Used brass how many times fired

dearslayer

dearslayer

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Is there a way to tell how many times used brass has been fired / reloaded. Also I've read where lots do not like to reload nickel plated brass. Is it not better to at least reload once and fire it, then toss it if it's not needed? Just curious is all. I have about 50 or so nickel plated cases that came mixed in with the used .45 brass that I purchased.
 
I have used 45acp brass 4 times for sure. I dont load them hot.
simply look for hair line cracks in the brass. scoring, dents. bulging of the case.
If the crimp area looks thin ,split or rough, or uneven , dont use them.
 
If there is a way to tell how many times fired, I do not know - after going through my wet tumbler, hard to tell it was previously fired at all. Why some of us "leery" about claim to be "once fired" when there is no factory primer, or factory case mouth edge to look at. Nickel plated - had heard that the plating starts to "flake off" - on about 3rd reloads of 100 x Federal nickel plated for son's 308 Win and have not yet seen that occur - have been watching for it. My only experience is with necked centerfire cases - might be different for straight wall or pistol cartridge brass.
 
No way to tell how many times a case has been fired unless you keep records. I use nickel plated brass. My nine is on it’s eighth firing. My 38 special nickel plated is over 20 firings,plating is wearing off from the sizing die. Some has flaked off fairly quick but the cases are still good. I use them until I find splits or cracks. That batch I use with wad cutters so fairly light loads.
 
Nothing wrong with nickel plated brass, I've used it for a lot of years, actually preferred it to regular brass. As far as how many times to use it ..... my rule of thumb was use it until it cracks.
 
Reload it until it splits.

If you don't catch a split case during inspection it will feel "flat" in the press when resizing or seating a bullet.
 
.45 ACP can easily be reloaded 20 times plus.
Nickel - less - usually plating lift off around the mouth. Time to toss them then.

If you overwork them - too much case mouth bellying - using a roll crimp instead of taper - they will give up early. Primer pocket last forever with reloading manual loads.

I have WCC 1942 military brass that I have reloaded about 35 times so far. They look like they went to war but still reload fine.
Wet tumbling does miracle on those ! :)
 
Nickel plated pistol brass seems to be a different beast than rifle brass. I have some 9mm cases that have been reloaded so many times the head stamps are hard to read and there are ejector dings all around the rim. The plating is almost worn off the top 2/3 of the case and they still load ok.

Auggie D.
 
When I used to reloaded pistol I must have got at least 10 reloads out of each of my 45 and 9mm batches. I made my loads just strong enough that they would reliably cycle the guns -no hotter than they needed to be. I am sure that could have used them many more times than that but I sold them with my progressive press and pistol dies.

Don't have any experience with any kind of nickel brass, but they sure look purdy.
 
Auggie Doggie said:
Nickel plated pistol brass seems to be a different beast than rifle brass. I have some 9mm cases that have been reloaded so many times the head stamps are hard to read and there are ejector dings all around the rim. The plating is almost worn off the top 2/3 of the case and they still load ok.

Auggie D.
Click to expand...

Speaking of head stamps hard to read......this is part of the reason I posed the question to begin with I guess.... about 2 years ago I had given to me about 500 rounds of .45acp with semi wad cutter bullets. No idea how it was reloaded so today I pulled 10 rounds with the Hammer style puller to see what was loaded inside. Some of the head stamps are very worn and the cases " look " ( if that a proper term to describe them ) like they have been reloaded... how many times I have no idea. The lead bullets are also a little worst for wear. Upon taking them apart it appears to be 2 different kinds of powder used at 2 different weights. The fine black powder is at 9.4gns and the greenish powder is at 5.4gns. The bullets weights also seem to be 2 different weights ( and some variation within as well ). I'm waiting on a RCBS Press mounted puller to arrive from Cabela's so I can take them all apart. The cases can probably be reloaded but not sure about the bullets.... as mentioned already some are a little rough. What are the opinions on these? Also just as an after thought can the 2 different powders be identified just by the photos? Just curious as it's being tossed anyway. Will probably de prime and re prime with new primers as well seems as I have no idea what primers were used.
 

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Most powders are very hard to positively identify except for a few like Red Dot, Geen Dot, etc. that use specific markers. Best to dump the powders and not take any chances.

Unless the bullets have been deformed from pulling there is no reason why they can't be reused, especially if they are just for plinking.

Cases can obviously be reused unless they have splits. You should resize them, however.

If you are careful depriming the cases the primers can also be reused. Just ease them out during the resizing process (don't yank hard on the press handle). I have deprimed hundreds of buggered up reloads and reused the primers and never had one detonate yet. They won't fit as tightly in the primer pocket as virgin primers but will still work fine.

in short the only part of salvaged reloads I would hesitate to use is the powder if you don't know for sure what it is.
 
ted_dent said:
Most powders are very hard to positively identify except for a few like Red Dot, Geen Dot, etc. that use specific markers. Best to dump the powders and not take any chances.

Unless the bullets have been deformed from pulling there is no reason why they can't be reused, especially if they are just for plinking.

Cases can obviously be reused unless they have splits. You should resize them, however.

If you are careful depriming the cases the primers can also be reused. Just ease them out during the resizing process (don't yank hard on the press handle). I have deprimed hundreds of buggered up reloads and reused the primers and never had one detonate yet. They won't fit as tightly in the primer pocket as virgin primers but will still work fine.

in short the only part of salvaged reloads I would hesitate to use is the powder if you don't know for sure what it is.
Click to expand...

Yeah I wouldn't take a chance on the powders either .... the 10 rounds I pulled I just put both types of powder in same container to dispose of once all 500 are complete. What are the thoughts on just leaving the primers in place if I want to reuse them or do they have to come out? I could just remove the de priming pin on the Lee sizing die could I not?? I'm new to all this so sorry for all the questions.
 
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