How many times can you reload brass

[magshooter]

how many times can you reload the same brass. Some people say they have reloaded hot Magnum loads tons of times and others say they would only reload a magnum load 2 times max. is their a magic number to when you should stop reloading that brass? and is it due to the brass becoming weaker over time?

 

[Schwing]

I reload all of my handgun brass until it either splits or I see poor neck tension. On my hot magnum loads in .357 and .44, I seem to get 5-6 reloads before I see any failures at all. Even then, I seem to lose 2-4% each reload after that.

Rifle reloaders will have to chime in on that since I don't reload very much rifle ammo.

 

[Cannibul]

Which cartridge?

.45 ACP brass is typically reloaded till I lose it.

10 mm brass I usually get at least 12 reloads.

.308 brass, anywhere from 3-7

 

[Swampman]

It all comes down to what you're comfortable with.

My rule with .45 ACP is that I keep loading 'em until I lose them.
If I find 'em a year or two later I go back to loading them until I lose 'em again.

With my M1A I usually limit the cases to five full power reloads. But I once did a test where I loaded some Hirtenburger brass nine times to see what would happen and had no problems.

I generally use virgin brass for hunting loads in my .303 Pattern 14, but I'll shoot mild cast loads in it until I see signs of incipient case separation.

Assuming a stiff action that doesn't abuse brass, as long as you're careful with inspecting cases, don't load too hot and don't oversize, you can get quite a few reloads from bottleneck rifle rounds.

 

[Blue68f100]

With Mag pistol caliber normally the primer pockets get loose before they split. If your not running max loads I've got some 357's that close to 20 on them. As with rifle, if you anneal regularly you eliminate the splitting but primer pockets still loosen up. But your dies must be setup properly to get max life.

 

[farmerboy78]

For rifle or pistol?

 

[magshooter]

pistol

 

[1stmarine]

how many times can you reload the same brass. Some people say they have reloaded hot Magnum loads tons of times and others say they would only reload a magnum load 2 times max. is their a magic number to when you should stop reloading that brass? and is it due to the brass becoming weaker over time?

There is no right answer to this.
I have not ran into any calibers that I could not reload at least 3 or 4 times in the softest weakest brass.
I have reloaded 308 lapua brass SP up to 50 times making this the best and most affordable brass one could buy. Obviouly w/o going too hot, annealing and proper care.
When problems show up they normally come in twos or threes. Check primer pocket tension but also head expansion and head separation and the obvious any splits and such.
So it is hard to say w/o knowing the caliber, brass brand and year, the load, preparation and care, ...

 

[cfullgraf]

I'm about the same as others.

I shoot semi-auto handgun cases until the are lost in the Bermuda Triangle or occasionally, they split.

I shoot revolver cases until they fail. Light 38 Special loads last near forever, hot loads like top 357 Magnum loads not so long. But, I can't count that high. Failures are usually either splits in the body or splits in the case mouth.

Rifle case life is pretty short relative to handgun. For some rifle/cartridge combinations, cases fail in 4 or 5 loadings. Others can go north of 10 or more loadings. It depends on how strong the load is.

 

[1stmarine]

sorry I just read pistol. never mind. disregard my previous comment.
I don't think pistol would last only two loads with a few exceptions.
Like 40 caliber for example if the case is not properly supported might show a bulge. This kind of deformation that low
is pretty hard on the brass. There is an easy solution. Find a barrel with a proper well supported chamber for reloads.
This is what people do with the 45s and 40 caliber in some popular autoloaders that screw up the brass this way.
It also depends how hot you go like always. keep and eye on primer tension.
so it is possible that brass can be screwed up. The same directives apply. Well supported brass, keep loads civilized, etc... I mean at least there is something wrong with the brass or it is on the soft side that will last less time.
Federal can be that way. It is more forgiving to reload sometime but primer pocket pressure loosens up faster. It also changes from claiber to caliber.

 

[Walkalong]

You can use pistol brass until it fails from splitting or the primer pockets getting loose. I am not loading at full out max (240 Gr @ 1350ish), but I have .44 Mag brass that has been fired several times and is good to go. Same for .357. .38 Spl cases and .357 cases used for light loads only will last a very long time. .45 ACP cases last a very long time. 9MM and .40 cases last quite a while. .32 ACP I definitely lose before I wear them out.

Rifle is a whole nother ball game.

 

[leadchucker]

how many times can you reload the same brass. Some people say they have reloaded hot Magnum loads tons of times and others say they would only reload a magnum load 2 times max. is their a magic number to when you should stop reloading that brass? and is it due to the brass becoming weaker over time?

