• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

When do you stop reloading brass?

wjm1000

This is on magnum size cases holding 80 to 140 grains of powder.

I have a friend that calms that after three firings the brass is shot out and the accuracy is gone. I don’t think that is the case, if they are structurally sound and show no signs of head separation or necks having any cracking and primer pockets still being tight, the necks being annealed every time before being resized. I have never done any testing to determine if my opinion is or isn’t correct.

What is your opinion on this?
 
If you are properly annealing and sizing, the first thing to go should be your primer pockets, and that, in my experience, shouldn't happen until you're well into double-digits of firings. If your buddy is "done" after three firings, then he's either starting with lousy brass, or loading mega-hot loads, or doing something wrong in his brass prep. IMHO
 
Belted cases, if that's what this cartridge has, present their own unique problems in that conventional sizing doesn't reach right down to the top edge of the belt. This may be what the shooter is seeing. I had this years ago with sensible loads in a 300 H&H Magnum. After three firings, the case felt tight on the fourth chambering, and even the massive extractor claw on the 'Enfield' P'14 action wouldn't extract it, just tear through the case-rim.

There are swaging dies just for this problem to be used after conventional FL sizing, and they reduce the case body diameter in that narrow ring above the belt that conventional sizers don't get to.

IIRC, the original body swager to overcome this problem is the Larry Willis patented collet die.

https://forum.accurateshooter.com/t...ulder-verses-belt-on-my-magnum-cases.3973847/

........... and scroll down.
 
Im on a 4th firing on some of my 28 nosler brass and just full length sized, never annealed and just got my best group yet. Took a while to find the recipe it wanted. Thats 90 grains of powder, some of these may have seen 93. Primers still decent. Adg brass
 
I don’t shoot enough belted magnums to really comment. Actually only have one at the moment
30 Luft that was a wildcat before the 300WM was ever legit. Once fired 300WM out of another rifle will only chamber with a bit of a heavy hand.
Virgin 300WM brass using 300WM dies, all is well and chambers with no issue. I have 20 that were reloaded numerous times trying to reinvent the wheel. Went back to my old stand by of H1000 and a 165-190 class bullet.
Hunting ammo, I prefer virgin, once fired goes into service on occasion. My three go to hunting rigs don’t see any extra shooting. I have others for trigger time. I may shoot 2-3 rounds at the most before season and that is it.
 
I'm not a competitor, and if I was I would be more picky.

For my standard recreational shells, and for squirrel shooting and such, I shoot them until the necks crack or are too thin to hold a bullet, the primer pockets won't hold a primer, or the case head is about to separate. (or does separate)

I'm a little more discriminating with the higher pressure loads/cartridges, and my "premium" hunting loads.

I'm not usually one to load up at the max level. jd
 
When it finally shows signs of pending failure. i.e. loose primer pockets, pending case separation, neck cracking, even with annealing, after numerous reloads in it.
If you friend is loosing brass with just 3 firings, he is pushing too much pressure or not prepping his brass properly.
 
I sold off all the beltEd cartridges years ago, except for my Dad’s old Ruger #1 in 338WM, it stays. I can’t really comment on belted cartridges, it’s been awhile since I loaded for them. I can comment on a few other cartridges and brass life. My 338 Lapua is one, when I use Lapua brass and I get 2-3 the firings I do using cheaper brass like Hornady, I’ve learned it’s cheaper to pay the extra for the Lapua, in the long run you save money. Same with my 7Saum. ADG and this Alpha OCD brass has been impressive. My round count on my 22GT brass is at 14 with no signs of giving up yet. I’m also one to run a node under max, rarely do I run them as hot as I can.

Signs my brass is done?

Loose primer pocket
split necks
expanded case head
anything that looks like future case head separation but I rarely get that bumping my shoulder .001-.002

Those loose primer pockets are my main indicator though. When your priming handle goes down with little pressure I usually toss it.
 
I typically load 45/70 and .500 S&W mags as straight walled cartridges are not a demanding as bottle necks. I have some 45/70s that have been reloaded 20 times without issues and some 10 or more with the .500.
 
wjm1000 said:
This is on magnum size cases holding 80 to 140 grains of powder.

I have a friend that calms that after three firings the brass is shot out and the accuracy is gone.
Click to expand...

That is generally not what happens.

In your friend's case, it may be what is actually happening by virtue of how hot the loads are and what his reloading process involves.

It's not a general truth.
 
Bill K said:
When it finally shows signs of pending failure. i.e. loose primer pockets, pending case separation, neck cracking, even with annealing, after numerous reloads in it.
If you friend is loosing brass with just 3 firings, he is pushing too much pressure or not prepping his brass properly.
Click to expand...
He has no issues with brass failure, he just feels the accuracy potential of the brass is gone.
 
How loose is too loose with primers? Seating by hand tool. Some pieces of brass new i was afraid of having a primer go off with how hard they went in. Then some other new brass they go in pretty easy.
After couple firings i have some that go in pretty easy but by no means could i insert one by use of a finger. Always wondered how loose is considered scrap. Some I marked loose still shot good
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Classified Ads

Forum statistics

Threads
165,788
Messages
2,203,189
Members
79,110
Latest member
miles813

Share This Page

Back
Top