[Hardatwork]

I have a sig p239 40 cal.and a Kahr CW 40 and I am wondering How many times it is safe to reload my brass ? Thanks

[Harley Quinn]

If you stay within reasonable pressure you should be able to reload many many times 20 times would not be unreasonable. As long as you check the brass and make sure it is in good shape. If you are trimming a lot you will need to reduce the times you use it.

Always check the length of the case so you are in the right tolerance's.

:)

[Shoney]

That will depend on the cae mfg., how close to max the loads are, and how much bell you put in the case to accept the bullet.

Nickle plated will last between 5-10 loads, while regular brass can last as much as 20 with moderate pressure loadings. The brass usually splits at the mouth, from working by means of the belling process, so generally, the less bell the longer the life.

Brass which has had abusive and/or full power loads should be tossed after 5 loadings.

PS to Harley Quinn:
Straight wall pistol brass shortens minutely with each loading. Check brass length, but i never trim 40 brass.

[davinci]

I never ever measure my brass, but I've shot the same 45acp brass at least a few dozen times.

Seriously, I have never had a case problem in pistol calibers. In fact, I just pick them up off the ground, tumble if I feel like it, and start reloading them. I don't even really look at them any more because I've never seen a case with any problem other than being squished by someone wlaking on it. Seriously, I haven't bought 45acp brass since I started reloading, and it was from another reloader when I got it, don't have any clue how many times it's been reloaded.

[facedown]

How many times can I reload 40 S&W Cal. brass

Until it splits.

[Encoreman]

I'm with facedown, I use them until I loose them or they split. Whichever comes first. If you will load them a little longer than specs this will lower the pressure and the brass will last longer. God Bless, Mac

[FieroCDSP]

I have some CCI Blazer Brass that has 8 loads on them. Almost as many on some Remington UMC brass. Winchester seems to deform at the head-stamp faster, but with a bit of primer pocket swaging, they're still good.

For the record, I use only moderate to low pressure loads, mainly 3.8gr Clays on a 155gr Rainier.

[cpaspr]

I see no reason to throw out what may be perfectly good brass simply because it's been fired a pre-specified number of times. I'm of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. If the primers don't fall back out after priming and if the neck or side isn't split when I put the powder and bullet in, then it gets another lap through the gun. Then back into the tumbler for another trip through the process.

I have lots of brass that I have no idea how many times it has been fired. Most of it is range brass. Some I bought, some I've scrounged, some I was the first to shoot. All gets mixed together by caliber. I've found less than a dozen out of thousands that were actually ready for the scrap bucket. Everything else was perfectly usable. Your experiences may vary, but this works for me for .40 S&W, .45ACP, .38Specials and .357 Magnums.

[Harley Quinn]

Regarding trimming.

This is a very important operation for pistol brass. In many brands of brass , case length can vary significantly. The result is that when a bullet is seated in the case and crimped, the variable length of the cases will determine the amount, or "hardness" of the crimp being applied. Additionally, it will also determine where in the bullet’s canalure the crimp takes place (low, middle, high, or maybe even out of the cannalure). The amount of crimp and placement of the crimp, in turn, can affect the consistency of the powder’s ignition, and cause velocity changes from shot to shot. Bottom line - we want all the cases to be the same length to avoid these variations.

This is important. IMHO.

[jhansman]

Check 'em with a magnifier after each shooting. You'll know when they've had enough.