Depends on how heavily the brass is stressed. I'm not afraid to load my 380/9mm/40, or even 45acp powder puff target loads indefinitely... at least until the mouth splits or the primer pocket gets loose.
I pay a little more attention to my 44 mag or 10mm full house loads tho. I expect maybe eight or ten loads out of a good percent of them. I don't load rifle ammo, but if I did, I'd probably retire high performance loaded brass after a couple or three loadings.

 

[1stmarine]

guys lets not disregard other sings that make brass dangerous.
I would agree in many cases the primers will loose before anything else fails but lets not take that as the rule.
The unsupported chambers have been attributed catastrophic failures when reloaded brass mixed with pressure spikes was brought to the breaking point.
It is not so mucha the the natural expansion and contraction but the considerable stretching some of these chambers put and where that stretching
is located that is right on the web of the case.

40 cal and 45 the usual suspects but it could be anything.

 

[magshooter]

how much damage to your gun can you do if you were to load cracked brass lets assume its a hot load like a 44 mag

 

[1stmarine]

how much damage to your gun can you do if you were to load cracked brass lets assume its a hot load like a 44 mag

Destroy the firearm and luckily keep all your fingers. Always use eye protection.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Destroy the firearm and luckily keep all your fingers. Always use eye protection.

Shooting gloves help, too.

how much damage to your gun can you do if you were to load cracked brass lets assume its a hot load like a 44 mag

And the question about why are you loading so hot? I'm not saying you shouldn't, but it increases wear on brass and guns.

 

[Walkalong]

Here is a split .45 Colt case. It's normal and how a lot of revolver brass eventually fails. To shoot it again with a split like this will leak gas and cause wear on the cylinder walls if one continues to do it. But the case head is intact so catastrophic failure is not a large risk. Still a bad idea to continue to use it. When splits happen toss the case in the scrap bin for recycling at some time. This one is from a small batch of range brass I was using for testing. The other cases were used some more and are still good.

 

[RandyP]

I have never tracked how many times a case has been reloaded, and since I continue the practice of scrounging brass at indoor ranges when possible, I have NO intention of setting up protocols to segregate brass to be able to count reload cycles.

I visually and manually inspect cases as part of the sorting/cleaning/tumbling and then loading processes. Any cases that don't seem 'right' get pitched into the scrap/recycle tub.

My caveat is that I only load to mid-range numbers and am not highly stressing the cases attempting 'magnum' or +P pressures.

 

[kingmt]

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop?

I can't ever think of a time I've lost any pistol brass from splits that wasn't junk brass to start with. However I don't shoot any bottle neck pistols. Revolver brass I've had a few but not enough to concern myself with. Sometimes the case neck would split from flaring it but after I stopped flaring more then just enough enough for the bullet to set on top that mostly went away.

Rifle bottle neck has split from the factory loads before.

 

[CZ9shooter]

For pistol rounds I essentially don't even worry about it. Especially for the auto loaders. I used to be anal about my magnum caliber brass but even that I quit worrying about. When a case splits I either see it upon tumbling/inspection, or I feel it in the sizing die. Other than that I occasionally come across a case I don't like for one reason or another, usually weak neck tension or a loose pocket, and just toss it.

Bottle neck riflr bass is a different story. There is a very real possibility of case failure there. Unfortunately I have little advice to offer. I am fairly new to it. Still trying to workout the best ways to go about it myself.

 

[eldon519]

I suppose in an extreme situation, a split neck can damage a gun, but usually it will not. They often start with a small split by the case mouth, maybe 1-2mm, and then if you shoot it again, it can run down the side further. I have split plenty without observing any damage. Just don't intentionally use a case split wide open like the one Walkalong posted. Throw them away if you detect a split, whether a small crack or a wide open gash.

How long they last also depends on what caliber it is, how tight or loose your chambers are, how hard you are crimping it, how hot the loads are, who made the brass, etc. There is no magic number.

 

[GRIZ22]

It depends on a lot of factors.

Semi auto tends to mess up extractor rim.

Heavy crimp on revolver splits case necks.

Bolt gun or semi auto rifle.

Hot loads or moderate loads.

Quality of brass. For example Lapua is higher quality and lasts longer than most others.

 

[1stmarine]

Destroy the firearm and luckily keep all your fingers. Always use eye protection.

I have to clarify I thought you referred to a failure at the base like in the example I posted earlier.
Otherwise splits along the body and mouth should not be the reason for any catastrophic failure.

 

[eldon519]

That makes sense to me. Casehead ruptures are very bad news as 1stmarine pointed out.

 

[leadchucker]

guys lets not disregard other sings that make brass dangerous....

Agreed. Inspecting any brass for defects should be a key part of the reloading process. That smiley face is easy to spot and is absolutely grounds for rejection. (It's also a good sign of an overloaded round.)