How many loadings

[4t5]

do you use a cartridge case for ?
Today I could not eject cases from my sp101 , It’s a 327 and I was using 32 h&r loads , five fell out , one was in tight , I got it out only to find it split down the middle. A fella at the club said he don’t like 32’s for that reason. But to be fair I don’t know how many time these have been reloaded . I’ll guess around 8 times, first time it’s happened.
Just wondering if you guys keep a recorded number of firings and toss them out at an arbitrary number.

[GunnyMack]

The only thing I have that uses brass is my Mexican Mauser 257 Ackley Improved, Neck splits. Of course the majority of my brass is 30 yrs old so it has age related hardening. So I anneal the necks and so far so good.
I've had nickled 357/38s that split. I can't prove it but I think it has to do with the plating - brass and nickle 'move' differently.

[JimT]

Using 100 brand new Remington .45 Colt cases I reloaded them and kept track of how many times they were loaded, how many cracked and when, and tracked when I annealed them and trimmed them.

The cases were loaded 27 times.
I annealed them 4 times and trimmed them once.
Unless noted otherwise, all cracks were neck cracks from crimping and neck expanding the cases.

The loads were with Lyman #457191 300 gr. …. LBT LFN 305 gr. and, an LBT LFN 310 gr. All loads were heavy loads of either 2400, 4227 or WW296.

6th Loading – lost 1 … annealed cases
9th Loading – lost 2 … annealed cases
16th Loading – lost 3
18th Loading – lost 4
21st Loading – lost 3 .. annealed cases
22nd Loading- lost 1
I annealed the cases and trimmed them sometime between 22 and 26 but did not record where in the loading sequence.
By the 26th Loading I had 61 cases left.
5 cases developed lengthwise cracks from 1/2” long to full length of the case.
I quit counting at the 27th loading.

[samsi]

30 years ago I reloaded the same 200 .45 ACP cases 10 times. I didn't lose any - to cracks or the range, so I quit keeping track after that. Some of the headstamps are getting faint and I have started culling WW2 cases from the rotation in recent years, since there are still some '42-43 WCC and Evansville Chrysler cases floating around in my mixed brass.

I did notice while resizing some much-used Federal 44 mag brass last weekend that they feel a bit stiff. I think it may be time to anneal those.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I treat brass like a gasket. I lose one every now and then but I just take it as part of the deal.

[TedH]

I don't keep track. When they get loose primer pockets or crack just toss them in the scrap bucket.

[Sixgun]

Many variables…age of brass….quality of brass….chamber tolerances…..sizing die measurements……sizing die to chamber variances….power of load……loading techniques…..

I have 38 Spls, 32-20’s, 44 Spls that I started using 50 years ago and loaded dozens of times……nickel will split quicker.

A sloppy chamber from a cheap gun that’s not concentric with the bore and then resized with a carbide sizer may get you two loadings while a 38 Spl fired with a target load out of a Colt Python with minimal neck belling may get you a 100 loadings.

Although I use them, I don’t like carbide dies. Expensive or rare brass for old Winchesters get neck sized only. Sometimes you may need to turn down a neck expander or get one that’s larger for a particular gun. People say the .348 will get you 3 loadings before trimming or case separation……I rarely lose one even after 20-30 loadings without touching them but I have tight chambered rifles and know how to size the bullet and resize the brass.

Sometimes one chamber in a revolver may be out of spec. Measure before and after and mark your brass according to the chamber it was fired in and bell only enough to seat the bullet without scraping the side.

Over the years I’ve had bad batches of brass with maybe too much zinc or not properly drawn at the factory….

There’s a lot more reasons but I’m brain dead at this time of the evening.———006

[JimT]

Many variables…age of brass….quality of brass….chamber tolerances…..sizing die measurements……sizing die to chamber variances….power of load……loading techniques…..
...........................
There’s a lot more reasons but I’m brain dead at this time of the evening.———006

EXACTLY! Lots of variables.

