Brass life 45acp and 44mag?

[Steiner]

Me not being knowledgable on the subject......... What kind of brass life can one expect from 45acp (loaded to function in a 1911) and 44mag pistol and rifle (nothing to stout, factory loads and even milder loads for practice)?

 

[Canuck44]

I'll speak to .45acp. Brass lasts forever. Shoot the brass until it either spits at the case mouth from belling or along the sides from use. I have cases with over 15 reloadings on them and you can hardly read the headstamp.

Take care

Bob

 

[colinjw]

I'll speak to .45acp. Brass lasts forever. Shoot the brass until it either spits at the case mouth from belling or along the sides from use. I have cases with over 15 reloadings on them and you can hardly read the headstamp.

X 2

 

[tigrr]

I keep using my 45acp till either the primer is loose or it cracks. Same thing with the 44s.
Some of my old 45acp brass you can't read the head stamp anymore.
After polishing you have to examine your brass for cracks. I use one of those magnifying lights on the end of an arm. I know when I have a cracked case in the batch, it has a jingling sound.

 

[H4831]

If you are using cast bullets in either/both, case life is VERY dependent on how much you bell the case.
Those cases usually wear out by the mouth cracking, as has been mentioned. If you bell the case considerably, so the bullet slides in very easy, the cases will crack quite soon. Bell them just enough to get the bullet in.
In these cases using light loads wil not increas case life, over using full power loads.

 

[JohnC]

I'll speak to .45acp. Brass lasts forever. Shoot the brass until it either spits at the case mouth from belling or along the sides from use. I have cases with over 15 reloadings on them and you can hardly read the headstamp.

Take care

Bob

x3 and yes excessive belling seems to affect things

 

[JBD]

To give you an idea on case life for the 45 acp. I have lots of casings used during the second world war in my brass bucket.

Oh 1942 what a good year.

 

[msg.drew]

44 mag is about the same life as 45 acp... I been shooting the same brass for 3 or 4 years now... and I shoot frequently 1 or 2 time per week often 200 -400 rounds

 

[thecollector]

If you are using cast bullets in either/both, case life is VERY dependent on how much you bell the case.
Those cases usually wear out by the mouth cracking, as has been mentioned. If you bell the case considerably, so the bullet slides in very easy, the cases will crack quite soon.

Exactly.
This is why I prefer to use bevel base bullets and a good case mouth chamfer........NO BELLING IS THEN NECESSARY, the bullets seat very easily, with no working of the mouth.

 

[medicstimpy]

I'll speak to .45acp. Brass lasts forever. Shoot the brass until it either spits at the case mouth from belling or along the sides from use. I have cases with over 15 reloadings on them and you can hardly read the headstamp.

Take care

Bob

Sir Steiner.... what he said.

I've got brass that has no more headstamp. All of my friends have been shooting longer than I have and they have brass constantly reloaded from the 70's.

It also depends on your gun, too. My buddy's GI really eats the brass at the mouth when it ejects so they get ruined quite fast.

My Desert Chicken eats the rim on the 44's pretty bad so I don't see brass lasting too long in that gun. Needless to say, I use the old beaten brass in that gun and save the new and newer brass for the round gun since they don't eat the brass the way a semi does.

 

[Silverback]

I have 45 ACP brass that I still use that was bought when I got my first 45 in 1985, so 23 years so far.

 

[Steiner]

Thanks for the info guys. Good to know it lasts that long. I was asking because a fellow I spoke to said to expect five reloads from brass. I was asking specifically regarding 44mag and 45acp, perhaps he was speaking of rifle brass.