Brass life
- Thread starter fatcpa
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jcwit
member
Pistol brass or rifle brass?
wgaynor
Member
till they are no longer usable or I lose them...whichever is first.
I toss rifle at 10X loads or whenever I need a fifth trimming whichever is 1st. Pistol gets lost in the grass usually before it splits which is when I toss it if it is still around. All my brass stays in lots for the same firearm and when one case needs to be tossed, all in that lot go with it.
gearheadpyro
Member
I'm working on the 6th firing on some of my rifle brass, and still have more loads out of it.
Pistol brass gets tossed when the neck starts to split.
Pistol brass gets tossed when the neck starts to split.
ole farmerbuck
Member
It would only be a guess but i've been using the same rp and fc 223 brass since the start of summer last year. Down to about 170 from 200. 12-15 or so loads, maybe more.
Guy de Loimbard
Member
Depends on caliber. 7.62x39 seems to last 6 firings before primer pockets are too loose. .45-70 around 7 before the neck splits. 9x18 I lose too fast to have to worry about that. Some of my .45 Colt brass (used for light loads) is going on 15 or so.
jcwit
member
I have .223 brass that has been reloaded 60 plus times now, only neck sized, med. powder charges, not light loades.
Pistol brass, who knows. I got .45 ACP that has beed fired so many times the headstamp is barely readable.
An awful depends on caliber, I do not get these results with 30/06, 30 carbine, 38 spec, and a few others. However just try to wear out a 9 mm case.
Pistol brass, who knows. I got .45 ACP that has beed fired so many times the headstamp is barely readable.
An awful depends on caliber, I do not get these results with 30/06, 30 carbine, 38 spec, and a few others. However just try to wear out a 9 mm case.
ole farmerbuck
Member
jcwit,You're up early! I've been loading these at 28.o or 28.5gr of BL-C2. Pretty warm. I might not get 20. Oh well.
jcwit
member
ole farmerbuck, mornin. I'm running 22 1/2 grains of Accurate 2015 pushing a Sierra 53 grain hpfb MatchKing.
Sidewinder72
Member
Pistol brass gets reloaded many times till it splits. Rifle brass depends on caliber. My 300RUM gets reloaded 3 times and brass is trash. Your results may vary depending how hot of loads you are using.
qajaq59
Member
I use mostly cast bullets in my 30-30, and to a certain extent in my .308. That brass seems to go on for a long time. But my heavier hunting loads with jacketed bullets don't last as long. I just keep them separate.
243winxb
Member
Maximum high pressure bottle necks get 3 loadings tops in factory chambers that are sloppy. How do i know this, from years of handloading factory chambered firearms. if you keep away from maximum, its easy to get over 10 loadings in bottle necks. More if the chamber and dies are a perfect match.
Not an opinion, its fact.
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Marlin 45 carbine
Member
loading Rem cases for my nephews 30-30 that stuff some cases split when fired new rounds! just canned around 6-7 out of 100 once fired that had splits.
no more of that stuff. glad to say that the Rem pistol brass seems good. I like the nickled for +P loads.
no more of that stuff. glad to say that the Rem pistol brass seems good. I like the nickled for +P loads.
Brass life
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I read an article recently that stated that you should not reload brass more than three times. From a practical standpoint, what is the average you life you get from your brass?
Yes 3 times is the max
After the third time you can mail them to me.
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I read an article recently that stated that you should not reload brass more than three times. From a practical standpoint, what is the average you life you get from your brass?
Yes 3 times is the max
After the third time you can mail them to me.
~z
Member
I was curious about all the hype and hoopla about how many times bottle neck brass could be reloaded so I thought I’d conduct a little test with my 300WM.
Using 20 once fired Hornady (Frontier) brass, I carefully inspected and resized all the cases (FL size as they were not initially fired in my rifle) trimmed to length and uniformed them throughout. I chose my go-to load (fairly mild 3050fps with a 168 SMK) and loaded and shot and loaded and shot…
All I did was neck size and bump the shoulders back when the bolt became a little difficult to close, same load each time.
27 loadings later, I began to split necks…of the first 13 rounds fired, I had 7 split necks. So I stopped.
Therefore I am thoroughly convinced that Hornady brass (from that lot#) fired for the first time in some guy who I don’t know’s rifle and loaded by me to my specs and fired in my rifle will last for the initial firing + 26
I guess what I’m saying here is that there are a lot of variables that can extend or diminish brass life.
~z
Using 20 once fired Hornady (Frontier) brass, I carefully inspected and resized all the cases (FL size as they were not initially fired in my rifle) trimmed to length and uniformed them throughout. I chose my go-to load (fairly mild 3050fps with a 168 SMK) and loaded and shot and loaded and shot…
All I did was neck size and bump the shoulders back when the bolt became a little difficult to close, same load each time.
27 loadings later, I began to split necks…of the first 13 rounds fired, I had 7 split necks. So I stopped.
Therefore I am thoroughly convinced that Hornady brass (from that lot#) fired for the first time in some guy who I don’t know’s rifle and loaded by me to my specs and fired in my rifle will last for the initial firing + 26
I guess what I’m saying here is that there are a lot of variables that can extend or diminish brass life.
~z
snuffy
Member
That's just great, some idiot with a keyboard writes his opinion like it was fact, then new reloaders read it as fact!
:banghead:
I'm all for being cautious. I suppose if I were just starting to reload, I'd be fearful of just how many reloads I could get from my brass. But after 40+ yrs., I can say that sounds like being overly cautious. Ignorance breeds fear, or another way to say it is the fear of the unknown.
Well now you know that it's all in reading how the brass looks after sizing, and knowing what to look for to see when it's time to retire a piece of of brass.
