Just came across a few hundred pieces of 45 brass marked "Speer 45 Auto". More is available if I want them.

Just wondering if this brass is good for reloading? Does Speer make brass? If not, who makes it for them? How many loads might they withstand before tossing?

Thought the "Handgun" forum would be the appropriate place to ask.

Thanks for any input/advise.

Speer makes ammo, but I don't think they sell unloaded brass as a reloading component. I've found it to be no better or worse than any other brand out there for reloading purposes. The service life of brass is pretty much dependant on the loads being loaded and your care in reloading them. I've got some brass that's been loaded with standard pressure loads many times and the primer pockets are still plenty tight.

I've loaded a bunch of speer .45 Auto brass. Like 41magfan said, I didn't find it to be any better or worse than federal, winchester or Remington.

It worked fine though. If you need brass for your 45, don't hesitate to pick Speer brass up.

Speer cases are made by Federal, in conjunction with ATK.

I've reloaded a bunch of their 9mm brass, no problems.

Thanks for the info. I'll give them a go. Just noticed they take small pistol primers. Odd I guess but lucky for me as I have a lot more small pistol primers than large.

Are They Crimped?

Don't look like they are crimped. I will check later. Just look like regular small pistol primers to me. I've only reloaded for 9mm pistol so I'm a bit green. Talked to a fellow today who said LEO's use these for training purposes. They are lead free non-toxic primers. Not sure if the bullet is also lead free. Wouldn't make sense I guess if they were lead projectiles. Odd looking compared to my other 45 cal brass with LP primers.
Since I have so many I think I'll try loading some. Shame to toss so many once fired. If they worked once with the SP primers I'd have to think they would again reloaded. Ill just have to keep them separate so there's no mixing of large and small primer pockets. This could get confusing for those of us who scrounge range brass.

I've used a good deal of Speer brass including .44 magnum. No more problems for me than any other brand.

I gather that SP is the wave of the future for .45 ACP, they're used in the lead-free rounds many indoor ranges require.