How many times do you guys reuse your 50 BMG brass?

[IMtheNRA]

I can only guess that the consequences of brass failure are really, really, really bad when reloading the 50 BMG, so you probably don't want to take a chance with weak brass...

Those of you who reload this round, how many times do you use the brass before chucking it into the recycling bucket?

 

[rg1]

Kind of depends. The 1st firing of once fired GI brass is the most critical firing. If it has been fired in a properly headspaced military weapon, then it does not have excessive stretching. If it is fired in a poorly headspaced gun then on it's 1st firing it could have stretched so much that it should not be reloaded. (the stretch ring just in front of the case head felt on the inside wall of the case---insipient case head separation).
So, after passing inspection to be loaded again, I think you'll find that they are similiar to loading other cases such as 30-06. With not a lot of experience I think you can expect 3-5 more loadings. Depends on how hot you reload them and if you properly adjust your sizing dies to not push the shoulder back too far after each resizing. I've found a very few cases have neck splits after 3-4 firings. I've seen posted where neck annealing 50 cases can get you 8-10 firings but I have not tried this yet myself. The brass in the neck area getting work hardened and splitting is what I've found to be the weak link. Annealing would soften the brass in the neck area.