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How many times can brass be reloaded


Willie Shootum

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I am new to SASS,and have reloaded my 45 Colt brass four times. I was just wondering approximately how many times brass can be reloaded before you have to buy new ones? I am shooting light hand loads with 160 grain lead bullets.

 

Many times, I load mine till the case starts to split.

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Many, many, many times. I have been loading the same batch of Starline 44-40 brass for 4 years.

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Usually till it splits or won't hold a primer. I have some 45's that have been loaded more than 10 times and still look OK. Most wear comes from reloading or real hot loads. If you are careful and don't over work it while reloading it will last a long time. ALWAYS use case lube and don't over-bell the case, if you run them dry while resizing it will stretch and thin the case.....

Mink.........

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...same as the other pards, until the brass splits.

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I have some 45 Colt cases that I have reloaded 25 to 30 times. I expect to get a few more out of them.

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When I started I kept track by batch how many times I'd reloaded cases. I stopped counting at about 6. Now as long as it doesn't have any splits or defects, it gets reloaded.

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I buy my 45 LC brass in lots of 1000 and keep 480 rounds loaded at all times in boxes of 40 (3 boxes per match). I don't load a certain number of times and then swap out, rather I continue to reload and replace split cases as necessary so some have had a rather short life whereas others have gone on to have numerous reloads. I'm loading full caseloads of black powder so I don't know if that makes a difference or not? Smithy.

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Willie if you are shooting it in a rifle you will probably loose it before you wear it out. I've got 45LC and 45ACP brass kicking around you can barely read the headstamp on that is still going strong.

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I have several thousand pieces of Starline brass I have loaded a couple of times a year or more for at least 10 years with no splits yet. I think one key to long life is to minimize the amount of belling, the more it is worked the sooner a split can occur.

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Everybody else has it wrong. You can only reload brass once. You should quit using that brass immediately and send it to me, I'll dispose of it properly! :lol:

 

 

Your Pard,

 

Barney.

 

 

 

Seriously, I have brass I have been using for years. At the low pressures of cowboy loads, the brass doesn't get the workout it does from magnum loads. Just inspect carefully before reloading, look for splits and other defaults. Brass should last through many loadings. If you don't have a brass trimmer, when brass hits the maximum length, put it in a box to reload for "lost brass" matches.

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Guest Tennessee Stud, SASS# 43634 Life

Willie... ol' boy...

 

Hold the brass up... and look closely.

 

If daylight shows plumb through... it is time to toss it.

 

ts

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I am new to SASS,and have reloaded my 45 Colt brass four times. I was just wondering approximately how many times brass can be reloaded before you have to buy new ones? I am shooting light hand loads with 160 grain lead bullets.

 

I know u ask about .45 LC.

I have some military .38 brass I got second hand in '76 . have loaded many-many times still going strong.

So the answer is till it splits.

CCBA :)

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I'm up to 18 reloads on some boxes (38s). One or two tends to split around the 15th time.

After 20 times, they're going into a plastic container for practice only. No sense to keep track any more.

Also I haven't noticed any particular brand splitting more than others.

 

Sometimes the splits are hard to see on visual inspection.

When a bullet gets seated that I can notice a change in resistance (it goes in easier), that's when I find it has a split.

 

I don't use any rounds that have been reloaded more than 12 times for matches, only for practice or side matches.

It's just a number I picked to feel safe.

 

Oh, I started out with 45c.. same thing for them..

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35 times on the Winchester .44-40 brass I have been using in my Colts since 1999. The chamber is so tight that the brass does not expand much on firing, and it is not worked very much when resized. Belling the mouth to seat bullets then crimping bullets in works the brass more than anything, causing some splits at the mouth.

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Howdy

 

I have absolutely no idea how many times I have loaded my 45 Colt and 44-40 brass. I gave up counting a long time ago. I will say I lose more of my 44-40 rifle brass to the grass than I do to splits. I usually only get around 80% or 90% of my rifle brass back. I get all my 45 Colt revolver rounds back. I too load mine with Black Powder, and I suspect the lower pressure of BP helps keep splits to a minimum.

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I still have most of the 45 cases I started with over 5 years ago. In fact, I have some brass headstamped WW (Winchester-Western) and they have been sized so many times that the cannular is being smoothed out.

 

Load til you start seeing cracks...then replace as needed.

 

curley

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I am new to SASS,and have reloaded my 45 Colt brass four times.

Willie, keep reloading them! You have a long ways to go before the cases become not useable.

How many times? Like the folks told you ... some in the teens and many with no guesstimate, including myself.

I shoot nothing but 45 Colts. Have Starlines when I 1st started in CAS back in 2002. A few splits every now and then but have had no issues with the old Starlines. In fact with none of the other brands that get mix in with mine on the Unloading Table also.

 

Not 45's but 44-40's ... a friend of mine keeps a chart of his number of times. He is at 18 reloads now of the same brass and BTW, has never cleaned any of these cases! Them primer pockets are the grossest looking but they keep on going Bang!

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Willie one addition to the nickel versus brass issue, which I know doesnt really apply as I dont think I've ever seen a nickle 45LC case... Would have to look but IIRC all my 38Super brass is nickel plated and it rarely splits, especially in comparison to run of the mill 38Spec. The Super brass is normaly loaded a lot "hotter" then a Spec load, cowboy or GP target use, so the chamber dimensions may come into play as well.

 

Loading on a progressive press I have a tendency to bell case mouths a little more then would be done on a single stage where you can really concentrate on seating the slug before crimping but will agree with others that work stressing the case mouth will give you more problems. Hearing the difference between a split and an intact case will become normal for you. If you dont catch a split case visually you can often tell with the change in seating pressure as well. You get that "ruh roh, thats not right" feeling when one slips past you.

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