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Old January 31, 2009, 06:59 PM   #1
Psolo
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Life expectancy of brass

How many times can you reload the brass for 40 cal and 357 mag? And how many times could you reload say 22-250 or 30.06?

Thanks for you help!
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Old January 31, 2009, 07:10 PM   #2
DiscoRacing
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i reload .223, .270, .308, 30.06, and 7mm rem mag... id say my average is 7 to 8 times per case... tho i believe that some make it to 10 to 12 times.. alot of factors determine case life.
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Old January 31, 2009, 07:26 PM   #3
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There is no single answer. Light target loads in my .45 ACP, held by a taper crimp, have allowed me to get 50 reloads. Even then, I only tossed the brass because it had gradually gotten about 0.025" short. Rifle cases and roll crimped revolver load cases will usually start splitting necks somewhere between 5 and 10 reloads. Rifle cases can be prevented from doing this by learning to anneal the necks. Then, if you don't set the shoulders back more than a couple of thousandths when you size them, they can often go 20 rounds or so. If you neck size only and anneal case necks every five or six loadings, you can get 50 reloads out of many rifle cases, too. Benchrest shooters often achieve numbers like that.
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Old January 31, 2009, 11:37 PM   #4
btefft
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I load straight walled cases (not necked like a 30.06) and don't even try to count the number of times I reload the cases. Since I only load in the low to mid ranges, I'm more likely to lose a case, than retire one to the trash can.

Hack
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Old February 1, 2009, 12:35 PM   #5
Tom Matiska
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Modest reloads my 308 or 243 will get 20 or so. Max loads less.

Thin wall cases like the 30-30 can have issues at 5 or 6 warm loads.

Your 357 can vary greatly. How fast a straight wall case grabs the chamber vs set back can give you an education in burn rates. My experience with its 44 mag big brother in a wheel gun (more headspace) was that heavier loads of faster powders (Unique) would stretch the brass excessivly.... more trimming and less case life. Less so with lighter loads.... slower powders like H110 require the least trimming with the heaviest of loads.

If your wheelgun is a lighter snubby that requires heaviest of crimping, look for neck problems sooner.

Max case life is from my Marlin rifle (least headspace)

There are enough exceptions that there is no substitute for good inspections.
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Old February 1, 2009, 03:00 PM   #6
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Some of my .45 ACP brass is going on 25 reloadings with now problems, also have some .38/.357 brass that has 20+ loadings. Keep away from the real hot loading and the brass will last quite a while.
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Old February 1, 2009, 06:16 PM   #7
ballardw
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I was reading an older Handloader's Digest yesterday and one of the comments addresses this. The author had set aside a group of different 30-06 brass for a long term test on durability. He didn't mention specific loads but says he gave up at 31 firings without any brass failures. I suspect that he wasn't trying to simulate a 300 magnum of any flavor.

YMMV.
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Old February 2, 2009, 03:45 PM   #8
dlb435
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You can reload straight wall cases until they fail. For bottle neck cases you should re-aneil the necks after 5 reloads. Referance your reloading manual.
Brass gets harder and more brittle as it is worked. Every time you fire or re-size a case, it is being worked. To return the brass to its original "soft" state you must heat it until it just barly glows (have your workplace dimly lit) Then plunge the hot case into water. You can then use the cases for an other 5 cycles. If you over heat the case, the tin and copper will seperate and the case is lost.
An other solution is to have enough brass that you never reach the 5 cycle limit.
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Old February 2, 2009, 03:53 PM   #9
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Quote:
An other solution is to have enough brass that you never reach the 5 cycle limit.
That's MY solution
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Old February 20, 2009, 04:27 PM   #10
James R. Burke
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Brass

I bought some Lapua brass about a year ago for my 30-06 and my wifes .243 I dont know how many reloads I will get from them but so far I really like them. They were all perfect when I got them no prep work at all. Real nice primer pockets drilled not punched. I am sure most of you all know this. They say you can get ten at the min. Time will tell, and I will repost when I get more reloads on them. Used them about six times now, and they look great. Very little trimming. At first I was wondering if the high price was worth it. It is you get what you pay for, and in the long run your probably going to come out the same as the cheap one's with a lot less work. I guess this is a subjest that has no end or right or wrong. It all comes down to what you like.
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Old February 22, 2009, 08:48 AM   #11
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lesseenow...

357: I bought some used nickeled cases in 1976 or '77, and I'm still using them.

40 S&W: I have used the same cases for over thirty loadings in testing.

9x19: Even more.....


The chamber(s) of the guns used matters, and so does one's loading process.
I mean, I can ruin 'em sooner.
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