F a 42 brass

[Tradbowhunter]

Hi guys , newbie here. I recently purchased a reloading lot off a guy and it came with a bunch of 45acp brass with the head stamp of F A and the number 42 on it. Im assuming that these are WWII? Here is the thing though they are already primed with what looks like original primers. They appear to be the corrosive kind and wondering if it would be safe to reload them? I know there would be alot of cleaning after shooting these. Im planning on putting one in my 1911 (not loaded) to see if the primers will still go off. Any suggestions/advice is appriciated in advance. Also they are non magnetic but dont look like brass?
Thanks

[Gunor]

Load them and shoot them.

Cleaning a 45 barrel - super easy

[Pipefitter]

I bet the primers will still go bang and ignite whatever powder you use. After shooting the corrosive primers, clean the firearm with lots of hot water before using Hoppes#9 or any similar product. The hot water will dissolve the byproducts of the corrosive primers better than any product on the market.

[BLAHUT]

Load them, shoot them, clean gun as if there corrosive.

[Char-Gar]

I have shot several thousand WWII 45 ACP rounds without a problem. Cleaning is cinch. I pulled the barrel and put it in a pan of boiling soapy water. Left it there for just a minute and then removed it with tongs and ran hot tap water down it to flush the soap. The barrel will dry in a few seconds. The will be gray gunk inside, run a brush down it a couple of time, followed by a patch with some oil on it.

[Tradbowhunter]

Thanks guys for all the info!

[jimb16]

BTW, FA 42 is Frankfort Arsenal 1942.

[Outer Rondacker]

Its been said. Wash rinse repeat and enjoy.

[missionary5155]

We once had some from the mid 30's tat all fired.
If you want the brass for reloading drop them in water after de-priming for some hours.

[Tradbowhunter]

I was going to leave them lay on the ground. But maybe i will pick them up now and put them in water for a few hours after being deprimed.Thanks for the idea missionary5155. There are around 4500 pieces and i would hate not to use them with the primer shortage right now

[leadhead]

Some of those might have some collector value too.

[gnoahhh]

Some of those might have some collector value too.

Empty brass? Probably not.

Why bother washing the brass after firing with those chlorate primers (if that's indeed what they are)? The chlorate salts left behind after firing are totally benign towards brass. Those salts will draw moisture and promote rapid rusting in a steel gun barrel, which is why you need to clean it after shooting, but brass doesn't rust.

[Rockindaddy]

If you shoot those old Frankfort Arsenal shells you will want to scrub your barrel with hot soapy water and clean your bolt face with a toothbrush using the old stinky bore solvent that neutralizes the chlorate primer residue.

[slim1836]

Empty brass? Probably not.

I've collected a few 1917 45 caliber brass shell casings and complete cartridges thanks to some members here to match my Colt 1911 manufactured the same year. I always look at the headstamps I pick up at the range in hopes of finding more of them. Kinda like some folks buy a vehicle to match the year they were born; I choose not to as I would need a horse to go along with it.

Slim

[Paper Puncher]

May want to check the primer pocket size on the FA brass. Frankford Arsenal used an odd size .204 I think during some of their production years.