[Sixgun]

EXACTLY! Lots of variables.

Yes Jim, (awake now, got my 10 hours) …we know that but it’s hard to communicate the many issues involved. You and I know that with the gun in hand, along with a micrometer, with factory ammo, hand loads of different pressure levels along with varying makes of brass AND different lots……whew! It’s endless………we may be able to figure it out at the end of the day.

Most times though, with modern quality guns, the specs are on and it comes down to good old fashioned fatigue….you know, like the old steel in 1886 Winchesters…….and of course, loading techniques with thorough knowledge of the loading dies being used.

If one takes the measurements of factory ammo…..unfired……neck, body and base…..and compares that to the final hand loaded round you may learn something…….RCBS uses the same size diameter tungsten sizer for 45 a.c.p. and the 45 L.Colt and if your sizing your brass for an old SAA Colt or forbid, a clone, you may be work hardening that brass .020. Some years back I bought a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag (modern 1894) and the best I could do at 100 meters was around 3-4”…(scoped) …took some measurements and found I had a .433 groove diameter…..sent it back with a new rebarrel and got a .432…..

As you know, I’m partial to the old original guns and one 44-40 1894 Marlin has a .426 groove diameter and with .428 cast it will do 1.5”.same thing with a Colt Lightning in 38-40…400 diameter.

So my fine friends, get a quality micrometer and start taking measurements….and keep in mind some foreign guns will have chambers so fat a 45 Colt will fit in a 44 mag.chamber leaving the loaded round on a 3 degree angle to the center of the bore….

Cloudy day…Im going back to bed. —-006

[AJMD429]

.
"... [Sixgun] ... A sloppy chamber from a cheap gun that’s not concentric with the bore and then resized with a carbide sizer may get you two loadings while a 38 Spl fired with a target load out of a Colt Python with minimal neck belling may get you a 100 loadings..."

Pretty much sums it up. A friend with a breakopen 44 Mag single-shot as his only 44 Mag has reloaded the same 100 cases 40-50 times so far and not lost any. 240 grain cast lead loads with a mild load of 2400. It's his only rifle other than an AR-15, which he 'only keeps for emergencies', so he shoots it so much he pretty much never misses.

[4t5]

Thanks for the replies, I’m gonna keep using them and see what happens , although I’ll put a wooden dowel in my kit , so I don’t bend the ejector rod.

[Griff]

What those guys above said. I've got nickel 38 Spl cases from back when they used large pistol primers... other 38 Spl cases from the '70s & '80s... I've got several K 45 Colt and 45 Auto cases that I've never counted how many loadings I've gotten. But, I don't hot rod any of those... my .30-30 cases, can split necks after just 3 or 4 loadings, but those are running pretty close to maximum, and limited to just one rifle. My 45 Colt cases can develop a split body after a while. All six of my 45 Colt rifles have fairly close to max SAAMI specs... Those include 3 Ubertis, a Rossi, a Marlin & a Miroku. I've only annealed a few 45 Colt necks, but more for sealing the chamber when shooting BP than any other.

[LeverGunner]

I do not keep track of the number of loadings except for bottle necked rifle cartridges such as 30-30.

Here's a test I did on a single 30-30 case, and I got over 22 reloads, and that's with my sizing die moving the shoulder .039 of an inch.
https://levergunscommunity.org/viewtopic.php?t=89882

I have 4 batches of 30-30 brass that I load. A couple of those batches have 7-8 firings on them with no losses.

[yooper2]

I have 45 ACP brass that has been shot so much that the headstamp is illegible. Most of my revolver brass makes it 15 loads or so before neck splits. Rifle brass is all over the place, I have a single 50-70 case that has been loaded a couple of hundred of times with no sizing and occasional annealing (it was the only case I had for several years). 06 brass that gets fed through the Garand is generally good for 8-9 reloads.


Eric