How long does handgun brass last?

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kellyj00

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How many times can you shoot a minimumly charged pistol cartridge like a .45 acp before it gives way?

I've heard that they "last a long time" but I don't know what that means. a few times, dozens or hundreds of firings?

Also, does higher pressure stuff like 9mm last as long?
 
Don't know. Never had brass for .45acp or 9mm wear out. Most people lose a particular piece of brass before it wears out. I've loaded .460 S&W 6-8 times so far with no signs of wear yet.
 
I don't keep track, but I know I have fired some .45 brass 20 times. If a batch gets really, really, beat up looking, I will scrap it and start a new batch. :)

Range brass or once fired from somewhere like the Brassman is a good way to go and a minimal part of the expense of reloading. Get 500 from here and you will be set for a long time.
 
Depends on the gun and your charges. Some autos tend to mangle the extractor groove of brass. And if you're shooting hot loads, brass life will decrease.
 
great site Walkalong.
he's so cheap that I'm almost afraid to do business with him. ;-)
 
Case mouth usually splits before the dozenth firing for me--but that's in a .38, which has a bit of a roll crimp. Haven't really noticed any appreciable wear on .45 brass, and I have some that's probably been shot a dozen times at least.
 
With the calibers I load for, .45ACP and 9MM go on and on. I've loaded some brands of .38 Sp brass at least 25 times or more and light loaded .357s last for quite a while too, usually case mouth splits first. Light loads in .44 mag, and .45 colt brass with regular loads just keep going too. Brass used with heavier loads of course will not last as long but I won't guess the actual number because everyone has a different idea of the number of times for heavy loads in certain calibers.
 
I have 38 specials I have been loading since 78 and they got shot routinely. I would bet they have been sized/reloaded at least 30 times over the years.
 
Bottom line, case life depends on how much the brass is worked in each firing/loading cycle.

If you have a tight chamber and loose slze die brass can seem to last forever. Otherway around tho, its different; loose chamber and tight die will cause splits much faster. And we tend to get body splits sooner when using carbide dies than with steel dies because of the lack of body taper. (Even so, most of us feel the benefits of carbide exceed the liability!)

Heavy loads in the handgun pressure ranges seem to have little to do with case life, even magnum handgun cartridges tend to be well below moderate rifle pressures.
 
If you over bell the case mouth you will shorten the life of the brass. You want just enough bell to hold the bullet so it can go into the seating die.
Rusty
 
For low pressure rounds, such as .45 acp, I shoot it until I either lose it or it's cracked, which is seldom in either case. For high pressure rounds, such as 357 Sig and 10mm, then I inspect the cases pretty closely and if there's any doubt, then I'll scrap it out.

Counting how many times a .45 case has been reloaded seems counter productive to me, since I'm no longer shooting bullseye. I shoot for practice and for fun, so I just load it and shoot it, and repeat as necessary.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
he's so cheap that I'm almost afraid to do business with him. ;-)
Click to expand...

Don't be, he is first class.

You'll know when the brass goes, it will sound funny when it hits the deck. You can't miss the clank of a split case, weed it when you hear it.
 
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