Brass, how many times do you reload?

[couesbitten]

My buddy and I are just gettting into reloading, and we're having a disagreement on how many times we should reuse brass. I say that as long as the integrity of the case is good, it's okay to reuse. He says only reload two or three times. What do you all say? Scott/couesbitten

 

[RANGERCON]

The short answer is....It depends!!

What caliber are you two reloading for??

 

[couesbitten]

RANGERCON, A number of different calibers. 7mm, .300 RUM, .300 Win, 30.06, .300 WSM. We are reloading for ourselves and for a couple of guys we work with. Scott/couesbitten

 

[RANGERCON]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-26-05 AT 03:46PM (MST)[p]I personally have some .300 Win mag brass that has been reloaded around 15 times and I wouldn't hesitate reloading them again if I had a .300 Winnie laying around. They are still in good shape.

There may be some debate about this statement, but here goes.
I believe in neck sizing or partially FL sizing my brass. I believe that it helps brass last longer. I may be wrong, but that's my take.
I also neck size to give me better accuracy too.

I have loaded .300 RUM cartridges around 10 times before they start going south. That's if my memory serves me.

The better brass, Lapua, Norma, etc. will give you longer case life in general.

Oh yeah, I generally don't load hot. Most all my loads are a couple of grains off of max.

 

[NV30378]

I load for several calibers and I load to where they shoot best. Usually this is at the upper end, but that is because I put the bullets real close to the lands and it does create more pressure, so you have to be real careful and always work up your loads. All my guns shoot real awesome, but it takes time. Now to answer your question, I find that the primer pockets get to loose before any other part of the brass shows signs of unreloadability, you still have to bump the shoulder back and trim to length as needed, nothing drastic like burnt powder marks or anything just not a good friction fit like the first couple of times. So, I would say that is around 4 times. With that said, I throw out the magnum loaded brass at 4 times anyway. Just my own safety rule. The lighter stuff I throw away after 5 to 6 times. All brass and loads are not created equal, so it depends on many variables. That is why a good step by step processing system is so important.

 

[257Tony]

RANGERCON hit the nail on the head, always neck size the belted magnums. Staying a little conservative helps too......As long as your brass looks good, go for it.

 

[RANGERCON]

Good point about primer pockets getting loose before the necks get too brittle.

I must retract my earlier post where I stated my .300 Win mag brass had around 15 reloads on them.
I checked my paperwork and found that I have several pieces with 11-12 reloads on them, not any with 15.
But the brass looks great and probably could go a couple of more.

And I'm not sure I have any .300 RUM brass with 10 reloads. I never had a neck die for that brass, and would say that 6-7 reloads is more accurate. As someone stated earlier, the primer pockets went south on those in short order. I did load those a little on the HOT side. }>

Sorry for the BS. My memory is not that great anymore. :-(

As Tony stated, neck sizing saves brass, but I highly recommend FL sizing all hunting loads. Neck size to get the right recipe, but FL size to take hunting.

Welcome to the great world of reloading, fellas!!

 

[257Tony]

If you dont have a neck sizer (I dont) I use a FL and leave a hair thin gap between the ram and the bottom of the brass when at full pull. This seems to kinda cross between neck and FL sizing, plus gives the belted magnums a headspace on the shoulder, not the useless belt.......Enjoy, and be safe.

 

[RANGERCON]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-28-05 AT 04:24AM (MST)[p]Tony gave you the low down on what I call "partial full length sizing", which doesn't bump the shoulder back.

Many have used this method effectively, I chose to get a neck die.

EDIt TO ADD:

Great point about head spacing on the belted magnums, Tony.

 

[myj]

There are too many variables involved in reloading to be able to recommend a set number of firings. The rule of thumb that I use for my personal reloads is that as long as the primer pockets are nice and tight, the brass has no visible damage, it's within specs as far as length is concerned, and it has not been trimmed more than three times, then it's ok to reuse.

On average, I get anywhere from 9 to 15 reloads out of my brass. My loads are in the conservative pressure range. On occasions while testing for load development, I've stretched the primer pockets beyond the reusable range in a single firing.

Don't load to max pressure levels, neck size and you'll get a long life out of your brass.

Keep it safe!!!

 

[couesbitten]

Thanks to everyone for all of the helpfull info. In the end, it sounds like I was on the right track. Thanks again, and good luck to everyone on their hunts, and be safe. Scott/couesbitten

 

[meatmaker]

There are two factors that help determine how many time to reload.

One is the fact that brass actually harden as it is worked both by the pressure of firing and being squeezed back in to shape during reloading. Can't do much about this though I do set my loading dies on bottle neck cartridges to do minimal resizing to avoid working the brass any more than needed. Work hardening will usually show up in cracks in the case mouth or lengthwise cracks in the case body. A good reason to inspect cases at each loading.

Second is to watch case stretching by measuring a batch of cases after the first firing and periodacally after that. When they have grown 10 thousandths it is time to trim them back. When they have grown another 10 thousandths toss them! That growth in length is coming from the case body and the body is getting thinner and thinner setting you up for case seperations etc. A real safety issue!

Hope this helps

meatmaker

 

[RLH]

i use a real simple method to determine how long to use brass. when it breaks, i chunk it. just keep an eye on it, when you see it starting to crack down at the bottom where the thickness transition begins, throw it away. as far as keeping track of how many times i've reloaded brass, i ain't never done it.

 

[RANGERCON]

I agree with RLH on this one.

 

[redrabbit]

One way to check for the brass thinning by the base, before you get the case separation, is to sharpen the tip of a straightened paperclip, bend the point over, and run it on the inside of the case to feel for a groove starting.
Also check for small cracks by the case mouth.

RR