Number of reloads in semi-auto

[mercervillerental]

So I know the ultimate answer is "it depends" but I wanted to survey the crowd on roughly how many reloads they're getting out of brass in semi-auto .223's/5.56's. Lets assume quality brass (LC once fired, Lapua, Starline, etc) loaded to mid-pressure .223 loads.

I'd just like to get a rough idea for a benchmark.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Funny, I was wondering the same thing. I seem to remember my Dillon instruction manual saying 4 loadings max. Based on what I've read here on THR, that sounds like horse hockey.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

Funny, I was wondering the same thing. I seem to remember my Dillon instruction manual saying 4 loadings max. Based on what I've read here on THR, that sounds like horse hockey.

I've only reloaded some of the brass I have a couple of times. But I'm with you. I think if you inspect the brass like you should then you use it until you see signs of an issue.

 

[Blue68f100]

I'm getting 10+ out of the Lapua brass , 223R. My loads are near the upper end, primer pockets loosen up. I start with Rem 7 1/2 and move to #41 when they get loose. But I anneal every time to keep a consistent neck tension. I haven't shot my Starline brass enough to see how it measures up. Still working on though.

 

[mercervillerental]

Funny, I was wondering the same thing. I seem to remember my Dillon instruction manual saying 4 loadings max. Based on what I've read here on THR, that sounds like horse hockey.

As in too low? Meaning you think you, on average, can get more than 4 loads out of a piece of brass?

 

[Varminterror]

Annealing every 3 and tuning my gas to NOT excessively stretch brass, I’ve been getting typically over 20 loadings in 223. Over a dozen and I’m content, over 15, I consider it good enough, but I’ve honestly become accustomed to getting a couple dozen.

 

[Skgreen]

Most of the 223 brass I'm currently loading has an 'unknown' history,,, With those, I have no real alternative other than what Hokie indicated above: I think if you inspect the brass like you should then you use it until you see signs of an issue.

I did grab 1,000 'once fired' LC with a reported 'military origin'. Primers are all crimped, so it might be 'fired only once'. Haven't used any of those yet as I'm 'burning up what I have on hand' already. (1,000 + LC and 5-600 PMC. Most of the PMC is left over from my ~AR~ days, and the LC is 95% range pickup)

With a little over a years experience, I'm a 'babe in the woods' when it comes to reloading. A lot of the 'finer qualities' some folks strive for are almost certainly lost on me.

Who knows,,, I might consider 'getting serious' (?) someday, but I'm not quite there yet, and I'm (still) having fun!

 

[edwardware]

Not 5.56, but I'm on 13 reloads of a batch of Rem 30-06 brass through my M1 Garand. I set shoulders back 0.003", anneal, and accept beat up rims. I haven't lost a case to splits since adding annealing.

An AR, with 0.002-0.003 setback, should be quite gentle on brass other that deflector dings.

 

[cougar1717]

5 - when full length sizing and firing in an AR-15, the neck will start to look like a soda can and split at approximately 5 reloadings. This is all mid-grade pickup brass with intact primer crimps (PMC, PPU, LC, Geco). Life is too short to anneal pickup 223 brass. If you're shooting Lapua or for competition, I get it - no qualms about annealing there. However, for most people, 223 brass is cheap, plentiful, and recyclable. Use it, split it, toss it, and pick some more up for the cost of taking a coffee can or bucket to the range.

 

[edwardware]

Life is too short to anneal pickup 223 brass. . . 223 brass is cheap, plentiful, and recyclable.

If you X-Die after the first trim (only trim that one time) it's easier to bag and reuse your own brass than pickup brass. . . and it's an excuse to use your handy auto annealer

 

[Zaydok Allen]

As in too low? Meaning you think you, on average, can get more than 4 loads out of a piece of brass?

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I'm only loading pistol rounds as of now. Yes, I believe I'll be able to get more loadings than 4. I need to read those instructions again. Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

 

[GT1]

The answer is always going to be that it varies.

.223 mid power range fun stuff, until the neck splits usually, that can be anywhere from 4-5 to 10 times or more. Inspect as always, case head separation is not common for .223 at low level but it could happen.

9mm can usually go that many times, the case mouth will split, you'll know.
45acp, load it until you lose it, because you'll likely lose it first. I've seen it loaded so many times the head stamp is gone. 20 times, 30times, maybe more.

 

[cougar1717]

If you X-Die after the first trim (only trim that one time) it's easier to bag and reuse your own brass than pickup brass. . . and it's an excuse to use your handy auto annealer

Let me guess.......... after they are sized and annealed they are SS pin wet tumbled too

 

[Dudedog]

Never counted on .223, I did measure my Mini 14 as throwing empties about 30'
It does need to be inspected and trimmed.

9mm and .45, until one of the following
case neck splits
primer pocket gets loose
neck tension is bad
or it gets lost.
(I never trim 9mm or .45)

 

[Walkalong]

how many reloads they're getting out of brass in semi-auto .223's/5.56's. Lets assume quality brass (LC once fired, Lapua, Starline, etc) loaded to mid-pressure .223 loads.

Mid pressure loads in .223 if the shoulders are bumped minimally? A lot. I get 8 to 12 out of most cases and sometimes more with full pressure loads in a semi auto sizing the brass to fit a Wilson case gauge. Not below, not above, which is moving the shoulders more than you need to for a bolt gun.

Case head separations should not be happening at any sane pressure level. That can be controlled with proper sizing. Cases should fail from loose primer pockets or a neck split with no signs of case head separation.

my Mini 14 as throwing empties about 30'

Yep, I made a brass deflector to knock mine down, otherwise I lost a lot of it. Man it sure flings the brass.

 

[Dudedog]

Nice positive ejection on the Mini for sure

 

[hdwhit]

mercervillerental wrote
So I know the ultimate answer is "it depends"...

Yes, generally speaking.

In my case the answer is, "I don't know."

I don't shoot from a bench where I can collect all (or nearly all) of my brass. I shoot off-hand at a private range where I shoot and then move to a different firing position. The shooting area gets mowed once a year (assuming the 93 year old groundskeeper feels like it), so I usually recover only about 60-70% of my brass.

If you run the numbers, somewhere around the 6th or 7th loading, my brass is - statistically speaking - completely "lost in the weeds".

I do have my 223 sizing die (standard, not small base) adjusted so that the brass that comes out of it will work flawlessly in all 5 of the guns I or my family members own that shoot 223. The compromises made in adjusting the sizer die to accommodate five rifles may contribute to shorter cases life, but it has not been a problem within the 7th loading.

So, the only answer I can contribute to your question is, "At least 6 or 7".

Also note:

• I do not anneal 223 brass. I have experienced no neck splits or mouth failures upon firing in 38+ years of reloading for 223. I have expereinced neck splits and mouth failures when seating bullets, but none upon firing.
• I typically buy military cases with crimped-in primers since I know if the crimp is still in place that the case is truly "once-fired". I trim such cases to 1.753. My experience has been that the cases will not lengthen to 1.760 before their 7th firing.