When to retire cases?

[Papa Charlie]

I am shooting Mid-range F-Class 500 yard. I shoot Lapua large primer brass, Varget 42.9 gr, CCI BR-2 Primers, Berger 185 gr Juggernauts, 2730 fps.

I have two sets of brass that I rotate, one is new than the other. One set has just got to 20 firings on it. I was reloading this set, seating new primers and had one shell where the primer would just fall out. All the others seem to seat the primer and retain it just fine. I assume this is the beginning of the end for this set. They have provided me good service.

The question is, would you retire the entire set or just individual cases as they fail? I use these for competition and wonder if I will start to have issues on the line. I have no problem in buying more brass, but was wondering what other competitors do.

 

[22DASHER]

Depends on many things...How hard have they been hit throughout their life? How often do you anneal? I don’t worry if it’s just one case. Toss it and continue shooting them. If you start losing like 10-20% then it may be time.

 

[Papa Charlie]

Sorry, omitted that bit of information. I anneal after every firing. I think this is why I have gotten good service from them till now. As to how hard they had been hit, hard to say as they have gone from a stock barrel to a custom Benchmark and the loads have varied from one extreme to the other as I have developed my system over time. Today, I would say that the load is on the high side.

Your advice seems logical. I will probably go down and get some more brass anyway to have for when the time comes.

Thanks for the input.

 

[riflewoman]

While you anneal the neck and shoulder area, the body gets hard. So if the rifle and die are working the brass much you’ll get body splits. I’d throw the brass at the first body split. At 20 firings your brass costs a nickel a shot. Even Lapua.

 

[dkhunt14]

While you anneal the neck and shoulder area, the body gets hard. So if the rifle and die are working the brass much you’ll get body splits. I’d throw the brass at the first body split. At 20 firings your brass costs a nickel a shot. Even Lapua.

I wouldn't push it to the limit of where you get a body split. Once that happens, it torches your chamber really bad.

I believe once brass is shot so many times, it loses some accuracy. It doesn't matter whether it is annealed or not. I do anneal every firing and my BR rifles show a slight loss of accuracy once I get 10 to 15 firings on them. New brass always shoots good and sometimes it produces the best groups. In F-class it may not be enough to hurt you but in BR it can. Matt

 

[Papa Charlie]

I don't see any signs of body fatigue or failure, necks look good and the pockets seemed fine until that one would not hold onto the primer.

Can't complain about the overall amortized cost. I think the annealing is a big help. The shoulders and neck are some of the thinnest parts of the case. So far see no issues there.

Will continue to monitor, the accuracy does not seem to be affected, although, I do get a flyer now and then. Most likely me and not the case causing it.

 

[Nature Boy]

I’m shooting Lapua .308 win cases as well and I’m checking primer pockets with a -0.210 pin gage. I toss them when the pin gage will freely enter the pocket. Bad on the left, good on the right

 

[dkhunt14]

I’m shooting Lapua .308 win cases as well and I’m checking primer pockets with a -0.210 pin gage. I toss them when the pin gage will freely enter the pocket. Bad on the left, good on the right

That's a good idea. When a primer leaks, it does a job on boltface. Matt

 

[Nature Boy]

That's a good idea. When a primer leaks, it does a job on boltface. Matt

Yes it does. I’m probably conservative in my approach but that’s my process. 0.210 is SAAMI max for pocket diameter

 

[Papa Charlie]

I’m shooting Lapua .308 win cases as well and I’m checking primer pockets with a -0.210 pin gage. I toss them when the pin gage will freely enter the pocket. Bad on the left, good on the right

Actually, that is a great idea. Which I had seen this before I placed an order at McMaster Carr, could have included this with my order.

 

[mikeinct]

I'm too cheap to buy pin gauges..Grin..I put green magic marker on the primers in those lots of 100..As I prime them..Too easy insert, they get the green mark, I don't load those, they stay in the ammo box.. As soon as i get past 15 soft pockets in the 100 lot..A new lot of 100 gets put into service..Mike in ct

 

[dkhunt14]

I'm too cheap to buy pin gauges..Grin..I put green magic marker on the primers in those lots of 100..As I prime them..Too easy insert, they get the green mark, I don't load those, they stay in the ammo box.. As soon as i get past 15 soft pockets in the 100 lot..A new lot of 100 gets put into service..Mike in ct

Those primers you put in and don't load would soon pay for a pin guage. Matt

 

[mikeinct]

yeah yeah, you guys will have to drag me kickin' & grousing all the way into this Century...Mike in Ct...edit added:...hey & my time is money too...checking 100 cases before I prime them ...

