Brass

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muckwa

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how many times can you reuse brass??? I have just started reloading and fired my first reloads ever all went well now i am wondering how many times can that brass be trimed and reused?:nest:
 
It depends on the calibre, how hot the loads are, the type of rifle, how often you full length resize, how often you anneal the brass and probably more that I forgot.

Light loads in a bolt action where you only neck size the brass will go for a long time, 20+ loadings at least. Hot loads in a semi where you full length size every time, have a looser chamber and the action beats the brass up will last far fewer loadings, maybe only 4 or 5 times.

Straight walled cases last much longer than bottleneck, too.

Mark
 
If you tell us what calibres you are reloading, we might be able to give you a better answer, rather than the very general replies (all still valid).
 
Read whatever you can find on the net and in manuals regarding signs of pressure/flaws in brass. There's lots out there and the pictures help. Split necks and loose primer pockets are pretty obvious "ditch me" signs. Any bright ring forming just forward of the head is a serious concern and you should ditch brass thus ringed unless you have the expertise to identify the problem as NOT being a sign that the head is about to separate.

You might just want to set aside any brass which you have even minor doubts about, then inspect em with help from an experienced loader you trust. Good way to learn.
 
muckwa said:
how many times can you reuse brass??? I have just started reloading and fired my first reloads ever all went well now i am wondering how many times can that brass be trimed and reused?:nest:
Click to expand...

I have brass that was purchased in the 1980's and is still going strong. Some lots are on their 17th reloading. Keep your loads a tad under max and be sure to keep an eye on trim length. Also annealing necks is important IMO.:)
 
With the full length resize...do you guys think that it would shorted the brass life that much if you are setting up your dies to only bump the shoulder .001 or so?
 
Not sure about 8 1/2. I can't be that precise.

I would say 8 to 9 times.


However, i once picked up a bunch of once fired brass at camp Perry when i was shooting on a target with the Marine team. They did not want the brass. It went 20+ reloads before I stopped counting.
 
I had a box of 50 223 brass that I neck sized only and I tossed them out after reloading some of them 33 or 34 times.Out of that 50 I had 3 necks split , and 5 or 6 that I had to trim. I was using 21.5 gr IMR 4198, and a 55 gr bullet !!!


Bearcat
 
I'm trying to find it, but someone did a test of casing life with batches of winchester and remington brass.

The winchester made it longer but IIRC each made it upwards of 50-60 reloads before showing signs of stress
 
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