Old 45acp case?

[chris in va]

I found a case marked 'RA 42' at the range. Didn't know it was in my pickup collection until I reloaded it.

Bottom line, the case is considerably on the small side, enough that it really just slipped through my resizing die without resistance. It's about .003 smaller in diameter. Were all the older 45's slightly smaller back then?

 

[larzb93]

a 45 will always be a 45. odds are its not a 45 case of it dose not fit in the die. unless you mean smaller in length. there are a few different variants of 45 for example there is a 45 GAP and a 45 ACP

 

[amathis]

Pretty sure that was a Remmington Arms brass made in 42. More than likely made for the millitary in 1942. Many times companies didn't mark the cal on the headstamp.

I'm wondering if it isn't a cartridge that someone cut down.

Do you happen to have a pic?

 

[spacecoast]

.003" may be near the tolerance limits for the cartridge, which nominally measures .473" at the head and .476" at the base. Every measure of a real-world dimension has a +/- associated with it.

 

[MR-7-45]

I have a bunch of old 45 RA brass. I forget the number with it. i check it in a case gauge when I resize. If it fits, I reload it and reuse it until I start seeing signs of stress on the casing. Then it goes into my scrap brass can.

 

[Edward429451]

That's just military surplus brass. Are you sure its not steel?

 

[djcantr]

I've got some RA 41 and 42 brass. Kind of neat seeing old brass like that. In fact, I think I might start collecting the different years.

 

[44 AMP]

(don't have my references handy, but...) I believe the RA is Rock Island Arsenal, not Remington Arms. 42 is the date the ammo was made.

Also, as far as I know, USGI steel cased ammo was only made one year, 1943, and apparently, despite the saving in brass, it was abandoned in favor of regular brass cased ammo from 44 on.

I had some of that stuff back in the 70s, still have a couple of the cases as curios. The cases have a greenish tint, and a purple laquer on the primer, which, by the way is slightly smaller than the standard size used in brass cases. The headstamp is EC 43.

I have lots of old cases in my brass collection, including an RA 18. And yes, I've loaded and shot it (and them) several times. Never noticed any of them being undersized....

 

[hammered54]

44 Amp I think your thinking about the penny (cent) never seen any steel cases from the war years.
how about these there pretty cool and I think they might be 43's I'd need to go look.

Matt.

 

[44 AMP]

Hammered, I know about the 43 zinc steel pennies, had some of them, too. But I do still have a case or two of the steel .45ACPs, if I can find one, I'll post a pic.

Got them when I was about 15, and just beginning reloading. Didn't understand you weren't supposed to reload them, so I did, about a box or so. Just about tore up my sizer die, and I had a heck of a time getting them primed (the pocket was a few thousandths too small) but I managed, crushed primers and all. And they did shoot, once. Never tried it again.

When I think back on what I did in ignorance, it makes me shudder....

 

[Sport45]

I believe we produced some steel cased .30 carbine in the war years too.

 

[Sevens]

Yes, I have 4 or 5 pieces of the .30 Carbine in steel. 1943 I think.

 

[Mike Irwin]

RA 42 means that it was manufactured by Remington Arms at their Bridgeport, Connecticut, facility.

The Rock Island Arsensal stamp is RIA.

At no time during World War II (or anytime, for that matter, I think) did RIA manufacture small arms ammunition.

Steel-cased ammunition was not manufactured in 1942, only 1943 and, according to some reports, very early 1944.



"The headstamp is EC 43"

EC is either the Eau Clair Ordnance Plant, or the Evansville Chrysler Ordnance Plant.



The reason the United States experimented with steel-cased ammunition is because, even with the huge copper deposits in the US, the demand was handily outstripping the supply.

Copper was perhaps the single most critical war time material. It was used in just about everything.

Because of the depression many of the mines had scaled back production and they were slow in coming back on line, so by 1943 the supply of copper was being stressed to almost the breaking point.

 

[F. Guffey]

Bottom line, the case is considerably on the small side, enough that it really just slipped through my resizing die without resistance. It's about .003 smaller in diameter. Were all the older 45's slightly smaller back then?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, when I pick up brass that is small AND it has been fired the small has to do with the size of the chamber the case was fired in, if the case is small and unfired the case has been full length sized, then if the case is considerably smaller I consider the sizing die that sized it was small.

F. Guffey

 

[zippy13]

Mike,
My box of EC 42 is labeled Evansville Ordnance Plant.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"My box of EC 42 is labeled Evansville Ordnance Plant."

Yep, I should have put Chrysler in ( ).

Evansville was owned and operated by Chrysler.


I also made a mistake -- Eau Claire's head stamp was EW.

There was also an Evansville Ordnance Plant division that was operated by Sunbeam products. Those cases are head stamped ECS.

 

[zippy13]

Thanks for the info, Mike. That ammo is so old, the box no longer smells like the inside of a new car.

 

[hk33ka1]

I have one E C ? 43 case. It is steel and sticks to a magnet.

 

[F. Guffey]

And in the big inning Eu Clair, as in EC was changed to EW because Chrysler wanted Evansville/Chrysler as a head stamp.

DM,SL,LC?

F. Guffey

 

[F. Guffey]

There was also an Evansville Ordnance Plant division that was operated by Sunbeam products. Those cases are head stamped ECS.
__________________
And Chrysler had another plant they operated, it was Sunbeam, the Sunbeam location made aluminum 45 ACP cases, the Chrysler as in EC loaded both brass 45 ACP and the aluminum 45 ACP cases.



F. Guffey