How many times

[Snakebite]

How many times would you guess that you reload your 38 brass before you start getting splits?

 

sb

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

I've calculated that before on light cowboy loads in .38 special cases, and it was about 18 loads for the average lifetime of a case.   A mixed-headstamp batch that was all brass.  That is more loads than "until you get the FIRST split" on a case in a batch of brass.    The "average life" makes a LOT more sense to me, as it does not concentrate on a premature failure of one or a few pieces which failed way before the average.

 

.45 Colt case life was less, about 10 loads.  That is, until I started using a Redding dual-sizing ring carbide sizer die.  That works the lower 2/3 of the case much less during sizing.  Where .38 special splits from the mouth and usually can be loaded once more when a small crack appears, the .45 Colt usually fails in the body with a long crack up and down the middle of the case.  And no warning appears before a failure while firing. The Redding sizer almost totally has done away with those cracks in my .45 Colt cases!  Average life now seems more like 30 to 40 loads.  Three years of use has not really given that sizer time to show what the real case life will be - the failures are too infrequent to give me a good basis for telling.

 

good luck, GJ

 

 

[Doc Shapiro]

No idea.

[Singin' Sue 71615]

We have been shooting for 15 years.

I would say once a month x 2 of us. (6 stages)

Add three big matches (12 stages) x 2 of us.

 

We were given roughly 4 gallon buckets of used brass, when we started.

We have only bought 1000 new cases in those 15 years.

 

So...I really think it is just a 'it will split when it will split".

I will tell you, 'weak' cases will have a tinny sound to them...so if you hear that going into the catch bucket...put it in your 'practice' ammo.

[Dusty Devil Dale]

I don't mark my individual cases, so I don't have a way to know for sure; especially with brass getting mixed up at matches.   I would bet I'm getting at least 15 loadings before splits become frequent enough to be occasionally missed in checking them.  

 

I have developed the habit of looking rounds over closely for splits, poor crimp, or high primers both, as I load them into ammo pouches and as I take them out at  the LT.  I think inspecting rounds is more important than just guessing at number of loadings --at least on matches that matter.  

[watab kid]

most all of my brass was range salvage - pretty much once fired by the looks of it and ive not been shooting 38s all that long , i have a couple thousand ive reclaimed from our range , that should last me quite a while because the reloads dont stress the brass much in my setup , 

 

i expect based on my 45s that ill get a good dozen reloads without question , perhaps an additional half dozen on most pieces , lwe exchange brass at various shoots because we dont always get our own back , it doesnt matter much , where it came from in the end , if you get a lot of reloads it serves you well , i believe mine has as ive yet to actually buy brass - i did win some , 100 , at a shoot once , that was the only "new brass" ive had since 2005 , ive thrown a few away but never felt i was short , i did have the range officers save me everything that was left on our range for a couple months and had a couple thousand to start and they still look for my needs , have accumulated about a thousand 45/70 recently , 

[Cliff Hanger #3720LR]

After cleaning the brass, I would drop the cases in to a bucket to go over to the press bench. Split cases will make a ringing sound. By dropping a hand full at a time it was easy to find the split case after hearing the ringing. Also when sizing the case a split case will have no back pressure on the press handle. Just remove it from the press and toss it in the scrap bucket.

[Flying W Ramrod]

Snakebite

Major difference is BP vs Smokeless.

BP brass tends to get hotter than smokeless, for obvious reasons, some folk will say that keeps it softer and less prone to splits.

We've used the same brass for the past 21 years. Probably lost 100 rounds due to splits. And, of course, they get found after the rifle jams

Also, the manufacturer will determine the usage. Starline will last forever, especially if you use the +P brass for cowboy loads.

 

[Rye Miles #13621]

Impossible to tell

[Matthew Duncan]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:34 PM, Dusty Devil Dale said:

I don't mark my individual cases, ...

 

I go by head stamps. 

 

Starline is my most reloaded brass.  Most of it is close to 20 years old and it is what I use for monthly and lost brass matches .  From memory all of the splits have been Starline.  Makes sense it's the oldest and most reloaded.  One split a match is normal.

 

Winchester is my next oldest.  Used if I run out out of the Starlines.

 

Tombstone is third in line.  Used for important matches.

 

And my newest brass is nickel Starline.  Loaded and ready to go, haven't used it.

 

IMHO the easiest ways to prevent splits is to keep your resizing die clean and case flare to the minimum.

 

 

[Griff]

When my wife started shooting in the late 80's, she was given a bucket of used brass, maybe 3-4k  ases.  Old enough that abt. 500 of 'em were LP!  Those started splitting 1st. I tossed a couple hundred of 'em away after she passed away in early 2019...  just too dang frustrating separating them to load!  If your 38Spl brass is splitting, it's either the load, your gun, your dies, or your crimping a bit too much.  Just my NSHO, of course!

[Snakebite]

Thanks to all. I was just curious as to what folks had to say about it. I've got a lot of used 38 Brass. Some of it is 20 yrs old. I'm getting a lot of Split cases lately and It may be time to move on to another bucket of brass. The two of us can easily use 1000-1500 rounds every month, depending upon how many of the local matches we attend. I have a tendency to clean the same brass rather than let it build up, then load it again, repeat, repeat, repeat! I think I'll clean it all, look it over for splits, then give it to XXXX as a gesture of "Good Will" and Christian Kindness!  Hee,hee,hee,hee. Non-Elder Statesman need not apply!

[Jackrabbit Joe #414]

Use strictly Star line brass and my QA/QC checker (Sly Puppy) does all the checking after they are clean, and she runs across one every once in a while. Not very often but it happens. Our secondary brass is Winchester. Any other stamp is collected & given away.

All brass is .38 special.

 

JRJ

[Go West]

Hard to tell. Most of my brass is 15-18 years old. I don't have system to note how often each piece has been reloaded and I sometimes swap brass inadvertently with others at matches. You know, pick up others while not getting all my brass back.

As a side note, I think my Schofield brass is most often split over all others. IMO due to large pistol chambers.

I'd rather cry over gas price increases, primer prices and availability or general inflation than losing the occasional split brass.

[Marauder SASS #13056]

2 hours ago, Snakebite said:

Thanks to all. I was just curious as to what folks had to say about it. I've got a lot of used 38 Brass. Some of it is 20 yrs old. . . .

I have a fair amount of brass almost as new as that. 

Some of the WCC are labeled as 82 but more as 87.
Then there is that brass labeled as Super Vel.

[Snakebite]

Oh my! I Think I have some Super Vel 357, but it's loaded up with 158 JHP, and HOT! God knows how long I've had it.

[Jefro, SASS#69420]

I'm sure I have some years and years old. I use all the old mixed ones for pistol, that way I don't care if they split. For rifle I'm a little more picky, one brand.

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

Like others I no longer know how old some of my brass is. I still use some that I started with in 2008 that is mixed in my "ready" ammo bin. Those may have been loaded 20 times or more. In practice I cull out any that have even the slightest crack or split, get rid of some more after tumbling when they are clean, catch a few sometimes as I reload and at a match check each one as I load it into the loading strip and one more time as they are put into the gun. Since I don't push or try to get the last (marginal) load out of each piece of brass I don't worry about ammo failures. If the brass is good it is good, if not get rid of it. Why risk a match on a cheap piece of brass?

YMMV

Regards

   

Gateway Kid