life span of 45lc brass

I have loaded straight wall brass over 15+ times. In a auto you normally loose them before they split if you using good quality brass. If you don't over flare the top it will go a very long time. If you take the time to anneal the mouth it will go longer. The primer pockets will loosen if your shooting hot loads before the mouth split.

I agree with Blue68f100.

My standard load 45 Colt cases last a very long time.

If you hot rod the loads, the cases will not last as long.

Personally, I would not hot rod the 45 Colt. If you want 44 Magnum performance, get a 44 Magnum or 454 Casull. But it is your choice.

I would hot-rod the .45 Colt, in a Ruger Blackhawk or something.

But the OP has a Judge.

They are not nearly as strong a gun as a Ruger Blackhawk, and it should be limited to standard pressure .45 Colt loads.

rc

rcmodel said:

.But the OP has a Judge.

They are not nearly as strong a gun as a Ruger Blackhawk, and it should be limited to standard pressure .45 Colt loads.

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Agreed...but on a side note, have you seen the "Raging Judge"?

.410, .45C and .454Casull. 6 shot and a large frame.

It's difficult to determine what the life span will be for any cartridge. I know guys that get 25-30 runs from 7 mag. and other high powered bottle neck cartridges before they make it to the recycle bin. I'm not that lucky and average 12-15 runs before the brass expires. It has a lot to do with how they are resized, the powder and charge used, and the chamber being fired from, and the brass being used. My magnum wheel gun brass will go for at least 15 runs before it reaches it's end. I load with H110/296 for mag. wheel guns, but for other's like the 38 spcl., which I also load with a high performance slow burning powder, will go a bit longer before expiring.

If a guy loads low end light loads, the brass will likely out last the loading style of guy's like me.

Try some Trail Boss powder. You will love it!!

I've had nickel .45 Colt brass split on the first loading, but some yellow brass cases will go quite a few times before splitting. With that said, I've found .45 Colt brass to split well before other calibers with the same number of reloads on them. It could be due to the "generous" chambers of some firearms in this caliber. I use Trail Boss for most of my loads in this caliber.

Hope this helps.

Fred

I have some .45 Colt brass that I've loaded 6X after the initial firing and they are all just fine. Standard .45 Colt loads are low pressure rounds so the brass should last a very long time. (think .38 Special)

.... whoops

Dueling1911s said:

just wondering how many times i can reload 45lc brass

my old lady got me a ruger vaquero in stainless along with rcbs carbide dies, shell holder, and lee carbide crimping die. been saving my brass for a while now because i have a judge

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ArtP said:

RC,

This is not the first time I've noticed that you know what the OP is shooting, as in make/model. Do you know simply because you remember from previous post what people shoot, or??

I usually pride myself on being a stickler for details, and remembering those details. It could be you simply have a better memory or you view more posts. Do tell.

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No offense meant but you may pride yourself on being a stickler for details but you missed the OP telling us he has both a Ruger and a Judge in the first post...

Point taken and cyanide swallowed. Ouch!

ArtP said:

Point taken and cyanide swallowed. Ouch!

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I wouldn't worry much because we all sometimes read a post too quickly and miss something in that post. I know I've done it more than once...

I had the same experiance with nickel 45 Colt that Fred had, some split on the 1-2 reloads,they were neck splits.

The tip on minimum flaring from Blue68, is a must if you want your brass to live !

I have a Rossi 92 that's brutal on brass, it bulges the base at the feed ramp area,but shooting low pressure loads makes it possible to get respectable life.

I've got some Winchester 45 Colt brass that's on reload number 12 & still strong.

But my loads are light & I don't over bell the brass.
10.5 gr of AA5 with MCB Cowboy #4
OR
11.5 gr (of AA5) with Berry's 185 gr SWC

I've been reloading .45 Colt for about 20 years and have lost maybe five pieces of brass in that time (due to neck cracking). I have some Federal brass that has been reloaded so many times I've lost count. And these have been loaded to the max for my Blackhawk (25 grains of W296 under a 250 grain JHP).

.45 Colt is the caliber that is easiest on brass of all of my handgun calibers.

Dan

I keep reloading until a case splits, then I finish reloading that box and it goes in storage.. No need to count, but you must keep brass separated..