Newbie relaoding question

[nithburg]

I'm thinking of reloading 9mm for the handguns and 303 for the Enfield, not so much becasue I'm cheap (which I am) but it sounds like I might enjoy it too. My club has all the equipment available so all I would have to buy are the dies and supplies.

But I was wondering, how many times can brass be re-used, or how do you know when its not re-useable any more?



Thanks

 

[sunray]

Buy a manual and read it. You'll get more responses on the reloading forum.
Carbide dies only for the 9mm. It's just the sizer die.
"...how many times can brass be re-used..." Depends on the load used. Using target handgun loads case life is virtually forever. They don't expand as much as rifle cases. You can get cracked case mouths even with target loads. Pitch those.
Not with bottle necked rifle cases though. The load used still matters, but the brass gets work hardened.
"...how do you know..." Cracked neck or the primer doesn't stay put in a rifle with good headspace. Primer pockets do get bigger with use. There's no fixing it.
When you get one cracked neck, pitch that one and anneal the rest. Cracked necks are caused by the brass being work hardened from repeated firing and resizing. Annealing softens the brass. With a bolt action, you can neck size only. Extends case life.
Enfield chambers tend to be generous, so the brass will expand a bit more than other cases. Had the headspace checked on your rifle?

 

[AJCrowley]

When you get one cracked neck, pitch that one and anneal the rest.

Somewhat related, there's a really good read on annealing at www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

 

[curtmg]

Take a paper clip, straighten it out, with a little "L" hook on the end, and drag it around the inside of the bottle neck cases, that will tell you how much the brass has thinned near the head of the case. 303's can be hell on brass, but with neck sizing and moderate loads, you'll likely get at least 4-5 reloads, unless you use max loads, then it will be less.

9mm, you'll get a good number of reloads from, and even then, it's the cheapest reloadable brass in existance, so number of reloads isn't a particular concern. Lots of people who shoot 9mm, don't even bother to reload, as the time it takes, isn't worth saving 1/2 the fairly low cost (3/4 if you cast your own).