Brass Question... 5 Times Fired

Jseime · April 21, 2009, 11:02 PM

I have a bunch of loads that are made with 4 times fired brass and now that I have have started cracking them off I have a bunch of empty five times fired brass for my .270.

Should I be annealing those cases before reloading again to make sure that I dont start having troubles with them?

50of4064 · April 22, 2009, 12:51 AM

Case inspection should be the rule here, you have to establish weather the case is safe for a sixth reload. annealing the case is not a solve all for case failure.
I have had reloads last 7 and 8 firings, and some batches 2 firings.
( I throw out the whole batch of cases when one shows fatigue)

You have to be the final judge as to weather it is safe to reload the case just one more time. If you even slightly think it may not make the trip, scrap the batch, cases are cheap, your health and the welfare of those shooting around are not.
thank you for the post as it made me think again about safty

longranger · April 22, 2009, 01:17 AM

What 50of4064 said,I do the same thing,would it be Winchester brass? if so it's thin brass to start with.You will have better longevity with RP,Nosler,Hornady.Hot loads will wear out brass pretty fast in necked cases.Have you checked them for length?long cases will cause premature splits.It is not unusual to get 10 firings from properly prepped brass at moderate loadings.

Jseime · April 28, 2009, 12:52 AM

Thanks guys, the cases seem ok for length... i trim every time, its quick and i like uniformity.

Most of the cases are remington with some hornady in there. I shoot Lee reloading manual hot loads... not P.O. Ackley hot loads.

What are some things i should look for in cases for signs of wear and stress?

dahermit · April 28, 2009, 08:06 AM

Dependw where the cracks you are talking about are. Cracks starting at the case mouth are indications of work hardened brass. All the ones that are not cracked can be saved and used by annealing. However, if the cracks are in the body or cracking at the head, then the rest of that lot should not be used...toss them.

50of4064 · April 28, 2009, 09:51 PM

I found some very good examples of failures in my reloading books, i hope never to see some of them in real life, but have seen a few. again thanks for the post.

Nnobby45 · April 28, 2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

However, if the cracks are in the body or cracking at the head, then the rest of that lot should not be used...toss them.

A crack at the head is an insipient case head seperation (partial) and you won't be seeing that until after it happens. If it does, you'll know it. It will ruin the extractor on a M700, and you'd best have your shooting glasses on.

A good rule is that if you've had to trim the cases 3 or 4 times, then discard the cases . The brass you're trimming from the neck as it grows in length is coming from the area of the case head--it's getting thinner there. The brass flows forward as you FL resize.

With a piece of bent wire, you can feel cracks INSIDE the case, near the head, if they're developing. If so, discard the whole lot.

If you sized your cases JUST ENOUGH to easily chamber in your rifle, then headspace (and the stretch) will be at a minimum. If you like to crank your die down more and set the shoulder back more than necessary, then your cases can be weak in the case head area after fewer firings.

Fred Hunnington of RCBS did a demo by sizing and firing some '06 cases and the cases were good for 16 or more firings. AGAIN, that's sizing just enough to easily chamber. NOT sized to fit anybody elses rifle. When the case went, it was the necks that split.

Usually annealing is reserved for cases in calibers that are hard to come by.

Annealing is usually for brass that's hard to come by for certain hard to find calibers.

I'd never consider annealing old brass when new brass is readily available, but if you do, make sure the brass near the case head isn't getting thin after being fired and sized a number of times-- especially if you've had more headspace than you needed for easy chambering.

Jseime · April 30, 2009, 01:16 AM

thanks for the info guys ill check them out and likely load em again because im careful about how i re-size.

Xwrench3 · April 30, 2009, 07:19 AM

TORCH THEM PUPPIES! i get much better life from my brass when i anneal them regularly.

April 21, 2009, 11:02 PM	#1
Jseime Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,775	Brass Question... 5 Times Fired I have a bunch of loads that are made with 4 times fired brass and now that I have have started cracking them off I have a bunch of empty five times fired brass for my .270. Should I be annealing those cases before reloading again to make sure that I dont start having troubles with them? __________________ I love the smell of fresh shotgun in the morning.

April 28, 2009, 12:52 AM	#4
Jseime Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,775	Thanks guys, the cases seem ok for length... i trim every time, its quick and i like uniformity. Most of the cases are remington with some hornady in there. I shoot Lee reloading manual hot loads... not P.O. Ackley hot loads. What are some things i should look for in cases for signs of wear and stress? __________________ I love the smell of fresh shotgun in the morning.

April 30, 2009, 01:16 AM	#8
Jseime Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,775	thanks for the info guys ill check them out and likely load em again because im careful about how i re-size. __________________ I love the smell of fresh shotgun in the morning.

April 22, 2009, 12:51 AM	#2
50of4064 Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Southern Calif. Posts: 52	Case inspection should be the rule here, you have to establish weather the case is safe for a sixth reload. annealing the case is not a solve all for case failure. I have had reloads last 7 and 8 firings, and some batches 2 firings. ( I throw out the whole batch of cases when one shows fatigue) You have to be the final judge as to weather it is safe to reload the case just one more time. If you even slightly think it may not make the trip, scrap the batch, cases are cheap, your health and the welfare of those shooting around are not. thank you for the post as it made me think again about safty

April 22, 2009, 01:17 AM	#3
longranger Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2008 Location: Buffalo WY Posts: 1,056	What 50of4064 said,I do the same thing,would it be Winchester brass? if so it's thin brass to start with.You will have better longevity with RP,Nosler,Hornady.Hot loads will wear out brass pretty fast in necked cases.Have you checked them for length?long cases will cause premature splits.It is not unusual to get 10 firings from properly prepped brass at moderate loadings.

April 28, 2009, 08:06 AM	#5
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	Dependw where the cracks you are talking about are. Cracks starting at the case mouth are indications of work hardened brass. All the ones that are not cracked can be saved and used by annealing. However, if the cracks are in the body or cracking at the head, then the rest of that lot should not be used...toss them.

April 28, 2009, 09:51 PM	#6
50of4064 Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Southern Calif. Posts: 52	I found some very good examples of failures in my reloading books, i hope never to see some of them in real life, but have seen a few. again thanks for the post.

April 30, 2009, 07:19 AM	#9
Xwrench3 Member Join Date: April 24, 2009 Posts: 90	TORCH THEM PUPPIES! i get much better life from my brass when i anneal them regularly.