How many times to reload brass

[Solheim]

Just curious as to how many times you reload brass on average I'm loading mostly 7mm mag and 6.5x284 I under stand you visually need to check them each time.

 

[SDHNTR]

Hugely dependent on type of brass and reloading processes. I expect 10+ on good brass.

 

[Solheim]

I'm using Nosler,Norma and Lapua

 

[PineBrook413]

I find with my magnum rifles the primer pockets get loose first. After 6+ firings in my 300prc I end up tossing a few here and there if the old primers pop out too easy when de priming.

 

[Wrench]

Nosler is usually good for one or two. Lapua could go 20.

Greed, annealing....sizing all play into it.

 

[Rich M]

I have between 10 and 20 loads on my 3006 and 243 reloading brass. Rem federal winchester brass

 

[49ereric]

I find with my magnum rifles the primer pockets get loose first. After 6+ firings in my 300prc I end up tossing a few here and there if the old primers pop out too easy when de priming.

fix em

 

[PineBrook413]

fix em

Super interesting never seen anything like that!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fishermanpunk]

IMO, there are no particular rules. However, you can use it until it splits, the head separates, it wont hold a primer snugly, or anything that is blatantly wrong with it. It could be anywhere from once to 10+ times. I have 30-06 that have been reloaded 20+ times.

 

[SDHNTR]

Buy good brass to begin with. Lapua, ADG, Peterson.

Don’t resize more than necessary. .001-.002 shoulder bump once fully fire formed.

Don’t trim more than needed.

Anneal

Don’t load real hot

 

[Matthias86]

I agree with everyone here. Load until the case no longer functions how it should...but some things can sneak up on you. I notice that it becomes harder to set back the shoulder while resizing the brass after 3 or 4 reloads. It's like the metal isn't as flexible anymore (which it isn't). My resizing die is set up to set back the shoulder 3-4 thousandths (reloading for an AR), but it rebounds back to only 1-2 thousandths...sometimes less. This has caused feeding issues and precision inconsistencies. I can still get the brass set to where I need it to be, but it requires me adjusting my resizing die. I accidently mixed up some older brass with newer brass, and it became a huge pain in the butt. I just got myself an annealer. While I am still very new to annealing, it has seemed to fix my problem. As long as I anneal every 2 reloads, I no longer run into inconsistencies with my resizing die. Right now I'm on 7-8 reloads on my factory Hornady 6mm ARC brass and they are still working great...especially now with the annealer.

 

[cRoe04]

Other than primer pocket size and obvious visual defects, what are you looking for to make your use/pitch decision? Do you try to measure case thickness? I am new to reloading and have 8-12 shots through most of my cases but I am worried about taking it too far.

 

[49ereric]

Other than primer pocket size and obvious visual defects, what are you looking for to make your use/pitch decision? Do you try to measure case thickness? I am new to reloading and have 8-12 shots through most of my cases but I am worried about taking it too far.

Find the correct size easy out for your brass ahead of time or buy new…
yes I have used an easy out a few times

 

[Vern400]

I get 6 loads on old vintage RP brass, anneal once after reloading twice (3 firings). 308 pushing 2750 fps with RL15 in one rifle and 2900 fps with Varget in another (longer barrel). They're hot but safe loads within load specs for 150s

That means at 6 firings some necks split.
Usually case mouths split at end of life. If I start getting splits in a batch I usually load up fun shooting stuff in them. But I use them til they fail because it doesn't seem to be a big deal .

Ñeck turning to 0.014 thickness instead of 0.015 with a bigger tolerance seems to have little effect. But I do take off the fat spots to true the necks. My varmint rifle is precise enough to watch long bullets go to sleep between 100 and 200 yds. Neck turning didn't help precision in my deer hunting rifle but took 0.15 off groups on average for the varmint rifle. All bolt guns.

Transitioning to Lapua brass.

 

[cRoe04]

Is the time and money invested into annealing a good return in life of brass? Or have you found that it gives a good increase in precision?

 

[49ereric]

Is the time and money invested into annealing a good return in life of brass? Or have you found that it gives a good increase in precision?

For decades I never annealed as I had few to none case neck splits .308 win.
the 6.5 magnum Remington brass was splitting necks on 1 reload so I started simple annealing with a torch.
I now just anneal cuz why not…

 

[Lawnboi]

Is the time and money invested into annealing a good return in life of brass? Or have you found that it gives a good increase in precision?

The above comment about brass not sizing the same kind of illustrates what happens when you start loading brass 5+ times without annealing. Obviously the kind of brass you’re using also makes a difference.

I think of annealing as resetting the hardness of the neck and shoulder. This allows a consistent shoulder bump through firings. With annealed brass I don’t mess with my dies like I had to prior to annealing. On the neck end it keeps things more uniform as well, again not hardening, requiring adjustment to your process.

If split necks is your only concern, or you’re not planning on loading over 5 times you may not see a difference. Quality brass helps as well in either case of annealed or not.

With annealing, I like that after the brass is formed, I can do the same exact process for the entire barrel.

I personally anneal every firing in an amp and really only load for precision.

 

[antelopedundee]

I agree with everyone here. Load until the case no longer functions how it should...but some things can sneak up on you. I notice that it becomes harder to set back the shoulder while resizing the brass after 3 or 4 reloads. It's like the metal isn't as flexible anymore (which it isn't). My resizing die is set up to set back the shoulder 3-4 thousandths (reloading for an AR), but it rebounds back to only 1-2 thousandths...sometimes less. This has caused feeding issues and precision inconsistencies. I can still get the brass set to where I need it to be, but it requires me adjusting my resizing die. I accidently mixed up some older brass with newer brass, and it became a huge pain in the butt. I just got myself an annealer. While I am still very new to annealing, it has seemed to fix my problem. As long as I anneal every 2 reloads, I no longer run into inconsistencies with my resizing die. Right now I'm on 7-8 reloads on my factory Hornady 6mm ARC brass and they are still working great...especially now with the annealer.

I guess after a few reloads I'd check the sized cases to see that they chamber properly.

 

[bluelund79]

3x for my hunting rounds, after that it goes into the practice pile until the 10th fire. Then it goes into the scrap bucket. I do agree that inspection after each fire is key to longevity.

 

[BradArnett]

I've had brass that I've tossed after 3-4 firings. My oldest brass I have gotten the most firings out of is 200 pieces of lapua 223 brass i use in my 223ai's. I have multiple 223ai's all cut from the same reamer and use the the same loaded ammo on all of them. That brass has 25+ firings on it now. I anneal it after every firing and bump the shoulder minimally. It's not loaded hot and that brass just keeps going. I've also some RP 223 brass that has around 15 firings on it in the 223ai.

I was only getting about 3-4 firings on some lapua 243 brass in my 243ai before I started tossing them with loose pockets. Backed my load off and that brass that was left now has 15 firings on it. Burned out 1 243ai barrel with it and still using it with the 2nd 243ai barrel.

Not sizing more than needed, annealing, and not redlining them works for me to extend brass life.