 

[hawkeyeshoooer]

After rifle cases stretch past the max allowable length again a 2nd time after having been already trimmed before, I retire them - always keeping an eye on the base of the case for thinning prior to head separation.

For Pistol cases, I reload them until I tire of picking them up - there is always newer, once fired brass lying about to replenish my inventory.

 

[MislMan]

You might consider retiring this set to fouler rounds and starting up a new set (3rd set). More for peace of mind than anything else.

 

[hawkeyeshoooer]

How many reloads you will get from a given piece of brass: The answer is: It varies. The main factors are the quality of the brass, the heaviness of the load, and whether you FL resize or neck-size only.

The higher quality brass (Norma, Lapua, Nosler) will probably outlast the rest. In "regular" brass, Winchester has a rep for lasting. Reloaders like the hi-quality brass for other reasons also: Less prep required, drilled not punched flash-holes, greater uniformity from case to case, necks come pre-annealed, etc.

Loading any brass "to the max" will shorten its usable life. The higher the pressure it has to endure, the faster it ages. Low-pressure loads are easier on the brass. As an aside, the greatest accuracy is usually not found at the top of the pressure scale for any given cartridge, though there are exceptions.

When you size brass, you flex it. Flexing brass ages the brass. Thus, FL sizing flexes the case more so than neck-sizing. Lee Precision claims (correctly, I believe) that their collet neck-sizing die flexes the brass even less than an "ordinary" neck-size die, which can lead to longer case life--in addition to straighter cases, another plus for accuracy.

Another factor is that some cartridges are inherently hard on brass and some are not--it's partially a function of the "normal" pressure range for the cartridge, and partially a function of the case design.

When I began reloading it was strictly for the saving of $$. I used any old range pick-up brass. Discovered early on that I could make better ammo than I could buy, and cheaper, too! Later I began sorting the brass by manufacturer because this seemed to enhance accuracy. Later yet I kept my brass in lots dedicated to a given rifle, and only used that one lot with that rifle (still do this!) Now I'm to the point of only using high-grade brass for my "serious" rifles, and I find that accuracy as well as brass life is enhanced. Most reloaders, I think, go through a similar progression.

 

[Kurt Blasser]

I am shooting Mid-range F-Class 500 yard. I shoot Lapua large primer brass, Varget 42.9 gr, CCI BR-2 Primers, Berger 185 gr Juggernauts, 2730 fps.

I have two sets of brass that I rotate, one is new than the other. One set has just got to 20 firings on it. I was reloading this set, seating new primers and had one shell where the primer would just fall out. All the others seem to seat the primer and retain it just fine. I assume this is the beginning of the end for this set. They have provided me good service.

The question is, would you retire the entire set or just individual cases as they fail? I use these for competition and wonder if I will start to have issues on the line. I have no problem in buying more brass, but was wondering what other competitors do.

Mine are gone after 8. No reason, I just feel they're not quite as accurate. Maybe wasteful, but brass is cheap.

 

[vonb]

What are you accomplishing by saving your brass? You're not saving any considerable money by continuing to use it after 20 firings. The risk of flame cutting and an etched chamber/boltface outweigh the risks associated with saving the brass.

Look at it this way; Let's say that one piece of Lapua brass cost $1. 20 firings means that the brass amortizes at $.05 per firing. If you get 30 firings, it amortizes at $.03 per firing. That's a difference of $.02/firing. For 100 rounds, that's $.20.

With that said, my cases go to the recycling bin after 10 firings. I figured I've gotten enough use out of them.

 

[Papa Charlie]

What are you accomplishing by saving your brass? You're not saving any considerable money by continuing to use it after 20 firings. The risk of flame cutting and an etched chamber/boltface outweigh the risks associated with saving the brass.

Look at it this way; Let's say that one piece of Lapua brass cost $1. 20 firings means that the brass amortizes at $.05 per firing. If you get 30 firings, it amortizes at $.03 per firing. That's a difference of $.02/firing. For 100 rounds, that's $.20.

With that said, my cases go to the recycling bin after 10 firings. I figured I've gotten enough use out of them.

What you say has a lot of truth in it.

 

[Pigdog]

hey guys after reading this thread decided to have a closer look at my bolt face and sure enough I can see a primer ring there with some pitting on it. This rifle was bought second hand so for all I know it could have had a few hundred thousand rounds through it before I got it.

Question does the pitting cause any issues other than cosmetic? It seems to be accurate now but if it was to pit further or get more pitting am I likely to loose accuracy or something else?