either. I shot a practice match a couple weeks ago, about thirty shooters there. All of them were talking about the bulk purchase their club had made from Starline. 100,000 pieces of brass!

[Moonie]

I just got in a package with 100 starline from midwayusa today, exactly 100 in the box. $21.99

[mannyCA]

I just got in a package with 100 starline from midwayusa today, exactly 100 in the box. $21.99

What'd the shipping cost?:holysheep

[kelbro]

$26/100 at my local Sportsmans Warehouse when they have it (they did today).

[Moonie]

What'd the shipping cost?:holysheep

Didn't really matter as it was part of an order for dies, shell plate and 6 cavity Lee 300gr mold for said 45LC. Probably not worth ordering just 100 cases, but for more it probably would be.

[Rockchucker]

I just received a flyer from Midway USA, they have 45 colt RP Brass for 22.95 per 100 if anyone's interested.

[joec]

I just bought 500 45-70 Starline brass from Buffalo Arms but the sell others too. Their starline is 1 pc $0.25
100 pcs $0.22
250 pcs $0.21
500 pcs $0.21

http://www.buffaloarms.com/45_Colt_Blank_Reloading_Brass%20_it-164128.aspx?CAT=3840

[Moonie]

I just bought 500 45-70 Starline brass from Buffalo Arms but the sell others too. Their starline is 1 pc $0.25
100 pcs $0.22
250 pcs $0.21
500 pcs $0.21

http://www.buffaloarms.com/45_Colt_Blank_Reloading_Brass%20_it-164128.aspx?CAT=3840

Please note, the link is for Blank brass, NOT to be used for loaded ammunition.

[Rick R]

I just got in a package with 100 starline from midwayusa today, exactly 100 in the box. $21.99

I found that our local Cabela's had Starline fot the same price, two days after I ordered some from Midway. :(

But now I know where to get more. :mrgreen:

[Moonie]

I got another 100 for $29 from LGS, these are Winchester, obviously no shipping.

[Rockchucker]

Cowboy's Now has 45lc Starline brass in stock for 20.99 per hundred if anyone's interested.
http://www.cowboyshootingstore.com/45_Long_Colt_Cartridge_Brass_p/star-45lc-100.htm

[Pooch]

Track Of The Wolf Is and has been selling .45 Colt brass by Starline for $20.00 per 100. Shipping is cheap.

[opos]

Got a question...I saw an earlier post that said it's necessary to anneal new cases before using them...I am fairly new but have loaded my fair share and have never annealed straight cases....I've annealed necks on bottle neck cartridges before but never on straight cases...I full length size and trim all new cases as well as a little chamfer..I don't seem to ever need to trim cases again and get plenty of loads out of my brass...I do not load heavy so that might be the reason..I am starting to load 30 carbine for my OM Blackhawk and understand that trimmimg is a probability as it gets shot but again...I've not heard anything about annealing (new or used brass)...Hope some one can set me straight.

I've been buying 45 new Starline at about the same prices as quoted through this thread and for about 1/2 of new price for once fired that is nice and clean and shows no issues. I'm pretty picky about case inspection and again, load light (most Trail Boss popcorn loads).

[Nobade]

New Starline brass is quite hard. They leave it that way on purpose for the folks who want to shoot high pressure smokeless loads in it. If you want to shoot it with black powder or smokeless that is in the same pressure range you'll want to anneal it. That way it will puff up and seal the chamber. Shooting it un annealed in my Marlin rifle, I get a lot of blowback into the action and the accuracy isn't as good because the gas leaking makes the velocities erratic. Once it's annealed it works much better and keeps the action clean. Just don't anneal the cases and then shoot them with max smokeless loads or they'll be a bear to get out of the chamber. I made that mistake with a bunch of 44 mag brass, and that box of ammo isn't much fun to use now. I'll be glad to finally use it up.