243winxb
Member
The new age of th Chrony. Everyone wants to see top speed. Match factory FPS.KABOOM. Sometimes 1 loading is to much, depends on how much powder/pressure.
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snuffy
Member
243, as usual you show a bunch of randomly harvested pics off the internet. Do you actually have an opinion of your own?
Of course overloaded brass will fail in one loading, DUH!
And, just what is wrong with wanting you rifle to live up to it's potential? Careful loading with loads from manuals, fired while shooting over a chronograph, at a target will let you get to top velocity safely. And have brass last for 5+ firings. It's not something a new reloader should attempt until he has several thousand mid range loads under his belt, however.
Of course overloaded brass will fail in one loading, DUH!
And, just what is wrong with wanting you rifle to live up to it's potential? Careful loading with loads from manuals, fired while shooting over a chronograph, at a target will let you get to top velocity safely. And have brass last for 5+ firings. It's not something a new reloader should attempt until he has several thousand mid range loads under his belt, however.
2000Yards
Member
OK, I'm very interested in this topic and a peripheral one, perhaps imaged by 243. I've been shooting for about 5 years and I'm interested in and starting to learn about reloading.
As you guys (meant to be inclusive of ladies) learned to reload you developed experience with what worked and what did not work. I've read about splitting case necks, separation, overpressure seen in primers, etc. and I'm wondering about where the learning curve levels off, so to speak. Is it after blowing a bolt carrier, as in the illustration provided by 243? What about the case with a hole blown open at the base? As a novice reloader, while I work up the skills and experience, is it only a matter of time until I miss some clue on a piece of brass that a more experienced eye would have caught, which then gets reloaded within published guidelines, fired... and to what end? What happens? What's the price of my inexperience/mistake? Does the case just rupture ... or does my barrel explode?
I understand about double (or triple, etc.) charging a pistol round - bad, bad, bad. But what about the wear and tear on brass generally (I plan to reload .308), and what if I miss something?
If this has been commented to death already, I'll take my querry to the search pages. No hijack intended, it seemed like a natural progression to the OP.
Thanks,
2KYDS
As you guys (meant to be inclusive of ladies) learned to reload you developed experience with what worked and what did not work. I've read about splitting case necks, separation, overpressure seen in primers, etc. and I'm wondering about where the learning curve levels off, so to speak. Is it after blowing a bolt carrier, as in the illustration provided by 243? What about the case with a hole blown open at the base? As a novice reloader, while I work up the skills and experience, is it only a matter of time until I miss some clue on a piece of brass that a more experienced eye would have caught, which then gets reloaded within published guidelines, fired... and to what end? What happens? What's the price of my inexperience/mistake? Does the case just rupture ... or does my barrel explode?
I understand about double (or triple, etc.) charging a pistol round - bad, bad, bad. But what about the wear and tear on brass generally (I plan to reload .308), and what if I miss something?
If this has been commented to death already, I'll take my querry to the search pages. No hijack intended, it seemed like a natural progression to the OP.
Thanks,
2KYDS
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navyretired 1
Member
Pistol and all straight cases last seeingly forever. Rifles depends on many variables, pressure, head space, chamber condition and lube and case taper which is most important.
Parker Ackley proved that straight cases last much longer and lower pressure for same loading in unimproved and improved chambers. I've seen 30-30 cases that were history after one loading abd 30-30 Ackley improved chambers that I've lost track of how many loads have been through them. On most AI chambers the extractor does the most damage instead of case stretch. As a side benifit there is less bolt thrust which than the same pressure in tapered case.
Most people think AI chamber are for more powder, and thats not necessarilly true, straight cases grip cylider walls better when they obturate so the pressure holds case to prevent case streching back to breach face which requires trimming and shorening case life.
Parker Ackley proved that straight cases last much longer and lower pressure for same loading in unimproved and improved chambers. I've seen 30-30 cases that were history after one loading abd 30-30 Ackley improved chambers that I've lost track of how many loads have been through them. On most AI chambers the extractor does the most damage instead of case stretch. As a side benifit there is less bolt thrust which than the same pressure in tapered case.
Most people think AI chamber are for more powder, and thats not necessarilly true, straight cases grip cylider walls better when they obturate so the pressure holds case to prevent case streching back to breach face which requires trimming and shorening case life.
Sapper771
Member
Can anyone give an estimated brass life for the 10mm auto, both in lighter loads and full power loads ?
I am interested in getting a 10mm (Glock 20) and I know I will have to reload in order to afford it.
The only caliber that I have experience in reloading is the 45acp.
Thanks
I am interested in getting a 10mm (Glock 20) and I know I will have to reload in order to afford it.
The only caliber that I have experience in reloading is the 45acp.
Thanks
NuJudge
Member
Brass life is quite variable, depending on chamber shape, pressure, and other factors. Low pressure straight cased cartridges that are not crimped such as the .45 acp seem to last forever, actually shortening, not lengthening. Gas operated semi-auto rifles using bottleneck cases tend to be really hard on brass, the action is not stretchy but safety requires full length sizing, and some of them start extraction before barrel pressure reaches ambient, causing (safe) life to be around 4 firings. Some stretchy bolt actions using rimmed cases such as the Lee Enfield can be really hard on brass, especially if you full length size each time, perhaps lasting 3 loadings.
For Garands and M1As there's not much you can do to extend case life. For Mauser variants and especially stretchy rifles such as Lee Enfields, you can extend life considerably by not full length sizing, or just neck sizing. There are other things one can do to extend life even further.
CDD
For Garands and M1As there's not much you can do to extend case life. For Mauser variants and especially stretchy rifles such as Lee Enfields, you can extend life considerably by not full length sizing, or just neck sizing. There are other things one can do to extend life even further.
CDD
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